PVP is the comicbook form of a popular online cartoon
strip. Its a comic about an office of a video game
magazine company. Its a cute, amusing book with
characters that weve all met in real life. Scott R.
Kurtz has a real firm grasp of comedy and of people in
fandom.
The first half of the book is laid out in comicbook
fashion and follows the " normal " workplace
antics. How do geeks avoid doing work at this
company? Im glad you asked. They turn the
audiovisual equipment into a mini-movie theater. And
what does the boss do when he suspects his employees
are goofing off on company time? Does he go and
confront them? No, not Cole. Cole sends in another
employee to check it out, and it just goes on from
there. The main characters are classically done.
Cole, the boss, is your typical nice guy. Brent is
your classical pompous artsy, nerdy guy. Jade is the
only female amidst the mass of testosterone in the
office and the list just goes on and on. Probably the
most amusing addition to the cast is a big blue
mythical creature named Skull, who is very akin to a
big, slow teddy bear.
The second half is in comic strip form, and contains
more drastic characterization than the first half.
The strips poke fun at everything from Star Wars to
Good Times. Its inventive and refreshingly funny.
My only objection is the length of the letter column.
One or two pages would have been good, but with the
number of letters it gives the first time reader the
impression that theyve truly missed something. While
this might be a good way to get people to look at your
website and to read your back issues, it can also be a
big turn off. If people think theyve missed too much
of the story, theyll just stop reading. Contrary to
what this might seem to imply, it is a good book, and
you can pick it up and understand it easily. When I
get the time Im going to read the online archives,
because its that good. You too can go read the
archives online and order the comicbook at
.
At the end of the comicbook there are little strips
for the other comics on the Dork Storm line up,
Nodwick and Dork Tower. Both are terribly amusing. I
highly recommend that you all check it out.