History WebComic / PennyArcade

* GirlOnGirlIsHot: Heavily implied [[http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/08/29 here]].

* [[LongRunners Long-Runner]]: Not the oldest still-updating webcomic, but still absolutely venerable by the standards of the medium, continuously running (without ScheduleSlip) since fall of 1998.

Notable for being one of the few webcomics to actually divide up art and writing duties between an artist and a writer, with the pretty obvious result that both the art and the writing are far better than most webcomics, which tend to be solo affairs. While the benefits to dividing up the duties are obvious, the pitfalls keep most webcomics from following suit: mostly, it is ''really, really hard'' to get two people to agree on how their ideal comic should look and feel, and in the rare cases where they do, wildly successful comics can generate enough money to cause problems between them. Gabe and Tycho make it work, even while enjoying wild success.

Also notable for a relentlessly professional update schedule in a medium notorious for falling victim to ScheduleSlip. ''Penny Arcade'' '''will''' update every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday -- even when ''[[{{Determinator}} Gabe gets swine flu]]'' ''[[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/03/30/ or cuts his thumb to the bone.]]''

* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2000/09/01/ Here.]]

* ActuallyPrettyFunny:
** [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2010/01/13/ "Dune? It sounds dry." "I'm trying not to be amused by that."]]
** Also found [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/09/15/ here]].

** The repeated jokes that Gabe is secretly gay, ([[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/03/29/ especially for Spider-Man)]]

* HandyFeet (Skilled Feet): Gabe is pointed out to have monkey-like feet in one strip.

* OriginalPositionFallacy: Tycho gives a [[https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/08/15/our-connected-world public service announcement]] about letting children explore the internet and accepting they may encounter things they are not ready for. He immediately transforms in rage when his son cheerfully tells him that he met a friend online who has "[[PaedoHunt a peepee too."

** Gabe seems to like drawing [[EldritchAbomination weird, disgusting-looking alien creatures]]. Also, most every character he has drawn in recent years ''has'' to be bucktoothed to varying degrees.

* BareYourMidriff: Anne does this in the earlier strips. As have both Kara and Brenna.

* EyeScream: [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/03/14/ THIS IS INCREDIBLE]]

*** And [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2003/08/15/ this.]]
*** [[http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2002/02/25 Jesus FUCK my EYE CHRIST!]]
*** [[http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/01/04 In the first panel.]]
*** [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2013/05/01 Gabe]] tries to get a "reverse Lasik" procedure done (that is, using lasers to make his eyesight ''worse'', so he can wear NerdGlasses.)It goes about as well as you'd expect.

[[caption-width-right:350:Yeah, it's kinda like that.[[note]]Left to right: Gabe, Tycho[[/note]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Yeah, it's kinda like that.]]

** Comic!Gabe's OCD in relation to ''StarWars'' trivia.

* JustOneMoreLevel: ''[[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft World Of]] [[FanNickname Warcrack]]'' [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/01/23/ reclaims Gabe]] as [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/12/31/ he knew it would]]. (Eventually Tycho succumbed as well.)

* PAX, formerly the Penny Arcade Expo, a convention featuring gaming of all kinds. There are now four (previously five) [=PAXes=] yearly: two general ones in the U.S. (West, formerly Prime as it was the original PAX event, and East),[[note]]The former third U.S. PAX, South, was held from 2016 to 2020, but was canceled in 2021 due to the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic and a lack of growth.[[/note]] one in Australia, and an "Unplugged" one with a focus on tabletop games. There's also PAX Dev for game developers.

* The ''Penny Arcade Expo'', aka PAX, a convention featuring gaming of all kinds. There are now five [=PAXes=] yearly: three general ones in the US (West, East, and South), one in Australia, and an "Unplugged" one with a focus on tabletop games.

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: Where half of the stories and humor come from, one example being the July 1st, 2013 strip where Gabe insists on building a retro video game arcade in his and Tycho's garage. In real life, Mike Krahulik had been doing just that in his garage

* {{GIFT}}: The [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/03/19/ Trope Namer.]]

* OverlyNarrowSuperlative: [[http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2000/11/29/ Here]], ''Kolibri'' is described as "arguably the finest hummingbird-based shooter available for the 32X". This becomes something of a RunningGag during the early 2000's.

* Forced Tutorial: [[https://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/10/05/my-friend-totoriol Before you can skip the tutorial, you must complete the Tutorial Skipping Tutorial]].

* BringMyBrownPants: [[http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2005/10/26 Happens to Gabe upon being scared by Tycho while playing]] ''VideoGame/{{FEAR}}''. He then tries to deny the fact that he pissed himself.

%%* ImagineSpot