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Update #8: The Final Cosplay Vote + More details on Strip Search

Update #8 · Jul 27, 2012 · 14 comments

We've crossed the $375k mark, meaning Jerry is on the hook for cosplaying as the character of your choice. We did open submissions in Update #7, and after over 15,000 suggestions, here are the top 5 to vote on:

1. Bayonetta
2. Sailor Moon
3. The Fruit Fucker
4. Tycho
5. Yummy Chan

Honorable mentions go to Strawberry Shortcake and Lollipop Chainsaw. ;)

Alright, vote here!

Gabe also just posted an update on Penny Arcade about Strip Search, but you can read it here as well:

I admit to being a huge fan of reality tv style game shows. I love shows like So You Think You Can Dance, Hell’s Kitchen, and Master Chef. I even watch shows like Ink Master and Shear Genius. It doesn’t matter if it’s singers, chefs, fashion designers or gardeners. I love watching groups of people pushed together to compete at something they are good at. I don’t know a thing about cooking or dancing but I can’t get enough of these game shows. I’m always amazed when the challenge is something like “make a fruit tart” and one guy says “shit I’ve never made a fruit tart before” and then he proceeds to make a fucking fruit tart. I could never do that and maybe that’s why I love watching it so much. Could you pull a theme out of a hat and then write and draw a comic strip about it? Probably not, but I’m guessing you might like to watch people who can.

That’s the idea for our new show Strip Search. It is the next goal in our Kickstarter and It is a reality game show for web cartoonists. Like any of these other shows I mentioned it is about watching incredibly talented people face off in a competition with a reward that could change their life.

In the case of Strip Search we are talking about ten people. Each one of them a talented cartoonist. They will all live together in a house here in Seattle. They will compete in a series of challenges that will test their skills and we will slowly whittle them down until we are left with one winner. This cartoonist will win a cash prize along with integration into the Penny Arcade machine. That means a studio in our office but it also means access to our business people, our merchandising operation, our designers, and our ping pong table. The winner will get plugged into the Penny Arcade family for one year. We will not own any of their work, and there will be no evil contract to sign. We will just be there to support them and help grow their comic in a way that very few other organizations could.

Tycho and I will be the hosts and participate in the judging but we won’t be alone. We are very lucky to have friends in every corner of the industry from syndicated newspaper comics to book publishers, and web comic pioneers. We’ll be bringing these folks in as guest judges and mentors throughout the competition. You’ll also see everyone here in the office working with these contestants. It’s a huge undertaking for us but incredibly exciting I think.

There is something magical about watching a comic strip come together. I think Strip Search is a show that could appeal to a much bigger audience than anything we’ve done before on PATV. So if you could help us get the word out I’d appreciate it. Tell your friends who like reality TV and tell them to tell their friends. I’d love to see Strip Search get funded and if it does we are very close to the goal of all ads removed from the home page and our Daughters of the Eyrewood Lookouts comic. 

Comments

    1. Missing_small

      Creator Matthew Duval on July 31, 2012

      I think it would be great if you added more sub-$100 rewards. Toned down versions of the higher ticket items would be great. For example $2000 gets you a guaranteed pass to PAX events for 5 years. But maybe a lower ticket item could be access to an early bird purchase window for 1 year? Limited 500, separate pledges for PAX prime and East as an example.

      Or a 5-10% discount on merch at the PAX booth with a little Merch sticker put on your badge at registration?

      Small bonuses that don't involve physical product and shipping could boost the participation numbers without cutting into your margin too much. I think your current reward structure focuses a bit too much on quality of donations over quantity.

      Fingers crossed for Lookouts and more podcast. :)

    2. Missing_small

      Creator Stephen Ranger on July 31, 2012

      Honestly, I'd prefer The D&D campaign and your podcast over StripSearch (I love 4th panels).

    3. Missing_small

      Creator Nelson on July 27, 2012

      Hey guys thanks for the chance at backing a project of yours. This is my first post but I couldn't help myself, I'm a big fan and I think Strip Search is a great idea for a show, I know I'm gonna watch it, you have the opportunity to make a really creative outlet for the reality show genre. Keep up the great work.

    4. Missing_small

      Creator Bryan Park on July 27, 2012

      I think some rewards like printed versions of the bonus comics or a DVD of the show would probably help fund some of these things much faster, since you've kinda combined lots of kickstarters into one big one.

    5. Missing_small

      Creator Marcus Comstedt on July 27, 2012

      When the vote has closed, will you publish the list of all suggestions made by, say, 10 or more people? Would be cool to see. :-)

    6. Missing_small

      Creator J Pierce on July 27, 2012

      SS sounds like it will be a great watch, but one thing occurs to me. It's probably going to be QUITE different than most "reality" tv shows you're used to. They fabricate a reality by judiciously editing footage - taking stuff out of context and creating conflicts where none exist. That's why almost every season of every reality show manages to have "villains". When none exist, the producers of the show decide to fuck someone over and create one, without a care about all the hate that will be directed towards that person for the rest of their life.

      Something tells me a show run by PA won't be taking the same route.

    7. Image-231516-full.small

      Creator Anton Kuchman on July 27, 2012

      @ David:

      http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2012/07/16

      She is a character from Gumball Princess Wizard School =)

      Cheers.

    8. 300px-original_sharptooth.small

      Creator Dino on July 27, 2012

      a little disappointed in these. of the seven mentioned, you could replace four of them with any "sexy" girl from just about any medium, two are straight out of PA (very uninspired), and the last one, ok...strawberry shortcake (portrayed in her original incarnation) would be hy-f***ing-sterical.

    9. Fb_profile_picture.small

      Creator David Kreutz on July 27, 2012

      Pardon my ignorance, but what/who is Yummy Chan? A google search reveals nothing.

    10. Missing_small

      Creator john vandyke on July 27, 2012

      I will bump my pledge +5 bucks if "4. Tycho" wins!

    11. Alright_pipboy.small

      Creator NarcoSleepy on July 27, 2012

      WoOt! My suggestion made the cut (Bayonetta). Just imagine the possibilities!

    12. Missing_small

      Creator Eric Thompson on July 27, 2012

      I of course mean 'Fourth Panel'. Stupid Kickstarter having no edit button.

    13. Missing_small

      Creator Eric Thompson on July 27, 2012

      Strip search sounds very cool. I only wish that the return of the podcast wasn't so high on the stretch goal list. I would pay literal dollars just to have that come back. The 'Fourth Wall' episodes are nice and all, but 10 minutes just isn't enough...

    14. Fb_profile_picture.small

      Creator Billy Wellen on July 27, 2012

      All of those get my vote!
      Happy with whatever is chosen.

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