These really are the worst things ever, aren't they? Discuss.
Nah, that's not really what I'm asking, but before I get to the point let me self-indulgently recount my sad, sad tale.
The idea that webcomics could actually be any good at all only occurred to me whenÃ, someone here pointed out Kid Radd (http://www.kidradd.com), which I swiftly took to my heart. After that I stumbled on Dinosaur Comics (http://www.quantz.com), which I also thought was just wonderful and right up my alley in most respects. From there I found Pokey The Penguin (http://www.yellow5.com/pokey/) and The Perry Bible Fellowship (http://www.thepbf.com), neither of which blew my mind or anything, but were both easily funny and inventive enough to reaffirm my faith that webcomics were 'actually pretty cool'.
Shortly afterwards I realised that just about every other webcomic on the internet is unfunny, idiotic, and clearly written by people so in love with themselves that their every pore is clogged with the pure essence of smugness. At that very second of profound realisation I completely lost interest in any webcomics that I didn't already know I liked.
But now I feel like reliving that weird feeling of finding some new comic I like and spending a few obsessive hours working through the entire archive. But I can't seem to find any I don't hate on impulse!
Point starts here: Does anyone know any webcomics that, like the ones above, are good, original and written in a way that suggests the author is someone I wouldn't want to punch? If you have any suggestions I'd also like to hear exactly why you like them, rather then just links. Well expressed opinions are the best things ever, and by golly! they might even trigger a 'discussion' of some sort!
I couldn't agree with you more. When I hear the word "webcomics", I usually get this little feeling, like a boulder in the pit of my stomach telling me that there's a 99% chance I'll hate the god damn thing because it's so pathetically unfunny and self-righteous. Like you, I also found Kid Radd (I believe I was the one who posted it here, so YAY for me! ^_-), Pokey the Penguin and Dinosaur Comics, and a few others... these little gems reknew your faith for a little while before you get some more utter crap shoved under your nose (*cough*Megatokyo*cough*)
*ahem* This comic I give you now is by one of my best friends, Patrick Alexander. He has quite a fanbase already, he's been comic-ing since sliced bread, and he's been hilarious since conception. This is Raymondo Person, one of his latest and greatest and a genuine web comic (most of his stuff is in actual physical comic form) that gets updated every now and again. Enjoy: http://raymondo.chickennation.com/
I love him dearly ^_^ (and I'm so, so jealous)
EDIT: It just occured to me that I maybe should point some things out.
1. Tobies and Jube are characters with their own comic, and make frequent cameos in Raymondo Person.
2. The waitress ditto. Well, she doesn't have her own comic but she's a character Patrick came up with as a parody of cutesy anime chicks. You know.
3. The Wraith (please, PLEASE don't stop reading until you reach some Wraith comics! For the love of latex!!) is a character in a comic we both encountered at a comic/sci-fi convention in Sydney last year. The guy who writes it is a complete tool, and the Wraith character he invented... well, you couldn't get a bigger Batman rip-off if you tried. After we met him, Patrick did one little comic about it. The guy was so offended, and everyone adored it SO much that he's kept going with it. Last year he sold The Wraith t-shirts and they went like hot-cakes.
4. Jube cookies. Patrick started selling them at a convention one year and they... well. They're like ginger heaven. I think he made more money on them than comics, so now they come out every year and it's all people talk about.
5. Eddie McGuire. If you're from another country and you don't know him, count yourself lucky. Just know he's a complete tool.
^ I will give your suggestion my consideration!
Also it's good to know that the sometimes-hard-to-put-my-finger-on-what-makes-it-funny brilliance of Dinosaur Comics is not lost on others!
Hey, look what I just found: http://www.fullyramblomatic.com/features/goodcomics.htm. I guess the discussion is over! ...Or is it?
Perry Bible Fellowship isn't much of a webcomic, seeing as it gets published in Canada.
It is one of my favourite comics, though. Truly awesome.
Dinosaur comics is also great.
Kid Radd... Not my cup of tea.
I tend to go for the more wacky kind of comics, which I love oh so very much.
Super Mega Comics (http://www.supermegacomics.com) Also very awesome.
White Ninja (http://www.whiteninjacomics.com) Pretty well known, and still great.
Spamusement (http://www.spamusement.com) - Not exactly a webcomic, but this guy makes funny stuff out of ordinary spam-mail subject lines.
Return To Sender (http://htt://rts.lunistice.com) - Another comic. Story based, this time. I love it, but it is rarely updated.
I might edit this post when I think of more. Then again, I might not.
:o
Achtung Franz! (http://agagames.com/ghormak/franz/)
Guitarman! (http://www.phil-reed.com/page.html)
That Raymondo one *was* pretty hilarious actually. Also because I'm frankly a shockingly nosey person I was poking around in the 'fora' on there a bit and stumbled on the outstanding phrase from THE Patrick Alexander:
"HE IS AS MOSES, AND MY LEGS THE SEA!!!!!"
That really cracked me up. This Patrick guy seems like quite an interesting person, but you (kinoko) should really tell him that English people only use the word "bird(s)" to refer to women! It just doesn't work with blob guys.
As for the others, I'll try them out! But do you guys think you could add little introductions or explanations for why you think they're great? It makes it easier for people to pick out ones they might be interested in, and just generally makes the discussion much more interesting I think. Thanks one and all!
Just to let ya'll know, Ryan North [the Daily Dinosaur creator] was at MoCCA in NYC [big indie comics thingie] and I met him and the dudes from A Softer World. We talked later and turns out he's played 6 Day Assassin and liked it and that he's played lots of AGS games.
Small world made smaller by AGS
I've found the same thing of webcomics - those that were once funny have mostly run out of ideas, and then there are many that just were never funny to begin with. I enjoy reading 8-bit Theatre (http://www.nuklearpower.com/) for nostalgic value, but I have trouble reading it for long stretches. This means that whenever I miss a week or two, it takes a lot of resolve to go back and read all that I've missed (one problem with plot-based comics).
Penny Arcade (http://www.penny-arcade.com) is loved and hated by many, and I'm sure there's really no reason for me to even have linked it, since I'm willing to bet most if not all of you already know it. It's at least consistently readable.
Now, I'm not sure if anyone's read this one before, but I'm a big fan of Irritability (http://maze.studio-zoe.com/comicpage/index1.html). It makes fun of most of the things I enjoyed as a child and through into my adulthood, and I'd say it's worth a read. One of the few comics that I've continued reading since I started without lapse. This may not be saying much, since Mike Woodson is very sporadic in his uploading of comics.
Kinoko, your friend's comic reminds me of "Happy Noodle Boy" for some reason, which (at least to me) is a good thing. Fun for all. And since Kinoko seems too modest to do it herself, I'll link The Katt's Lair (http://kinoko.futariba.com/), home of her comics, which I, at least, enjoy reading.
Edit: I almost forgot to include You Damn Kid (http://www.youdamnkid.com/), which I also enjoy reading from time to time.
I don't see what's particularly self-righteous about the idea of webcomics. There probably are a lot of unfunny ones, admittedly, but I don't read those. ;)
A few not mentioned in this thread yet: (though I think several of these are probably on Yahtzee's list)
Sluggy Freelance. (http://sluggy.com/) I wondered whether I should bother including it here, since everybody's probably heard of it, but there you are...
Wigu... ish. (http://www.wigu.com/) Formerly Wigu, which was great. Then for a few weeks TV Network Channel, which was also great but apparently unpopular. It's Magical Adventures in Space now, which is, well, great. Seems he'll stick with it, too.
Scary Go Round. (http://scarygoround.com/) Like the previous two, obvious popular choice. But rightly so.
Ozy and Millie. (http://ozyandmillie.org/)
Okay Pants. (http://okaypants.com/)
Skinny Panda (http://www.skinnypanda.com/) recently started existing again, happily.
A Lesson Is Learned But the Damage is Irreversible. (http://alessonislearned.com/)
Slow Wave. (http://www.slowwave.com/) Collective dream diary. Best thing ever.
http://www.toothpastefordinner.com
j'adore
and of course the vast majority of webcomics suck.
Come to think of it, most in the paper do as well.
And most music, and movies, and books....
If only some SF writer would coin a law...
Of course the vast majority of webcomics suck. Any random person can make one. Then they try and do too much, get discouraged, never update and forget about it.
But then there are some webcomics that are good, and some that are awesome. These are more rare, but they are SO worth it!
And it definetly seems that webcomics are funnier than print. There's only so many times Garfield can state that he hates Mondays before it becomes stupid. The only print comic I can still stand to read is For Better or For Worse, because it doesn't have any running gags at all.
Everybody listen to Kinoko. Patrick's comics are brilliant. In fact, I first discovered Patrick's work when he did a few underground comics in Brisbane called Pickleman and Plink the Stickman. Something to note: Plink the Stickman was partially the inspiration for my opus Stickmen. So pay as much attention to Patrick. He deserves all the notice he can get.
As for other comics...
I'm a Sexy Losers (www.sexylosers.com - Duh!) fan. Helm introduced me about two years back and since then I've been laughing my arse off.
I also like this one: http://www.whiteninjacomics.com/
And I'm not a big fan of Penny Arcade, but I dig Penny Arcade Remix: http://www.yukihime.com/comics/paremix/
And, finally, I like That Wacky Jesus. The guy who does that comic is a genius.
DG: That reminds me, I'm stuck in your game! ^_^ Dammit, I was having so much fun playing it and then I just... couldn't figure out what to do next. I can't remember where exactly. At a cave I think, and I had to get something I couldn't reach.
...
It's been so long since I've made it and played it, I can't remember what to do.
I think you've got to get a stick or something in the hole. And you've got to fill the hole with water.
Personal recommendations...
Miscellaneous humor:
Sinfest * sinfest.net (http://sinfest.net)
Freaky soapy:
College Roomies From Hell * crfh.net (http://crfh.net)
Best-drawn webcomic ever,
Megatokyo * megatokyo.com (http://megatokyo.com)
Wacky game humor...
8-bit theatre * nuklearpower.com (http://nuklearpower.com)
Order of the Stick * giantitp.com/cgi-bin/GiantITP/ootscript (http://giantitp.com/cgi-bin/GiantITP/ootscript)
Kid Radd is awsome... and I'd just like to share Bruno the Bandit, which I truly adore!
http://www.brunothebandit.com/
www.dandyandcompany.com-a boy and his dog, in sarcastic adventures in their Ohio town, including: defeating evil doubles, going to space, etc. Is better than I make it sound.
www.voicesinmyhand.com-morbid, morbid humor. Like the Far Side except more morbid. Much more morbid.
www.adventurers-comic.com Wonderful poking at Japanese RPGs.
www.ozfoxes.com Cute foxes, and sometimes pretty funny jokes. Worth checking if you like cute stuff.
www.commanderkitty.com Misadventures of purple feline and his crew. Down right now though.
Freefall... http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff100/fv00001.htm
Bunny! http://www.frozenreality.co.uk/comic/bunny/
lowroad75! http://lowroad75.keenspace.com/
PopCherryWag (by Creed Malay): http://www.drunkduck.com/PopCherryWag/
Count your Sheep - http://www.countyoursheep.com/
It's...so...cute...
Purple Pussy - http://www.purplepussy.net/
It's so...uncute...
Girly - http://www.go-girly.com/
It's a wild mix of cute and utterly insane
Muertitos - http://muertitos.keenspace.com/
It's just starting up but it looks very promising.
Superocity - http://www.superosity.com
Even when it's bad, it's better than most newspapr stuff
Sore Thumbs - http://www.sorethumbsonline.com/
Hard to believe this and Superociy were written by the same guy
Owzat for variety?
About 90% of all webcomics can be best described by this article: http://www.omgjeremy.com/webcomicsshit.shtml
That was a beautiful thing, DG.
If you like your webcomics scientifically accurate: Freefall (http://freefall.purrsia.com/)
Well, here's a failed webcomic I started with Mills and then later asked Ghormak for help, I made this... A year ago?
It's about a kid who thinks he's in an adventure game, he starts off in text adventures and eventually developes a GUI for himself, there are only 3 done and one is a flash animation.
Enjoy:
http://www.sylpher.com/kafka/junk/adventurecomic.jpg
http://sylpher.com/kafka/adventure.html
http://www.sylpher.com/kafka/junk/adventurecomic2.jpg
Those made me laugh ;D You should make more Eric
A lot of my favourites have already been covered by some good choices from you guys, but here's mix of gag strips, ongoing story strips, and random bonkers favourites of mine that haven't already been mentioned.
Double Fine Action Comics (http://www.doublefine.com/comics/main_comic.html) - already known to most of you I'm sure, but certainly one of my most-checked bookmarks.
Copper (http://www.boltcity.com/copper_home.htm) - the excellent Kazu Kibuishi's beautiful full-colour tales of Copper and his dog Fred. Check out his print stuff (Daisy Kutter, the Flight anthologies) too.
Beneath The Leaves (http://www.radsechrist.com/beneaththeleaves/comic.htm) - just started, Rad Sechrist's monthly each-one-is-stand-alone-but-part-of-a-story-too comic.
Nedroid (http://www.nedroid.com/)
Boy On A Stick And Slither (http://www.boasas.com/)
Cat And Girl (http://catandgirl.com/index.php)
The New Adventures Of Death (http://www.moderntales.com/series.php?name=death&view=current)
Johnny Crossbones (http://www.evilspacerobot.com/) - Les McClaine's ongoing Tintinesque adventure story.
Captain August (http://www.captainaugust.com/) - Rodi from the Idle Thumbs and Adventure Gamers started this strip last year. Rather madcap stuff, some good episodes so far. I think it might hit its stride sometime soon.
That's enough, I should get back to work. As for the proliferation of bad webcomics, anyone with some webspace can create them, so inevitably the medium sees a lot of shoddy art and writing. But it's also a medium with lots of great potential, and I'm always stumbling across stuff that I like, in the world of the funny gag strip and beyond.
Hm, "Flight". Do you mean that collection of indie comic-stuff published by Image?
I still have to get my hands on a copy of that.
Yeah, I really like the Flight (http://www.flightcomics.com/) stuff. Volume One is well worth checking out, and the even-bigger-and-better Volume Two is out next month.
Kinda ackward, isn't it? This thread starts with how crappy webcomics is, and now everyone lists their favorites.
Yes, like the original poster intended. Totally insane.
Hehe actually this is how a typical Gen Gen thread will become, which is fun.
I came across this a while ago and it's pretty good...
Melonpool- http://www.melonpool.com
lol, i like the drunk duck
Eric,
You've got to make more of those. They're awesome. What a great idea...
eh, I jsut noticed someone posted it... nevermind me.
Achewood (http://www.achewood.com/).
COMIC STRIP (scarybear.org) (http://www.scarybear.org/)
and... VG Cats (http://www.vgcats.com/) because I'm such a dork and I get it.
Eric, good comics... both of them were good, I liked the flash version even better because you really took advantage of flash to build up the tension and whatnot... it's hard to keep paying attention to it, though, because it's so quiet... no sound at all!
http://www.errantstory.com/
Better drawn than megatokyo and it actually has a plot.