CTRL+ALT+DEL

[Clay_Cthulhu]

I found this web comic PARTICULARLY amusing for and sort of video game person. I avoid the term "NERD" because it's not that..."NERDS" have no social values... while "GEEKS" have some. I prefer to label myself as "GEEK"
anyway...it's about a group of appartment buddies living together. obsessive over their Xbox...angry over apple's feeble gaming attempts, and trying to get themselves a girl.
I really think you should check this one out!
http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com
(please don't critisize my signature...i'm a Love Craft fan, and I don't quite have it right...)

[Jack Squat]

I would have linked directly to the comic (http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/comic.php) instead of the homepage, but yes, it is a great webcomic.

[AdInfinitum]

I first heard about the comic because of the...incident with the WoW guild. The more I read about the writer, the less interested I was in reading his comic.

[Bookman]

I first heard about the comic because of the...incident with the WoW guild. The more I read about the writer, the less interested I was in reading his comic.

What is this incident? And don't let feelings for an author get in your way...........it's quite a good comic

[BelkarsDagger]

I think it's only so-so. It's jokes arent that great ((****ING DIAL UP! How is that funny?)), and repeat themselves. A lot.

[B-Man]

I think it's only so-so. It's jokes arent that great ((****ING DIAL UP! How is that funny?)), and repeat themselves. A lot.

It seems that you have never had dial-up internet. I can relate to the early comics about the 56k demon. I love this webcomic.

[slapdash]

The incident, from what I've heard, was Buckley blowing up at a member of the CAD guild in WoW one night and then without warning disbanding the guild. I've never played WoW, but I gather it was quite the faux pas. A Google search might reveal more.

In general, I'm not a fan of CAD. The strips are sometimes funny when they're about video games, but the "real" plot is, for lack of a better phrase, a Mary Sue story. I read it every now and then, but it's not on my list of reads.

[Valda, Adlav and Samiam: the Jacked-Up Trinity]

I love CAD, and Tim has a temper, just like the rest of us. Dude seems to have more common sense than most people I know. And I just love the plot, cuz in reminds me of me and my friends alot. Plus the art sets the mood perfectly.

[Rambi]

The comic is well drawn and updated alot, I've been reading it for like a year or something.

[Saithis Bladewing]

I've been reading for about a year. Some of the strips are mediocre, but there are enough jewels mixed in there that it's kept me reading. For example, the recent 'Gamer's Glossery' strips have been absolutely hilarious from my point of view.

[Crazy Owl]

I read it but mainly just to respect the fact it was the first webcomic I read. It has a funny joke once is while but never seems any where near good to read as OotS, Goblins or VG Cats. I also think Tim has some good advice about games so I read the news posts quite often.

[Valda, Adlav and Samiam: the Jacked-Up Trinity]

For example, the recent 'Gamer's Glossery' strips have been absolutely hilarious from my point of view.

Yeah. The recent stuff is gold. I also like the one where Player 2 is trying to open the controller. Doesn't sound funny? Ima try and find it... hold up a sec...

Dammit... can anyone find that strip? I can't seem to locate it...

[Dragonmuncher]

I don't really like it.

It's ok, I guess. It's not BAD. The art's good, the characters are at least consistent, sometimes it can be amusing.

CAD seems to switch between "plot mode" and "joke mode," and I can't seem to like either of them.

In "plot mode," you're taking what are 2 dimensional characters (better than 1 dimensional!)- The stupid, insane gaming guy, the all-purpose "Straight Man," the idealized gamer girl who's better than you at everything- and trying to give them character development.

And it's good! Sort of. Ethan playing Pac-Man for a week so he could spell out his marriage proposal in the Top Scores list was great. But for the most part when something "serious" is happening, I'm thinking to myself "This guy is an idiot. Like, really, an idiot. How can I possibly believe that he has any kind of real-life problem when he is nothing like a human being.

The Straight Man and the Gamer Girl (Lucas and Lilah, although their archetypes are all they are, so there's no real reason to tell you their names) are about the same. Sure, there was some storyline about Lilah's old boyfriend, and Lucas was mistaken for a millionaire and almost assasinated by his girlfriend (that was really weird, btw). It never really rings true, and half the time their purpose seems to be to simply stand around and say, "Gosh Ethan, you're kind of weird about video games, aren't you?"

"Joke mode" is usually better. The recent Gamer's Glossery strips, The "Player One vs Player Two" strips, Chef Brian, pretty much and game parody, etc.

Sometimes they're amusing. Usually, though, they're just variations on "hey, that guy is really stupid." The recent Gamer's Glossery strips, for example have these punchlines-

-Noobs will never get laid

-"Teabaggers" don't have genitals

-People that think defending an objective is the same as "camping" are stupid. (Penny Arcade did a comic on this topic, and it was funnier, but I couldn't find it after apprixmately 80 HOURS OF SEARCHING. Or maybe a half hour. Still, it was a lot)

CAD's been described as a cross between Penny Arcade and PvP, and I think it's a good description. PvP's basically a sitcom, with growing characters and plotlines and the like. Penny Arcade (barring the occasional toe-dip into the pool of continuity) is a continuous stream of joke-a-days. There's slight character development (Tycho likes tabletop gaming and words, Gabe has a Star Wars fixation), but really only for the purposes of the next joke.

CAD takes PA's flat characters, and tries to coax plot out of them. IMO, it just doesn't work.

[Tom_Violence]

I first started reading it a long time ago (over a year, I'm pretty sure) and it was good, for a while. But then at some stage, possibly within the last 6 months or so, the jokes started getting fewer and further between, as well as just simply not very funny anymore. It used to make me laugh out loud regularly. Now I'm lucky if it cracks a smile once every dozen strips or so.

I can't help but feel that the writing has become complacent and just shuffles along, the plot drawn out too much, and basically the whole thing is bordering on becoming a parody of itself.

But it has a very large, loyal fanbase (to the extent that I'm often purplexed by them as they wildly praise a strip as genius that I have to work up to sighing at). So I don't expect things to pick up at any point in the near future.

[Daedrous Avari]

I can relate to Ethan alot. I'm pyscho when playing video games too.

[houseofcommons]

I may very well tread on some toes here, but I first came across CAD about a week ago while waiting for Issue 341. My opinion:

Platant Penny-Arcade ripoff.

He even used "Shut your pie-hole," as a punchline on more than one comic!

[Barbarian_Dan]

I poked around their forums once and noticed most of the posters are teens or early twenties tops. For some reason some posters have elected to display their age with their posts which is enlightening on some of the idiotic things posted.

Anyway I gather that most of his fan base is young and easily amused. Not that I'm saying all young people like his crap or that anyone over 25 doesn't. That’s just an observation. I'd say OOTS has a much older average of its viewers then CAD just from what’s on the forums, a more mature audience at any rate.

The comics without his main characters in them are usually better, I liked the Dead Rising ones but that’s probably because I was infatuated with that game as well.

I'll give Tim credit for updating regularly though.

[skreweded]

I I avoid the term "NERD" because it's not that..."NERDS" have no social values... while "GEEKS" have some. I prefer to label myself as "GEEK"
I tend to disagree.

but about the comic.
I read the first few of this, about dozen in, when most comics get good, and loved it. started from the begining, read them all in 2 days, and have been keeping up since. Love it.


Platant Penny-Arcade ripoff.

I agree. But the ripoff seems to be more than a little better.

[Tptmanno1]

I enjoy it quite a bit.
I don't think its Tolstovy or anything but it makes me chuckle, so I read it.

[Daedrous Avari]

Love it..

[Caelestion]

I have both the printed compilations. I think it's quite funny, though I detest Chef Brian and I could do without the frequent swearing.

[BelkarsDagger]

After reading the archive in it's entirety, I found that about 50% of the comic either made me laugh, or I thought was well done. The other half, I wish I could say the same.

But yes, the frequent swearing gets on my nerves.

[Destro_Yersul]

I like it. Chef Brian makes no sense though.

[BelkarsDagger]

Chef Brian is the devil. Chef Brian must be eradicated.

Meatbag.

[Destro_Yersul]

Query: On what information are you basing this accusation?
Statement: Chef Brian is a meatbag. All meatbags must be destroyed.

[BelkarsDagger]

I love the WINTER-EEN-MAS strips though... those were easily the best out of the whole comic.

"You wasted a perfectly good Xbox controller to make a scepter?!"

[Destro_Yersul]

Yeah Winter-een-mas is awesome. I'm celebrating it next year ;D

[Dragonmuncher]

Calling it a Penny Arcade ripoff is a little unfair, I've always thought.

I mean, yes, it comments on video games, and yes, it has the "Crazy Guy" and the "Straight Man" and yes, it has a walking, talking, entertainment device, and yes, it has a hyphenated url.

I've made my opinion of CAD clear earlier in this thread, but I still think Buckley should be given some credit. He has continuity, and characters, and is less focused on video game commentary (like PA) as he is on video game culture.

I didn't phrase that well at all, but if you read both strips you can see differences.

[Destro_Yersul]

Agreed, seeing as I do read both comics.

[larnman2]

Penny-arcade doesn't officially have a straight man though. You'll notice in a lot of comics where iti might delve into Tycho's family, and gabe is far more regular in comparison.
"Did your mom ever tell you you would grow out of video games too?"
"My mom beat me every day with an extension cord."


"No man, that's puberty."
"Really? My mom told me I was rotting from evil, and that's why dad left."

[Tom_Violence]

Chef Brian used to be the thing that made me laugh the most in that comic. Shame he's not still a regular. :P

As for the CAD/PA thingy, I have to say I much prefer Penny Arcade. Its frequently very funny, whereas CAD just drags itself from one bad 'ha, Ethan said something game-related out of context' to another. The punchlines aren't punchlines anymore.

There are some key differences between the two not directly related to the authors, but I think at the end of the day I think it just comes down to the fact that the PA guys are witter than Buckley.

[GolemsVoice]

Well, one must admit, its not Sokrates, but its funny and I love it. Maybe because I spend a lot of time videogaming myself, or just because sometimes I think I could identifiy with Ethan. (Bad sign?)

[dj2145]

This comic has been a staple of my reading diet every morning for about a year now. It's particularly satisfying as the author and I have been on the same server, by chance, a handful of times playing America's Army. He murderd me...badly!

Eh, what can I say, I'm not a pro! :)

dj

[GNUsNotUnix]

ctrl+alt+del has always had so-so humor; mostly, I think people read it for story arcs, and not for one-time gags. Ethan has consistently become more and more of a cliche, and the premise of the comic is unoriginal at best.

Don't get me wrong; it's a comic worth reading, but usually by browsing the archive once every few months, and not by reading it each day. It's just not written very well for episodic viewing.

[dj2145]

ctrl+alt+del has always had so-so humor; mostly, I think people read it for story arcs, and not for one-time gags. Ethan has consistently become more and more of a cliche, and the premise of the comic is unoriginal at best.

Don't get me wrong; it's a comic worth reading, but usually by browsing the archive once every few months, and not by reading it each day. It's just not written very well for episodic viewing.

Good to have you on the boards, Mr. Ebert.

Everyone is a critic. I guess I just enjoy cliche. [shrugs]

[Dragonmuncher]

Good to have you on the boards, Mr. Ebert.

Everyone is a critic. I guess I just enjoy cliche. [shrugs]
Considering that everyone in this thread is discussing why they do/don't like the strip, then yes, everyone in this thread is a critic.

Although, there isn't much left to say. When one side says "It's a cliche" and thinks that's bad, and another side thinks a cliche is a good thing... there isn't really anywhere else to go with the critical discourse.

[Blackbird]

Chef Brian is disturbing and doesn't make much (if any) sense. Reminds me of a book written by a russian novellist that I had to read for school, which is definetly not a good thing. Besides that, I like the comic and it's on my (quite extensive) list of comics I read daily. The Player one versus player two -strips and the ones about games are particularily good, although the plot-strips have their strong points too.

[TheHawk]

I've been reading it for a few months. I find the jokes come and go. They are funny for a few weeks then they die out, come back, die out...

[WoDHells]

I like it. I like the fact that it has some story going on, and I usually find it funny (of course, it has some bad days, but every comic out there has them).

Granted, it is not my favorite webcomic; but I think it's really good.

[Blood]

It's a pretty good webcomic. But then again, I say that about all at least moderate webcomics I read.

I'm a webcomic freak! ;D

[Om]

Meh. I’m not a fan of the latest storylines. Ethan just doesn’t work without Lucas the straight man. Plus Ethan has crossed that thin line that separates the delightfully crazed from the stupid jerks. Today I read mostly out of habit.

[Chappers]

I like it, though the same jokes do come up quite often.

[Kite_Exeter]

Most of the gags that were used at the beginning of the comic never show up anymore.

For example, remember the arrows that used to interupt the characters giving away storyline they weren't supposed to, at least until Ethan got Tim back? That was great.

[TMTree]

CAD was my first webcomic, and I still read the new strips every month or so, but I don't think it's as consistently funny as it used to be. It might just be that I've found better ones since then, of course.

Still, when it's good, it's still very good.

[Belphegor]

Its OK though I find the non-plot line comics much more funnier than the plot line. Plot can sometimes be very mediocre, but Ethans stupidity almost always draws a smile.

As for Chef Brian he is supposed to be that sickly weird... He just is. I don't like him too much but he most be some sort of Chaotic/Monthy Pythons parody.

[Om]

Well I deleted CAD from my bookmarks today. The strip just hasn't been funny in so long and you can't but help feel that Buckley hasn't been trying in an equally long time.

[SilentKiller]

this is a cool comic

[Turcano]

Count me in with the people who used to like the comic but have given up on it. Before I stopped reading it, it had gotten to the point where Tim Buckley had been phoning it in for all intents and purposes. Also, I would really like to know how he can write a webcomic featuring a sentient Xbox and still lose his sense of verisimilitude.

[Piedmon_Sama]

*Shrugs* I'm not really a part of the "video game culture," (never owned a segadreamstationbox or whatever in my life) but I pick up enough just from using the internet to get the punchlines of most strips. I like CAD. Yes, the characters are fairly 2-dimensional, but even 2 dimensions is superior to most webcomics out there.... Ethan is usually amusing. I like the idea of the Chef Brian segments but they never seem to work in practice.

Overall I'd give CAD 8/10, or a "B" letter grade. It's got good artwork and updates with excellent consistency. It's worth a chuckle more often than not even if you don't really care about the characters.

[Behold_the_Void]

I honestly find CAD more consistently funny than Penny Arcade. Neither are my absolute favorite, but I tend to like CAD a lot more. Penny Arcade often falls flat with me, I just don't quite understand the hype. CAD has some rather amusing jokes and concepts.

[Tom_Violence]

I think I've worked out what it is that I don't like about CAD.

Its always been jokes, but nowadays they're just not really jokes anymore. There are 'punchlines' that, I guess', someone could technically find funny - but no (sane) person ever will (i.e. its all rubbish). Imagine a world-reknowned carpenter who earns numerous awards, but then decides it would just simply be easier to work for IKEA (that's an analogy by the way, and not a comment about anyone's earnings). And what bothers me is that I can understand some people looking at each strip and somehow creating a crazy interaction between 'punchline' and 'humour', despite no such interaction really existing. It used to make me laugh my tits off. Now it makes me look for something else.

[Reinforcements]

Yeah... I still read it, but it's mostly just out of habit. What little I know of Buckley makes me dislike him, for one thing. I guess you don't really know someone unless you KNOW them, but I seriously get the impression he's an egotistical jerk. I do know he has a strong track record of deleting anything remotely bad anyone says about him or the comic on his forum and banning the posters.

As for the comics, they're meh. I'm starting to loathe Ethan since he started this bizarre, half-assed transformation into a "real character" - and he's a HUGE Mary-Sue. Lucas and Lilah are so formulaic they're just boring and pointless. It's sometimes kinda funny, but that's the best praise I can give it.

[Turcano]

I think that I know what the problem is, and there isn't a nice way to put it, so I'll just come out and say it. Tim Buckley is just not a good writer. At least not for what he wants to do. I've heard the following thought experiment suggested elsewhere: take away the game references to a given gaming comic and see what's left. In the case of CAD, you're left with almost nothing. It's almost like reading Garfield, in a way.

It seems that fans of the comic, from the responses I've seen here and elsewhere, that CAD fans fall into two categories: those who loudly proclaim the comic's awesomeness but can never explain what makes it so great, and those who read it out of inertia. I can explain (or at least grope towards an explanation) why I like a given webcomic, but no one seems to be able to do this for CAD. That's quite telling.

[Om]

It's almost like reading Garfield, in a way.
I like that. CAD is the Garfield of webcomics :smallbiggrin:

[Yossarian]

The Straight Man and the Gamer Girl (Lucas and Lilah, although their archetypes are all they are, so there's no real reason to tell you their names)

Aw, man. Naming the characters by their archetypes is like the Thing I Do. You totally stole my thing!

I actually find Lucas almost likeable. If it was a strip focused around Lucas it might be a decent "real life" sort of gamer strip, but while Lucas could almost be seen as a consistent and three-dimensional character, his character totally breaks down in the presence of Ethan. When Ethan isn't around, Lucas is a surprisingly human person. But as soon as Ethan is involved, Lucas transforms into LOYAL-BOT 3000, who is tirelessly devoted to Ethan for no visible reason.

Penny Arcade, on the other hand, isn't saddled by CAD's poorly upheld premise about having something to do with gamer life. Gabe and Tycho are cartoon characters, not sitcom archetypes. And sadly enough, the cartoon Gabe and Tycho are deeper and more realistic characters than the "real people" Ethan, Lucas, and Lilah.

The comparison to Garfield is pretty apt. Most of the "gags" seem to be on the level of "Hah hah! It's funny because I hate Mondays, too!" Only insert "Apple" in place of "Mondays".

[Turcano]

I actually find Lucas almost likeable. If it was a strip focused around Lucas it might be a decent "real life" sort of gamer strip, but while Lucas could almost be seen as a consistent and three-dimensional character, his character totally breaks down in the presence of Ethan. When Ethan isn't around, Lucas is a surprisingly human person. But as soon as Ethan is involved, Lucas transforms into LOYAL-BOT 3000, who is tirelessly devoted to Ethan for no visible reason.

In an earlier post, I asked how a comic as surreal as CAD could lose its verisimilitude; it was a rhetorical question, but this is the answer. It seems that Ethan, for reasons known only to Tim, is universally adored (with the exception of any villian-type characters) and never suffers the consequences of his actions, no matter how extreme they are. I sincerely doubt that anyone would put up with his antics for more than a week or so in real life. How is someone supposed to empathize with such a character? I agree that Lucas is (or at least was) much more "real" (sans Ethan) character, but any real vibrancy had leached out by the the time I finally asked "Why am I reading this?" and didn't have an answer.

[tmacdevitt]

By far one of the funnieset strips on warhammer 40K ever

[PePe QuiCoSE]

so basically the conclusion is that people read the comic because they sympathize (sp) with Ethan either being a bit like him or feeling like it.

[Nerd-o-rama]

Hm. Well, still a Mary-Sue, but at least now they've had an argument and worked through it almost like normal people. Well, normal sitcom characters.

Plus, Scott is awesome.

[Tom_Violence]

By far one of the funnieset strips on warhammer 40K ever

That may well be the advantage of playing to such a select audience on what can only be described as hurrendously-over-exploited topic. :tongue:

[Big_Red_Bird]

Like someone else said, CAD was my first web comic, but it isn't funny anymore. The continuinity has got to go if he wants it to be funny again.

[CaelCyndar1993]

I just spent 10 hours reading through the entire comic, and now I think I have larin...Laren...That throat-y hurt-y thing...

[Shadow of the Sun]

Asbestos?

*Insert text here*

[Turcano]

Asbestos?

Oooh, diss!

[Closet_Skeleton]

I just spent 10 hours reading through the entire comic, and now I think I have larin...Laren...That throat-y hurt-y thing...

Larinjitis?

[Skydiving_Ninja]

Chef Brian is Twisp and Catsby
Ethan is Gabe
Lucas is Tycho
Lilah is Gabe's wife (don't remember her name)
Zeke is DivX

That is my opinion.

[AmoDman]

Chef Brian is Twisp and Catsby
Ethan is Gabe
Lucas is Tycho
Lilah is Gabe's wife (don't remember her name)
Zeke is DivX

That is my opinion.

Too bad none of it makes any sense. Gabe doesn't even have a wife, except on select strips. The rest doesn't begin connect so much that it's not even funny. Ethan/Lucas and Gabe/Tycho are both male duos are about as strong as a parallel as your going to get. Granted, Ethan and Gabe are both gaming obsessed freaks, their characters are completely different.