I can’t believe that we announced this at PAX almost a year ago. Back then we were certain we would launch within a couple of months. But it turns out that comic strips have a longer gestation cycle than anyone expected. But the good news is that our brand new Webcomic has been born and both comic and creators are doing fine.

The Trenchesfocuses on Isaac and his life as a game tester. As the comic goes on you’ll get introduced to his friends and the hell that can be QA. The comic will be updated every Tuesday and Thursday. Along with each new strip we will also be featuring a story from an actual tester about their experiences in the industry. So if you have your own horror story that you’d like to share (anonymously of course) you can hit this page and get it off your chest.

It’s been so strange working on this project with Mike and Jerry. At first I felt weird trying to write with them. It felt like I was intruding. But I think we hit a comfortable place and found a way to benefit from each other’s strengths.

It’s really fascinating to see these guys world-build, by design, from strip one. They’re not new to it obviously, as one can attest from the greatness that is The Lookouts and Automata. They can write stories. They just don’t choose to on purpose all the time.

I think the Trenches has the potential to be something really special. And I think that we’ll break some new ground when it comes to how creators present and package an ongoing comic. If you look at the menu bar at the top of the new site you can see we’re already thinking in “seasons.” Interesting huh?

I also want to give a shout out to Erica Greco who did an amazing job designing the site. It’s just gorgeous! And to Kenneth too. He did some coding or something. It involved numbers I think. I don’t really get the backend stuff.