Now that I'm getting into the webcomic business, I've been reading a lot of webcomics in my free time. This first started as an exercise in researching the layouts and content of well known comics and smaller ones as well. Also I needed to check to make sure someone wasn't already making the comic I'm creating. Luckily I haven't to run into this problem, yet.
It did occur to me that I might put this new knowledge to further use by doing a weekly post about webcomics. So let's count this as the first post towards that endeavor. I'll be generally reviewing a few webcomics every week, let you know if there's anything that Reddit perhaps missed (although the comic/webcomic thread on Reddit is more self wankery than actual GOOD comics 3/4 of the time), and more importantly what comics you should be reading but just haven't found yet.
So let's get started boys and girls.
I wanna first get to the comics that you should be checking everyday (or every MWF as the case may be) because they have yet to fail me.
Girls With Slingshots - You've seen this on my links section toward the right --->
And there's good reason for it. Danielle Corsetto knows how to give you a arcing story but still entertain on a daily basis without resorting to cheap drama tricks. Hazel is obviously Corsetto only perhaps a bit more sex and alcohol driven. While Hazel's best friend, Jamie, is the best friend everyone wishes they had; someone who's willing to use her boobs to get free drink and pass along the booty (haha). Through in a talking cactus and his sick kick in crime, his talking mustache, and you have fried gold comedy. Updates M-F
xkcd - If you don't know what this webcomic is, get off my internet. And yes, it sometimes can be safe for Liberal arts majors.
Questionable Content - Hold on. Quit your bitching. I SAID HOLD ON! Let me explain myself. Yes this comic is full of EMO hipsters, music references some might not get, and yes Jeph Jacques seems like the biggest douche ever at times. But it still has its shining moments of comedy. He's in a constant state of re-evaluating his art and changing his style around. If you ever sit down and read through the entirety of posts you'll see that every few months Jacques will make changes to how he draws the comic, and it's gotten better and better.
And who can deny Hipster Batman? Even if it was done by Rene Engstrom, who is also a very good webcomic creator but we'll save her for the SUPER DRAMA SPECTACULAR.
Penny Arcade - If you've ever uttered the words WoW or gaming in front of anyone who enjoys laughing, you've heard of Penny Arcade. You may not get all the jokes if you don't follow gaming culture but it's still worth a read. Plus Tycho's blog updates tend to explain things well if you're just slightly out of the loop, and you'll learn something along the way. That's always the goal isn't it? These guys are often seen as the kings of webcomics, in the sense that they never ever have to work a "real" job again. Ever.
They have their own Expo for Christ's sake!
ItsWalky! - This only updates on Fridays however it's hilarious every time. While I still haven't sat down and read through every strip, these one note strips on Fridays are an eerie look into every fun relationship that I've had. Cause who hasn't thought that Icey Hot is a good idea? This comic is really more of a spinoff of ShortPacked and the storylines are way too crisscrossed for my little brain to care.
and last...
FREAKANGELS - This is not your older brother's webcomic, and if it is then you have a cool older brother. This is one of those rare moments where you can see a new genre being defined. Warren Ellis has taken the idea of a webcomic and bumped it up a few notches. With the extremely talented Paul Duffield by his side, every Friday this graphic novel is updated with six pages. Compared to other webcomics these guys are very well established comic book writers and artists, and seem to be putting this out because they want to give back something to fans. While the story does start off a bit slow, Warren Ellis once again shows his audience and fans why he is a great story teller and a complete badass. Only dark comedy is found here in little slices and the focus is more on the drama around the post-apocalyptic telepathic Londoners. It'll be interesting to see if this new genre takes off, and how far this story will reach.
The forums attached are not a bad place to look around and see the large variety of people who read Mr. Ellis' stories, and wave at a far distance at the reclusive writer.
0 comments:
Post a Comment