Heyyyy, it’s a comic. Sorry for the thursday (?!?) update, but this took like 30 times longer than i thought it would because i unfortunately have no sense of reality. Plus i’m heading out of town for a week on monday so no comic next week sadly. In other news… new lewis black album!! Hurrah! Life is occasionally exciting.
THIS MONTH IN NEPOTISM
My sister’s in a band, and they are hugely, genuinely good, and they just put out their first album, which is awesome. This is the only time i will ever talk about or recommend country music, but recommend it i shall. Best country music ever. If you live in a country and like music then it might just be for you. Seriously!
see yer towards the end of the month,
WR
Virus Comix News 
June 18, 2010 at 1:39 am
Dear Winston, what a great comic this one is. It makes me wonder, have you ever thought about the idea of illustrating Borges’ story Ragnarök? (text here: http://www.esunbeams.com/sunrise_poetry/misc/ragnarok.htm) Because your monsters always make me think about that story.
June 18, 2010 at 1:47 am
Here, I copied the text — a little easier to read without that annoying background: http://readin.com/docs/ragnarok.txt
June 18, 2010 at 2:01 am
Whee! Character development on Sphynx’s part! Very nice.
I want to take the opportunity here to do the obligatory thing that people do where I note that I just discovered this comic recently and plowed through the entire archive in a few days and am super-ultra-impressed. Most webcomics provide, at most, vague, fleeting amusement. This one has meat on its bones. I’m thinking about how I could use some of them in a future composition class. You should put out a book; I would TOTALLY force fifty apathetic freshmen to each buy a copy.
June 18, 2010 at 2:20 am
Is the original art for the first panel large enough to make into a wallpaper?
Thats one very impressive panel.
June 18, 2010 at 3:04 am
The minotaur is busy dealing cards to the monsters without thumbs.
June 18, 2010 at 3:10 am
bloody ‘ell, so that was your sister who played bass with Robyn Hitchcock last week at the Drake? Small tiny world, yup!
June 18, 2010 at 3:45 am
Arg, I can /almost/ make out the conversation in the teaser panel here – maybe a third of the words – and I can’t see any enlarged version. The one speech balloon I can make out in full is the first one:
I dunno, I don’t really
feel like heading out
and killing anything
right now. What do you
guys do when you
want to eat in?
Can anyone else make out the rest?
June 18, 2010 at 3:49 am
Re alt text: Or did you forget to add him? 😉
Also seconding the wallpaper request.
June 18, 2010 at 4:53 am
The first panel would also make a killer poster! 🙂
June 18, 2010 at 5:48 am
I don’t get the joke with how the cockatrice talks.
June 18, 2010 at 5:48 am
Oh. Wait. I just got it immediately after I posted. Never mind.
June 18, 2010 at 5:56 am
The book and the poster are both great ideas.
I think this is my first comment on any of the comics here so… I love your stuff, I think you’re great, I want more t-shirts for the Australian market, I respect the lack of ads. Keep up the good work 😀
June 18, 2010 at 7:36 am
Is the orca evil for killing the seal?
Maybe it is.
June 18, 2010 at 8:23 am
Agreed, the poster be de making of the thing with haste.
Cockatrice! Who ever knows about cockatrice! If I were gay I’d totally want to make man-babies with you. I’m not and even then its borderline.
Did that just cross the creepy line? I think that just crossed the creepy line.
*cough*
June 18, 2010 at 8:27 am
Spelt my own nick wrong. Am I the dumbest human alive?
*Looks at a picture of some creationists*
…no. No I am not.
June 18, 2010 at 9:34 am
The Minotaur is a man (monster) of silence and good taste.
June 18, 2010 at 10:03 am
Well it’s not like Sphinxie can play poker online….
PS Sphinxie squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!
June 18, 2010 at 11:57 am
‘Jittery, hairless, masturbating things’…
Hey! I resent that! I am not jittery.
June 18, 2010 at 1:27 pm
@DataPacRat: That’s just a cropped and scaled down version of Sphynx III…
June 18, 2010 at 3:07 pm
The minotaur has nothing to say because it is hard for him to speak. (Ever read “The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break?” Excellent novel.)
And I also thought ‘wallpaper’ or ‘poster’ when I saw that first panel.
June 18, 2010 at 3:22 pm
Going with the rest of the comments on here right now. Make a poster of that first panel for us to buy. Or at the very least a nice wallpaper for the laptop…
June 18, 2010 at 3:31 pm
An alternate last line from Sphynx might be “Us.”
June 18, 2010 at 3:54 pm
You should do a comic about all the sociopaths, like the one you did in your comic “guide to life”
June 18, 2010 at 3:58 pm
@scruss: Whoa. Worlds collide…
June 18, 2010 at 4:49 pm
I couldn’t help notice that the Minotaur didn’t have anything to say about it.
June 18, 2010 at 6:45 pm
BTW which one is “Bignose”? They all have pretty big noses except for Sphynx and Medusa…
June 18, 2010 at 8:19 pm
Is this why you’re a vegetarian?
June 18, 2010 at 9:02 pm
stupid question :
why is the rooster speaking french and german ?
June 18, 2010 at 10:52 pm
Awww, so people aren’t so bad after all! Heh, this is a good one!
June 18, 2010 at 11:31 pm
As a monster, this comic is quite relevant to my interests.
June 18, 2010 at 11:35 pm
is sphynx starting to question her way of livin’? x| but i guess it’s a great thing, you only start believing after question everything to the core…
another great comic ^_^
June 18, 2010 at 11:39 pm
oh…and i’m voting to for an enlarged version of the first panel…pleaseeeeeee
June 19, 2010 at 12:46 am
I’ve been waiting for another house party forever! Thank you, Mr. Rowntree.
Which Gorgon is that? Also, it comes as no surprise that the Chimera is a tool.
June 19, 2010 at 4:44 am
your dreams are so quiet
don’t you need them anymore
someday we’ll be lions
and we’ll sing out to them all
one day when I’m older
will I find out where you’ve gone
we swore to no strangers
now they’ve crowded up our hearts
-Basia Bulat,
Once More, For The Dollhouse
June 19, 2010 at 4:45 am
Where’re the jokes! This needs more jokes.
June 19, 2010 at 6:19 am
It does raise the question: Do evil people realize they are evil? Personally I don’t think they do, they must have a perfect rationalization for what they do, no matter how illogical or irrational their reasons are.
Good comic, great coloring and characters.
June 19, 2010 at 7:40 am
@Diego
Watch some of those prison documentaries where they interview the prisoners. You are right, very few of them think they are bad, they have justifications for everything they do. A couple though… are just really twisted and enjoy it.
June 19, 2010 at 9:50 am
Took me a bit longer to get to read it, but: it’s great!!1!one 🙂
Also, count me in for a wallpaper/poster version of the first panel…
np: Kaito – The Breath Of Spring (Trust)
June 19, 2010 at 10:29 am
Golden.
June 19, 2010 at 2:01 pm
She’s going soft!
June 19, 2010 at 3:25 pm
Tons o’ fun. I’d like to see the first panel on a t-shirt myself.
June 19, 2010 at 4:24 pm
I’m surprised no one really commented on the vegetarian thing- as in, humans, like these monsters, are higher up on the food chain than the animals we eat and does it make us evil to do so? But that’s the natural order of things, as pointed out in the comic. Really, I don’t think it’s either evil or morally right to kill and eat other living creatures, it just is.
As for the handful of people who’re still confused by the Cocatrice’s speech after reading… Come on!
June 19, 2010 at 4:32 pm
Oh, and @ Infanttyrone: Really? I mean, yeah good concept- exceptional minotaur living very unexceptional life, none of the exciting drama you’d expect to surround such a ‘monster’- but I would only call it an excellent novel if you enjoy being bored to excellent tears.
June 19, 2010 at 7:32 pm
Awesome comic! Loved how the Sphynx wasn’t the dominant voice against us tender morsels for a change. Good character exposition from the whole monster crowd.
@ Scruss : Robyn Hitchcock for the win! Love that guy.
June 19, 2010 at 7:51 pm
Bump… gonna ask something dumb but… who’s the lion smoking the pipe?
There’s the Sphynx.
Snake-haired girl is Medusa.
Bull-horn monster that doesn’t talk is Minotaur.
The wierd-talking lizard rooster is either the Cockatrice or Basilisk.
The beaked bird is probably the Griffon.
Bearded dude is Manticore.
So the lion with a goat? Ehh… dunno.
June 19, 2010 at 9:25 pm
The lion also has a vestigial goat’s head; I’m betting he’s a chimæra.
June 19, 2010 at 10:29 pm
How come the Minotaur never says anything? Not even “Bullshit…I should know!”
June 19, 2010 at 11:24 pm
the minotaur may not say anything in the comic itself, but in the image here on you blog has a speech bubble above his head…i really want to know what he’s saying
June 20, 2010 at 2:54 am
Chimera… *facepalm*
Damn I’m thick.
June 20, 2010 at 7:05 am
Huzzah! The poker-playing monsters have returned!
Love their designs, particulalrly the manticore.
I too am a monster who gave up eating people.
Congratulations, Mr. Rowntree.
You could also show your blurred out face over at the starship every now and again, though. Eeven just for shameless plugging…
ALL HAIL SHAMELESS PLUGGING!
Nonetheless, congartulations (smiley face)
June 20, 2010 at 1:52 pm
Your monster comics are the best!
June 20, 2010 at 3:56 pm
@ strangepunk : The first pannel belongs to the first comic of the Party House. So if you check the first comic you would see what the
Minotaur is saying.
(I said “First” three times in a senteces and I’m still alive)
June 20, 2010 at 8:20 pm
This scoop is a typical insider job. Must be !
The address 665, something, as seen in panel two, is close to 666, which SHOULD BE where the reporter’s point of sight dwells.
Really nasty bastards !
A king (or knight), a queen and a small ace of hearts is the closest to a nice, regular, nuclear family you could ever round-up in here.
Brrr
June 21, 2010 at 5:02 am
So, just out of curiosity, is there any chance that the first panel could have a wall paper version? Also, amazing comic. I really like comparing the art work with the first installment of monster poker. The darker lines and stronger angles are rather interesting, and some what more suited to the subject matter (monsters).
So yea, about that wallpaper.
/relurk
June 21, 2010 at 6:01 am
Is it just me, or am I seeing an actual character arc here??
Not that I’m complaining! Big ❤ for the Sphinx.
June 21, 2010 at 8:51 am
This is totally awesome.
Also, poster, comic book yadda yadda. I don’t buy things like that, but in this case, maybe i would.
June 21, 2010 at 11:08 am
The chimera is smoking pot. He’s got stoner eyes.
June 21, 2010 at 1:37 pm
it’s really cool to look back at the old monster comic and see how your drawing style has changed. i love how this one looks, though the panels kinda run together. still i was audibly grinning by the end of it.
June 21, 2010 at 4:39 pm
Fucking brilliant! I would pay real actual non-monopoly money for a poster of the first panel. And, uh…
How does one grin audibly?
June 21, 2010 at 5:17 pm
The aqueduct!
June 22, 2010 at 1:40 am
I had a discussion once about creatures who attack people (real and fictional) who are mindless beasts and/or just doing what’s natural, and how they are probably not evil, and if not even are they worth killing (morally) if it can be avoided at all. I came to the conclusion that while you shouldn’t hate them on principle or take it personally (ideally) if they are natural predators to us/simply dangerous that makes us and them the definition of natural enemies. Therefore there is no moral problem with seeking to destroy them.
No creature currently exists that is dangerous and common enough to warrant aggressively hunting, save for individual cases of predators who have become “maneaters” and are in fact put down. In theory, though, your group of monsters I think would be fair game for humans to at least work on trying to kill. They shouldn’t take it personally, it’s just nature at work.
June 22, 2010 at 2:39 am
Add my vote for a wallpaper of the monsters playing poker. I’d pay good money for that.
June 22, 2010 at 3:21 am
No monster is an island.
As to eating lower life forms… i did not invent poker, pipes or bear.
If it does not do science like a human and it does not create art like a human maybe it is just a duck.
June 22, 2010 at 4:26 pm
Just went back and read your old comic with the monsters playing poker, Sphynx 3, the artwork is like night and day.
June 22, 2010 at 6:10 pm
Well, alright, but aside from the aqueduct, roads, schools, law and order and medicine, what have the Roman’s ever given us?
June 23, 2010 at 12:26 am
I wonder what’s the minotaur opinion on all of this
June 23, 2010 at 4:00 pm
The Sphynx is probably my fav. Charcter in your Comic. I realy like how all the Monsters get more characterization, as far as eating Humans goes there are enough dumbasses out there to feed Sphynx & co till they are fat asses.
I too would love to see the first panel as a Poster or Wallpaper.
June 23, 2010 at 7:51 pm
@ Media Ghost: Brought peace?
June 24, 2010 at 8:10 am
omg the dream is the story of my life
June 24, 2010 at 11:13 am
Grats mate, easily the most enjoyable for a while.
June 24, 2010 at 6:51 pm
@Jester
Oh peace?! Shut up.
June 25, 2010 at 6:23 pm
Loving the artwork on this one. It was worth the effort.
June 25, 2010 at 7:23 pm
*COUGH*poster*COUGH*
June 28, 2010 at 10:22 am
i just realised something. i very rarely laugh at any of your comics. so why do i keep reading them?
answer: ’cause they’re fucking BRILLIANT.
when you’re comics are funny they’re hilarious, but frankly, i couldn’t care less of you had the worst sense of humour on the planet because you’re comics provide me with so much more than a quick chuckle.
great comic this week winston. keep up the good work
June 28, 2010 at 4:28 pm
*AHHHH*poster*CHOOO!*
June 28, 2010 at 4:51 pm
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, POSTER consectetur adipisicing elit.
August 17, 2010 at 11:50 am
Monsetrs are people too….. well, except that giant retarded chicken. I liked this. really.
August 20, 2010 at 3:15 pm
Fun comic! And yes, poster or wallpaper of the Monsters Playing Poker first panel. Personally, a huge velvet wall covering of that first image would rock too!
August 29, 2010 at 5:25 am
I highly respect those comix. They always give me something to think about. Peace!
September 12, 2010 at 8:04 am
I love your comic! Two thoughts: I would LOVE to see something on the Sphynx on a date or dates.
And what was she doing during the Holocaust?
And FABULOUS artwork!
October 13, 2010 at 7:05 pm
I want to marry the Sphinx.
October 14, 2010 at 1:30 am
Do you sell prints of the top (first) panel? If so where?
October 14, 2010 at 4:12 am
http://www.topatoco.com/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=TO&Product_Code=SUNO-MONSTERS-PRINT&Category_Code=SUNO
http://tinyurl.com/28huf2g
October 14, 2010 at 4:13 am
@Digitalmadman: TopatoCo will serve you marvellously on that score:
http://www.topatoco.com/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=TO&Product_Code=SUNO-MONSTERS-PRINT&Category_Code=SUNO
http://tinyurl.com/28huf2g
April 24, 2011 at 4:48 am
…Did you put a reference to white plume mountain in this one? If so; what the hell was a giant crab doing in the heart of a volcano anyway?
April 11, 2014 at 5:20 am
Even after all these years, the cockatrice’s line “the fattest ones are fat! I am not evil” still makes me laugh till I cry