Scott Blaine Johnson (born July 17, 1969) is an American cartoonist, illustrator, game designer, and podcaster. He lives in South Jordan, Utah, with his wife and three children. In 2008, Johnson launched Frog Pants Studios, LLC, an illustration and audio production company.
Scott Johnson was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. He grew up and went to high school in the suburb Sandy City. He has also lived in Mississippi and Louisiana while on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Johnson met his wife Kim during his mission.
Johnson began publishing the webcomic ExtraLife in June 2001. The subject matter concentrates on many of Johnson's interests such as computers, technology, video games, and movies. In 2009, Johnson launched Experience Points, a second webcomic that draws inspiration from World of Warcraft and other MMORPG computer games. The strip was one of several web comics published by Crispy Gamer until its closure in January 2010. It then was moved to GameCulture.
Johnson is the creator of the popular "56 Geeks" poster, and he illustrated the cover of World of Warcraft Programming (2010).
On February 3, 2020, the Fred and Can webcomic debuted. Fred and Can chronicles the adventures of Fred and his sentient can of expired creamed corn.
In 2021, Johnson releases the card game Rock Runners Incorporated that he both designed and illustrated. The game is based on the card game 99, which Johnson's parents taught him. Rock Runners Inc. takes some of the original concepts of 99 and adds an intergalactic twist. The object of the game to get the most space rocks and be the last player to make a play and earn a space credit.
Johnson is the creator and host of several podcasts. This list is incomplete but include the following.
Johnson's latest podcast, Play Retro, debuted on January 3, 2022. It is co-hosted by Brian Dunaway and focuses on the topic of retro video games.
Scott and Kim Johnson host a weekly podcast where they discuss family, marriage, food and more. It debuted on November 8, 2018.
Started on January 24, 2011, with Johnson and Brian Ibbott. It is published every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday morning (usually) for the discussion of current entertainment, politics, live calls, and other segments. The Morning Stream won a People's Choice Podcast Award in the entertainment category in 2011, and two in 2013, in the People's Choice and Comedy categories.
In March 2014 Johnson and Ibbott began producing a weekly evening edition of the show, airing live on Thursday nights and published as a podcast the morning after; this version is called TMS PM, features most of the same elements as the morning show and is a one-hour long show, rather than the usual two hours, but it includes two songs each time like the other daily episodes. TMS PM is a Patreon exclusive, given as a reward for supporters having reached the $5,000-per-month donation tier on the show's Patreon page.
Started on October 31, 2009, Johnson and co-hosts Brian Ibbott, Brian Dunaway, and Randy Jordan review 'forgotten gems' of movies selected from the streaming media service Netflix. Film Sack won a Podcast Connect People's Choice Podcast Award in the film category in 2011 and in 2013.
The Diary of a Cartoonist podcast has an introspective stream-of-consciousness format where Johnson discusses topics ranging from the day-to-day activities in his life to his thoughts about current events. Unlike Johnson's other podcasts, Diary of a Cartoonist does not have co-hosts, though his family occasionally make brief appearances. Johnson often records the podcast using his iPhone while engaging in other activities such as driving or walking his dog.
In June 2009, Johnson began publishing the weekly podcast AppSlappy, dedicated to reviewing Apple iPhone (and later, iPad) applications. Johnson, with co-hosts Eric Van Skyhawk and Eileen Rivera (Tom Merritt's wife), review and rate popular apps. The podcast also covers news and rumors related to the iPhone and iPad. As of August 2013, AppSlappy is on hiatus. App Slappy was later repurposed into a recurring segment (sometimes referred to as App Time!) on one of Johnson's other shows, The Morning Stream, where he and co-host Brian Ibbott review mobile games and other apps.
Episode 00 debuted on January 26, 2018. It was quickly followed-up by Episode 01: The Campaign Begins! on January 27, 2018. It was a live Dungeons and Dragons campaign, following the group through Dust Hill. In the later period of the podcast, the Dungeon Master was changed and it became a season based campaign following a different set of characters. The last episode was released on 29th, October 2022.
The Instance was an award-winning weekly World of Warcraft podcast started in 2006 by Johnson and then-ExtraLife Radio host Andrew Konietzky, both of whom noticed a lack of podcasts dedicated to the MMO. The show was dedicated to news and rumors about the game, and relied heavily on listener contribution. An early contributor, Randy "RandyDeluxe" Jordan, joined the podcast as a third seat on show 45, and eventually became second seat when Konietzky left the show in 2007. Jordan was a part of the show (becoming a regular guest on ExtraLife Radio, and a co-host on Film Sack) until a job opportunity at Blizzard Entertainment (makers of World of Warcraft) required him to retire his position. Episode #217: "Now I've Gotta Go..." was Jordan's final show, and was dedicated to him. Jordan's replacements were Mark "Turpster" Turpin (a former guest and friend of the show) and William "Dills" Gregory (a member and raider in the Instance guild, alea iacta est). In 2014, Patrick Beja (a friend of the network and former Blizzard employee) joined that podcast as a 4th seat. The podcast won a Blogger's Choice Award in 2008 for Best Podcast. The podcast concluded with Episode 666: The Final Boss, on February 25, 2022.
Former guests have included Veronica Belmont, Felicia Day, Tom Merritt, and retired Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, who also co-hosted the show with Randy and Johnson for several months.
Johnson's oldest podcast, ExtraLife Radio (often shortened to ELR) began in 2003 as a stand-alone downloadable MP3 file. It was a bi-monthly show that covered a wide variety of subjects, including video games, movies, comic books, and many random subjects as the hosts saw fit. It was a self-proclaimed geek show, for and by geeks.