xkcd

Panels of Perfection

By Patti Martinson
June 8, 2009

I've been a fairly recent convert to xkcd a web comic created by Randall Munroe. Even though the art is exceptionally simple and the characters are literal stick figures, the comic is full of snarky goodness. Xkcd bills itself as a web comic of romance, sarcasm, math and language, and it also not afraid to skewer pop culture, or anything else for that matter. In addition to the panels themselves, xkcd also has a feature that brings up a little humorous blurb about the strip when you drag your cursor over the panels.

Normally, xkcd runs Monday, Wednesday and Friday. However it recently ran a special five part series called "The Race," a particularly funny riff on geekiness. The story is about a race against Nathan Fillion on electric skateboards. Fillion is something of a cult favorite, due to his roles as Captain Mal Reynolds on Firefly and Captain Hammer on Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog. Part of the funniness of the strip is the similarity of Nathan's character to Captain Mal Reyolds.

The first part of the strip is the discovery that Nathan has an electric skateboard. The unnamed male lead character of xkcd immediately books a flight to Los Angeles.

Part two has him call up Nathan and ask to race him for charity. Nathan agrees, liking the idea of a charity of his own while admiring himself in the mirror.

Part three has Nathan introducing Summer Glau and Jewel Staite, with each being a parody of the characters they played alongside Nathan on Firefly.

Part four is the start of the race, with Nathan attempting a ridiculous skateboard move. Words cannot do this section justice.

Part five is the end of the race, in which there is a surprising winner and an immediate cancellation of the final battle by Fox — a joke familiar to fans of Firefly and other shows.

While this special series is targeted towards a specific group of fans and some jokes are inside ones, the comic should be understandable and funny enough on its own. You can clearly tell that the comic was drawn and written with respect and love.

If this particular series of xkcd does not strike your fancy, just search the archives and there will certainly be something that tickles your funny bone, as well as your mind.

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