Dinerdate is a webcomic and blog written and illustrated by Tim Hengeveld and centers around a man and his dog who hang out in a diner most of their free time. There, they get into wacky situations with the other patrons, which include a bear and a professional frenchman.

Dinerdate debuted on January 1st, 2004 as a way for Tim to get his art out on the web. As time went by, he developed his own style and transitioned from loose cartoons to storylines.

Characteristics

When the comic started, there was little plot or general continuity. As time went by, and more questions arose -like where Alphonse came from, how he knows Browny, how Tom pays the cheques when he has no job-, the comic shifted to a more storyline-driven comic. This began with the christmas arc "A Christmas Caper, which debuted on December 19th, 2005. The comic is mainly situated in the diner itself, briefly changing location from time to time. With the more storyline-driven approach the art has become more interesting. Previously scanned in and colored, it is now often black and white without too much cleaning up, which gives Tim a much greater freedom to visually present the panels, instead of relying on a few preset backgrounds.

The strip is not known for its realism: talking animals and surreal experiences make their appearance continuously. Occasionaly a random cartoon is posted, often mocking a current situation, for example dot.tk's bizarre referring terms.

Protagonists

; Tom Hobbs
: Tom is an upbeat and gentle guy who often tends to looks on the bright side of things. He can be a bit sarcastic and rebellious, but this behaviour is often instigated by his best friend, his dog Gavin. He worked as a freelance journalist for a while, until he got sacked because he did not meet the publishing standards desired by the magazine he worked for. Since then he's been ahnging out at the diner practically non-stop. His house has been seen only once, but only the balcony. How he pays the bills, nobody knows...

; Gavin
: Gavin is Tom's cynical dog. It is unsure what breed of dog he is. He also seems to squint on a permanent basis, which enhances his grumpy attitude. He enjoys a good beer, and can get quite offensive, but in his heart he is a good dog. When his best friend is having a hard time(Gavin does not consider Tom as his 'master', just as Tom doesn't consider Gavin as his pet), he always looks out for them, and when everything works out smoothly he can be great company.

; Browny
: Browny is the resident bear of the diner. He first made his appearance when Tom found him in the freezer of the diner's kitchen. Having been discovered, Browny has stepped out of his lair and became good friends with the patrons, after having overcome his agressive tendencies. He takes to Gavin in particular, in whom he finds a fellow cynicist and drinking buddy. Browny introduced himself as Brown Thunder, lord of the kitchen appliances, but allows himself to be called Browny for ease. He still inhabits the kitchen, and sees Big Daddy as his best friend.

; Alphonse
: Alphonse is a bit of a mystery. He first made his appearance when Tom and Gavin were discussing France, and proceeded to clobber Tom with his baguette when he spoke ill of the French language. He has been lurking around the diner for unknown reasons since then. He is a typical frenchman, wearing stereotypical french clothes, drinking wine and speaking with a heavy french accent. The famous snobbish character is also present.

; Big Daddy
: Big Daddy, or BD for short, is the proprietor of Big Daddy's Diner, where the comic often takes place. He is a gentle chubby African-American, who loves his diner more than anything, and seems to handle everything by himself, with some help from Browny. He occasionally makes an appearance to say something profound or give the strip a cozy feel.

; Kat
: Kat is a sophisticated tabby who comes by the diner every once in a while. He is a little timid, and never really gets carried away in one of the guys' crazy antics, but just prefers to have a nice cup of coffee. He has ended up being everyone's friend, probably because of his kind nature. He has a kind of love/hate relationship with Gavin. Gavin is driven by his dog instinct to harass the Kat, but often doesn't and they just talk a bit. Gavin says it's because he's too lazy, but in truth he likes Kat just like everyone else.

Podcast

Tim began recording podcasts with his friend Ralph Schaafsma on July 25th, 2006. The show is called Dinercast, and they talk about videogames, comics and tv shows, and rant a bit about various things. This is moslty unrelated to Dinerdate. In December 2006 Tim expressed plans to publish Dinercast on a bi-weekly basis as opposed to weekly, to give them some more time to edit, and to publish a new podcast called Insidedate in the weeks inbetween. This new podcast, which debut's in 2007, does discuss topics related to dinerdate and the majestic conspiracy.

Other works

Under the production name of 'Predator Productions', Tim is also working on several other projects, most notably the Majestic Conspiracy point-and-click game. Videogames are his other passion, and he has a special place in his heart for the old SCUMM games such as Sam & Max and Broken Sword. He started developing his own game, based on a comic series he drew, alongside the debut of Dinerdate. The current release is scheduled for 2007.

See also

List of comic strips

List of web comics

External links

Dinerdate homepage

Predator Productions homepage

Dinercast

The Majestic Conspiracy homepage