Comic Transcripts

[[Two suited individuals talk among themselves. Both are somewhat balding. One is short and thin, with a worried expression; the other is taller and larger, with a pensive expression, stroking his beard.]]
Worrier: Do you ever feel like we’re getting close to a breaking point?
Worrier: Societally?
Worrier: I lie awake some nights worried ab out our entire SYSTEM collapsing. Whether I’ll be able to SURVIVE afterward.

Pragmatist: I figure, any economic collapse on a society-destroying scale would be AS RUINOUS or MORE to the giant corporations that control everything as it would be to US…
Pragmatist: The 1% has both a VESTED INTEREST in social stability – because their imaginary hedge fund wealth VANISHES in a MAD MAX type situation –

Pragmatist: – and conveniently, they’re the only ones that have any power to actually DO anything about it.
Pragmatist: So I just trust that Warren Buffett and Jeff Bezos and the Koch brothers won’t ALLOW society to collapse.

[[A traditional American family (a father, mother, and son) drawn in a 20th century cartoon style hold their hands to their hearts, saluting twin American flags. Large text declares, “HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY”.]]

{{header: oh, say does that WONDERMARK.COM}}
{{alt-text: is lighting off explosions to commemorate a war analogous to wearing a cross to commemorate a crucifixion}}

#1043; As the Founders Intended transcribed by in

[[Two suited individuals talk among themselves. Both are somewhat balding. One is short and thin, with a worried expression; the other is taller and larger, with a pensive expression, stroking his beard.]]
Worrier: Do you ever feel like we're getting close to a breaking point?
Worrier: Societally?
Worrier: I lie awake some nights worried ab out our entire SYSTEM collapsing. Whether I'll be able to SURVIVE afterward.

Pragmatist: I figure, any economic collapse on a society-destroying scale would be AS RUINOUS or MORE to the giant corporations that control everything as it would be to US...
Pragmatist: The 1% has both a VESTED INTEREST in social stability - because their imaginary hedge fund wealth VANISHES in a MAD MAX type situation -

Pragmatist: - and conveniently, they're the only ones that have any power to actually DO anything about it.
Pragmatist: So I just trust that Warren Buffett and Jeff Bezos and the Koch brothers won't ALLOW society to collapse.

[[A traditional American family (a father, mother, and son) drawn in a 20th century cartoon style hold their hands to their hearts, saluting twin American flags. Large text declares, "HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY".]]

{{header: oh, say does that WONDERMARK.COM}}
{{alt-text: is lighting off explosions to commemorate a war analogous to wearing a cross to commemorate a crucifixion}}

is lighting off explosions to commemorate a war analogous to wearing a cross to commemorate a crucifixion

#1043; As the Founders Intended

  — July 4th, 2014

[ Tags: , , ]       Permalink: https://wondermark.com/c/1043/

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My newest game: Noodle Battle! At PAX!

September 2, 2026 by David Malki !

The past few weeks have been a frenzy of assembling the very laborious, very bespoke first print run of NOODLE BATTLE, the puzzle game I am releasing this weekend at PAX West in Seattle!

PAX has an event called the PNW Tabletop Game Market (Saturday night ONLY), which is a curated selection of short-run games from local designers. As I’ve mentioned in this space before, I applied for a space in this fall’s event mainly as a way to force myself to finish a new game. And here it is!

The drawings are all by Jason Poland, good pal and cartoonist of My Dad Is Dracula. Jason played an early version of this game at Alaska Robotics Comics Camp this spring, and really liked it!

So I said, “Do you want to help me make it?” And so he has! It was his idea to make all the characters fun little animals, and I think it adds a ton of charm.

Because this edition is limited-run, it has been incredibly labor-intensive to make! The boxes and cards were made by a game factory in the usual fashion, but separately. The blank tiles were made by a woodworker dude out of Connecticut. For each game, we have had to:

  • Cut a piece of plastic and install the box window
  • Paint all the tiles, hundreds at a time
  • Apply a sticker to both sides of every tile
  • Apply stickers to the box (we couldn’t get the box back printed in time, so the whole back side of the box is a sticker too)
  • Apply the “Nutrition Facts” sticker, which was a late suggestion by my kid that I just had to run with
  • Fold up the rule sheet (they come from the printer as big strips of paper)
  • Put all the components into the box and seal it all up

I knew it would be a lot of work and would require some inefficient, expensive compromises AND I WAS RIGHT. But the final product is turning out great, which is the important thing!!

I will have 50 copies with me (if all goes well) at PAX, and then between now and the holidays we will be putting together additional copies to round out this first edition.

I will announce additional copies on Patreon first, once they are available online!! And here too, naturally, before long.

You can also sign up here if you’d like me to email you once the game is available online!


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