The Replay-Value Blog

Oh, uh, hi there!

2009-12-02T03:41:00.000-08:00

I should have done this a while ago!

Replay-Value has a REAL website now! All the comics from this blog plus a TON more are there, along with all kinds of other artwork, animations, live-action skitches, and more.

www.replayvaluestudios.com

Check it out! It updates Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. See you there!

Holy Jeeze

2008-11-22T13:51:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's been over a year since I last posted something here. That sucks. And yet, I have about 50 new Replay-Value comics sitting inside my dead laptop. I'll see what I can do to rectify this situation...

So, uh, yeah....

2007-09-05T03:23:00.000-07:00

Did I ever mention this before?

Well, now's as good a time as ever I guess!

Electronic music sensation The Volt Per Octaves asked Replay Value Studios to produce the artwork for their sophomore album, "moogsaic"! The CD will be available both online and in-stores WORLDWIDE.

These guys are really, really awesome. I know Nick, the lead moog-er, from work at Trader Joe's. At one of their concerts he saw me drawing in my sketchbook and liked what he saw so much he insisted I draw the album art for his band's new CD! OF COURSE I said YES! And after much hard work it's finally available.
Seriously, Nick and his wife Anne are just fantastic, their first album is available on iTunes so be sure to check it out.

This is one of a few reasons that Replay-Value has been lagging so poorly recently. Expect to see many many more collaborations between the VPO and RPV in the future. I'll try to post pictures of the actual CD case tomorrow. It's really surreal seeing my Replay-Value caricatures on a real-world product that will be available in stores around the globe. Not to mention on posters, t-shirts, magnets, stickers, and even matchbooks!

Edit: Oh yeah, and on that poster, where it says "featuring collaborations with Roger Manning Jr (of Beck and Air)"? Inside the CD cover are caricatures of everyone featured on the CD. Caricaturing the keyboard-player from Beck? Not stressful at all.

(He loved it!)

Happy Birthday?

2007-08-16T03:29:00.000-07:00

Well, yesterday was the 15th of August and that marks Replay-Value's one-year anniversary. But since the comic only really ran for half of that I don't know if it counts. Maybe I'll hold off on doing special parties until the real page launches. Which was also supposed to be up months and months ago.

*sigh*

Yes, there is a Day Four ComiCon comic. Only reason it's not up yet is... I'm having trouble with the last panel (Yes, for a month), and I just got a tablet for my MAC and it's taking some serious adjusting time. As for why one panel could hold me up for a month, well... you'll unerstand when you see it.

And as soon as that's done, Series 2 can start. :3

Day Three Comic

2007-07-29T20:35:00.000-07:00

This was about how much we saw of Bryce. Over the four days of panels, Eric and I had an astounding one shared with Bryce. We talked about it, and decided Bryce didn't actually attend ComiCon at all, but rather spent his time looking for prostitutes and selling drugs.

And no, they aren't supposed to have mouths in the last panel.

Day Three

2007-07-29T17:43:00.000-07:00

Pineapples are what it's all about, yup yup!

Picked up the SDCC '07 Exclusive version of these on Day Three. They're awesome. Chris' style translated perfectly into a 3D sculpt.

I also met up with IRON MAN!

Comic to follow later...

Day Two Comic

2007-07-28T23:57:00.000-07:00

They are seriously all over the place. One of them even attempted to pistol-whip someone who got in their way on the show floor. Just because you're dressed in a Star Wars costume doesn't mean you can act like a dick and get away with it. I will make a demeaning comic of you and post it online for all three of my fans to read.

Day Two - Updated

2007-07-28T10:02:00.000-07:00

Let's just say that Humberto Ramos drew a picture of me today.

:D

Update: Let me just say that I am shocked, SHOCKED, at how many people chose to text me asking who Ramos was, over simply Google Searching it. Wow.

This is Humberto Ramos' blog. He's a famous Marvel artist and all-around really nice guy. Very easy to talk to, very friendly, and he has an amazing style. I don't know if I'll ever post anything from Kid Bombastic or The Breaker on this page but, and this is ESPECIALLY true for The Breaker, his style is a massive influence. And I got him to draw me. :p

Day One Comic

2007-07-28T01:29:00.000-07:00

Shit. There's so much going on this year it's

a) impossible to find time to update

and

b) impossible to choose an event to make comics out of!

But yeah, the Iron Man shirts ARE really fucking cool, and they DO glow in the dark. The design on the shirts is ironic, too, considering what happens in Replay-Value once the actual story starts up again...

Day One

2007-07-27T09:19:00.000-07:00

Met up with Erwin Haya from One Sick Individual yesterday and got him to sketch in his new book for me. I'm discovering that one great thing about having a young face is that since it never changes, people recognize you immediately, even though a year has passed!

I also met up with Dean Yeagle and got his new book, but sadly I do not think he remembers me. That's OK though, "Mandy's Shorts" makes up for it. :p

Went to a hand full of panels yesterday, too. Saw the trailers for a lot of sweet upcoming movies, (Iron Man is going to KICK SO MUCH ASS OMG) and got a bun ch of awesome free swag (Iron Man shirt KICKS SO MUCH ASS OMG). Eric and I also went to a documentary on Pixar, which was just incredible. They had a bunch of footage from the early cuts of Toy Story that I'd never seen before. Woody was a major asshole. The doc just made my desire to work for them even stronger, though.

Anyways, the comic will be up sometime later tonight, with the Day Two comic showing up tomorrow morning. Basically how this'll be working is the comic for each day will go up the day after that day just occurred. So, see you in a few hours!

Preview Night

2007-07-26T00:28:00.000-07:00

WOW. Preview Night was HUGE. I've never seen so many people at ComiCon before! Eric and I wandered around the hall for a few hours getting a mental map of where the booths we most want to hit are.

I got to talk briefly with Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stitch) and his assistant (well, more his assistant, he was busy) which is the major highlight of the Con for me. His style is just incredible, and he and his assistant are so friendly. Last year he did an AMAZING sketch for me. His Sketchbook 2 this year is just fantastic. Reading through it felt like I was drinking each page of art, and when I closed it I felt... visually full. You can't tell worth a damn from Replay-Value but his style has had a big influence on me. I think if I can meet up with Mike Kunkel again (Herobear & the Kid) I'll have talked with my two heroes and be on Cloud 9. And the Con hasn't even officially started yet!

The Sketch

Chris Sanders' Site
Mike Kunkel's Blog

COMICON 2007

2007-07-25T15:08:00.000-07:00

Woo! We just got into San Diego for the 2007 ComiCon! It's gonna be rad, I know it. They're had to shut down admissions because there are SO MANY attendees this year. Yikes! Hopefully people will see my badge and get curious about the site. I wish I'd gotten the real thing up before now but... so many promises made and broken. Anyways, it wouldn't be a convention without convention-themed comics, so check back each night of the con (Wed thru Mon) for a new update!

Post #50 OMG

2007-06-14T03:39:00.000-07:00

I don't know how I got through 50 comics before hitting 50 posts, but whatever.

Just thought I'd point something out. Before, when you went to www.replay-value.com, it took you here. Now... it doesn't anymore.

:)

I... cough I LIVE!!

2007-06-10T03:31:00.000-07:00

Replay Value is coming back friends. And in a big way. I'm a massive dick for letting this site just rot like this for months on end. I've had three different people tell me they'd help me rebuild my site and look what I have to show for it! Bah! Luckily now that blogspot has had time to work out its kinks I'll start posting things again. Sometimes it'll be comics, sometimes it'll just be artwork. I've gotten into the habit of reading all my favorite artist's blogs and I'm thinking, "You know, I have a blog, it's functional, to hell with it I need to start updating again."

So, yeah. I have another 50 Replay-Value comics planned out (three main story arcs and a shitload of retarded one-offs) to constitute the Series 2, and I've been busy with Replay Value Studio's first ever official project for a real actual product. (More on that later.)

To tide you over until the first real update, though, here's some concept art for Series 2: (Warning, the second one is rather huge)

Till next time!
-Garrett

048 & 049

2006-12-06T14:15:00.000-08:00

Ok.

Fuck Blogspot.

I upgraded to their new Beta thing, and yet each time I try to update I spend 40 minutes trying to even sign into the site. Then, IF I get into the site, whatever updates I try to make, crash.

So I'm going to stop using blogspot for my main site. Twice now I've been fucking right in the middle of an arc, leaving everyone hanging and it's really pissing me off. So I figure if I'm going to be sticking you all with cliffhangers I'm going to atleast make them planned.

Which brings me to Replay Value 49, which will be the end of "Season One" for Replay Value:

And Replay Value 49, the Teaser for "Season Two" which will launch with the new site in the next few days/weeks:

Yes, that little logo there in the corner is for the Replay Value Animated Series. This blog, once the new site is up and running, will turn into a kind of production journal for behind the scenes looks at RPV:TAS. That way I'll be able to update whenever Blogspot lets me and it won't be too important if I miss days, since there won't be a schedule over here anymore.

Anyways, that's it for Replay Value on Blogspot. I'm going to be meeting with my friend tonight about the real website - the last time I saw him I gave him The Archive, so hopefully server issues have been sorted out and things will be ready to roll really soon.

I'll keep everyone posted when the new site goes live.

046 - What Matt's Doing - Hour One // Critter Island - Part 1

2006-11-27T03:07:00.000-08:00

This one is meant to be a cap / break between the Pit of Fire and the arc that starts after it:

Woo! Welcome to Critter Island!

Pit of Fire - Part 9

2006-11-26T15:08:00.000-08:00

I ended up redrawing the whole thing. :x

I'm going to be updating two comics a day starting Monday so I can deplete my back stock and get everyone up to speed. So Monday, Wednesday, and Friday will each have two comics per day.

Also, I have seen the new site and it is glorious. I cannot wait until it's up and running.

Pit of Fire - Parts 1 - 8

2006-11-25T15:48:00.000-08:00

Part 9, the finale, will be up in a few. I'm re-drawing parts of it right now.

Happy Mini-Relaunch everyone!

Pit of Fire - Part 5

2006-10-31T03:41:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween everyone!

I fuckin' love that whale. And to think he was an accident at the end of drawing yesterday's comic.

Pit of Fire - Part 4

2006-10-30T04:42:00.000-08:00

It's not that I didn't want to draw the third panel, it's that I thought a text description would be funnier.

This is also the largest comic I've ever made. 10 by 12 inches. If I ever print Replay Value books, this one's gonna cause some problems...

Pit of Fire - Parts 2 & 3

2006-10-28T04:22:00.000-07:00

So... fuckin'... tired...

Three... parties...

BlogSpot was down for a while yesterday and I couldn't update the "Watch this space" post until late in the afternoon. While I was trying to update here, though, I added an... interesting blog to the Replay Value Myspace Page.

UPDATE: BlogSpot has become a nasty bitch during the wee hours of the night. Twice in a row now I've been thwarted when trying to update the site between 2 and 5 AM. Hopefully this will sort itself out sooner rather than later.

Also, I know Garrett isn't wearing his glasses in Part 3. This is because it's very dark out and he/I mainly wear[s] them during the day.

Pit of Fire - Part 1

2006-10-27T03:44:00.000-07:00

In the last week my roommates and I have had three bonfires. I used to have them all the time with my old roommates who live in Berkeley now, but never in such rapid succession as these recent fires have been. I've wanted to incorporate these bonfires into the comic somehow since last Saturday, but today at work... well, I'll let this arc tell its own story. I have no idea how this story will end as Daniel, Matt and myself have yet to leave on this trek. So throughout the weekend I'll be updating new comics to chronicle our adventure.

That's right, I'm going all out and giving you guys Replay Value every fucking day of this week.

I'll also try to make my shitty updates to the MySpace page on Sunday too, but I have not one but two parties to make appearances at, so coupling that with the PoF arc AND a MySpace update... I'm not gonna make any promises. If anything, Sunday's comic will be in color because it's Sunday and I'm old school like that.

It's been a hell of a week so far. I really like updating every day... it gives me something to do, I have more opportunities to tell more stories, and it's fun. We'll see how things go, this might become permanent.

036 - Tastes Like Happy

2006-10-26T12:26:00.000-07:00

It's not bacon. They're Morning Star bacon strips and they actually taste like shit. I don't know how they got "bacon" out of "salt and paper" but I'd advise anyone who's buy-vegan-curious to stay away from these. Their sausage patties are the bomb-diggety but these bacon strips suck some ass.

035 - Euphemisms - 02

2006-10-25T04:11:00.000-07:00

Sigh...

Panel 3 had many, many variations. Lions, tigers, a rhino, at one point it was a giant boa eating Garrett. Thought I'd just stick with a good old lion though. Rawr!

New LOST tonight! New South Park! I'm almost all caught up with Battlestar Galactica! Woo!

034 - Euphemisms - 01

2006-10-24T04:26:00.000-07:00

This isn't an arc, per-se, just an idea I had for some comics that are strung together not just by a story but also their heavy reliance on visual gags. As it is now this story is only set to run for two comics, so don't worry - it'll be about a week and a half before I embark on something like "Welcome to Hell" again.

Which reminds me. Progress on the actual Replay Value website is going well. The only reason it would miss the November 1st launch date would be because of server issues. As it stands now a friend of mine hired me to make some logos for his new venture, and in return he's building my web page and has offered me space as well. However the guy who owns the server is fortifying it or something at the moment so it may not be ready by November 1st.

Also, I got some mothafuckin' fan art, yo!

Thanks Andrew!

033 - Touched By Jesus

2006-10-23T04:43:00.000-07:00

There's really not much more I can add to that. The effect is akin to wearing 3D glasses and having things pop out at you, only EVERYTHING is popping out at me in sharp 3D magic.

The length of this strip is purely based on how tired I am. I'm going to actually update every day this week because so many things have happened that need to be made into comics.

It's Sunday! And that means...

2006-10-22T04:35:00.000-07:00

It means that the Replay Value MySpace Page has been updated again. New "photos" have been added. More will come throughout the week... the three there now are a bit boring so I'm going to spice things up.

032 - He's Tracing his Memory

2006-10-20T05:46:00.000-07:00

Only things I have to say about this are:

1) Daniel is playing Trace Memory on his DS lite. There was no way to get this accross in the comic (Hence it's in the title) but it will be imporant later on.

2) The cookies are, infact, delicious.

Now is time for sleeping.

031 - Vote Jackson/Kreyer in 2008!

2006-10-18T03:55:00.000-07:00

I had an enormous ammount of fun making this comic. It's based entirely in reality (Daniel and I had a conversation about making smiles count as money shortly before he began eating some poorly prepared scrambled eggs) and it also has a shitload of teaser fodder in the first and last panels.

Also this comic shows what Garrett's new hair is supposed to look like. I need to go back and redraw #030 - that's how I used to draw my shaggy hair circa 2003. I gotta get with the times!

030 - It Must Be Fall

2006-10-16T03:41:00.000-07:00

I've had this idea for a really long time, but now that I a) finally have Replay Value going and b) it's the fall, I can do it. Plus my actual "winter coat" has grown in so of course I've gotta translate it into the comics. I've always thought it's be a neat running gag for, every fall, Garrett's hair to randomly change styles. Someday it may even save his life.

:O

I added a piece of concept art to the Replay Value Myspace Page yesterday. Throughout the week I'm going to be adding new "photos" and more concept art. I'm not sure yet how epic I want the Jammie Ninja story to be so I'm just trying out different styles and character designs.

And to clear up any confusion, the RPV Myspace is meant to be updated by the Garrett from the comics (meaning Jammie Ninja is his comic, not mine)... which will lead to some fun in the future. The Replay Value Universe is an awesome mess, just you wait and see.

029 - Too Much Good Stuff

2006-10-13T05:26:00.000-07:00

The second panel here is a work-in-progress. Not that I'm going to change it, but more of, the style of Replay Value is meant to change dramatically when video games are depicted. I don't know if I'm going to always do it with vector art or what, which is why it's a WIP. I've got until a week after the November Launch to figure it out though, so expect to see quite a few game-related comics between now and then.

In the last month I've bought and enjoyed more games on my DS then I have in the two-plus years I've owned it. Daniel, in about a week and a half's time, has almost as many DS games as I've collected since 2004. The DS is now my most-played system. I don't think of it as a handheld, it's just too good. I've owned every GameBoy since the Brick from the 80s and the DS is THE most entertaining version ever. Sure the GB and GBA had some really ace games, but the DS is just in another league. It's the Super Nintendo of handhelds. Like a second Golden Age of gaming.

Polarium. It came out with the DS but I could never bring myself to pay full price for it. Well, I finally found a used copy for $10 so I bit the bullet and got it. It.. is really fucking hard. Like, really hard. There are apparently 100+ puzzles in the Single-Player challenge setting and I'm stuck on #17. Fuck Polarium.

I'm in World 6 of March of the Minis now. This game just keeps getting better and better.

028 - Wu Tang Style

2006-10-11T03:00:00.000-07:00

I jumped the gun, so to speak. Oops.

I've been watching Battlestar Galactica for the last week. Bryce and Daniel have been on my case since July, if not before then, to watch it. I just completed Season 2.0 tonight. I have... mixed feelings. It doesn't grasp me and force me to watch it like LOST and The 4400 do, but it's still a well-written, interesting show. It has me kinda on the fence, because on one hand, I don't really care if I see the rest of it. However, on the other hand I'm always shouting, "OH FUCK THAT STUPID PRESIDENT! THAT NEW COMMANDER CHICK IS AN ASSHOLE!"

I don't know why but I just can't get into space dramas. I hate Star Wars, have never watched Star Trek, Battlestar gets an OK from me, Farscape only wins because of the hot blue chick and the cartoon episode, and Firefly I'm watching only as a trade to get Jessica to watch LOST. It does have a catchy theme song though.

Not nearly as catchy as the Replay Value Animated Series theme, but it'll be a while yet before any of you get to hear that. Tee hee!

027 - I've Got A Fan!

2006-10-09T04:41:00.000-07:00

Hope you like it, Pamatmat Clan! I don't know how you managed to find my comic but I'm thrilled that you did and that you're enjoying it.

Don't forget!

2006-10-08T04:46:00.000-07:00

Every Sunday. Like clockwork.

Click here and check it out.

Welcome to Hell - Part 10 - Conclusion // 026 - Daniel's Newer Friend

2006-10-04T17:00:00.000-07:00

Well, there you have it folks! The end of my huge-ass arc. Which also happens to be Replay Value #25! Yay! I'm really sorry that it was so late.

Also, yes, I did mean to leave Beth out of the wrap-up. She'll get her own arc later on.

And now, today's comic:

Daniel finally caved in and bought a DS lite the other day. I've been playing Trace Memory on mine alot recently and seeing my enjoyment, he became needy of his own dual-screened fun machine. With his DS he got Mario Kart DS, NEW! Super Mario Bros, and Trace Memory. He loves it oh so much.

To best him, though, I went out and bought Mario VS Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis... holy SHIT this game is excellent. It's really nothing like the first one, gameplay-wise, (it's much more like a very hands-on Lemmings) but it is so much fun, and getting top rank on each level is such an insane challenge. It also has a level-building mode, but to unlock all the different parts you need to get a Gold Star rank on each of the 9 levels, plus the boss levels, in the 8 worlds. This makes the replay value shoot through the roof. The game actually encourages you to play through each level slowly to get a feel for it, and then come back to find the quickest, most efficient way out to earn that fuckin' Gold Star.
My ONLY qualm with this game is how you share the levels you've built with other people. Nintendo's Friend Codes for their WiFi Connection is a pain in the ass. But seeing as that's just an extra bonus and not part of the main game, I score it...
Mario VS Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis: 10/10
Oh shit, my first game review.

Now, ofcourse, I'm going to talk about the Season 3 Premire of LOST. I got to watch it yesterday after work, and... I'm hooked all over again. The opening scene had me saying, "Wait, what..what...What the FUCK?" and the ending scene with Jack actually made me cry. It was intense. (I got choked up in the first season when Jack was saying his wedding vows, but this actually got the tears flowing. I'm man enough to admit it!)
I'm so glad I changed my work schedule to have Wednesdays off.

Welcome to Hell - Part 9 - Epilogue Three

2006-10-02T15:13:00.000-07:00

I'm starting to regret making a MySpace page now. I've tried to log in several times to actually write the blog that goes with this comic and I keep getting the "Sorry! Something is wrong with MySpace, lol!" message. Hrmph.

Replay Value is on MySpace! Whore-ay!

2006-10-02T02:46:00.000-07:00

Click Here for Replay Value on MySpace!

As the launch of the official Replay Value website draws near, this MySpace page will become more and more fleshed out, and it will eventually run along-side the comic. You can already see several refrences and hints on it.

Today's comic will also be late because I stupidly made this page instead of drawing it.

Also, so glad that Welcome to Hell will be over on Wednesday. I love the arc to death and it'll have huge ramifications on the series in the coming months, but LOST premires on Wednesday night and I'll undoubtedly want to make a comic about it for Friday.

Because of something that happened at work today I'm going to start updating on Sundays too. Most likely they'll be special MySpace-only updates. Sunday October 8th is the first on these side-stories. Be sure to check it out!

SO if you have MySpace and you're a fan, add me! I just found out that I DO have atleast ONE fan out there that's not one of my real-world friends. Hello to The PAMATMAT Clan! Glad you're liking the comic! Check back next Monday (Oct 9th) for something I'm sure you'll enjoy.

Welcome to Hell - Part 8 - Epilogue Two

2006-09-29T03:51:00.000-07:00

Mwahahahahaha! I wasn't kidding when I said the epilogue would tie up everything. So while the actual Welcome to Hell arc continues in each part of the epilogue, each page ends a segment of the story.(Hence it still being called "Welcome to Hell" and not "Now Leaving Hell")

Two more to go!

Welcome to Hell - Part 7 - Epilogue One

2006-09-27T04:13:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lateness and the shit-ton of text. Now that the six-part main story has concluded, there's a four-part epilogue that'll tie up everything that's happened during this arc. So check back Friday for something none of you will expect.

Meanwhile, it's sweeps season and a load of new TV dramas are starting. Here's my thoughts on some of the pilots I've caught.

Jericho (NBC) was really good. I was having a little trouble at the start figuring out why this show would be compelling... in LOST, they can't tell what's happened to the rest of the world because they're on an island. In Jericho, they're on the mainland. They see a mushroom cloud in the distance and assume the world is over? Well, not quite, the show does a good job of explaining itself and I enjoyed it. There's supposedly something screwy with the town itself, so I'm deffinately gonna keep my eye on this one.

Heroes (NBC) was also really good. It chronicles several (seemingly) unrelated people who discover that they have special abilities. It's a pretty realistic take on super powers and I'm interested to see where it goes. Hopefully they'll delve into "scientific" explainations of how each power works, that'd be sweet. Heroes, though, might be a bit too straight-foreward and cliche for some people, (They kind of beat you over the head with their powers instead of letting them subtly form) so luckily there's...

The 4400 (???) I have no idea what channel this airs on, and I think it's starting its fourth season soon, but OH MY GOD. I thought Heroes was awesome but for as cool as Heroes is, The 4400 shits all over it. Over the span of 50 years 4400 people go missing - abducted by aliens. Suddenly a white ball of light comes to Earth and brings them all back at once - they haven't aged a day and have no idea what's happened to them. Slowly, however, it becomes apparent that they've been tampered with as they each have some form of special ability. REALLY good pilot to this one, I am sooooo hooked.

All said and done though Arrested Development is still the best show ever. Everyone go buy the DVDs (There's only 3 seasons and they're pretty cheap). If you have any sense of humor at all you will laugh at this show. Just brilliant.

Welcome to Hell - Part 6

2006-09-25T03:35:00.000-07:00

"But I thought the asteroid assimilated the fridge?"

Wednesday is only two days away...

Speaking of Wednesdays, I have a problem. There's a company meeting Wednesday, October 4th from 9:30PM till 11:30pm. Know what else is on that day? LOST Season 3 premier. Know what else? South Park Season 10 part 2. And no, the answer isn't "tape it."

"I'm boned."

Daniel's new Friend - Part 3 // Welcome to Hell - Part 5

2006-09-22T02:45:00.000-07:00

Oh shit the storylines MERGED! You'll soon see that everything that took place during the "break" from the WtH arc has a purpose. Also, get ready to find out how Garrett got his car back from Texas after the Space arc... might not be what you expect.

I'd also just like to use this space to say that Arrested Development is possibly the best TV show I've ever seen. I'm halfway through Season 2 and I am soooo sad this got cancelled. I can't imagine why, it's phenominal. I reccommend it to everyone.
Also, I've seen the Season Premiers for Family Guy and American Dad - both of which are hilarious. The Fall Seasons are starting up very soon so I have alot of series premiers to watch - Heroes, Studio 60, Jericho, South Park, Lost... it's gonna get freakin' hectic!

Daniel's New Friend - Part 2

2006-09-19T23:22:00.000-07:00

So exciting! I've come down with a nasty cold. I was going to push the update back to Thursday but I felt bad about doing that, so I condensed what was somehow a four panel comic into just one quick comic. Harry Palm, get it?

Daniel's New Friend - Part 1

2006-09-18T05:24:00.000-07:00

Daniel fell in love with a dying palm tree sprout at Ralph's tonight. For only $1.99 he figured he could nurse it back to health. It currently resides on our porch... atop one of my dinner plates.

:(

017 - Eat at Robby's

2006-09-15T05:12:00.000-07:00

Girls can be vicious creatures, yo. Poor Jenny.

Well, I made it a month and I only missed one update. (Which, IMO I more then made up for with the awesome, still-in-progress Welcome to Hell arc!) Not too bad I'd say. Happy One-Month-Brithday Replay Value! Yay!

016 - Bonding

2006-09-13T04:32:00.000-07:00

I actually had to do a fair ammount of digging to find some Replay Value scripts that didn't feature Garrett in them. Since the comic follows my life there aren't very many situations where I'm not around. But seeing as I'm pre-occupied about 153 miles north of Daniel and Matt at this point in the story, I had to find other things for them to do without me. Which is cool because they've been MIA since the Space arc. So expect to see more of their antics over the next few days.

Plus, I mean, look at that barren background. It's like that for a reason, you know - the couch is still destroyed so they have nothing to sit on. Guess they'll need to get a new couch from someone soon, hmm? It's more exciting than it sounds.

Welcome to Hell - Part 4

2006-09-11T04:01:00.000-07:00

Yes, I did say today would be the end of this arc. And it is.... CLIFFHANGER! :O ZOMG what's gonna happen next? When will you find out? NOT EVEN I KNOW YET AAAAAHHHHH!

Website note: I saw this page for the first time in Internet Explorer the other day and it's a mess. The solution to this is for those of you with IE to get FireFox.

www.getfirefox.com

For those of you unwilling to change, I am also unwilling to change. Not until the actual site goes up will I cater to IE users because IE is just as big a mess as my webpage is when viewed in it. And that last sentance, too, is a mess. Just like IE.

And it does look rather spiffy in FireFox, folks. A bit simple still, but nice.

Welcome to Hell - Part 3

2006-09-10T04:49:00.000-07:00

The only thing that scares me worse than zombies is The Yellow Submarine's art style, but that doesn't really fit into this story very well.

For those of you keeping track, the comic is called Replay Value partly because it deals with situations that leave strong imprints on my friends and I - situations with high "Replay Value" as the video game term goes. Hence this arc's parody of Resident Evil 4. But that's only half of the reason. The rest of the story will be told a little later on. I'd estimate around the time of the real website's launch. Seems like a good way to kick things off.

Anyway. It's 5am and I'm ramb'ling.

Welcome to Hell - Parts 1 & 2

2006-09-09T03:56:00.000-07:00

Here's the first two parts of the Super Arc I promised. I even did a bit of coloring on these to make them flashy.

As I was driving home from Berkeley Wednesday night, this happened. Well, I mean, I ran out of gas and pulled off into a totally dead little side town. I get the hell out of there through and made it to the next city before my car died, thank God. But will I be so lucky in the comic? Atmospheric re-entry is one thing, but this is something else completely.

Parts 3 & 4 will be uploaded on Sunday and Monday, and then it'll be a short break from story arcs. The town I rolled into that night just provided me with too good a story to pass up.

BONUS
I had a request for a new wallpaper based off panel 3 in "Goodbye Jessica - Part 3."

That bear will be showing up more in the future. He's got his own story and everything. It was an inside joke I think maybe two people could have caught.

Of Delays and Such

2006-09-08T14:38:00.000-07:00

I had no access to my computer or the interweb for the last day. Yes I am safely back in Santa Barbara now but most of yesterday was still spent behind the wheel of my car. Sadly, I have missed my deadline for today's comic.

And I hate that.

I'm not VGCats and I'm not about to slip into a lacking update schedule. So for you, faithful readers, today's comic has not been cancelled. Instead it has merely been delayed until tomorrow. With this delay though will come a very beefy update in the form of a very condensed arc. Multiple pages in one day. Think of it not just as something of a small comic book coming at you but more like a giant penis blowing an enormous load into your eyes. That's what tomorrow's update will be. I punish myself for your benifit.

Also, an incredibly sideways answer will be given as to why the comic is called "Replay Value" and not "Random Shit That Happens to Garrett and His Friends - The Comic."

Lastly, I was informed that "Space - Part 4" was missing. Somehow Blogspot didn't upload it the last time I updated the site. It's fixed now, though, so those of you joining us for the first time can now read everything in one flowing rope.

Goodbye Jessica - Part 3

2006-09-06T16:12:00.000-07:00

Goodbye Jessica - Part 2

2006-09-05T15:35:00.000-07:00

I had to wear my shades several times after she got on the plane today, and it had nothing to do with how bright out it was.

Goodbye Jessica - Part 1

2006-09-04T02:52:00.000-07:00

Jessica is my best friend of seven years. (We also dated for three weeks but we've been friends longer than exes so that "doesn't count" or some bullshit. :p ) Tomorrow she's leaving for China to study abroad for three months. As a farewell girft I told her I'd drive her up to the San Fransisco Airport to see her off. So today I'm going to spend all day in Labor Day traffic to get to my friend My's house in Berkeley.
But there's a secong part of that farewell gift, and that's this arc, which I'm calling "Goodbye Jessica."
It's ironic that I'm introducing a character as she's leaving but atleast this way her return has some setup. Also, if I ever refer to her in the future comics you'll know who she is.

Remember, this week updates are happening Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. Depending how things go and how long I stay in Berkeley, I might even update on Thursday.

I spoil you, y'know?

008 - Oops

2006-09-01T03:48:00.000-07:00

Ok, THIS is Replay Value in true form. Short, sick, and based on a real event. This is pretty much exactly what happened at work today. (The girl in the first panel is the Demo Supervisor at my Trader Joe's. I've worked there for about half a year but she's going to train me for Demo Supervisor, hence she's restating the rules.) Then the last panel is where my twisted imagination shines through. I have a wallpaper of that last panel too I'll put up later today so you can all see the glorious detail. It's not how I would have liked to introduce my job in the comic but I left my script book at my parent's house so I was a bit SOL for today's update. I'll make a better intro for it after the next few arcs.

Speaking of which, there's going to be a mini-arc on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday next week. I'll be going out of town for three days and the comic will chronicle my travels up north. Then a break on Thursday and we'll be back to our regular schedule on Friday.

Update: Ok, so, technically it's Saturday now so I dropped the ball. However I not only made and colored a desktop out of the last panel in 008, but I re-wrote the text in the whole thing too. (I like the shortened script better, and the preface atleast lets you know where the comic takes place.)

Yes, those are anal beads hanging from the ceiling and around Garrett's neck.
Yes, those are fountains of TubGirl.
Yes, that is a giant shit-streak behind the KoA logo.
Yes, the arms of the chair are Goatse.
Yes, so is the back of the chair.
Yes, Garrett's crown in a butt with some poop sqeezing out.
Yes, Garrett is standing on a cushion shaped like a butthole.

Thus I dare you to use that as your wallpaper. I personally am going to print it out and hang it on my bathroom door.

007 - Here's to GAF

2006-08-30T02:37:00.000-07:00

Ok this is what a regular, non-arc comic is like. They're usually much shorter but this idea needed to be completely fleshed out. This is also more along the lines of what kind of humor Replay Value has. The Space arc was insanely tame compared to some of the other things I've made in the past and have planned for the future.

Anyways, the story behind this is that it's only half mine. I was browsing GAF and someone posted a comic they'd started about three little girls who wanted to go to the mall but they couldn't, so they were going to take pictures of themselves instead. The comic ended there and a part 2 was promised, but I thought, "You know how I'D end that?" and that's how this comic came to be.

The sultry pictures of the three girls were thrown in there simply to make everyone uncomfortable. I actually felt a little uneasy drawing them - and this is coming from a guy who animated a girl giving a dog a blowjob and didn't even flinch.

Update: Oh Jesus. I just realised what I named the girls. Gwen and Stacy? I wasn't even thinking. I'm so sorry, Peter.

Space - Part 6 - Epilogue

2006-08-28T01:42:00.000-07:00

And here's the REAL ending to the arc. It's a sideways answer as to how Garrett survived, but it of course opens up a whole slew of new questions. Mainly, "What the fuck?" In due time, my children. In due time.

I've also changed how I title the comics. Now arcs will have names to keep them seperate from the regular gag strips (the first of which is coming Wednesday!). I've retrofitted this to the last five comics, as well as adding in the sound effects to panel 1 in Part 4 like I said I would.

Hope you've enjoyed the first arc! I had ALOT of fun making it. So much, infact, that I'm tempted to start updating five days a week... my day just feels empty when I'm not working on a new comic. But then, the extra time does give me a chance to work on the RPV animated shorts. We'll see.

Update: Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. Holy shit - COLOR?! Don't get used to it just yet folks. I like black and white the best, so I only intend to use color when the story calls for it.

Space - Part 5

2006-08-25T13:53:00.000-07:00

And here's the finale to my first arc.

Now, there's something I'd like to address about how plot points work in Replay Value. Everything has an explaination behind it. This comic is kinda like LOST in that way, lots and lots of foreshadowing and sideways hints at future events. You may be wondering,
How did Garrett get lost in the jungle? How did he find his way out?
Who is Beth?
Who or what is the Confetti Penis?
What happened to Garrett's car?
Who are Daniel and Matt? (Besides Garrett's roommates)
Where did Garrett get the Ice Cream?
Why am I mentioning Bryce in this sentance? Who is he?
How the fuck did Garrett survive re-entry through Earth's atmosphere after being hit by a meteorite?

These are all things that actually have answers. I pride myself in fleshing out the world that I work with and in the future you'll all see that. There are hints set up in Monday's epilogue that tease the answer to that last question.

Also, Replay Value is something that spans mediums. Right now it's a simple black-and-white comic but from its inception seven years ago I've imagined it as a comic/cartoon duo. Some stories are just better told in an animated medium, y'know? So maybe we'll find out how Garrett got lost in the jungle when the Replay Value Animated Series starts?

Anyways, thanks to everyone (all, what, five of you?) that enjoyed the first arc. You're almost home free of this story!

Space - Part 4

2006-08-23T02:19:00.000-07:00

Ha ha ha, talk about a cliffhanger huh? Bet you weren't expecting that to happen.

I'll tell you, having a webcomic with story-arcs is hard work. Not the drawing part, no, that's cake. Even the writing comes pretty naturally. It's keeping future comics a secret that's fucking impossible. Sure I could tell Daniel how it ends because he lives accross the hall from me, but I have to wait until Monday before I can disscuss the ending of this story. (Yes, the story ends on Friday but there's a neat little epilogue on Monday.) Fuck, see what I mean?

Space - Part 3

2006-08-21T05:31:00.000-07:00

Now things are getting interesting!

Irony hit me tonight. This arc is about Garrett trying to get some Space Icre-Cream, and he can't. Tonight I went to Ralphs for the express purpose of buying cookies to eat while working on this strip, and they had the cookie aisle blocked off so they could mop it. Luckily I got my fucking cookies but what's in store for our hero? Find out on Wednesday!

As for the site updates, either blogspot isn't as easy to configure as they say, or I just really suck at HTML, and I think it's both. Makes waiting until November seem like forever, eh? Oh, wait...

Update: Ah, shit. Just re-read the comic and I noticed I forgot the "SCREEEEEEEE!" sound effect in the first panel. It's 5am though so cut me some slack. I'll fix it when I wake up.

Space - Part 2

2006-08-17T13:48:00.000-07:00

The adventure continues! ...Or, begins, I suppose. I had a little trouble with the word bubbles but it'll be fixed in Monday's comic. Expect to see more updates to the actual site between now and then.

Choices

2006-08-17T03:42:00.000-07:00

I had a choice to make last night. I could either work on the website or work on today's comic. I chose to work on the website and what I made is really fucking rad. Just my luck, though, that I can't seem to upload what I made to my Photobucket account. Groovy. So there's something really awesome waiting in the wings, and there's a comic on the way today too. I just need to get some sleep since I spent the last three hours anima--oops, almost said too much.

IT STARTS! Space - Part 1

2006-08-15T15:07:00.000-07:00

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the first ever published Replay-Value comic.

Let me explain how this is going to work, so people don't think I'm VGCats. Fist off, the comic will come in two flavors: Arcs, and One-Shots. Arcs will be stories that span several days and are built like pages from a comic book. One-Shots will just be simple three or four-panel gag strips. The comic above is the first part in an Arc, which will wrap next Friday. Which brings me to the schedule:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday.

"But Garrett," you say in a timid, squeaky voice, "It's Tuesday today."
Yes, it is Tuesday today. The reason I'm going to update Tuesday and Thursday this week is because I like the number 15 and I wanted to start off on it.

You might also notice that the page design is somewhat lacking. This is because my HTML skills are also somewhat lacking, and while I have all the graphics ready I don't yet have them all in place. This will be fixed soon, I fucking hope.

And of course, a little bit about the comic. I was at work the other day when I got a craving for Spaceman Ice-cream, but nobody there knew what it was. Alone in my desire, I turned to the internet, because I know I'm not the only 9-year-old who ate that shit. I had no idea where that desire would lead me...

Update - Oh Jesus, it's fucked. Why oh why does this happen.

Update 2 - Comic is down until I can get rid of that fucking sidebar. Good news is the Confetti Penis shows up in the address bar now. Small victory. Daniel's helping me with the html. Hopefully this'll be fixed soon.

Update 3: That's what I'm talking about! Looks like I'll have to thumbnail everything but Daniel saved my website with his l33t skillz. Yay Daniel!

Holy Shit

2006-07-28T12:38:00.000-07:00

Tired of just sitting on my ass with my brain-child ready to fly, I have created the Replay Value Blog. Until the actual website is built, this corner of the internet is MINE to post all my awful comics in. Everybody fuckin' dance!