5 Great Web Comics You Should Read [Part 2]
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?
(By)
Hey I really think you should include “Least I Could Do” Its hilarious, a little dirty at times but when i stumbled into it, i literally felt compelled to go to the beginning of the strip archives and read them all. funny no doubt as a stand alone every day but many of the jokes are even more hilarious as they often reference past strips. check it out
Agreed. I’m a big fan of “Least I Could Do” Also, thisisindexed.com - phd kinda reminded me of that one. It’s very clever.
Yeah, I’m a big fan of “Least I Could Do” Also really like thisisindexed.com. It’s very clever.
I second the nomination of Least I Could Do. It’s like a geeky, promiscuous tv sitcom put into webcomic format
Great article. I just checked out and subscribed to Questionable Content and plan to go through the others, too.
I highly suggest with QC that you go back and read from the beginning. It helps with the little inside jokes. Also, Jeph is a great writer and you’re guaranteed a laugh. It was also pretty interesting to see his artwork grow over the years. I read the backlog of comics when I first found it (around strip 500 or so), and I have been reading it ever since.
i did the same thing i used to really only read ctrl alt del but when i found QC i loved it and read them all its is my favorite now
(Comments wont nest below this level)Awesome picks!
Order of the Stick - Beloved by gamers everywhere.
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots.html
xkcd.com saved my sanity.
Cyanide and Happiness took it away again.
http://www.explosm.net/comics/1481/
You forgot the best of all, Least I Could Do
Similar to Bill Waterson but with a kick in the ass
http://www.LeastICouldDo.com
Dr McNinja, makes me laugh every time. I look forward to Mon wed fri for that reason.
I love web comics that have little comments appear when you mouse-over it. XKCD is a great example.
Wow, thanks for introducing me to FreakAngels.
Wow, these are some great add-ons! Thanks to everybody who’s contributing.
I’ve heard of most of these before, but I’m gonna try out the few I haven’t yet.
Keep um comin folks!
I’m surprised Multiplex wasn’t in there.
What about Jesus Christ: In the Name of the Gun? http://www.badkarmaproductions.com/jc .
One of the most original web comics out there.
-fin
Thales
http://www.wulffmorgenthaler.com/ funniest toon since Gary Larson…
no love for overcompensating.com?
Take a look at Zuda Comics. They have some great stuff, especially Bayou.
Don’t forget Jeffrey Rowland’s Overcompensating.
http://www.overcompensating.com
CAD is where it’s at.
http://ctrlaltdel-online.com/comic.php
This is sarcastic, right? Because CAD- and the majority of gaming webcomics- is a load of badly written, badly drawn shit.
Thanks for the recommendations, I in turn suggest the charming Evil Diva. http://www.evildivacomics.com/
You’ve got to be kidding me. That crap link you posted is horrible artwork compared to CAD and CAD is far more popular (according to alexa).
(Comments wont nest below this level)Sluggy Freelance http://www.sluggy.com the greatest web comic ever. you can start from the beginning and take weeks to read everything, but its well worth it.
Webcomics on my favorites bar: Sinfest, Questionable Content, Wasted Talent, Menage a 3, Natalie Dee, SoreThumbs, Least I Could Do, Looking for Group, Buttersafe, and a few others that are no longer updating, but are fun to read the old ones of. READ THEM ALL!
What about Kevin & the Googlebots?
You’ll probably only like these if you’re into SEO.
http://kevinandthegooglebots.tumblr.com/
http://www.asofterworld.com
My big two are Questionable Content and xkcd, but Pictures for Sad Children is another favorite.
Wulffmorgenthaler is my favorite.
http://www.wulffmorgenthaler.com/
http://www.autumnlake.com This is done by a friend of mine and it is a really great comic.
Darths and Droids: http://www.darthsanddroids.net
I highly recomment Girls with Slingshots
http://www.girlswithslingshots.com
I’m always surprised when I read these lists, and I don’t see “Achewood” or “Ugly Hill.” The former is the best-written comic online, with a rich and convoluted storyline hat has no right to make as much sense as it does. The latter is never, ever not funny, features far, far better illustration than any other webcomic, and has a newspaper-friendly-looking format, but far edgier humor. They both have deep casts of characters that are amazingly consistent, distinctive, and real. Very, very rewarding, both of them.
All of those are great but you should really also check out
http://www.unamused-comics.com/
FreakAngels is the bomb.
Check out this one, too.
http://www.drunkduck.com/QUANTUM_Rock_of_Ages/index.php
Buttersafe, Married to the Sea, Toothpaste for Dinner, and White Ninja are all hilarious.
Don’t forget WE THE ROBOTS and Abtruse Goose!
Sinfest for the win.
don’t forget Basic Instructions:
http://basicinstructions.net/
Girl genius comics
http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/
If you want one that’s great, read Casey & Andy at http://galactanet.com/comic/view.php?strip=1
Sadly, he has ended it now, but there’s still 666 strips to go through.
Freakangels is particular notable because it’s written by Warren Ellis, a writer in the actual industry, not just some jackass with a copy of Photoshop and an internet connection.
Also: Warren Ellis is, in my opinion, one of the best comic book writers active today.
These are good comics, but i think everyone should check out Nicholas Leffler’s Happy Robots over at http://happyrobots.wordpress.com/ . If you are interested in robots, rudeness and just plain absurdity, its definitely worth a look.
Wow, this is the worst web comic list I have ever seen. Is this a joke?
ahaha
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=763vmCrRBDg
Dominic Deegan Oracle For Hire
dominic-deegan.com
FreakAngels is the bomb.
Check out this one, too:
http://www.drunkduck.com/QUANTUM_Rock_of_Ages
What about Wondermark?
http://wondermark.com
Hilarious.
Where’s Jerkcity?
The absolute best webcomic:
pbfcomics.com
they are so absurd, and the authors art style changes with each comic, its the most satisfying comic on the net. everyone who sees it ends up reading them all
VGCats is the ownage = http://www.vgcats.com
You should check out Weapon Brown, post-apocolyptic Charlie Brown and Snoopy, just awesome.
http://www.whatisdeepfried.com/category/weapon-brown-cartoon/
This one is kind of newerish, but it’s good if you like gamer style fantasy adventures.
Everyone should give http://www.dresdencodak.com/ a shot at least once. There are some interesting studies in layout and panel design in some of the strips, and a lot of the subject matter is pretty in depth and well tied together.
Sam & Fuzzy doesn’t get half the appreciation it deserves. It carries EPIC story arcs well, and the art has gotten great. Plus the main character looks like Sonic and his best buddy is a mini bear. What’s not to love?
UserFriendly is great…cept for the fact there is no RSS feed for it..
yeah, I’ve been searching the page trying to work out how to subscribe to the comic!
Page source, people, page source!
here ya go:
http://www.userfriendly.org/rss/uf.rss
Thanks for sharing I some of those are really cool. Here is one I like to follow, it’s more an comic journal but I really like her stuff, her name is Lucy
Culric’s Chronicles is a fairly new, but nice looking webcomic, and a fairly good read.
Wow dude that is just WAY too cool man!
hess
http://www.anonymize.us.tc
http://www.slashgossip.com is a funny one for celebrity comics.
Another good webcomic, though it’s kind of new, is Culric’s Chronicles. If you’re into fantasy it’s pretty cool. Nice art.
lol, sorry for the multiple posts, I thought I was doing something wrong when they didn’t show up, so I reposted. Actually I did still do something wrong since the link didn’t show up.
http://www.culricschronicles.com
So you link to XKCD, which isn’t even reviewed, but you don’t link to the five comics that you actually review??
Nice work.
Um, Jake….there’s big FAT links to each of the comics listed…it’s the largest text on the page actually…lol
Seriously… I’m sitting here thinking wtf. They weren’t links for me the first time I was on the page. Sorry for the asshat comment.
(Comments wont nest below this level)No problem dude, glad to have you reading.
pictures for sad children?
left handed toons? Dreamer, CtlALtDel, chalkboard manifesto, awkward zombie, we the robots, awkward zombie, flipside, little gamers (just turned 8), Extralife,
really? has no one mentioned xkcd yet?
i may or may not read too many webcomics.
I have followed the first two for some time now, but I have to say, I thought xkcd.com would make the list. It appeals to the the secret romantic and nerd in all of us!
Kate Beaton for the win! She does wonderful and charming comics about history and Canada and all things that are good. http://www.katebeaton.com
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
http://www.smbc-comics.com/
and
Dresden Codak
http://dresdencodak.com/
Sinfest isn’t actually that political. It has been lately, but most of it isn’t about politics at all.
I love http://www.PastExpiry.com
(but I’m a bit biased since it’s my own cartoons).
Wow dude that is just WAY too cool man!!!
You forgot the best of all, Least I Could Do
Similar to Bill Waterson but with a kick in the ass..
Great article. I just checked out and subscribed to Questionable Content and plan to go through the others, too…
This one is kind of newerish, but it’s good if you like gamer style fantasy adventures..
‘Art form’ used in the loosest sense of the term…
http://www.6or7popes.com is new, but i’m really liking it so far
The best new one I have come across has to be speerdonky.com. It’s really dumb/good.
My favorite is QC, but an AWESOME one is Daisy Owl! Check it out!
Nice Pick,..and now i’ll be become fans of this site..
This website many great news. Sorry my english is bad because i’m Kampanye Damai Pemilu Indonesia 2009