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Hey, kids! Comics!
Jan. 11th, 2011 09:23 pmThe first ten days of this year have been so harrowing that I thought I should post about things that generate happiness. For me, webcomics are a major source of joy. Here are a few of my favourites:
(Some of these will seem obvious to people who know webcomics, but I'm addressing this to an audience of varying levels of geekery.)
Long-form stories
Rice Boy by Evan Dahm. Dahm has a lot of comics up on his site, and they're all very good, but I keep coming back to Rice Boy. It's an intensely colourful tale of a young creature who is called upon to fulfill a prophecy and is, frankly, not too sure about this. Part of the joy of reading this comic is discovering its world, Overside; it's also got a rich cast of supporting characters whose destinies are interwoven with Rice Boy's. If it's wrong to be slightly in love with someone who's got a cathode-ray screen for a face, I don't want to be right.
I'm also eagerly following Dahm's current comic, Vattu.
I've raved about Family Man by Dylan Meconis before, but I will not be silent on this topic. It's just so beautifully done. If comics about the life of an eighteenth-century scholar pique your interest at all, you can't go wrong by reading this. Ongoing.
SPQR Blues by Klio: another historical comic, set mostly in Herculaneum around AD 79. Chapter II, which I particularly like, is an extended flashback to the protagonist's days in the Legion. Ongoing.
Gunnerkrigg Court by Tom Siddell: As with a lot of webcomics, there's a period at the beginning where the art is sort of ropey, but it improves by leaps and bounds and is now excellent. I was iffy about it at first, but I'm now hooked on this story of two girls studying at a mysterious academy full of magic, demigods and robots. Ongoing.
Dicebox by Jenn Manley Lee. Beautiful art, and an intriguing story of two sporadically-employed women kicking around the spaceways. Keeps you guessing, but also keeps you engaged. Also, check out its alter-ego comic, Don't Look Back by Patrick Farley, in which our heroines board a guitarship for some cosmic rock and roll. Both contain nudity, so NSFW.
Short stories:
Giant Days by John Allison. I was a huge fan of his Scary Go Round. One of its protagonists, Dark Esther, heads to university in this short story and dishes out class warfare to the deserving.
City Face by Tom Siddell. Pigeons do extreme things for love.
A Wolverine short story by Faith Erin Hicks. Drawn as a pitch to Marvel, which they didn't pick up, so we get it for free! If you've ever wondered what Wolverine's favourite breakfast is, wonder no longer.
Nothing Is Forgotten by ryan a. A wordless comic, beautifully done.
The Cat on the Dovrefjell by Kaja Foglio. A beautifully drawn Christmas folktale. Contains trolls.
Ongoing silliness:
Two splendidly geeky pleasures: Order of the Stick and Yet Another Fantasy Gamer Comic. YAFGC has occasional nudity, so merits the NSFW mark. Since it's a daily comic, the archives are HUGE, but well worth coming back to for fun and enjoyment.
A Softer World by Emily Horne and Joey Comeau. I don't know if this counts as a comic, since it's essentially just typewritten captions over background photos, but it's lots of fun to read.
Double Fine Action Comics: I can't really explain my fondness for this exceedingly strange strip. All I know is that I love it, especially the mini-jokes in the top margin.
Too obvious to mention:
Girl Genius by Phil and Kaja Foglio and Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton. If you're on the internet and have a pulse, you've already made up your mind about these. Kate Beaton never ceases to be awesome; Girl Genius is going through an annoying patch right now, but is still generally a good story.
Have I killed your productivity yet? If so, my work here is done. Unil next time, true believers!
(Some of these will seem obvious to people who know webcomics, but I'm addressing this to an audience of varying levels of geekery.)
Long-form stories
Rice Boy by Evan Dahm. Dahm has a lot of comics up on his site, and they're all very good, but I keep coming back to Rice Boy. It's an intensely colourful tale of a young creature who is called upon to fulfill a prophecy and is, frankly, not too sure about this. Part of the joy of reading this comic is discovering its world, Overside; it's also got a rich cast of supporting characters whose destinies are interwoven with Rice Boy's. If it's wrong to be slightly in love with someone who's got a cathode-ray screen for a face, I don't want to be right.
I'm also eagerly following Dahm's current comic, Vattu.
I've raved about Family Man by Dylan Meconis before, but I will not be silent on this topic. It's just so beautifully done. If comics about the life of an eighteenth-century scholar pique your interest at all, you can't go wrong by reading this. Ongoing.
SPQR Blues by Klio: another historical comic, set mostly in Herculaneum around AD 79. Chapter II, which I particularly like, is an extended flashback to the protagonist's days in the Legion. Ongoing.
Gunnerkrigg Court by Tom Siddell: As with a lot of webcomics, there's a period at the beginning where the art is sort of ropey, but it improves by leaps and bounds and is now excellent. I was iffy about it at first, but I'm now hooked on this story of two girls studying at a mysterious academy full of magic, demigods and robots. Ongoing.
Dicebox by Jenn Manley Lee. Beautiful art, and an intriguing story of two sporadically-employed women kicking around the spaceways. Keeps you guessing, but also keeps you engaged. Also, check out its alter-ego comic, Don't Look Back by Patrick Farley, in which our heroines board a guitarship for some cosmic rock and roll. Both contain nudity, so NSFW.
Short stories:
Giant Days by John Allison. I was a huge fan of his Scary Go Round. One of its protagonists, Dark Esther, heads to university in this short story and dishes out class warfare to the deserving.
City Face by Tom Siddell. Pigeons do extreme things for love.
A Wolverine short story by Faith Erin Hicks. Drawn as a pitch to Marvel, which they didn't pick up, so we get it for free! If you've ever wondered what Wolverine's favourite breakfast is, wonder no longer.
Nothing Is Forgotten by ryan a. A wordless comic, beautifully done.
The Cat on the Dovrefjell by Kaja Foglio. A beautifully drawn Christmas folktale. Contains trolls.
Ongoing silliness:
Two splendidly geeky pleasures: Order of the Stick and Yet Another Fantasy Gamer Comic. YAFGC has occasional nudity, so merits the NSFW mark. Since it's a daily comic, the archives are HUGE, but well worth coming back to for fun and enjoyment.
A Softer World by Emily Horne and Joey Comeau. I don't know if this counts as a comic, since it's essentially just typewritten captions over background photos, but it's lots of fun to read.
Double Fine Action Comics: I can't really explain my fondness for this exceedingly strange strip. All I know is that I love it, especially the mini-jokes in the top margin.
Too obvious to mention:
Girl Genius by Phil and Kaja Foglio and Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton. If you're on the internet and have a pulse, you've already made up your mind about these. Kate Beaton never ceases to be awesome; Girl Genius is going through an annoying patch right now, but is still generally a good story.
Have I killed your productivity yet? If so, my work here is done. Unil next time, true believers!