I've been reading comics ever since I was little. I started out reading the Sonic the Hedgehog comics by Archie, but soon discovered the joys of print comics, including the wonderful Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson. I've branched out since then, but because I don't get the paper, and I can't seem to find a good comic book store around here, most of the comics I read are webcomics. I thought I'd share my favorite webcomics with people.
Order of the Stick
OotS is written and drawn by Rich Burlew. It is a stick figure comic about an adventuring party going through a D&D campaign. Much of the comic's humor comes from referencing the rules of D&D (in the beginning at least), as well as poking fun at common fantasy tropes. I've been reading the comic since I was in high school, and the quality has only improved. The updates are irregular, but they're always worth the wait. giantitp.com is where you'll find it.
Erfworld
A webcomic that was originally hosted on giantitp.com with OotS, but now has it's own web space. I had a hard time getting into the comic, but when I did, I was hooked. It's a rather interesting story about a man from our world who gets trapped within a turn based strategy game. Much of the humor is derived from pop culture references in our world which none of the inhabitants of the game world understand. Erfworld is written by Rob Balder, the art for book 2 is done by Xin Ye, and book 1's art was done by Jamie Noguchi. There's no set update schedule, beyond two postings a week (one text entry, one comic page). Check out erfworld.com for this amusing story.
Least I Could Do
LICD is part of the Blind Ferret Entertainment (BFE) family of comics I read. It is written by Ryan Sohmer, with art (currently) by Lar deSouza. This highly entertaining comic follows the life of Rayne Summers, an individual who is, in almost every way, awesome. It's hard to say more beyond that, as the stories are quite varied. But the comic is truly funny, with some very sweet moments thrown in every now and then when you least expect them. This comic can be found at leasticoulddo.com and updates daily.
Looking For Group
LFG is the second comic in the BFE family which I read, though it was the one I started with. Again, it is written by Ryan Sohmer with art by Lar deSouza, and they continue with their hilarious work, but in a different genre. LFG takes place in a fantasy world that resembles Azeroth in some aspects. Updates on Mondays and Thursdays. I'm not sure of what else to say, other than to go check it out at lfgcomic.com.
The Gutters
This is the last comic I read from the BFE group. Once again, it is written by Ryan Sohmer, but the artist is different with every issue. Gutters follows the comic book industry (both the real life stuff and also what happens between the pages) and appropriately has art done by the artists of the comic book industry. New pages every Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at the-gutters.com.
Menage a 3
Menage a 3 is a NSFW comic in the Pixie Trix comics family. It follows the life of a man named Gary, who is a nerd, and his roommates Zii and DiDi. The art is done by Gisele Lagace, with the writing being done by Gisele and Dave Zero. The humor is mainly sexually driven, with lots of innuendos, but there's also some good slapstick. Updated every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at ma3comic.com.
Eerie Cuties
EC is the second in the Pixie Trix family. Very different from MA3, even though it has the same creative team (Giz and Dave). The story is set at a high school for monsters (vampires, succubi etc), primarily following Nina Delacroix, a young vampire who eats chocolate instead of drinking blood. It's a sweet, funny comic that I always look forward to. New pages every Monday and Wednesday at eeriescuties.com.
Magick Chicks
MC is a spinoff from EC, and the last in the Pixie Trix line. It follows a trio of witches who are transferred from the monster school mentioned above, to a new academy as part of a punishment for something that happened in EC. The story is by Giz and Dave again, but the art is currently being done by Cassandra Wedeking. I recommend that if you decide to read this to read EC alongside it (and vice versa) as there have been several corssovers. Updated every Tuesday and Friday at magickchicks.com
Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire
Dominic Deegan has been running strong for over 10 years now. I've only been reading for about 5 years. The story and art are both done by Michael Terracciano (aka Mookie). The story follows a seer by the name of Dominic Deegan through the various bizarre and often deadly adventures he finds himself hurled into. The story started out being very humor driven, but has since evolved into something deeper, (though it still does have a fair amount of humor, particularly bad puns). The update schedule has fluctuated over the years, but it's currently running Monday through Friday over on dominic-deegan.com.
Goblins: Life Through Their Eyes
Goblins is a spin on the usual D&D adventuring party based comics. Instead of being about a random assortment of race/class combinations, it follows the adventures of a group of goblins. The comic is made by Tarol Hunt and Danielle Stephens. It's a fairly long-running story, with some interesting artwork. There is some humor, but it's not especially comedic. There are some moments of intense violence and gore, but it's nothing too extreme. Updates scheduled for Tuesdays and Fridays on goblinscomic.com.
Dork Tower
Dork Tower was introduced to me by the pages of Dragon magazine (which is sadly no longer running). The comic is created by John Kovalic, whose artwork graces the cards of the games Munchkin (and all variations thereof) and Apples to Apples. There isn't really any sort of overarching storyline. It's really much more like a newspaper comic strip in that each one is self-contained with occasional story arcs that go for several strips. It has some very funny gamer humor (mostly tabletop), but also touches on other aspects of nerd culture. dorktower.com is the place to find it.
Manly Guys Doing Manly Things
Manly Guys is a wonderfully humorous comic about various manly men from pop culture (movies, games, TV, comics) after they've finished their stint as the hero/villain and trying to readjust back into normal life. Well... some of it is. Most of it is about the head of the agency in charge of doing that, Commander Badass. The comic is created by Coelasquid and updates every Monday at thepunchlineismachismo.com
Penny Arcade
Shockingly, I only started reading Penny Arcade about a year ago, even though this is one of the longest running and most successful webcomics around. I was turned onto the comic by listening to the D&D podcasts featuring the creators, Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik. The comic is very funny, exploring primarily video games, but also branching into other aspects of pop culture. If you haven't heard about this yet, I recommend checking it out at penny-arcade.com.
Twice Blessed
A fairly new webcomic that I have no recollection of how I discovered. It is yet another of the adventuring party type comics that I enjoy reading. It's hard to say more, given how young it is, but the characters are certainly interesting, and I am enjoying the artwork. The creative team features Michael Haneline as the writer, Genevieve Gauss as the lead artist, and Joanna Materek doing colors. Take a look and see what you think at twiceblessedcomic.com
Snow By Night
This is another recent one I've found. The story revolves around a pair of thieves, Blaise and Jassart, and is set in the incredibly interesting colonial fantasy world of Corthis. More than anything else, I am intrigued by the world itself, though the story and artwork are also quite enjoyable. The creative team consists of Eric Menge (author and letterer), Brittany Michel (penciler and inker), Natalie Baaklini (colorist and artist for one of the mini-arcs), Diane Hazlett (webmaster), and Amy Menge (editor and author of one of the mini-arcs). I highly recommend checking them out at snowbynight.com.
Go Get A Roomie
Roomie is a very NSFW comic about a very adorable girl by the name of Roomie, and her very wild adventures. She is joined in these adventures by Lazy Tyke (Lillian) and a cast of very interesting supporting characters. Lots of dirty humor to be found within. It is updated Monday through Friday at gogetaroomie.com.
Spinnerette
Spinnerette is a superhero comic about a girl who is given spider powers in a very Peter Parker-ish manner. The comic is written by Krazy Krow, with artwork done by Walter Gomez, Fernando Heinz Furukawa and Rocio Zucchi, and tones by Gonzalo Duarte and Rocio Zucchi. The comic has a very good balance between action, comedy, and sweetness. Also, it has Ben Franklin as a superhero. Check it out at spinnyverse.com.
Oglaf
Oglaf is a very funny webcomic, and is also very NSFW. It features a variety of different characters, most notably Ivan, an apprentice to an evil sorceress. Ivan's the most commonly featured, but there are several others who appear multiple times, and many more who only have one or two appearances. Lots of very dirty humor, but every once in awhile something is produced that's clean. I unfortunately cannot seem to find any names behind the creation of the comic, but nonetheless, check it out every Sunday for a new page (or three) at oglaf.com.
Friendship is Dragons
Friendship is Dragons in is a screencap comic following the series My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (which I am a fan of). All of the screenshots come from the show, but the dialogue is re-written as if what is going on is a session of D&D (with several homebrewed rules, obviously). It is very entertaining, as well as creatively done. The comic is done by Newbiespud and updates Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at friendshipisdragons.thecomicseries.com.
Darths & Droids
I mentioned Darths & Droids in my previous entry, but I just wanted to re-state that the Comic Irregulars do a great job with altering the story and making the series entertaining. The comments are also usually as entertaining as the comic, and sometimes post some good GMing advice. I once again recommend checking them out at darthsanddroids.net.
And finally, I have a couple comics to mention that have completed their run, but are still worth checking out.
8 Bit Theater
8 Bit was one of the first webcomics I started reading. It is a sprite comic following much of the plot of Final Fantasy (one of them, I think the first but I don't know) but with plenty of hilarity thrown in. The creator of the comic was Brian Clevinger, who has since gone on to do some really cool stuff such as Atomic Robo. If you haven't read it, check it out at nuklearpower.com.
DM of the Rings
DM of the Rings follows the same premise as Darths & Droids and Friendship is Dragons, only using the Lord of the Rings films. The comic was produced by Shamus Young, and can be found at shamusyoung.com.
Finally, I would just like to say that I have great admiration for all of the artists and writers mentioned above. They do fantastic work in their craft and I sincerely hope they continue to do so for many more years. If any of you are reading, know that you have my thanks for your inspiration and humor.
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