1998 / Web post / Gaming-webcomic loading-time joke
Penny Arcade’s First Strip: “The SIN Of Long Load Times”
Penny Arcade began with a comic about the most ordinary old-PC frustration: waiting for a game to load.
The original is hosted off-site; this page provides context and a link to it.
What was this?
The first strip turns an overlong loading screen into a tiny argument between two friends, establishing the comic’s game-culture perspective in a single page.
Why it spread
Penny Arcade grew through its own creator-run site, shared links, and a readership that treated daily comics as a new kind of game-community ritual.
What happened
The first strip turns an overlong loading screen into a tiny argument between two friends, establishing the comic’s game-culture perspective in a single page.
Where it came from
Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik published The SIN Of Long Load Times as Penny Arcade’s first strip on November 18, 1998.
Why it mattered
The strip preserves an early-web format that made specific technical annoyances feel like a shared language rather than a private complaint.
How it spread
Penny Arcade grew through its own creator-run site, shared links, and a readership that treated daily comics as a new kind of game-community ritual.
Keep going
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