the Little Red Reviewer

What about Web Comics?

Posted on: November 26, 2010

Black Friday shopping spree?  no f’ing way, says I.  I’d rather sit home and read webcomics all day. and I think you should as well.   and honestly, does anything go better with a turkey/stuffing/cranberry sauce/potato sandwich better than webcomics? 

Yes, I said Webcomics.  You know, those freebies offered a few times a week or weekly for your viewing pleasure, often available at a later date in graphic novels or trade collections.  Even Cory Doctorow will tell ya the surest way to get someone to pay for something is to offer it online for free first.  

Much of the graphic novels and comics I’ve come to enjoy were either webcomics first, or are pure webcomics, so we can’t finish out Graphic Novel November without a shoutout to some of my favorite webcomics.

in completely random order, here are some  wonderful  scifi/ fantasy/ gaming webcomics you should be reading right now:

Freakangels by Warren Ellis and Paul Duffield – In a post apolcalyptic England, twelve special people tried to change the world and it went horribly wrong. Great art, snarky characters, goodies online dating back to 2008 and a handful of graphic novels available for purchase. I just recently started reading this (like, last week), and my work productivity has plummeted.

Girl Genius by Phil & Kaja Foglio – I talk about their graphic novels, but everything they print is first published online. It’s adventure! it’s romance! it’s mad science! it’s a sex comedy! there’s Jagermonsters!

Not Invented Here, by Bill Barnes and Paul Southworth – what happens behind the scenes at a software company – programing vs art dept vs marketing vs accounting vs playtesting vs the competition. They suffer so your game doesn’t freeze up.

Looking for Group by Ryan Sohmer and Lar DeSouza – What started out as a World of Warcraft parody took on epic proportions, making fun of everything pop culture. And then it took a serious turn. And then they released a Disney parody.

Order of the Stick by Rich Burlew- going back a gaming generation, Order of the Stick takes everything you loved about Dungeons and Dragons, and makes it wicked funny. Started in 2003, all those puns you’re laughing about on Looking for Group for the last two hours? Order of the Stick probably did it first. If Order of the Stick doesn’t make you giggle like a lunatic, there is something wrong with you.

xkcd by Randall Munroe. Subtitled “A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.” ‘Nuf said, just go read it.

there is a million more out there, but this is a good start. What are some of your favorites?

Fighting crazed Black Friday shoppers for the last parking spot at the mall, pushing your way through Hot Topic to get that Team Edward t-shirt your kid (or wife) has been asking for, waiting in line at the department stores just find out the early bird special on that beautiful wool jacket and KitchenAid mixer expired an hour ago. . . .  or stay home and read webcomics.  you shouldn’t even have to think about it.

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11 Responses to "What about Web Comics?"

xkcd is brilliant. I love it.

I’m particularly fond of octopus pie, a slice of very cynical life comic, and the supernatural detective comic Hanna is Not a Boy’s Name. There’s also Penny Arcade and the fantastic Manly Guys Doing Manly Things, which is about hypermasculine video game characters reintegrating into regular life–the artist works for Ugly Americans, so she’s super-busy, but when it does update, it’s great.

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i just spent about an hour on Manly Guys doing Manly things. Brilliant!

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[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Steven, Andrea Johnson. Andrea Johnson said: talking 'bout some webcomics. http://tinyurl.com/26xnp65 #webcomics. no way in hell i'm going out shopping today. […]

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I’ve been following Order of the Stick for a couple of years, fun spoofing of D&D games, with a good heart and characters you can care about.

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Heh, I love both Order of the Stick and Looking for Group…Richard is one of the best characters ever.

http://lanternhollow.wordpress.com/

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Richard is a hoot. Did you see his Slaughter Your World “music video”? zomg, hilarious!

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Other than xkcd, the rest are new to me. Thanks for this!

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Looking for Group and The Order of the Stick are two favorites of mine, too. I used to looooove Sluggy Freelance, but I got distracted one month, and now I’m over a year behind, and haven’t gotten around to catching up.

Oh! And Jennie Breeden’s The Devil’s Panties. It’s fun times. And not nearly as naughty as the name might imply.

PvP and Penny Arcade are two I enjoy as well, though I’m not as regular a reader with them as I am LFG and Order of the Stick.

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[…] Bonus Link: The little Red Reviewer also puts in her 2 cents about her favorite web comics […]

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Webcomics offer some amazing opportunities to writers and artists. I’m familiar with some of the ones you mention, though I don’t regularly read any of those. Personally, I will just say that no webcomic has made me laugh more than The Adventures of Dr. McNinja (with a title like that, how can you go wrong?)…indeed, few printed books, movies, or television shows have made me laugh as much!

And I have yet to see artwork or storytelling to match Tracy Butler’s multiple award-winning Lackadaisy Cats, a story about lovable bootleggers in Prohibition-era St. Louis…who just happen to be drawn as anthropomorphic cats! If you want a further recommendation, you’re welcome to read my review. +) The only downside is the excruciatingly long time between updates.

Happy reading!

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i just read the first dozen or so pages of Dr McNinja, hilarious!! bookmarked it, and gonna go check out of the Cats one too.

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some of the books reviewed here were free ARCs supplied by publishers/authors/other groups. Some of the books here I got from the library. the rest I *gasp!* actually paid for. I'll do my best to let you know what's what.