The Splendid Magic of Penny Arcade: The 11 1/2 Anniversary Edition

 
> open book
 
The book is now open.
 
> read book
 
Entitled The Splendid Magic of Penny Arcade, it details the history of a comic strip called Penny Arcade. The comic appears to catalog the lives of two young men who are utterly steeped in popular culture.

Each chapter gathers into a coherent beam of savory trivia, strange facts, formerly mysterious origins, biographical information, interviews, inaugural conventions, an unlikely charity, and comic strips. You get the sense that some of the content may be apocryphal—for example, the part where they eat a whole wolf basically comes out of nowhere. Also, if one of them really did become “King of the Britons,” you’re sure you would have heard about it somewhere else.
 
> close book
 
You close the book and place it back on the shelf. Maybe next time.

JERRY HOLKINS is the writer of the webcomic Penny Arcade. Holkins also writes the majority of the news posts or rants that accompany each comic. His other exploits include being a lead singer/guitarist in a band called The Fine Print, whose works are freely available over the internet. In the webcomic, his alter ego is known as Tycho Brahe. Holkins lives in the Seattle, Washington area.

 

MIKE KRAHULIK is the artist for the webcomic Penny Arcade. Krahulik credits cartoonist Stephen Silver as a major influence on his drawing style, which has continued to evolve since he began drawing Penny Arcade in 1998. He also provided the illustrations for the cover of the book Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi, and artwork for the Daily Victim, a regular feature that used to run on GameSpy.com. In the webcomic, his alter ego is Jonathan Gabriel, or simply Gabe. Krahulik lives in the Seattle, Washington area.