Mac Hall
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Mac Hall (debut: November 7, 2000) is a web comic about a group of college students who are typical slackers. While they sometimes do some actual work for classes, most of the time they just goof off and hang around the campus having fun. The comic takes its name from the dormitory, McDonald Hall, at Bowling Green State University. Later on, the cast moved into a house, where they currently reside. The series seemed to have less focus on college life and more focus on the cast's antics afterwards, but it recently has started to return to a college focus.
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Style
The series is drawn in a style similar to anime, done in Adobe Photoshop on an Apple Macintosh computer. Characters are often highly detailed, while backgrounds are often blurred. The series has gone through a handful of changes in its style though. Early episodes had a style to it that did not look similar to anime, but more like western comic strips; backgrounds were also more concrete. Over time, this changed to the anime style that has become the norm of the series, as well as the blurred backgrounds. The chibi effect that has its origins in anime also became a regular part of the style. The characters in the series have lost their black outlines from time to time.
Other appearances of characters
A spin-off series called Mac Hall: Inside Mac Games was made in 2001 for the web site Inside Mac Games. This series involved the same characters, but focused on their interest in video games for the Apple Macintosh. The series ran bi-monthly from October 2001 to July 2002.
It is also worth noting that the series has often had crossover episodes with the online manga MegaTokyo. Ian has drawn a number of guest episodes for MegaTokyo, and characters from both series make occasional cameos in each other's comics. Most notably, it was one of Ian's guest strips for MegaTokyo that gave Piro the reputation of a self-degrading artist whose "happy place" involved "sad girls in snow."
Characters
- Ian McConville - The main character of the series, Ian is based on the artist of the web comic. His trademark look is red ponytailed hair with a backwards baseball cap (sometimes with a cat sitting on the cap). He's known to be terrible at cooking.
- Matt Boyd - A character based on the comic's writer. Matt is an aspiring journalist. He often wears a shirt with the Bungie Studios logo on it.
- JM - A mellow guy who somewhat resembles Matt. He is also the person who got the house that the cast is now living in. He wears a shirt with a Superman-like logo on it that has, instead of just a "S", a "SP" meaning "SuperPimp".
- Drew - A cynical computer science major who is "permanently" angry. He gets his enjoyment from pulling pranks on other people. His trademark features are a goatee, glasses, and glowing red eyes.
- Micah Chang - A computing gaming fan who can be obsessive at times about his hobby. His favorite game is Everquest, in which he plays a gnome. He is currently dating Helen. His last name is mentioned in episode #75.
- Helen Richter - The one major female character of the series. She is an architecture student. She is often the victim of the weird things that the guys do. She used to date Jason, but is now dating Micah. She often wears a T-shirt that has a deranged-looking smiley face on it. Her last name is mentioned in episode #75.
- Alan - An aggressive rival of Drew (they seem as if they could be enemies, but they still act as friends at times), Alan is often the victim of Drew's pranks. He tends to hang out with either Jon or Drew.
- Episodes appeared in: #4, #17, #21, #85, #91, #93, #126, #158, #213
- Jon - A college failure (he was kicked out for poor grades) who still hangs around the dorm. He sticks around the campus to play video games and use the college's high-speed Internet access.
- Episodes appeared in: #17, #21, #66, #81, #85, #121, #125, #129, #132, #158, #180, #191, #198, #222, #229-231, #236
- Mike - A friend of Helen who works at the college's sound studio. He is popular with the ladies, but only when he isn't trying.
- Episodes appeared in: #31-33, #35, #42, #44, #49, #56, #72
- Jason - Helen's ex-boyfriend. He broke up with her because he thought they should see other people, which makes no sense to the other people at the campus.
- Episodes appeared in: #18, #22, #108-112, #115, #197
- Anthony - A friend of Ian's from back home. He appears in the series occasionally.
- Episodes appeared in: #82, #172-176, #196
- Cthulhu - H.P. Lovecraft character who pops up in the story now and then.
- Episodes appeared in: #131, #166, #184-185
- Ren - Ian's character in the Morrowind video game. She is a moogle who sometimes appears wearing armor and carrying a sword. She appears on rare occasion in the series.
- Episodes appeared in: #151, #216, #241
- Prof. Dave Theison (http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/imagedisplay/img_display.php?pic=v_dave_vakoch_02.jpg&cap=Dave%20Theison,%20astronomer%20from%20the%20University%20of%20Maryland,%20at%20the%20Bioastronomy%20Conference%20on%20Hamilton%20Island,%20Australia.%20Click%20to%20enlarge.) - Better known as the 'Hawaiian-shirt professor' who teaches one of Drew's classes. He hires Drew as his assistant because he has the same dismal outlook on life as him. Identified as Theison in news post in #217. Theison passed away August 2003.
- Episodes appeared in: #149, #154, #163, #165
Notable Episodes
- #1 '"Moving In" (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=1) - first episode; Ian moves in to Mac Hall
- #2 "The Call of UT" (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=2) - first appearance of Drew
- #4 "Damn Campers" (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=4) - first appearance of Alan
- #10 "JM's Mad Skillz" (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=10) - first appearance of JM
- #11 "Enter the Micah" (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=11) - first appearance of Micah
- #17 "Screw Mario" (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=17) - first appearance of Jon
- #18 "I'll Take Geek to Block" (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=18) - first appearances of Matt, Jason, and Helen
- #22 "All the Stupid People, Where Do They All Come From?" (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=22) - Jason and Helen break up
- #31 "And This Is the Guy Who Hasn't Updated the News In 4 Months" (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=31) - first appearance of Mike
- #52 "No Relation" (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=52) - the difference between Matt and JM is explained for confused readers
- #59 "Insert Title" (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=59) - Mac Hall has its first cross-over with MegaTokyo
- #61 "Mac Hall/M.A.C. Studios Cross-over!!!" (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=61) - cross-over with M.A.C. Studios
- #69 "Otakon 2001 Round-Up" (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=69) - the cat sits on Ian's head for the first time
- #74 "Fatboy You Da Bomb In Phantom Yo" (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=74) - Micah dances to Fatboy Slim's "Weapon of Choice"
- #79 "Mr. Bling-Bling's Cash Money" (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=79) - guest appearance by Tycho and Gabe of Penny Arcade
- #82 "These Be My Crew" (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=82) - Ian's friends Brocky, Matt (another Matt other than the regular recurring character), and Anthony appear for the first time
- #85 "Mm-mmm Evil" (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=85) - Drew and Alan's rivalry begins
- #98 "Come On, Who's Done This?" (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=98) - Micah shows interest in Helen for the first time
- #107 "Signing Bonus" (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=107) - Micah and Helen start dating
- #108-#112 - Jason tries to get Helen to date him again, but fails
- #116 "More Than You Know" (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=116) - JM decides to move out of the campus for the first time
- #120 "Dead Ian Day" (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=120) - second MegaTokyo guest episode
- #124 "Under Power Guest Strip" (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=124) - guest episode by Under Power
- #131 "If We Went To MWNY" (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=131) - first appearance of Cthulhu
- #136-#140 - Guest Strip Week
- #141 "Otakon 2002 - Naze Nani Where's My Damn Bag Mac Hall" (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=141) - third Megatokyo cross-over
- #146-#148 - Ian takes on the RIAA with the help of Shawn Fanning
- #149 "Hawaiian Shirt Day" (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=149) - first appearance of Prof. Dave Theison
- #151 "Coming Now" (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=151) - first appearance of Ren
- Ian's Adventures in Morrowind - Ren's own mini-series; accompanied #151
- #158 "Day After Halloween Special" (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=158) - the cast dresses up as various characters from other web comics
- #161 "Glowing Means Future" (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=161) - a glimpse at what Ian and JM will look like when they are older
- #171-#176 - The Wedding series
- #178 "Life Waste" (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=178) - JM decides to move out of the campus again
- #196-#199 - the disappearance of Ian's trademark "bizarrely huge collar"
- #229 "Relocation" (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=229) - the cast moves in to the house
- #229-#232, #234, and #236 - the Relocation series
- #247 "Ian's Birthday" (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=247) - birthday comic from Applegeeks
- #248 "This can only get worse" (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=248) - monkeys invade the new house
- #248-#250, #252, #255, and #258 - the monkey invasion series
- #257 "Aw Fuck" (http://www.machall.com/index.php?strip_id=257) - second guest episode by Under Power
See also
External Links
- Mac Hall (http://www.machall.com/)
- Mac Hall: Inside Mac Games (http://www.insidemacgames.com/search.php?Search=Mac+Hall&Option=1&Scope=Feature&TitleOnly=0&Size=30&submit=Search)
- Cute or Creepy - an Ian McConville artwork site (http://www.machall.com/CoC/Hub.php?doshow=main)
- Cute or Creepy v2 (http://digitalarts.bgsu.edu/portfolios/ianrmcc/assignment1/)
- The real-life Mac Hall's official web page (http://www.bgsu.edu/offices/sa/reslife/resqtvr/mcdonaldhall.html)