Annotations Every Day - Written by T Campbell & Flo Kahn - Illustrated by John & Jason Waltrip
Guilded Age
The Saga of the Working Class Adventurer – New comics every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday!
Solstoria
Angelica Maria
After her brother goes missing, Samantha vows to become a Knight and help those around her in the Kingdom of St. Helena.
Go Get a Roomie
Clover
Experience the queer journey of an upbeat hippie and the friendships she makes along the way! A tale of self-discovery and love of many forms.
El Goonish Shive
Dan Shive
WARNING: This comic often ignores the Laws of Physics
Folklore
Adam Ma, Colin Tan Wei
A superhuman horror story focused on a small band of survivors trying to navigate a war-torn world in the aftermath of the Federation’s collapse.
Demon Studies
Miyuli
Four students summon and study potentially dangerous demons within the walls of the mysterious Summerland University.
The Witch Door
Anni K.
Katariina Lehto discovers her neighbor is a witch called Jousia Muotka. Jousia introduces Katariina to the strange people and places beyond the witch door...
Star Trip
Gisele Weaver
Jas is a human taken from her home planet on a trip across the galaxy she will never forget.
Shaderunners
Alex Assan, Lin Darrow
A ragtag band of bootleggers open a speakeasy for bottled colour in the greyscale city of Ironwell.
Sam & Fuzzy
Sam Logan
Troubled by gangster rodents, lovesick vampire stalkers, or confused ninja assassins? Don't panic! Sam and Fuzzy are here to help. (For a reasonable fee.)
No End
Erli, Kromi
A queer romance about people attempting to build lives in a cold, post-apocalyptic world ravaged by hordes of undead.
Between Failures
Jackie Wohlenhaus
The low stakes adventures of an assorted group of 20 somethings trapped in the declining years of American retail. They are naughty and say lots of swears.
Lunar Blight
Studio CARTRIDGE, Laura Lee
Lunar Blight is a gothic horror story about an elite knight serving a moon cult who must choose between upholding his honoured duty or condemning everything he’s grown to know.
Paint the Town Red
Windy, Winter Jay Kiakas
Winona runs a werewolf shelter with partner in crime, Odile in the Gothic city of Merlot. One day they take in an injured vampire, and soon unravels many of the dark secrets of Merlot.
MASKLESS
kickingshoes
In a world where people can wield the magic of elemental Masks, all Ashe wants to do is help. Maskless and useless, with dreams of fire and smoke on the back of his tongue, he finds himself on a strange, dangerous path to uncovering the secrets of these incredible objects, and the source of the monsters plaguing his home.
Wilde Life
Pascalle Lepas
Oscar decided to rent an old haunted house, and that's when things got weird...
Cyanide & Happiness
Explosm
Satire, dark humor and surreal humor.
The Otherknown
Lorian Merriman
Chandra is a 12-year-old accidental time traveler with a reluctant new dad, who happens to be a member of a feared galactic crime syndicate.
Obelisk
Ashley McCammon
In 1908 New York, a young woman struggles to put her life back together in the wake of her father's death - until she discovers a vampire in the shambles of her inheritance.
Drugs & Wires
Mary Safro, Io Black
Dan used to be a VR operator until his brain got fried by malware. Now he's stuck delivering packages in a post-Soviet hellhole all while trying to adjust to his new life and find some answers.
Spinnerette
Krazy Krow, Rocio Zucchi, Pablo Rey
When a lab accident gives Heather Brown spider powers and six arms, she does what any midwest comic geek would do: Become Ohio's #3 superhero!
Hazy London
Scotty
A story about messy relationships. From friendly foes to crazy families. Nothing is black and white, just full of color. But, all colors can get a little hazy...
Girl Genius
Phil Foglio, Kaja Foglio
In a time when the Industrial Revolution has become an all-out war, Mad Science rules the World...with mixed success.
Guilded Age
T Campbell, John Waltrip, Florence Machina
Welcome to the saga of the working-class adventurer! Enjoy the complete story with new annotations daily!
Goblins
Ellipsis
A fantasy RPG as told through the eyes of the low-level monsters.
The Lonely Vincent Bellingham
Diana Huh
Vincent is an unkind man looking to disappear, and finds himself in the care of a vampire and her two wicked children.
Countdown to Countdown
Velinxi
Iris Black is a self-proclaimed inventor with the curious ability to bring his drawings to life, and yearns to find a space where he can use his powers freely.
[un]Divine
Ayme
A highschool senior thought giving up his soul for a demon was a good idea. It wasn't.
Tove
Severin
The end of the world is coming, and Tove doesn't want to be a hero, but SOMEONE has to look after her little brother.
Dumbing of Age
David M Willis
Joyce has been homeschooled her entire life until now, when she's suddenly a freshman in college! Things don't go well.
2 Slices
RJ Morel
After a case of mistaken identity, will awkward Daisuke find help from excitable Mamo, or will his love life be thrown completely off track?
Wychwood
Varethane
When Tiara's pyrokinesis is finally noticed, she is captured by a magical research organization for study. If she cooperates, she could be helping to save humanity from a dire threat - but can she trust them?
Far to the North
Allison Shaw
Kelu turns to the monsters of her remote mountain home when her family is held hostage by outsiders.
Lighter Than Heir
Melissa Albino
A young Volant woman joins the military in an effort to upstage her war-hero father.
Awaken
Koti Saavedra/Flipfloppery
Superpowers, monsters and conspiracies. Piras, the spoiled Dameschi heir, fights to recover his identity after becoming a terrorist!
Sunshine Boy
Moosopp
New-kid Kelly is sweet but naive. Luckily, he's got his outgoing neighbor Grey in his corner.
Empowered
Adam Warren
A sexy superhero comedy (except when it isn't) about the never-ending struggles of a plucky but very unlucky young superheroine.
Monster Pulse
Magnolia Porter Siddell
Four kids run afoul of a creepy secret organization's experiments, which turn their body parts into fighting monsters. Part sentimental coming-of-age story, part monster-training shonen manga, with just a bit of sci-fi body horror.
Knights Errant
J.R. Doyle
Wilfrid's humble quest for revenge becomes bigger and bloodier by the day.
Nerf Now!!
Josué Pereira
A cute webcomic about fanservice, video games, and... love. Mostly video games, though.
Fairmeadow
Kendra P. / KP
A wayward soldier finds herself in a pacifist commune deep in the wilderness of a war-weary land. Living in isolation brings her closer to those she was sworn to kill than she could ever imagine - but also threatens to tear the place apart.
Atomic Robo
Brian Clevinger, Scott Wegener
The robot punches monsters and bad robots and one time he was a cowboy.
Come Hell or High Water
Jenny/Star, Mori
Prince Gladimir was never meant to fall for a pirate. Swearing off love for duty, the threat of war propels him back into the Captain’s world of high seas and high stakes. Their relationship could be the thing to save the kingdom of Yvoire - or destroy it.
Demon's Mirror
Harry Bogosian
Based loosely off of "The Snow Queen", a story by Hans Christian Andersen, we see things take a different turn as the demons become central characters, and the side characters stick around. Yup, that's the only differences. Enjoy!
Killjoys
Flatw00ds
When two disgraced ex-feds fall backwards into trouble with the clown mafia, getting out in one piece is gonna be no joke!
Real Science Adventures
Brian Clevinger
Spin off stories and other adventures from the world of Atomic Robo!
Whomp!
Ronnie
A depressed, portly, hirsute anime fan stumbles through life in the ever-pursuit of chicken nuggets and other life-shortening indulgences.
How to be a Werewolf
Shawn Lenore
Malaya Walters was bitten by a werewolf as a child. After being raised by her human family, she faces the chance to learn what being a werewolf is really like as an adult.
KISMET
Jaki King
As interplanetary war threatens the Perseid system, a scientist ventures to the far reaches of space in her search for the truth: is humanity the master of its own fate, or is destiny truly inescapable?
Heart of Gold
Eliot Baum, Viv Tanner
A pianist with failing eyesight seeks out a priest with a miraculous healing touch, drawing him deeper into a world of miracles and curses.
Clockwork
Chikuto
Cog Kleinschmidt is a diligent, quiet worker at the Mercia Fortress, the world power's leading stronghold. His orderly life is thrown into chaos when an enemy kingdom sends a diplomat for peace talks. This diplomat needs something from Cog - whether he agrees to their terms or not!
Patrik the Vampire
Bree Paulsen
Patrik loves to knit, bake, and help his friends while dealing with his own demons... like his thirst for blood because, oh yeah--he's a vampire.
Anacrine Complex
Sae Cotton
A superhuman heist involving probably too many pigeons than entirely necessary.
Guilded Age is co-written by T Campbell & Flo Kahn, and illustrated by John Waltrip. Site design by Samantha Kyle. Fonts by Blambot.com.
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Privacy Policy
Guilded Age does not claim ownership of any of the corporate branding that appears in this comic, nor does it claim any affiliation, partnership, or endorsement of any kind.
They are used strictly as an artistic choice for the set dressing of the comic.
They are used strictly as an artistic choice for the set dressing of the comic.
How ironic she’s the cause of what she feared the most. Looks like H.R.’s bout to have a little fun…
A new member for the Guild?
New blood?
HR wants the game to beat the guild so they get kicked back to reality. Adding another highly creative member to the guild is not going to aid that goal.
I think HR is going to ask for help is solving the problem and Ferris is loyal enough not to spread what he now knows.
Looks like Ferris might be taking the rest of the day off.
Looks like Ferris might be taking the rest of his days off.
Fixed that for you. :)
Looks like Ferris might be taking THE REST.
Too many words. :)
Spare a quarter? Save Ferris!
Beuller? Beuller? Beuller?
Beuller? Beuller! BEULLEEEER!
H.R.’s gonna go full supervillain here. If he doesn’t go H.R. Pufnstuf.
Yup. H.R.’s still completely buggo in the brain-pan.
The moment you’ve been waiting for, the guy in the glasses does something, anything. ANYTHING AT ALL Or no, we’ll switch perspectives again on Friday to draw it out for one more week. But seriously, something will happen with this guy. Really, really soon. Soon.
Remember when we were told to just wait for it when we questioned “why Byron doesn’t do berserker stuff”?
Looks like we’re going to get a look at what a successful Arcanometry spell (Or it was Mathemagics?) looks like. Until now we’ve seen just failures.
Carol panics, leaves the keys in the elevator, Ferris comes in and step on my magic circle, imprisioning him and bringing back my deranged memories. Just as keikaku.
Byron was an interesting character even before he did Berserker stuff. The primary debates about Carol and HR during the first year, year and a half, of their storyline was whether or not they had eyes. They are a weight on the back of the narrative, a plot cul-de-sac the audience returns to again and again, only to exit (again and again) with nothing much having changed.
HR casts a spell. How did it affect the storyline? It didn’t. He stared at the tubes for awhile, broke a monitor. Did it affect the protagonists in any way? No. He rewrites the game to force a confrontation. Does it work? no. Misplaced slapstick comedy cultists reach beyond the veil to commune with him, and we see a screenshot of Battlezone. Does anything happen to affect the protagonists? No.
Every single sepia world scene can be removed from the narrative without affecting the World of Arkerra, or anyone in it. It would create no plot inconsistencies of any kind, because nothing HR or Carol have done have so much as nudged any of the protagonists in the bum. The 50-odd pages of sepia world storyline are a completely seperate, boring storyline that as of yet, has nothing to do with any of the protagonist characters of the primary narrative. Every page we spend in the tube room is a page we could have spent somewhere good.
Maybe this interminable storyline is finally going to bump fenders with the main narrative in a meaningful way. I hope so.
Primary narrative is so overrated.
If I got your text right, looks like you just don’t like the Sepia chapters while acknowledging they are sort of separate. One can just ignore Sepia World until HR makes a dent on the fabric of reality.
I kind of like both, but at first I was worried that it would be a “we got tired of fantasy, let’s make some slice of life” moment or, at first “it was just a game”. OK, still just a game. Only of The Matrix variety, and they can’t unplug until some gnome or goblin comes up with Arkerra’s first phone.
Either way, I’m too waiting for HR to do something “more than a footnote” just like Byron at Souf Kourral (“OK, we got enough Berserkin’ now you can stop. Please. STAHP”)
Eh. Each to their own.”Nothing happening” is the primary element of suspense. HR is dreadful–he has been established as a character who evokes dread. This moment wouldn’t have the effect it does if the dread and suspense hadn’t been established.
I justed wanted to mention that the structure of your argument reminds me in a way of some debates in philosophy of mind. Like: How would mental causation be possible? How can a system that is physically closed be influenced in any way? What does consciousness do?
I don’t know whether there is a take away message for the sepia world. Perhaps it would be that things can be interesting even if you don’t know how they’re important. (Only that they are.)
Okay, that last panel is mildly terrifying. Nice work.
heh, “valued employee”. very nice >:D
“im afraid due to recent unforseeable issues, we no longer have a position for you, so we’re going to have to let you go…not literally you understand, more of a metaphor…” *valued employee bursts into flames from HR’s eye lasers* “so i guess what im saying is that you are fired”
-raises hand- Question! In this rendition, would H.R. remove his glasses before firing the eye lasers or would they remain on? Such things are important for the placement of the YEAAAHHHH! so often associated with the action.
And it may even have some effect on replacement of his glasses & how it’s explained in the comic. For example, does HR have a spare pair of glasses in his desk drawer, to replace those that get melted by his eye-lasers?
He’ll probably remove his glasses before firing. You see, he can’t turn those lasers off because of some trauma in his childhood and those special ruby-quartz glasses are all that protects his surroundings from the eye-lasers.
Also, Carol may or may not come into contact with the mythical force of the Phoenix on her day off.
Nice. I was going to make a ruby quartz comment myself, but I never would have gone as far as tying in the Phoenix force. Well played, sir.
No no, obviously the glasses are made from the canopy of the shuttle that sent him to Earth, so the beams don’t affect it!
oh yeah. such a great last panel!
It’s the glowing eyes, the stubble, the slight smirk, and (somehow) that tie that all combine to make sure a perfect picture of cold, soulless madness.
Of course it’s the tie…In corporate circles it’s referred to as a “power tie.”
Ironic that he ran into H.R. on a “good day.”
May be a “good day” for HR, but not Ferris, I would presume…
I don’t think HR has been HR since that ritual a while back. Someone else is now running the show.
I don’t think HR has been HR since the tubes refused to return their contents.
But even then, he’s been dabbling in the Dark Arts since the day he began creating the game.
“The tubes refused to return their contents”.
Pretty much every celebrity who got stuff leaked on the ‘tubes. Once it is in the series of tubes, it’s there forever.
You can’t turn off the ‘tubes either.
good day, or did HR just break through crazy to the other side?
HR is far scarier now that he’s outwardly collected himself than when he was falling apart. Cold and calculating trumps raving mad any day.
Maybe Ferris is going to punch HR, knocn him out , escape to France and join the Foreign Legion.
Yeah, and maybe I’ll drop thirty pounds before September.
Ironic that it’s the loyal employee who’s in trouble.
If he was loyal, why would he go poking arond an area he knows he is not supposed to be in? o_O
Loyalty and obedience are not the same thing.
The other “less loyal” would be all “HEY GUYS THE OVERRIDE KEYS ARE HERE, LET’S RAID THE BASEMENT!”, fill the elevator to the brim with other unloyal scum (Ferris would remind that’s a bad idea, now that it’s “public”) and turn the key as if they were turning on a giant mecha.
At best, H.R. would don a burlap sack mask and remind himself he needs more rope.
At worst (elevator failure due to weight), H.R. would have plenty of spell components. A fresh skull works better than an old one, right?
Either way, Ferris would be safe as the only sane man.
This way, Ferris is taking the hit for everybody.
He was really hoping there was a Foosball table in the basement.
But nope, dudes in tubes and the shadowy menacing visage of the man who signs his paycheck.
Mondays, am I right?
I know right? Or maybe air hockey?
ironic that his name is the acronym for Human Resources too ;D
Yeah, its been seeming more an more appropriate, considering how it looks like he is about to turn another human into a resource.
“Hello, where can I find Human Resources?”
“Down the hall, on the right, refrigerator, lower shelf.”
Best possible scenario. Carol calls, says she forgot to mention while she was over but Ferris has shown exceptional loyalty and deserves a raise for his perfect attendance record. With Carol having vouched for his loyalty H.R. decides to bring him in on the project, get a fresh perspective on things. Ferris is now part of a trusted inner circle and well positioned for career advancement.
That can’t be the best possible scenario, there isn’t any candy raining down from the sky, and nothing is on fire.
and no one has lost their hat!
No no, when you Lose your Hat, that’s a Bad Plen.
Any plan where you lose your hat is…?
A bad plan.
Yes!
Even so, losing your hat is preferable to losing your head with it.
Also, no 500 lb. crates of Maine lobster for the BBQ grill & no Swedish Bikini team parachuting in either.
I like the way you think. Next we’re making plans, I want you on the team.
looks like Ferris is about to be a transitioned employee
Does HR have a holographic companion in a Maid’s outfit telling him to rub his balls into Ferris’s face?
Questionable Content readers will know what I’m talking about here…
YES!! Was thinking that when saw the glasses (in HR’s case, the HoloCom has taking over and is running the whole show)
HA! Same here. :-)
I lol’d
I thought that too! LOL
same thought!!!
Why can’t I have glasses that light up for no reason?
Reflection from the other lights in the room.
Either that or they’re augmented reality specs…
Because you’re not nuttier than a Claxton fruit cake.
I don’t think they light up for no reason! They might be VR glasses like Dale’s in Questionable Content:
http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2491
er: this strip, and AR like Ivresse said ;)
http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2487
So much for that raise
Seems Ferris is about to get a promotion…Instead of being just another “cogwheel” in the company, he’s now going to be on the Creative Team for source-material.
Ferris is about to learn the true meaning of Human Resources.
And possibly why “Human” shouldn’t be confused with “Humane”.
Here comes a new player!
So does joining the game:
a) create a totally new person in Arkerra, or
b) cause the person entering the game to possess and take over the identity of an already pre-existing person in that world?
Probably both. Creates a “new” person, but also gives them a history. Everybody in the main five has a history going all the way back to childhood. Syr’Nj at least has a mother who likely remembers her birth. The tubes probably can create a backstory retroactively.
That is both cool and interesting. Thanks for raising that possibility, Ganglet!
Gangler*. Sorry. D’oh.
Not too far off – Gangler’s children would be called “ganglets”.
So the tubes will automatically retcon the lore of the world?
that’s the theory! and it’s a pretty convincing theory.
Is it also possible that the Five have been in the game from the beginning of much of the lore? Byron, Bandit, Gravedust, and Frigg all have some history, but Frigg’s doesn’t go back to childhood and the others don’t have any living relatives or people who’ve known them for many years. They’re also not royalty or otherwise well-known individuals. Their memories are all they have of their pasts, so it’s only necessary to retcon their own minds. It’s harder to create family or whole communities who know the individual, so Syr’Nj’s parents could have been a later addition to the game (perhaps in an expansion).
I don’t get the third panel. Where is that hand coming from? Is it Ferris’ about to touch the tube, or does Ferris see HR’s hand from (somewhere) and freak out?
…ok, I think I figured it out. Ferris involuntarily reaches his hand out, out of awe/wonder/confusion. It starts trembling, as he realizes something frightening (perhaps simply that it’s a human being – or maybe he’s putting the dots together, and realizing that the tube experiment announced publicly way-back-when has been going on for an inhumane amount of time).
Frightened, he bolts back to the elevator. But he stops suddenly, when he sees that HR is standing in his way.
Correct interpretation?
Well, it’s not so much “interpretation” as “what’s happening in the pictures” :)
ahdok means that you’re correct. ;-)
OMG it’s the grue ! Quick, switch the lights on !
Oh wait…
“you can’t do that”
lol
“seriously?”
“congratulations, you are dead”
What if, what if. What if he puts him into the game as a villain?
That’s what I’d been thinking would happen too
That’s not creepy at all.
Holy Crap. HR IS William H Macy!!!
Being saying that since his first appearance (or near enough to it)
Has Mr Macy ever commented on this comic featuring him? (hope it’s positive comments if he has)
Anyone else notice his tie has color?!
Its a power tie.
Depending on how many souls you collect through out the day determines how illuminated the tie is.
HR’s tie has always had color.
Hello Gordon…
Please step into the test chamber.
“Hello…”
(Intruder? Dead man? Interloper? Meddling kid? Latest Test Subject? Oh, I think I have something with that last one…!)
“… … …Valued employee.“
http://inception.davepedu.com/
… This is the first time I’ve noticed that HR’s tie is coloured. (Unless our dear creative team have pulled an Andrew Hussie, and it wasn’t coloured before now.)
*ponders the meaning*
It’s always been that horrifying purple color.
Now that I notice, everything relevant is colored anything else than Sepia.
Always noticed the tie, but until now, the fact the tubes themselves aren’t sepia either further cement that’s no ordinary tie.
I’ve noticed the color highlights from the start, but sporadically forget about them. A few pages back I was like “oh and that’s a pretty nice touch there! HR has this menacing eccentric-boss kind of bright purple tie!” and then… I realised that I actually knew his tie was coloured all along, and that I’ve gone through this realisation more than once before, so I felt like a dumbass for a moment. Well, the colors ARE a nice touch, and it’s kinda cool how some of them repeatedly ‘surprise’ me.
I haven’t realized it before, and it makes me sad that it’s not a new thing…my mind immediately began rabbiting down interesting trains of thought about WHY his tie was suddenly coloured…then I checked, saw it always had been, and had to discard them.
That awkward moment when you forget your employee’s name. “Why don’t you step inside this glass tube . . . buddy? Watch your elbows . . . pal.”
“Keep you hands & feet inside the vehicle at all times, and at no time should your fingers leave their hands.”
Now I’m kind of afraid. Did the cult really take over or strike a deal with HR? Did they tell him to act in exactly this way, knowing that it would be one of the few things that would cause Carol to forget the keys in the elevator? And that Ferris would promptly take the bait? Did they affect HR’s choices in lolcat videos, inching his mind over the edge? Conspiracies all, I tell you!
If HR planned this, I would assume it was HIS plan – to aid the cultists, sure, but they give no indication of having any idea of the details of the Sepia World, so they’d not be able to Xanatos it up all that well. Even with HR, it’s a bit Roulettish, but with the Cultists, the wheel would have 200 slots. Of each colour. Plus 6 greens. … And now my metaphor is getting away from me, so I’ll hush.
I think all the comments about installing this guy in the game (or worse) seem a little extreme reaction for HR.. I mean aren’t the players there legally? A vanishing person with already suspicious coworkers seems like a really bad idea.