Birds Are Wierd by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik

The grandiose titles of the first three Penny Arcade collected editions give way here to a more straightforward statement. Are they? I’d never really thought about it.

This is my favourite of the collections so far, and because of the art rather than the writing. Gabe experiments with several different styles. There is the first page of The Wandering Age. The sketchbook moments are a treat too, especially the dancing robot. He really doesn’t know what time of year it is.

Highlights other than the dancing robot? The Prince of Persia cartoon, plus the Knights of the Old Republic. Just excellent.

Again, you don’t need to be an aficionado of the website to pick the up – the narrative assumes a knowledge of computer games, that is the main entry requirement, the shared understanding that is the basis for the strip.