Saturday, March 11, 2006

Six Degrees of Snively Whiplash

Back in 1999 I worked for a company called B3. Broadband Broadcast was the full name. The founders said B3 came from Broad, Band and Broadcast. To which I say the abbreviated version should have been B3C but nobody asked me. They never do.

Anyway, while working at B3, I met this plucky young artist named Manny. He was on my design team to help brand this dot com company. The company burned through their million and a half dollars of start up money and laid off all of the artists hired right after me. Manny and I remain friends to this day.

Sadly Manny moved away to SpokeCan Washington to work for this little video game company. Maybe you've heard of them. They created this thing called Myst. A few months ago, that company closed shop and Manny was out of a job again.

A little side gig he had started up with Eric, a guy he went to school with back here in Minneapolis, became one of his only outlets to create art. This little hobby of his and Eric's is called PandaXpress!. There's a link to the site in the links section.

An evil taxi driving goat named Pollo has kidnapped a brilliant scientist leaving the adorable Dahlia all alone. She sets out to find her father riding atop her protector, Panda, a cybernetic yet cuddley panda bear. Along the way she encounters Wetherby, a stereotypical 19th century secret agent and regular proper fellow. She also meets Wikkity Jones, a 70's throwback, quad-roller skatin' ninja assassin.

I suggest starting from the beginning of the webcomic and reading all the way to present.

One of the newest members at PX! is Picksy. She posted a comment in the PandaChat box. There's a URL attached to her username so I clicked it. Off I went to her page over at DeviantArt.com. It is there that I find a picture of a man with the longest handlebar mustache I have ever seen.

I'm thinking Snively Whiplash except when I draw it it comes out William H Macy.

When you ponder all that is "the Web," consider the above sketch. You never would have seen it if I hadn't met Manny seven years ago.

No comments: