Scott Johnson (cartoonist)

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Scott Johnson
Born Scott Blaine Johnson
(1969-07-17) July 17, 1969
Utah
Notable work(s) ExtraLife Radio, Film Sack, The Morning Stream
Website
www.myextralife.com

Scott Blaine Johnson (born July 17, 1969) is a cartoonist, illustrator, designer and podcaster. He lives in South Jordan, Utah, with his wife Kim, daughters Taylor and Carter, and son Nick. In 2008, Johnson launched Frog Pants Studios, LLC,[1][2] an illustration and audio production company.

Comics and illustration

Johnson began publishing the webcomic ExtraLife in June 2001.[3] The subject matter concentrates on many of Johnson's interests such as computers, technology, video games, and movies. The strip is updated regularly (usually two or three times each week). In 2009, Scott launched Experience Points, a second web comic that draws inspiration from World of Warcraft and other MMORPG computer games. The strip was one of several web comics published by Crispy Gamer until its closure in January 2010, then it was moved to GameCulture where it is updated every Monday.[4] Johnson is the creator of the popular "56 Geeks" poster,[5][6][7][8] and he illustrated the cover of World of Warcraft Programming (2010).[9]

Podcasts

Johnson is the creator and host of several podcasts.

ExtraLife Radio

Johnson's oldest podcast, ExtraLife Radio (often shortened to ELR) began in 2003 as a stand alone downloadable MP3 file.[3] It was a bi-monthly show that covered a wide variety of subjects, including video games, movies, comic books, and many random subjects as the hosts saw fit. It was a self-proclaimed geek show, for and by geeks.

In 2005, the delivery format was changed to a podcast.[3] The original hosts other than Johnson were cartoonists Sergio "Obsidian" Villa-Isaza (nicknamed "O") and Brian Dunaway, and forum contributor Andrew Konietzky (who left the show in 2007). In addition to this panel the show also often featured guests and infrequent or frequent guest hosts. Mark Larson, a childhood friend of Johnson's, joined Scott in studio (whereas most other guests, as well as the three other co-hosts, used Skype to connect) every week for a period until gas prices deterred him from driving to Johnson's house for the show. Afterwards he would appear infrequently over Skype as well as frequently sending in a 3-minute Movie Reviews segment.

ExtraLife Radio won a People's Choice Podcast Award in 2008[10] and other awards over its four-year run.[citation needed] On February 12, 2010, after 233 shows, Johnson announced that ELR would no longer be recording and be placed on what he called an "indefinite hiatus" in a blog post titled "All Good Things..."[11]

On September 5, 2010 on Diary of a Cartoonist Johnson said he missed ExtraLife Radio and has considered bringing it back, but also noted that its layout would probably be different and not include consistent panel members.[12]

The Instance

The Instance is a weekly award-winning[10][13] World of Warcraft podcast started in 2006 by Johnson and then-ExtraLife Radio host Andrew Konietzky, both of whom noticed a lack of podcasts dedicated to the MMO. The show is dedicated to news and rumors about the game, and relies heavily on listener contribution. An early contributor, Randy "RandyDeluxe" Jordan, joined the podcast as a third seat on show 45, and eventually became second seat when Konietzky left the show in 2007. Jordan was a part of the show (becoming a regular guest on ExtraLife Radio, and a co-host on Film Sack) until a job opportunity at Blizzard Entertainment (makers of World of Warcraft) required him to retire his position. Episode #217: "Now I've Gotta Go..." was Jordan's final show, and was dedicated to him. Jordan's replacements were Mark "Turpster" Turpin (a former guest and friend of the show) and William "Dills" Gregory (a member and raider in the Instance guild, alea iacta est). The podcast won a Blogger's Choice Award in 2008 for Best Podcast.[13]

Former guests have included Veronica Belmont, Felicia Day, Tom Merritt, and retired Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling,[14] who also co-hosted the show with Randy and Scott for several months.

AppSlappy

In June 2009, Johnson began publishing the weekly podcast AppSlappy, dedicated to reviewing Apple iPhone (and later, iPad) applications. Johnson, with co-hosts Eric Van Skyhawk and Eileen Rivera (Tom Merritt's wife), review and rate popular apps. The podcast also covers news and rumors related to the iPhone and iPad. (iTunes link) As of August 2013, AppSlappy is on hiatus.[15]

Diary of a Cartoonist

The Diary of a Cartoonist podcast uses an introspective stream-of-consciousness format where Johnson discusses a wide variety of topics ranging from the day to day activities in his life to his thoughts about current events. Unlike Johnson's other podcasts, Diary of a Cartoonist does not have other co-hosts, though his family occasionally make minor appearances. Johnson often records the podcast using his iPhone while engaging in other activities such as driving or walking his dog.

FourCast

Started on July 7, 2009, Tom Merritt and co-host Johnson invite various guests and discuss the future and what it might contain in a so-called virtual fireside setting. Fourcast, not part of the Frogpants network, was produced and hosted by Merritt's main employer at the time, TWiT.tv. The podcast ended in June 2012.[16]

Film Sack

Started on October 31, 2009, Johnson and co-hosts Brian Ibbot, Brian Dunaway, and Randy Jordan review 'forgotten gems' of movies selected from the streaming media service Netflix. Film Sack won a Podcast Connect People's Choice Podcast Award in the film category in 2011[10] and in 2013.[17] (iTunes link)

Current Geek

Started on November 13, 2009, Johnson again teamed up Tom Merritt for 3-times-a-week dose of the geekiest stories around the world. After some difficulties and a hiatus, this show was revived as a weekly segment on The Morning Stream. After Merritt's contract ran out with TWiT in December 2013,[18] Current Geek was restarted as a standalone show in January 2014.[19][20] (iTunes link).

Hypothetical Help

Started on March 29, 2010, Scott Johnson and co-host Mark Turpin a.k.a. "Turpster" tackle the world of hypothetical counseling. Listeners are invited to call and leave a recorded question, or record a sound file, to have Scott and Turpster possibly play it on the show and then give their best comedic advice to solve the world's problems. Episodes feature about 3 user calls each, and are about 30 minutes long. (iTunes link)

Final Score

Restarted on April 9, 2010, Scott Johnson and co-host Brian Dunaway tackle the field of video games. New releases, reviews, retrogaming, and game "first plays" are some of the topics covered. Johnson and Dunaway were joined by Nicole Spagnuolo (aka Nicole Spag) of the Ladies of Leet podcast and blog at episode 20. (iTunes link)

The Creep

Started on September 9, 2010, with Johnson and co-host Brian Hough, described as "the Starcraft 2 podcast, helping you find your way in the Starcraft Universe." It is geared to be of interest to new and highly experienced players, with news, tips, and tricks. It started out in a bi-weekly format, but in episode 13 in February 2011 it was announced that due to lack of regular quality content and information release in the Starcraft universe, the podcast would be recorded whenever there was enough information to produce a show. This resulted in a 6 month hiatus. Episode 14 saw the return of The Creep in September 2011 when it was announced that shows would again be more regularly recorded than every 6–12 months. (iTunes link)

The Morning Stream

Started on January 24, 2011, with Johnson and Brian Ibbott. It is published every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday morning (usually) for the discussion of current entertainment, politics, live calls, and other segments. The Morning Stream won a People's Choice Podcast Award in the entertainment category in 2011,[10][21] and two in 2013, in the People's Choice and Comedy categories.[17]

AutoPilot

Started on March 10, 2012, Johnson is joined by Tom Merritt in a podcast in which the duo watch and dissect early television pilot episodes from classic and modern shows. The first full episode was published in late March 2012, about the Star Trek pilot episode "The Cage".[22]

Community

Fans and contributors to The Instance are invited to join the show's U.S. Earthen Ring Server [23] guild named Alea Iacta Est (AIE),[24] which currently has over 6,300 active members making it one of the largest guilds in World of Warcraft.[25] Johnson's main character on AIE, a level 90 orc hunter named Gerp,[26] is a founder and officer of the guild. Notable members have included Curt Schilling,[27] Veronica Belmont,[27] Leo Laporte[28] and Tom Merritt. Johnson is well known in the Utah area[29] both for his online work and as host of the increasingly popular Nerdtacular[30] event, an annual gathering of fans of The Instance and ELR.

In 2007, Johnson was targeted with a cease and desist email by disbarred attorney and American activist Jack Thompson for running a photograph parody contest on the Myextralife site.[31]

References

  1. ↑ Crawford, Gene (2008-10-20). "UMS Interviews: Scott Johnson". Unmatchedstyle.com. Retrieved 2013-11-29. 
  2. ↑ Frog Pants Studios, LLC
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "About ExtraLife Podcast". Archived from the original on 2009-07-20. 
  4. ↑ Experience Points moves to GameCulture
  5. ↑ Somers, David (2007-12-19). "The 56 geeks project". OMZ Blog. Luxembourg: Omz13.com. Retrieved 2013-11-29. 
  6. ↑ "Scott Johnson’s “56 Geeks” Project gets Front Page on Digg, for the Third Time". The Geek Media. 2008-05-27. Archived from the original on 2011-11-05. Retrieved 2013-11-29. 
  7. ↑ Wagner, Ryan; Wagner, Ashley (2007-12-14). "Cybernotes- What kind of geek are you?". CyberNet News. Retrieved 2013-09-12. 
  8. ↑ "56 Geeks Poster". Myextralife.com
  9. ↑ Whitehead, II, James; Roe, Rick (2010). World of Warcraft Programming: A Guide and Reference for Creating WoW Addons (2nd ed.). Wiley Publishing. pp. cover, 16. ISBN 9781118081037. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 "Podcast Awards Past Winners". Podcastawards.com. Podcast Connect Inc. Retrieved 2013-09-12. 
  11. ↑ "All Good Things". Myextralife.com. February 12, 2010. Archived from the original on 2013-01-28. Retrieved 2013-11-29. 
  12. ↑ "#170 – Diary of a Cartoonist: “The forward path”". Myextralife.com. September 15, 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-09-18. Retrieved 2013-09-12. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Bloggers Choice Awards winners". bloggerschoiceawards.com. Social Media Marketing. Archived from the original on 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2013-11-29. 
  14. ↑ "The Instance #102 - “The Curt Schilling Episode”". Myextralife.com. 2008-04-11. Archived from the original on 2008-12-05. Retrieved 2013-09-12. 
  15. ↑ "AppSlappy Infinity". Frogpants Studios. Soundcloud.com. August 14, 2013.
  16. ↑ "Lastcast". FourCast. Twit.tv. 2012-06-12. Retrieved 2013-11-29. 
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "2013 Winners and Nominees". Podcastawards.com. Podcast Connect Inc. Retrieved 2014-01-06. 
  18. ↑ LaPorte, Leo (December 5, 2013). "Changes at TWiT, Part 1". TWiT.tv. 
  19. ↑ Merritt, Tom (December 10, 2013). "The Return of Current Geek!". TomMerritt.com. 
  20. ↑ "Current Geek". Frogpants Studio. Retrieved January 6, 2013. 
  21. ↑ "FrogPants Studios! - The Morning Stream". Frogpants.com. 2013-04-28. Retrieved 2013-09-12. 
  22. ↑ "AutoPilot". Frogpants.com
  23. ↑ "Server:Earthen Ring US - WoWWiki - Your guide to the World of Warcraft". WoWWiki. 2013-09-05. Retrieved 2013-09-12. 
  24. ↑ "Guild Page". Aie-guild.org. Archived from the original on 2011-10-04. Retrieved 2013-09-12. 
  25. ↑ "World of Warcraft "Armory" Website". Wowarmory.com. 2012-11-28. Retrieved 2013-09-12. 
  26. ↑ "Gerp's World of Warcraft Armory Page". Wowarmory.com. 2012-11-28. Retrieved 2013-09-12. 
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Alea Iacta Est in popular culture
  28. ↑ "Leo Laporte: WoW addict?". Destructoid.com. 2007-03-02. Retrieved 2013-11-29. 
  29. ↑ Allred, Cathy (2009-05-30). "Eagle Mountain resident has extra life". Daily Herald (Provo Utah: Heraldextra.com). Retrieved 2013-11-29. 
  30. ↑ "Nerdtacular". Myextralife.com. 2009-05-09. Retrieved 2013-09-12. 
  31. ↑ "Jack Thompson Targets Webcomic For ...Parody". Gamepolitics.com. September 24, 2007. Retrieved 2013-11-29. 

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