What do you expect from SM comic strip?

This is your comic strip? I mean, this is a Design Magazine comic strip? Seriously? My nephew could do a better job, with less clichés. Instead of doing the strip yourselves, you should have hired a professional, that knows how to do a strip.

Smart Humor, that's something that you don't see everyday!

Very original, keep going! =)

The first episode was a good introduction, but the second one was about twice as long as it needed to be. I really like the concept of having a web comic that epitomizes the sorts of things we go through as developers and designers, so I'm willing to keep reading -- assuming things will improve. :)

I was expecting something more like a 1 or 2 pane type thing. Like Chris says, it should be about what designers and developers deal with all day. Style-blind clients, crazy project managers, etc. Your characters can be as wild as you want (I'm thinking of Outland/Opus), but we should relate to what they do. Oh yeah, and there should be a villain that is the personification of ie6 that never dies.

I'm with Frank, that was pathetic. Completely, utterly, mind-numbingly pathetic. WTF what that little "action panel" with Phiser swinging his hook around even supposed to be?

Thought it was great. It was sort of goofy but humorous at the same time. Those of you who hated it get over yourselves. It was meant to be fun.

Agree with Frank & Thom. I had high expectations (think: Freelance Switch), but this stunk. Needs to be drawn better, be funnier, and actually, well, good.

Smashing Magazine rocks. The cartoon needs to be of the same caliber.

same as duh, frank and thom, I like freelance switch's comic,
for a design site, the art, composition and color should be better.

give me a writer and I'll take the job =)

I realize that web design and comic design would seem, on the surface, to be entirely different entities, but they have the same thing in common: they're visual. As Smashing Magazine deals in good web design, you would think that if they were to use a comic medium to poke fun at the ways of the internet as pertains to designers, they would in the very least look into the basics of character design, time line progression, and placement of dialogue.

The general storyline is fun-- I get the goofy approach and the silly posturing (does this mean there are hundreds of newly-created Smashing Men/Women? The average number of visitors per time n multiplied by the average number who would click the link...), but there is definite room for improvement.
I tried going to the artist's website to look up his other work, but found only a blog with no obvious portfolio. Eventually I found that he has been up to quite a bit and received a good amt. of attention for it, but little by way of comics. There are two different comics, the first consisting of the same frame repeated with the dialogue changed, and the second of two single frames with a sentence referring to something occurring in class. There were three other illustrations, but I rather felt that they could have been grouped on the same page, rather than spaced out seperately. Mind you, I found this after spending more time looking for it than I would ordinarily for someone I didn't know and was looking for information on; the blog is not particularly well laid out and I would recommend usability testing.

This isn't to bash on Paddy Donnelly in general. What I see is someone still in school and who is feeling his way towards the professional spotlight. From his blog I gather that he is more involved in general interest concepts, particularly the ins & out of digital communication, than with illustration in particular; the most advanced work consisted of two icon sets, one of which was quite fresh and inspired, the other of which could use some refining. I'm just not entirely sure what made him the "ideal" candidate for this comic, unless it's his very newness to the scene, and the general sense that here is a man who is heading somewhere. With all that, there is a feeling of potential to him-- just someone get him to a drawing class, please?

It's AWFUL! A FAILURE from Smashing Magazine standards!

If this is the best Patty Donnelly can do, then he must be an functional retard.

C'mon, now… We'll look away and you'll start again. Right?

######it's AWFUL! A FAILURE from Smashing Magazine standards! If this is the best Patty Donnelly can do, then he must be an functional retard. C'mon, now… We'll look away and you'll start again. Right?###

Q-F-E !

This is not a good idea guys. It degrades the serious image I have of Smashing, and immediately made me loose confidence in the best site out here...
If you're absolutely convinced you have to do this, please get someone with experience to do it for you...
I'm feeling like a bastard letting my first comment be a complaint but I need to let you know how I feel about this idea... It's awful.

When did phishing affected bad/good web design industry?

I don't like it, to the nice articles you guys (and girls) post!

Smashing magazine comic strip...you do kinda expect a lot more...when i saw the "S" logo on the home page and clicked in..i was aexpecting a DC/Marvel comic book style character... this is Smaching Magazine afterall :D ... we expect big things from you

I suggest a long, slow read of Scott McCloud's books: Understanding Comics and Reinventing Comics.

The artwork has a reprocessed 60's Marvel-style that looks like it was put together with clipart. This is Stan Lee cliche at its worst.

And the "humor" is so "on the nose" and obvious that it doesn't even inspire a smile, let alone a chuckle.

Web over to User Friendly and Dilbert for examples of tech-humor that does work.

Look forward to seeing what you folks and Patty can come up with. ;-)

In the spirit of the thing... //***EPIC FAIL***/ABEND/ABORT/*

who wants ep.3 to be called the hero fights for real

EDK VOTRE WITH ME !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! COME ON