Why Use This Blog?

For a medium that is relatively young, webcomic production is enormous. There are a lot of webcomics available, and they are easy to find. Google "Webcomic," and you'll hit about 5,000,000 sites that mention the word. Unfortunately, only a fraction of what is online is enjoyable to read. Finding the "good stuff" can be difficult and takes a considerable amount of time and patience.
This blog was created as a guide to finding good web comics. As a starting point for new readers, it features links to great comics and tips on how to search for the good comics on your own. I also review comics that I come across in my own search for the best that webcomics have to offer.

A note: this is not a guide to publishing a webcomic. I suggest reading the FAQ of a good webcomic artist for information about how-to, or visiting this tutorial.

Also, this is not a literary review of webcomics. For a literary review, see the Webcomics Examiner.

I now update on Sundays.

November 15, 2007

Dr. McNinja

Dr. McNinja
Chris Hastings
Super-Hero-ish, Comedy
pg-13

You know, I'm starting to think I gravitate to the stranger comics. The next comic I post will be more "realistic."

So, Dr. McNinja is what it sounds like: a comic about a man who is both doctor AND ninja. Hilarity ensues. The challenges of a man who can both cure and kill can be pretty funny, especially when he's faced with horrible '80's ninja-movie heros, banditos riding velocoraptors, and undead zombie-ninjas.

This comic is strictly comedy. So far, the author hasn't meandered into dramedy-ville. The closest thing we get to "explored emotions" is the faux tear-jerk story of Dr. McNinja's desire to please his ninja family, who all are ashamed of his choice to become a doctor. Really, the whole comic feels like a spoof of comic-book super-heros from the 30's through the 60's. Ah, a time when anyone wearing a mask was a potential super-hero or -villain. Dr. McNinja even sounds like the name of a character who could be in DC's list of obscure heros.

As for the art, it also feels like an older comic. The lines are bold, the characters are realistic-ish, and the backgrounds can be minimal. It is a pretty neat comic, if a little odd sometimes.

November 8, 2007

The Perry Bible Fellowship

The Perry Bible Fellowship
Nicholas Gurewitch
Gag Strips
R


This is perhaps the most graphically disturbing comic I have ever read. I laugh hard, but in that "Should I be laughing? Seriously, should I? Am I going to hell for reading this?" kinda way. Each strip is stand alone, and there are no main characters. Think The Far Side or Herman.

The humor is sometimes extreme. An example: lad says, "Boy, I'd sell my soul for a puppy." *Pop!* Puppy appears. A couple of panels with a happy lad enjoying a day with his lovely puppy follow. The last panel shows the boy being horribly tortured in Hell. If this does not make you laugh, I would highly suggest that you don't click on the link. If it does, you are a little sick. Don't worry, you are in fine company. The author is popular enough to have published a collection of PDF comics.

The first few strips kinda stumble around silly sex jokes. It doesn't really take off with humor until the artist starts playing with all those ideas we are told as children; magical creatures are real, children are innocent, beauty is pure. The most horrifying and hilarious strips of the comic feel like a children's bedtime story that took a wrong turn somewhere.

While frequently the artist just draws a couple of fleshed-out stick figures, every now and then he pulls off artwork that is impressive. Again, following the theme that childhood innocence is a crock, the artwork looks like something you'd see in a classic children's book. From Dick and Jane to Edward Gory, to the best of the Golden Books series, he can copy all sorts of styles.

I really like this one. I think that says a lot about my personality.