Ctrl+Alt+Del

Ctrl+Alt+Del (CAD) is a gaming-related webcomic and animated series written by Tim Buckley, known online as Absath. The name of the comic refers to computing's most common three-finger salute, which on Windows systems is Control-Alt-Delete. CAD's tagline is "Tragically l337", a nod to The Tragically Hip. It premiered on October 23 2002, and is currently updated every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. The strip features a pair of gamers, Ethan and Lucas, as the main characters; as well as a Linux user, Scott, and a female gamer, Lilah. Most of the humor in the comic concerns video games, but some is also bred of violence, with more still coming from the strip's randomness. As the comic has progressed, the comic has focused a lot more on long story arcs, which serve to add a sense of continuity and introduce new plot elements, instead of smaller one-comic gags (which still appear regularly, but generally aren't related to the main characters).

There are several in-jokes, the most notable concerning arrows. There are several strips in which Ethan is killed (or at least gravely injured) by arrows shot from out of frame (The Kentucky Fried Movie. Another strip shows Ethan catching the arrow, and having an elephant fall on him.(^*)" target="_blank" >Ironically, the February 28 2003 strip [http://ctrlaltdel-online.com/comic.php?d=20030228 turned the tables, with Ethan shooting an arrow at and killing Buckley, who was present in the comic to discuss the fact that he had drawn 100 Ctrl+Alt+Del strips.

Ctrl+Alt+Del also features a self-created post-New Year's holiday dubbed "Winter-een-mas". Buckley has detailed the holiday: the season lasts all of January, much like the Christmas season, but the actual holiday itself is January 25 to January 31. It was created as a holiday for all things concerning gamers or gaming. Little is told about its traditions, however there are several spirits which represent the different genres of gaming (such as fighting or real-time strategy) who fly around the world on Winter-een-mas Eve in a giant ethereal gamepad ^*. Every year at Winter-een-mas, Ethan had donned a crown and proclaimed himself king.

Characters

Main

=Ethan MacManus (2002-present)

A 21-year-old of Irish descent, somewhat insane game fanatic, amateur artist and sometime alcoholic. His antics are the focus of the strip, and have resulted in many a story arc. He is engaged to Lilah, after proposing to her on Valentine's Day in 2006 He also works as a sales clerk at Game Haven. Various antics of his have included trying to create a device to stop time using butter Xbox ^*" target="_blank" >(See the ), attempting to remember tests better with a Playstation memory card ^*," target="_blank" >getting amnesia and becoming part of a violent, pro-Macintosh terrorist cell^*.When" target="_blank" >Ethan learned that a new Fallout level editor was going to be offered he went onto a bender and had to be found and rescued by his friends^*. He maintains that his brain damage is attributed to eating "poison fungi" breakfast cereal.

=Lucas (2002-present)

= At 22 years of age, Lucas is more level-headed and down to earth than Ethan. He is something of a slacker, prepared to enjoy a good video game over actual work. Cynical and sarcastic, Lucas is a programmer, and works Customer Service at a computer store. He only plays video games on the Xbox console and the PC, and is responsible for keeping Ethan out of trouble (although he often fails at it). He usually has a habit of calling 9-1-1 in advance, usually before Ethan does anything. He is slightly jaded towards the concept of romance, mostly because his most recent ex-girlfriend tried to kill him and Ethan for money which neither had, and the one before became obsessed with him, resulting in him taking out a restraining order.

=Lilah Monroe (2003-present)

= Smart and attractive, Lilah smashed Ethan's preconception that girls (or at least, pretty ones) don't play video games, after which they began dating. Lilah is twenty-one and she works as a secretary. Though calm and responsible, she finds herself strangely drawn to Ethan's character. Online, she is known as "Black-Widow". She is currently engaged to Ethan. Although admitting that Ethan is a buffoon, Lilah's father clearly sees that Ethan loves her. ^*

=Scott (2002-present)

= - A 23-year-old web designer and Linux user, Scott firmly believes that Microsoft is evil and that Linux will someday come into its glory; this is in stark contrast to Ethan, who worships Microsoft. For some bizarre reason he keeps a pet penguin, Ted (See below), Probably a reference to the Linux mascot, Tux. He is quiet, intelligent, and introspective, and a devout practitioner of meditation. He's also referred as a hippie from time to time, including when Ethan asked Scott for protesting advice. ^*

He appears to be working on some project in his room, and at one point had to distract Ethan with desserts to keep it secret. He currently resides in his bedroom (which mysteriously has a big metal door ^*). This door has been equipped to shock eavesdroppers, such as Ethan.

He recently took his project outside of his bedroom, installing a satellite dish on the roof. It is currently unknown what the purpose of the dish is.

Not much is known about the project at hand, but it was once written on the Ctrl+Alt+Del biography page, that Scott is attempting to overthrow Microsoft and put Linux into power.

=Zeke (2003-present)

= Zeke, formerly known as the "Xbot", is a creation of Ethan's, an anthropomorphic Xbox console. It walks, talks, thinks, plays computer games (it was very good at Halo until Ethan handicapped its skills), had a strange crush on Ethan's GameCube (in one comic Lucas and Ethan walked in on him talking to GameCube after he had attached it to a cardboard cut out of a bikini model, and demanded Ethan to make a sentinent robot out of the GameCube, but Ethan bribed him to forget about it with a copy of "Brothers in Arms" and subsequently threatening him in the process,) and was shown in one comic "eating" bandwidth.

It has previously embarked upon an unsuccessful quest for humanity; but after some bad experiences, Zeke decided it didn't want to be human after all. Ethan, in a bout of pity, named the robot "Zeke" due to the name Ezekiel ^* spray-painted on its "posterior" by one of the humans who beat him, and informed it that he had installed a humanity program in it, though what he had actually installed was a ball of lint (which, in the manner of The Wizard of Oz made him feel warm and fuzzy inside.)

Zeke went haywire when Ethan accidentally struck him with a water balloon. This resulted in Zeke attempting to kill the entire cast, and then burn down their apartment. Just as Zeke attempted to kill Ethan, he was returned to his senses by a falling bit of burning debris, and then saved Ethan by pushing him out of the way of the collapsing roof, which unfortunately crushed him. Ethan was able to save his hard drive and rebuild him, this time with a remote control 'off' switch.

Zeke's internal computer has been upgraded with Xbox 360 hardware. However, only his left arm was upgraded to be reminiscent of the 360. The rest of his body is still Xbox casing, as the 360 is smaller than its predecessor, and Ethan cannot buy another one of the consoles at this early stage of the console's retail. That being the case, Zeke spray-painted his arm black again in order to match the rest of his body ^*. Lately, Zeke appears to be plotting world domination. His first recruit was a blender. Zeke is currently broken, after being pushed off the roof by Scott once he heard that Zeke would tell the others about his satilite dish. ^*

Secondary

Ted ^* is a penguin, in an apparent homage to the Linux mascot, a penguin named Tux. He moved in along with Scott. He enjoys fish and the cold and seems to be sleeping in the fridge. Ethan and Ted have a deep relationship consisting primarily of mutual hatred, although it is mainly derived from Ethan.
Barry ^* is 26, and manages the Game Haven where Ethan works. Though goal-driven, he is very easy-going. He is perpetually in a good mood, because he is living his lifelong dream of running a video game store.
Rob ^* is a 19-year-old Counter-Strike enthusiast. Ethan, Lucas, Lilah, and even Barry to some extent despise him because all he does is talk about Counter-Strike, with constant "you-had-to-be-there" tales. They are also greatly annoyed by Rob's constant use of "Dude" and "Guy" during his stories and during his everyday small talk. Other characters lament that Rob has not realized that he is an annoyance, despite having been told so on several occasions. He once forced a customer to buy Counter-Strike rather than Ghost Recon.
Chef Brian ^* represents the surreal side of the comic. With no backstory, his appearances consist of nonsensical ramblings over separate subjects. Chef Brian was the end result (as Buckley explains in Insert Coin: Ctrl+Alt+Del Volume One) of too much alcohol and a deadline, though some sources state that the character is based on Brian Carroll, author of the webcomic Instant Classic, or Brian Clevinger, author of 8-Bit Theater and friend of Tim Buckley. His biography on the Ctrl+Alt+Del website lists his occupation as "Beef Potato Wheelman".
Players 1, 2 and 3...and maybe 4 — A subcomic which focuses on three generic gamers (colored blue, red, and yellow, respectively), and related gamer and gaming ettiquette, typically ending with the gruesome demise of one of the Players. ^*
Mickey — Lucas' boss. He is described by Lucas as "an Elitist Bastard" and doesn't deny it. In fact, he's proud of it. He hates Macs, AOL, and stupid people and encourages the rude treatment of ignorant customers. ^*
Tim^* The author of the webcomic has drawn himself in on a number of occasions, though he does not interact with Ethan or the other main characters in the foreground.

Characters who no longer appear in the strip

Sara — dated Ethan in the early strips for an undisclosed amount of time. Beat Ethan after he cancelled a date to watch a Vision of Escaflowne marathon with Lucas. Tried to get him off video games ^*" target="_blank" >^*
Vodka Bottle ^* — Flying bottle of vodka. This is Ethan's best friend in alcohol-related times. The vodka bottle flies beside the drunken Ethan and reminds him of the reasons he's drinking, often taunting him to drink a bit more. This character made many appearances in the earlier strips, after Ethan and Sara split up.
Christian ^* was Lilah's boyfriend before Ethan. This is odd because he's the exact opposite of Ethan. He is extremely wealthy and thinks he's the best there is because of it. He considers videogames to be silly and thinks that the people who play them are simpletons. He isn't that smart either as he told Lilah about him offering Ethan $5,000 to leave them to restart their relationship, which Ethan refused by punching Christian. For every moment he was seen he was always smiling. The only moment he wasn't was when he was punched by Ethan
Ashley ^* — Dated Lucas after hitting him with her car. Became obsessive and stalked him. Lucas filed a restraining order against her and she hasn't been seen since.
Josh — An impostor king of Winter-een-mas. When Ethan heard about Josh he went into a rage, snuck into the TV studio where Josh was being interviewed and promptly defeated him, proving once and for all on national TV that Ethan is the true king of Winter-een-mas.^*
Emma ^* — A serial killer/robber who dated Lucas. Was fired from her job at a stereotypical electronics store, with the resemblance of Best Buy, after refusing to help Ethan. Conspired to kill Lucas when she thought he had inherited money from his dead uncle, which he doesn't have. Currently in jail.
Ace Conklin — Emma's real boyfriend, and partner in crime. He paraded as a sky diving instructor in one of many attempts to kill Lucas. He is now in jail along with Emma.
Faceless CEO is head of a generic video game company, and is hell-bent on taking control of Winter-een-mas from Ethan and merchandising it. In 2005, he sent Josh to usurp the position of "King of Winter-een-mas."In 2006, he kidnapped Lilah, and held her for ransom.[http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/comic.php?d=20060118 Both times, he was thwarted by Ethan.
Richard Monroe is Lilah's father. Despite thinking that Lilah's fiance Ethan is a buffoon, he understands that they love each other and gives them his blessing.
Mrs Monroe is Lilah's mother.

CAD Premium

In late 2005, CAD Premium was announced. For a monthly or yearly fee, fans are able to access exclusive "members only" content, such as wallpapers and strips, as well as the flagship of CAD Premium; Ctrl+Alt+Del: The Animated Series, which made its debut on February 2006.

While CAD Premium will be a subscription-based service, Buckley has made it clear that the comic will remain free.

Ctrl+Alt+Del: The Animated Series

An animated series based on the comic strip was announced to the public in November 2005 and aired its first episode on February 1 2006. It is produced and distributed by Blind Ferret Entertainment. Rather than animating existing strips, Buckley has opted to create new storylines for the animated series. This means that the comic strip and comic episodes will not have intersecting storylines, so a viewer will not need to see the animation to understand the comic's plot. Viewers are required to pay a fee to join "CAD Premium" to be able to view these cartoons. It costs $29.95 a year or $2.95 per month.

Episode	Release	Run time	Synopsis
1	2006-02-01	5m 29s	The episode begins with Ethan playing a PSP at his store. A customer asks if he can play Halo on his PS2 and Ethan ignores him. The customer gets mad and leaves the store, vowing never to return. The theme song plays. Ethan goes home having used his paycheck to buy more video games and Lucas is using the Xbox. Lucas encourages Ethan to do something else for a change (read a book or ride a bike, for instance) and Ethan leaves, angry. Ethan instead decides to lure Lucas away from the Xbox through a variety of tactics such as a pretend suicide and attempted homicide, and Lucas fights back by gluing Ethan's hand to a door and distracting with pictures that the audience assumes are of naked women. In the end, a cooking knife ends up embedded in the controller and they resolve to play a co-op. Lilah comes in and asks if she can play Halo. Roll credits.
2	2006-03-01	5m 25s	Ethan and Zeke are playing a video game which seems to be Round 3 from the sounds. Barry calls Ethan to remind him that he is supposed to be working, and after Ethan tries (and fails) to pretend that he is someone else, convinces Ethan to come in to work. Ethan asks Zeke to call in to work and fake a family tragedy to get Ethan out. The theme song plays. At the store, Ethan is told to manage the store while Barry does some paperwork in the back room. Ethan manages to ignore a long line of customers, assault a customer looking for an N-Gage, and scare a woman into a heart attack while Zeke wastes time at home rather than call to get Ethan out of work. When the store closes, Ethan goes home and gets angry with Zeke for forgetting to call in and decides to destroy him at Fight Night. Ethan loses the match, curses, and credits roll.
3	2006-04-01	5m 28s	After a short paintballing match, Ethan realises that Zeke is better than him at everything.
4	2006-05-01	5m 58s	Intro: Lucas makes fun of Lilah for deciding to marry Ethan. Lucas tells Lilah that he can't cook to save his life. Lilah disagrees. Lucas then unplugs the phone and does not cook dinner. Ethan panics and turns into a state of panic as the fridge is not preparing the food for him and the "telephone people" aren't answering his pleas for help. Lilah decides to invite a friend over from work to come for dinner and tells Ethan that they should both cook. Ethan, having only cooked once in his life before (which ended in the haunting of the Swedish Chef), ends up helping out. During the cooking process we see that Ethan, in fact, cannot cook. Lucas cleans him up with the fire extinguisher on multiple occasions. Finally the meal is done and Lilah's friend comes over. Ethan goes to bring the meal to the table but is haunted again by the Swedish Chef and Ethan throws the food at it to attack it, ruining the dinner.
5	2006-06-01	3m 26s	Begins with 'Player 2' being chased and then killed in a fantasy game, while standing infront of 'Player 1's character shouting "Heal me" over and over, while player 1 does nothing. It then cuts to a view of player 1's computer, where he is returning with a snack, shortly before player 2 enters and slaughters him with an axe (while player 1 cries "Heal me") The scene switches to a dark room, which Chef Brian then enters, and begins reciting his usual nonsense. His hat then opens and smoke pours out from the opening and his ears, and a carrot flies out. In the next scene, a pair of male PSPs are sitting at a table, when a female DS walks past holding a tray of burgers, trying to catch their attention, to which the PSPs reply 'Fat-ass!'. The DS then goes into the toilets and starts throwing up. She then comes back, slimmer and sleeker (a-la DS Lite) and gets plenty of attention. 'Tim's Customer service invention #6' follows, in which a guy picks up a (presumably bad) game from the shelf, which is attached to some string. This triggers a trap in which a 16 ton weight falls on him. Roll Credits.
6	2006-07-01	5m 5s	There is a power outage, and Ethan becomes upset and frustrated over the lack of video games. Lucas tried to entertain him with a game of chess, but Ethan compares it to a video game, and leaves because he can't find the "options menu". Ethan tried using Zeke and having him describe what's going on instead of using a TV output, but Zeke has no battery power left. A clip of Ethan's mind exploding is then shown, and you then see Lucas go to the fridge, but Ethan in tribal clothing, with a Playstation Button layout painted on his face stopping him, saying the food box has been claimed for the tribe of the 1st controller. To be continued...

Episodes will be released at the beginning of each month.

Collections

The 460 pre-order Collector's Editions Hard Cover Volumes 1 and 2 sold out within 24 hours after technical difficulties with Canada Post.

Insert Coin: Ctrl+Alt+Del Volume One

In early 2004, Buckley announced plans for a collection book of approximately the first year of strips from CAD. The book, which contains the first 150 strips, features added commentary below every comic, along with several pages of bonus material exclusive to the book.
ISBN 0976467801

Press Start: Ctrl+Alt+Del Volume Two

In June 2005, pre-orders for volume two were announced.
It is a collection book with 150 CAD strips continuing where Volume One (see above) left off, also including commentary below every comic and bonus material exclusive to the book.
ISBN 097646781X

References

External links

2000s webcomics | Computer and video game webcomics | Webcomics in print | Dayfree Press | Webcomics

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