Friggin' finally

February 2, 2023 1:34 PM

For the 20th anniversary of Dinosaur Comics, creator Ryan North posted a special giant-size update.

As well as breaking Dinosaur Comics' format for (kinda sorta) the first time, North revealed another hint for the infamous Qwantzle, an unsolved cryptogram from a 2010 comic. The last letter...is "W." This web app collects other clues and resources and provides a degree of machine assistance.

posted by Iridic (14 comments total)

I won't spoil it but there's emotion, so be prepared.
posted by tommasz at 1:43 PM on February 2, 2023 [4 favorites]

Ryan's blog entry beneath the comic is worth reading too.

What a sincerely smart, warm, and curious person. I remember sneaking to the college computer room at the sleepover summer camp I went to in 2006 to catch up on Dinosaur Comics to date (though I've long since lost pace). Everything he's touched since then seems to capture the same energy he brings to this comic (I'm particularly fond of the Jughead/Sabrina crossover series he wrote). It's wonderful that he's found such success.

I've also never gotten over this anecdote about him, from the time Andrew Hussie took him to Olive Garden:

Ryan has a GPS navigator, and in his own voice he had re-recorded all the audio files it uses for navigation, like “in ___ miles” and “take a U-turn.” This sounds like it could be the second lame embellishment of the story, but it really isn’t. When you turn it on, his voice says “Oh my god, do everything I tell you.” And when the thing is supposed to say “then” in between instructions, Ryan draws out the syllable almost sarcastically, as “theeEEEEEeeennnnn.” And when you miss a turn, he interrupts, “Hold on. Someone messed up.” Turns out we would hear that last one a few times. The thing is, if you want Ryan’s soothing, masculine voice to get you to your crappy pasta destination, you actually have to program the right fucking Olive Garden into it.

(Part 2 here, but be warned that both of these were written during an Internet era where "humor" was a lot more callous and racist than it is now.)
posted by Tom Hanks Cannot Be Trusted at 2:05 PM on February 2, 2023 [10 favorites]

Friggin' FINALLY!
posted by hippybear at 2:07 PM on February 2, 2023 [1 favorite]

• death
• taxes
• Dinosaur Comics
• my marriage
• the moral arc of the universe (?? tbd)

posted by Gerald Bostock at 2:25 PM on February 2, 2023 [1 favorite]

I don't even have the words of how to express my feelings. He's not breaking the fourth wall. He's not being self-referential. IS THAT A REAL FOTO? This is like when Waltz with Bashir breaks the format at the end, except, the emotion is a lot more palatable. It's great, indeed: HUGE!
posted by flamewise at 2:43 PM on February 2, 2023

God. Twenty years, can that possibly be true? I guess I started reading Dinosaur Comics pretty near the beginning. But these days I'm mostly engaging with Ryan North through my oldest child, who is a big fan due to both Squirrel Girl and his new supervillain how-to book.
posted by potrzebie at 3:07 PM on February 2, 2023 [4 favorites]

Aww!

I don't see it much these days, but I have always adored it. In 2004 or so, one of the comics was basically just a recipe for chickpeas with coconut sauce. It was so good that I made it regularly for quite a while until I cut back on calories, and then I lost the recipe. I should go looking for it. Wait a second, this site has a search bar now: here it is!
posted by Countess Elena at 3:08 PM on February 2, 2023 [12 favorites]

Oh, cool. The Romeo And/Or Juliet guy draws comics!
posted by kyrademon at 4:48 PM on February 2, 2023 [7 favorites]

Ryan North is a national treasure.
posted by tdismukes at 6:25 PM on February 2, 2023 [9 favorites]

Oh wow. I checked Dinosaur Comics this morning for the first time in years and saw this and didn't realize it was an anniversary thing. Damn, Ryan North! Well done!
posted by Navelgazer at 8:28 PM on February 2, 2023 [1 favorite]

The thread where he invoked the power of twitter to help him figure out how to get out of a hole in the ground still amuses me when I think about it.
posted by tavella at 10:36 PM on February 2, 2023 [7 favorites]

I regret to inform you that the overlays work on this comic, as well.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 12:45 AM on February 3, 2023 [5 favorites]

YEAR: 2003
MEDIUM: OLD SOFTWARE
posted by Kyol at 7:24 AM on February 3, 2023 [1 favorite]

Hurrah! I recently decided to check in fit the first time in years and promptly spent the better part of an afternoon catching up. I still have some of the merch kicking around!
posted by aspersioncast at 6:07 AM on February 5, 2023