Once upon a time I started each day opening up my morning newspaper to the comics page.This was after hunting down a mastodon for breakfast, but before inventing fire.
Then somewhere along the line, possibly during the Bronze Age, newspaper comics got to be seriously less funny. There were precious few the like of Gary Larson, Bill Watterson or Berkley Breathed.
Thank God for webcomics!
Now I start my day reading over thirty webcomics before boarding my space shuttle for a full day’s work on the moon. The future is so goddamn bright, I have to wear a polarized, radiation-shielded space helmet.
Here, in alphabetical order, is a list of what I consider to be the best 13 (there’s that number again, damn you, Stefan) webcomics currently running. In selecting, I’ve only chosen those comics that have current, decently kept publishing schedules. Maybe one day I’ll do a list of “best defunct webcomics.”
Anyway, here is my very subjective list. You don’t have to like all my selections. You may wonder why I didn’t include your favorites. Life is full of questions.
Here we go!
Applegeeks - This webcomic by Mohammed “Hawk” Haque and Ananth Panaggariya was once considered a clone of the now-defunct MacHall webcomic—being about a bunch of college-aged kids with an obsession for Mac hardware. Even the artwork started out similar. It has since established itself as its own comic, developing a different artistic style than MacHall’s, several long story arcs, and unique humor. Most stories revolve around the fictionalized adventures of Hawk and his robot-girl creation Eve (made mostly of Mac parts, of course). Some running jokes include Hawk’s delusions while fasting for Ramadan, his adventures as a self-styled vigilante Captain Power who features a Mac power icon on his head, and a young girl named Ashley who plots revenge on Hawk (as Captain Power) for commandeering her tricycle. (Updates Mondays and Thursdays)Ctrl+Alt+Del - is a gaming-related webcomic by Tim Buckley. It has a relatively small cast of characters compared to other comics. Most stories focus on Ethan, a gaming fanatic, sometime artist and sometime inventor with a very weak grasp on common sense and currently many of the comics are part of the story arc of Ethan owning and operating his own gaming store, and his marriage to Lilah, a much more sensible person who is on the professional gaming circuit. More gags used to visit Ethan’s roommate and best friend Lucas, but he’s seen more in his own stories trying to build his own relationship and deal with career issues. And then there’s the homemade XBot, Zeke. We are mere meatpuppets to him. Some running gags include a special culinary segment with a chef with a very Dada-ist approach to cooking, and an often humorously violent look at the lives of Players 1-4. (Updates Monday, Wednesday, and Friday)
The Devil’s Panties - This webcomic by Jenny Breeden is probably the most autobiographical of the bunch, tho still a bit stylized and exaggerated. It started out covering her college years but is now a semi-autobiographical sort of comic featuring her experiences as post-college artist, cartoonist, and very frequent convention attendee. Her biggest niche seems to be convention fandom in general where there is a revolving cast of characters depending on the convention’s location. Breeden also writes and draws Geebas On Parade which focuses on her LARPing activities. (Updates Monday through Friday with filler on weekends)
Fans! - Sometimes also known as Faans!, this classic by T Campbell and most often illustrated by Jason Waltrip has been around forever. It started as a printed comic, but found its real home online. The webcomic tells the story of a fan club as it progresses through its very early geeky days and their bizarre adventures battling amoral government agents, aliens, vampires, and time travellers to its later days as the frontline in Earth’s defense against the unimaginable. The strongest facet of the webcomic is its character development—of which there are many characters. The characters grow, mature, live and die. Very gripping stuff. The archives are a treat. Be aware of a long hiatus between what one might call “Classic Fans” and “Next Generation.” Good stuff. (Updates Monday, Wednesday, Friday)Least I Can Do - Is an interesting and highly entertaining webcomic from Ryan Sohmer and Lar de Souza, creators of the popular webcomic Looking For Group. The stories revolve around the highly promiscuous man-child Rayne Summers and his friends. Rayne is a bit of a satyr who sleeps with as many women as possible, totally committed to the single swinging lifestyle. He’s the kind of guy you would normally just want to punch and punch and punch...but the fact is that he’s a lot of fun to be around. Sohmers and de Souza have created a fantasy life for a character that I suspect many men secret lust for. It’s a horribly politically incorrect comic at times, and I caution those with an underdeveloped sense of humor, or an overdeveloped sense of good taste, to steer clear. As for the rest of us, get ready for a wild ride. (Updates daily)
Looking For Group - You may remember that I reviewed the first volume of the printed version of this webcomic back in March. Looking For Group is a gaming adventure comic brought to you by the same duo who brings you Least I Can Do. Heavily inspired by World of Warcraft, Looking For Group chronicles the adventures of Cale, an elven adventurer and his cohorts: Benn’Joon the green-skinned priestess, Krunch of the Bloodrage Clan, Pella the dwarven warrior and bard, and Richard (Chief Warlock of the Brothers of Darkness, Lord of the Thirteen Hells, Master of the Bones, Emperor of the Black, Lord of the Undead, and mayor of a little village up the coast which is quite scenic in spring). The webcomic is a skilled combination of epic adventure and humor with some truly slapstick moments followed quickly by pulse-pounding adventure. High marks go to high quality artwork. (Updates Monday, Thursday)
Penny Arcade - is probably the single most successful webcomic in existence. You’ve probably heard of these guys even if you’re not a webcomic person. It’s first and foremost a gaming comic starring Gabe (artist Mike Krahulik) and Tycho (writer Jerry Holkins) giving edgy, glib, sarcastic, biting, and insightful opinions on issues near and dear to the electronic gaming community (with the occasional nod to paper and pen roleplay). These guys have turned webcomics into a business that generates a significant income and spearheads the Child’s Play charity that has thus far netted nearly five million dollars for children’s hospitals. They were the first to host their own convention, Pax, which attracted a crowd of over 58,000 attendees last year. They even have a couple of their own videogames. This would all seem like major fodder for accusing them of being sell-outs, but the truth is that they remain close to their core values as reviewers and commentators, pulling no punches from companies large to small, and it’s a very quality webcomic with solid writing. (Updates Monday, Wednesday, Friday)
PVP Online - Like Penny Arcade, this is one of those webcomic success stories in that artist and writer Scott Kurtz gets to make an actual living out of his work. He may not operate on the same level as the Penny Arcade guys, but he’s easily on par with them as far as popularity and quality of work is concerned. More than just another gaming-related webcomic, PVP Online revels in nerd culture. The setup places the main characters and events at a small gaming magazine where its light on the work and heavy on the antics. It goes for a lot of cross appeal in that there’s something there for everyone. Join Mac-evangelist Brent, old school gamer Cole, next generation gamer Francis, MMPORG gamer Jade....and Skull (he’s a troll). (Updates Monday through Friday)Questionable Content - by Jeph Jacques is a slice-of-life webcomic set in the Smith College area of Northampton, MA. The webcomic stars a cast of 20-somethings, most of whom are at the McJob stage of life, spending their days hanging around a coffeehouse making hip, witty comments on the indie music scene. There’s a bit of romance. A bit of drama. Lots of levity. When all else fails, Pintsize, the overly cute AnthroPC, comes along and sets something on fire. The art and writing have really developed over the years, making for some very engaging and well-rounded characters. If I have any criticism, it gets a little smarmy and the characters seem a little too stuck up in their own scene. They live in a pretty small world, but anyone who’s spent any kind of time in a college town is going to recognize the characters and setting which helps with their broad appeal. (Updates Monday through Friday)
Shortpacked! - What happened after David Willis’s webcomics Roomies! and It’s Walky!It’s Walky! plus new folk such as toy enthusiast Ethan, sheltered Amber, ruthless boss Galasso, featured lesbian Leslie, and the late President Ronald Reagan. Go figure. The stories are a balancing mix of gags and plot. The artwork is simple but expressive. There’s a lot to enjoy. (Updates Monday through Friday)
Sinfest - Combine an artistic approach that combines Calvin & Hobbes with a very light touch of manga and five it an irreverent sense of humor reminiscent of Fritz the Cat with the thoughtfulness of Bloom County and you’ll get Sinfest by Tatsuya Ishida, the best newspaper-style comic you’re never, ever, ever going to see in a newspaper. It’s a typical four-panel setup following the self-proclaimed pimp daddy Slick and his friends as they explore porn, love, poetry, identity, religion and politics—and never coming off as preachy. Every now and then the webcomic will feature a cat and dog team that just oozes cuteness, but before that gets out of hand, we’re back to God making fun of the Devil with handpuppets, little evangelists, and Slick pursuing the ever-evasive Monique. It’s been around for a long time now (by internet standards) and as far as I can tell it has never missed a day. (Updates Monday through Saturday, plus a color Sunday strip)
Something Positive - I purposely made this list alphabetical so I wouldn’t go through the insane mental and spiritual process of trying to rank them. That said, I will say with all confidence that Randy Milholland’s Something Positive is by and far my favorite webcomic. This is purely subjective, but the comic probably speaks to me more on a personal level than most of the others. There’s a high level of cynicism and dark humor in the strip, and an intolerance for willful stupidity. I can get behind that agenda. The strip started out mostly focusing on a group of friends in the Boston area. It has since branched out as the characters developed and some moved to other parts of the country (Texas, California, New Hampshire). Many of the stories revolve around Davan MacIntire and his underachiever approach on life, born mostly from an inherited and justified sense of cynicism. His best friends are two violent Asian women named PeeJee and Aubrey, and Boston resident Jason (now married to Aubrey). Davan also owns a boneless, furless cat named Choo-Choo Bear. At times, it seems that God is out to get Davan...but not always. Davan might be the lone voice of reason ins a mad world. It’s a good read and you really get to care about the characters. For that last reason, I’d call it a resounding success. (Updates almost every weekday, with filler material on weekends.)xkcd - by former NASA contractor Randall Monroe is a strip devoted to “romance, sarcasm, math, and language”. It’s officially one of only two or three stick-figure webcomics counted as proper comics—partially because it’s been around so long, but mostly because the real star of the show is the writing. (And to be honest, for stick figures, they’re pretty damn good.) The humor is very geek intensive and is not for everyone, but if you happen to get the more obscure jokes, you can sit back and enjoy that warm flush of “being on the in” that a comic like this can produce. For nerds only. (Updates Monday, Wednesday, Friday)
Special Category Mentions
There are a few comics available on the web that also had lives in print either before or during their web run. Because of that, I don’t count them as pure webcomics, but more as comics with a strong web presence. Given that, let me point you to a few of my favorites:
Buck Godot: Zap Gun for Hire by Phil and Kaja Foglio. This started out as a black and white comic many years ago, but has been undergoing an artistic facelift, coloring, and new graphic novel publication. Join Buck and his friends on explosive adventures with more twists and turns than a Arrakin sand worm. (Updates Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday)
Girl Genius, also by Phil and Kaja Foglio, started briefly in print, then became more available on the web, and is also being collected into graphic novel form. It’s probably more of a webcomic than Buck Godot, but its print presence seems to me stronger than its web presence. Adventure. Romance. Mad Science! Thrill to the adventures of Agatha Heterodyne as she adventures across an alternate Europe in a steampunk/gaslight age. Plenty of explosions, airships, and babes in tight clothes to enjoy. (Updates Monday, Wednesday, Friday)
Dork Tower - John Kovalik’s comic enjoys a strong fan following in the gaming and fandom community—mostly in the arenas of RPG and television sci-fi. Dork Tower has appeared in print in magazines such as Dragon, Pyramid, and Comic Shop News. Follow Matt, Igor, Ken and Carson as they game through life and life is but a game. (Sorry...couldn’t resist.) (Updates every few days)
Nodwick - by Aaron Williams is a charming spoof on classic Dungeons & Dragons adventures and enjoyed print publication in both Dungeon and Dragon magazines. It tells the story of hired henchman Nodwick and his adventurer-employers Yeagar (fighter), Artax (wizard) and Piffany (cleric). Nodwick gets used often as bait and to set off traps. Good thing Piffany carries around a lot of healing duct tape. (Updates Thursdays)And there you have it. thirteen or seventeen great webcomics to while away your hours when you should be working. ended? Some of the characters found themselves employed at a retail toy store. The strip very much reflects Willis’s obsessions with Batman, the Transformers, and other collectibles. The cast of characters include the surly Mike and speedy Robin from
By the by, I’ll be at Sarge’s Comics in New London, CT this Saturday for Free Comic Book Day. I’ll be sitting next to Chris Reilly and doing some soft promotions for TumbleTap’s upcoming publications.
Hope to see you there!
For information on how to get your book, comic, movie, whatever reviewed on Falling Off the Shelf, or to send hate mail, feel free to contact me at john (at) johnteehan (dot) com.
0 comments:
Post a Comment