One of the fastest growing online art forms is the web comic. Web comics can really break up your boring day and give you a little something to look forward to. Now you’re probably familiar with some of the greats out there like XKCD, but here are a few of my personal favorites to add a little variety to your list.

For more great web comics, check out Part 1 of this series.

Questionable Content

This web comic has been around for a LONG time. Jeph Jacques’ fantastic strip about the lives of some coffee shop dwellers is one of the top web comics on the net today. There is quite a bit of backstory, but the gist of it can be picked up with some limited browsing. It’s amazing how funny and original Jacques manages to be every day of the workweek. He’s also very social on Twitter, updating his account frequently. On top of that he’s made special accounts for each of his characters. Their conversations are like bonus material! Find them in the list of people he follows.

Sinfest

I only discovered Sinfest a little while ago, but I’ve been pretty impressed with it. It’s a spunky comic about a bunch of walking stereotypes (and their pets) as they navigate the landscape of the modern American psyche. A lot of the episodes have a political slant (not favoring anyone too particularly), but it’s much more a commentary about modern day capitalism than an overt political admonition.  Plus, it’s pretty funny and very wacky!

Note: For some reason Sinfest isn’t equipped with a native RSS feed…so I made one! You can thank me later.

PhD – Piled High and Deeper

This one is a bit more selective.  PhD is aimed specifically at students going through graduate school.  That being said, just about anyone who’s gone through college or stayed through academia will probably love it.  The world of scholarly research is full of hypocrisy, wonderful moments, and crushing defeats.  As a prospective grad student myself, I’ve actually learned a lot about what life is really like for those in limbo between academic worlds.  I’d read up on some of the background info though, it will make the comic a little more coherent.

UserFriendly

Ah UserFriendly. This sardonic little comic sometimes gets a little too angsty for my taste, but that’s to be expected.  It’s about the plight of IT support employees.  Their jobs are often frustrating and thankless and this comes across pretty well in the comic.  That being said, the stories are full of demons, corporate hotshots, and every variety of geek, so there’s something in it for everybody!

FreakAngels

FreakAngels is a bit of a weird one. I threw it on here because I know there is a nice chunk of you who get excited when the words “steampunk” and “post-apocalyptic” get used in the same breath. FreakAngels tells the story of a group of misfits who have taken up the task of caring for their town after the end of the world. They have unique and fantastic powers that grow stronger when they are together. It comes out about once a week in serial format, so each week reveals something new about the FreakAngels’ mysterious past.

What’s your favorite comic strip on the web?