I used to draw them when I was at school a few years ago. Mostly just little characters with funny expressions when I should have been doing physics or French or something.

So the other day I had an idea for my new blog; I’d start a weekly web comic. Why not? People like them, they’re fun to make, more memorable than an average post and they keep people coming back when you post them on a regular basis.

But there were a couple of obstacles in my path when I considered how to make a web comic. The first one was that I hadn’t picked up a pencil in almost five years. The second one (and perhaps the bigger problem of the two) was that my scanner is currently out of operation. And what I mean by that is I lost the power cable and the adapter.  However, there really is no extreme need for a scanner if you’re only making a basic web comic.

So my first task. Draw my cartoon. I decided that I’d make my first strip a quick one using the same image three times. The joy of drawing cartoons is that they don’t have to be good. Just draw it big. Really big. An A4 page will make up one panel. Then, when you shrink it down and edit it a little your mistakes will become so miniscule they won’t matter. In fact, blemishes and bad effects add character to a drawing.

So I drew out my basic shapes and added some features to make a fat, round man sitting at a computer. It’s not perfect. His hands can even touch the keyboard for God’s sake but that’s what makes it a cartoon. Then I took a snap of it with my mobile phone and sent it to my PC via Bluetooth. This is what I got on my screen: not exactly the makings of a great cartoon (like if I’d had a scanner) but fully workable.

This is where technology works its magic. Send the drawing to a Photoshop program. I used Gimp because it’s free but you could also use Adobe or another program similar to that. If you need to brush up on your Photoshop skills I suggest reading MUO’s Idiot’s Guide to Photoshop.

The first thing we want to do in Photoshop is blow the picture up to 200%. This is normally found under the ‘Image‘ tab along the top of Photoshop programs. This is so the editing tools used later on will be more accurate. Then we want to highlight the different areas and separate the lines from the open spaces. To do this, lower the level of brightness and up the contrast like in the screenshot below.

This will give you red areas with deep black lines like they’ve been inked beforehand. Now it’s time to clean it all up. Using the eraser tool (on its largest setting) clean up all the spotty and blotchy areas from when I altered the brightness and contrast. Don’t try to be too perfect as you’ll be there for hours. Just get the big areas and the blemishes in noticeable places. All the bad areas will be further cleaned up as you go along and then made smaller when downsizing the image.Your image should look like this when you’re erasing all the blemishes.

Now that you’ve got all the main blemishes and marks removed, fill in the large areas with the colours and textures that you want. I chose to go with the simple ‘fill with colour‘ tool but you can use different brush styles and patterns to replicate hair, leaves, sky etc. It all depends on what style you want your drawing to be. Since I’ll be posting mine weekly to my blog I want to keep it simple so it won’t take up too much of my time.

When all of your main areas are coloured there will still be marks and the image won’t look good at all. No really I mean it, it won’t. Click ‘Save‘ and then open the file with MS Paint. The reason I’m using Paint to finish off the editing is because it has some good ‘line tools’ to make the objects look better and it’s easier to work with.

Your image should look much bigger in Paint. Use this opportunity to go around with the paint brush and fill in any missing details and white areas. Use the colour matching tool highlighted in the screenshot to the right to match the colour exactly.

Then use the line tools and the box tools to make regularly shaped objects look better. You can see how I made the table appear better by using the deep, bold lines but I’ve still left in some blemishes and crooked lines because that’s the style of my drawing.

If you’re going to use the same drawing in multiple panels like I did then select it with the cropping tool. When you have it selected, right-click on it and click ‘Copy’ and right click on the page and paste the drawing in again. Then move it into the next panel area.

Use the shape tools to add panels (don’t be afraid to experiment with different style panels – when they’re all the same it can get boring. It’s not a spreadsheet!). Finally, resize your image to a good size for your blog. Six hundred pixels wide is about the max you can hope for on the web.

The final task is to add captions and speech bubbles. You do this last because resizing text ruins it completely. Enter in the text where you want it to go in the panel. Then surround it with a shape which will form the basis of a speech bubble. Erase one of the corners, and by using two lines make a little point towards your character. You can used curved lines for this if you wish.

Here is my finished comic strip. Nothing fancy as it was largely just a test to see if I could do it.

It took me about 45 minutes from start to finish. It would have taken less if I had a scanner – that would have meant less cleaning up in the beginning.

Here are some tips for how to make a web comic on your PC:

• Make lines/shading bolder where there will be less light. I’ve done this on his back as the light from the computer screen doesn’t reach there. Do the opposite for where there is light – such as on Harold’s face in my cartoon.
• Be sure to blow your image up big in the beginning to make your tools more accurate.
• Always leave text until last.
• Experiment with different panel styles.
• Use textures in Photoshop to replicate water, sky, sand, wood etc…
• It’s okay to crop the one image and simply reuse it if you’re feeling lazy like I was.
• Make your character simple – you’ll have to draw him/her again and again – remember that!

Of course, if you have a drawing tablet you can simply draw it directly onto your PC and forget about all that cleaning up!

How do you manage to draw and produce your web comics?   Any tips you’d like to pass on?

Thumbnail Image Credit: atibens

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• The 4 Great Lunchbreak Websites for Online Freelancer (4)
• Drawing Cartoon Faces Easily with PimpTheFace (5)
• 5 Great WebComics you Should Read (58)
• [Google Picasa 101] – View, Folders, Toolbars (18)
• [Google Picasa 101] – Saving, Exporting & Uploading To Picasa Web Albums (6)

I am not ashamed to admit I’m an avid Dilbert cartoon fan. Whenever I get off the phone, frustrated with HR’s lack of cooperation regarding the company sponsored insurance plan, or every time I walk out of an especially meaningless and pointless meeting, I pop open a few Dilbert comics on my browser or mobile phone, and I feel much better.

I’m not sure what it is about Dilbert that makes those of us who suffer through cubicle life feel better. Maybe it’s because it helps us to realize that even though we grudgingly agree to the new idiotic buzz-words passed down from management, and even though we allow ourselves to take part in moronic meeting discussions – we can know that we are not alone. Someone out there understands – and that someone is Dilbert. In honor of the man who brings me out of my cubicle depression each day, I would like to offer 6 of the best sites for Dilbert cartoon comic fans.

First Stop – Dilbert.com

Anyone who follows the Dilbert cartoon comic strip likely already knows that the premier spot on the Internet for Dilbert fans is obviously Dilbert.com. MakeUseOf has highlighted this site for its use of Twitter, and the site feature where you can attempt to mash your own Dilbert cartoon strip. The site offers the popular section that offers the Dilbert strip, the user mashup section and even an animated Dilbert clip. My favorite part of the site is actually Scott Adam’s blog.

His updates are sometimes witty, as you would expect, but he also dives into his own personal career decisions as well as political commentary. It’s a fun read and I encourage any die-hard Dilbert fan out there to follow along with the creator’s blog.

Dilbert Doodles

It’s a one-page section of Google Doodles that Saikat mentioned before, but it’s worth mentioning again. Dilbert Doodles were a series of Dilbert cartoon strips created exclusively for Google.

From Monday through Friday, Google updated the Doodle to reflect the Dilbert office crew trying to come up with the new Google logo. On Friday, the logo itself was the punchline. This series of Google Doodles are obvious collectors items for Dilbert fans.

Ringtales – The Animated Dilbert Podcast

While the comic strip is hilarious, the Dilbert animated cartoon is just as funny. At Ringtales, the collection of free Dilbert podcasts at this site is addictive – I couldn’t stop clicking through them!

Do you want to display the 5-day-a-week Dilbert cartoon podcasts on your own blog? Just click on the Widget menu at the top of the website and you can embed the video on your own website.

Embed the video clips in your blog, myspace page, on Facebook or anywhere else you want to share the wit of Dilbert with all of your friends.

Computer Weekly – Dilbert of the Day

Every day, in addition to checking out my favorite tech blog RSS feeds, I also take a look at the latest articles on Computer Weekly. The online version is where I get my latest fix for computer news. One of my favorite pages that I check out every day is Computer Weekly’s “Dilbert of the Day” comic strip.

You can certainly get your Dilbert fix from Dilbert.com – but if you’re looking to add as much Dilbert as possible to your daily life, this is yet another source to get a great daily fix from one of the premier online computer magazines on the net.

Mozilla Firefox Dilbert Add-on

Of course, if you want to receive your daily comic fix without having to browse to a particular web page, you can add the Dilbert Firefox Add-on. This is a free add-on that adds a small button to your status bar. When you click on it, up pops the strip of the day.

Installation is as easy as clicking and in a few moments and a few more clicks you’ll have Dilbert as part of your Firefox installation – what more could a geek ask for?

Track Your Dilbert Reading With Library Thing

LibraryThing is a very cool organizational website that Aibek covered back when it was in Beta. Now, it’s alive and well – and it features its own Dibert section where you can check out a collection of covers from the various comics, or add the titles of the various Scott Adams books you own to your personal Library collection.

This is a lot of fun to browse, and there’s even a section of LibraryThing for communities and groups. As of this writing, there’s no Dilbert group – so why don’t you start one?

Do you have any other fun Dilbert resources for MUO readers who are fans? Share them in the comments section below!

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• The 4 Great Lunchbreak Websites for Online Freelancer (4)
• Top Five Superhero Fan Web Sites (12)
• Top 5 Sites With Future Predictions About The World (15)
• Make Use Of Podcast #34: Star Wars A Capella (9)
• Make Use Of Podcast #28: Toot-tone (3)

I’m not the only one who dreams of such a person coming along and righting wrongs. Millions flock to a long list of top sites for superheroes, perhaps dreaming of having that courage, or power to make a change in the world. Of course, we all can, however it’s nice to think of being able to do it with a cape on. Up, up and….ah, you get the picture.

5. Kade: The Gothic Demon Hunter

Yeah, I haven’t heard of Kade either. Yet, according to Alexa, this is the most popular superhero website. Seriously. Kade apparently can’t feel – not the edge of a sword or his mother’s caress.  Awww… poor Kade. Wouldn’t that make doing anything kind of hard? Try holding a sword, or urinating. Would he feel that he has to go to the bathroom? I’m sorry, but this character makes about as much sense as the Twilight movies. Oh wait – same audience – brooding teenagers who think they are the first generation to ever go through their teens. That being said, I’ll probably give into suspension of disbelief and read a few anyway. As a bonus, it is kind of cool that this is a Canadian website.

4. Silver-Surfer Homepage

This is one superhero I never really understood. He’s silver and surfs through space. Did you ever get the feeling that Stan Lee and the crew at Marvel maybe did some pharmaceutical experimentation. Can you imagine the meeting that spawned this guy?

The website itself appears to be influenced by mind-altering substances. Sometimes there is red text on a star-field background. Sometimes the text is yellow. Either way, the content is interesting and a testament to this persons obsession with a boogie-boarding metalloid.

3. Incredible Hulk Online

Weighing in at number 3 and some 900 to 1040 pounds, the original green machine! At Incredible Hulk Online, you’ll find that there are at least 7 incarnations of the Hulk. Beats me. When I stopped buying comics, there was still just one Hulk. The site is a bit light on content, but is pretty interesting nonetheless.  It’s a pretty decent fan site, especially if you’re into collecting Hulk toys.

2. SpiderFan

I am so not a fan of spiders, however if I could become Spiderman by letting a radioactive one bite me, I’d be all over that like a web that catches flies. Look out! Here comes the Spider Guy!

The first real anti-hero, or at least unwilling hero, is arguably the second most popular superhero of all time. From humble beginnings at an upstart comic book company to cheesy Saturday morning cartoons with recycled cels to blockbuster action extravaganzas. Spiderfan tracks it all! Even the promo items given by fast food joints.  Did you know there was a villain called Chicken Cow? Somehow it all fits together….

1. Superman Homepage

Was there any doubt that Kal El would top the list of superheroes? Of course not. The first, and the greatest superhero of all time has had this site dedicated to him since 1994. As the logo says, they have everything you ever wanted to know about superman. Seriously. I started to get seriously sidetracked as I wandered through the decades of information, artwork and trivia about Clark Kent, Superman and all of his enemies and acquaintances.  Remember Krypto? The super dog? How about Comet the super horse? It’s all there.

Weird huh? No X-Men. Oddly enough, based on my research into web statistics on superhero sites these are your top 5. I would have thought for sure there would be Wolverine or Batman (although technically not a superhero) or Wonder Woman (I still have a puppy crush on Lynda Carter). Nope, not there. If you know of a great website dedicated to a superhero, we’d all be glad if you shared it in the comments. Especially if it features Lynda Carter.

Image Credit: DuckBrown

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• How To Create Simulated Model Train Layout Plans & Control Train With Your PC (11)
• Top 8 Websites With Cool Free Personality Traits Tests (13)
• Top 8 Websites To Find The Latest UFO Sightings (19)
• Top 5 Sites With Future Predictions About The World (15)
• The 6 Cutest Sites with Silly Pet Pics and LOL Pets (12)

In Japan, manga is an everyday thing. People of young and old alike enjoy these comics about romance, action, humor and, sometimes, tentacles — but that’s a genre we’ll be trying to avoid discussing today.

Lately, manga fever has been spreading beyond the country’s boundaries. Since it’s legal to read or download (yet) unlicensed titles in Europe and the States, spending some time to read Manga online is a great way to spend an afternoon. And once you’re in, you’ll never want out!

ATTENTION! Many of these manga’s are uploaded by users. It’s still illegal to read manga online that’s been licensed in English. Check here for a full list of licensed titles.

There are a lot of sites where you can download manga for free, but today we’ll be focussing on websites where you can read these comics online, without having to clutter your computer and from the comfort of your laptop, netbook, or iPhone.

Manga Fox

The first thing you’ll notice about Manga Fox is how great the site looks. Not only that, you can flip through different color themes to make it easier on the eyes or fit in with your room’s wallpaper. The second thing you’ll notice is their amazing collection of manga.

You can view the latest manga on the frontpage, but I recommend you browse the Manga Directory. Here you’ll be able to sort the different titles alphabetically or perform a search. If you really don’t know what to read, or just want some to get your hands on some new reads, sort the titles by rating and start with a blast.

The collection of manga they offer is very decent, and the site definitely stands out with its interface. I really doubt you’d find another manga site with a swifter navigation.

One Manga

One Manga comes second in the list. It’s got a comparable list of manga, but a slightly less pleasurable design and interface. Nevertheless, if you can’t find your manga on Manga Fox, this would be the second place to go.

Again, you can have your pick between the recent updates, or sort the titles by alphabet. Alternatively, and this is a feature you won’t encounter often, you can also browse by category. Say you’re still a little new to this, and want to find some titles that fit your style, this is a great place to start.

Manga Volume

Third comes Manga Volume. At first sight it highly resembles a file sharing site, and there are more similarities than that. Users can upload new manga from the frontpage, contributing to the already huge database of english manga.

Manga Volume misses the great interface of Manga Fox and the categoric view of One Manga, but its active user community make it a vast resource of online manga. Rest assured, if your manga isn’t on any of the three sites mentioned above, it’s probably licensed.

I hope you’ve had some use of this article. If you know any other great resources to read Manga online -  be sure to mention them in the comments section below!

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• Top Five Superhero Fan Web Sites (12)
• Top 8 Things For Bored Teenagers To Do Online [Part II] (9)
• Read 650 Magazines Online for Free With Maggwire (21)
• How to Find and Read Comic E-Books Online (13)
• 5 Great Web Comics You Should Read [Part 2] (86)

Sometimes, all I want to do is relax when I’m taking a break. One of the best ways, I find, to take a break while I’m writing is to entertain myself with one of my favourite freelancing shows, podcasts or cartoons. Yes, they exist. The guys at these freelance writing websites have turned their freelancing experiences into freelance gigs.

Freelance Freedom

This is a cartoon by N.C. Winters that I positively love. It’s published weekly on the homepage of FreelanceSwitch. Basically, it takes all the good, the bad, the misconceptions and daily grinding tasks of freelancing and rolls them into funny, often satirical comic strips. Perfect for a quick coffee break!

Hot For Words

This popular video podcast should not only interest writers but the nerdy and fact obsessed. Basically, it informs us of the origins of strange words which we may or may not use in the future. For example, did you know that clinophobia is a fear of going to bed?

The podcast is presented by an attractive, often scantily clad woman (maybe that’s why it’s so popular) who guides us through loads of cool words. This is a quick five minute break filler that makes you laugh, raise an eyebrow or just go “hmmm…”.

I Should Be Writing

This freelance writing website is a podcast presented by Mur Lafferty, a freelance writer. This is in audio format and gives the listener practical yet entertaining advice and insight into the world of freelancing and its many pitfalls.

The podcasts covers many different areas from the basics such as writing query letters to managing finances and organizing your workday to reach optimum levels for output. All in all, this is a good podcast if you have a while to spend listening to the musings of a seasoned veteran.

Write or Die

While this is considered a motivational tool to get writers writing, I think it’s a funny freelance writing website, and has loads of other uses such as beating your WPM record or just joking around.

Basically, it’s a word processor that times you when you write and keeps track of what you’re doing. If you slow down or stop writing for a while (i.e. you lay back and start spinning on your office chair, admiring the ceiling, etc) it will go red and redder  until some crazy, funky music starts playing and it tells you to get your fingers back on them keys! An easy to use, fun and perhaps even useful app for the procrastinating writer.

I hope that in some small, most likely insignificant way, I have cheered up a fellow freelancer somewhere who has just lost a contract, missed a deadline or is simply bored in their office waiting for an e-mail to come in and for the ball to start rolling after the weekend slump.

Warning: I take no responsibility for time wasted or deadlines missed due to your enjoyment of the above cartoon, app and podcasts!

What sites and apps do you look at on a regular basis in your freelancing breaks?

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• 6 Great Websites For Dilbert Comic Strip Fans (4)
• Top Five Superhero Fan Web Sites (12)
• Make Use Of Podcast #34: Star Wars A Capella (9)
• Make Use Of Podcast #28: Toot-tone (3)
• How To Make A Quick and Easy Web Comic (11)

There are tons of webcomics to be found, ranging from the hilarious brutely stick figures, to short graphic novels, written by Neil Gaiman.

Gaming webcomics, however, a thing that seems pretty obvious for the everyday nerd, are much scarcer.

Of course, we have a few top comics that most people know of, but they’re not sheer in number. Far from it.

In a quest, we ventured the world wide web, looking for the best gaming webcomics available. We’ve compiled a list that should be worth your while.

The 10 comics below are ordered in semi-randomness, it’s not a ranged listing. Most of them are worth a look anyway.

Dueling Analogs

A well known, well drawn, and already long-running webcomic by the hand of Steve Napierski. It does a great job of ridiculing most video gaming topics, be it games or consoles.

The comic airs semi-weekly, a sure bookmark if you want a quick laugh.

Penny Arcade

Most comics center gamers Tycho Brahe and John Gabriel. Two guys who seem the couch-friends stereotypes. Occasionally though, Penny Arcade takes a hit at other gaming topics, such as the Army of Two satire we see below.

Penny Arcade launches several new comics a week, about two or three, on a not-always-so-regular basis.

Digital Unrest

This comic often takes independent hits on video game topics, sometimes with a political aftertaste, but also features a few returning characters – Charles, Carter and Dr. Scopes – with which it strikes on other fronts.

There’s a new comic at least every Monday, more if possible.

2P START!

A comic you might’ve seen featured on Joystick several times.

The comic is mostly focused around the in-comic depictions of creators Tim and Ray, who tackle gaming matters with a critical, otherwise absurd kind of humour.

Tim and Ray provide a new comic each Wednesday, and a new podcast each Monday.

Nerf NOW!!

A webcomic that has – lately – busied itself solely with comics concerning Valve’s Team Fortress 2. Most comics are either three-paneled comparisons, or ‘evolutions’.

An interesting comic, though probably only to those familiar with the game in question.

Nerf NOW!! tries to throw a new comic in the bin each Tuesday and Friday.

Another Videogame Webcomic

This webcomic satires videogames by using the Animated Actor trope, where actions ‘in between scenes’ are shown, and ridiculed.

A new comic is launched every week.

Gamebrit

An awesome gaming comic, with a very interesting arsenal. The comics range from blunt pun – like the one below – to some pretty witty subjects.

The comics originally aired weekly on Monday, but the comic appears to be discontinued, as the last comic dates back to November last year.

Ctrl+Alt+Del

Even people living under rocks should know Ctrl+Alt+Del, one of the overall most popular webcomics, recently even with an animated series adaptation.

The story revolves around ICT, and video games specifically. It mainly shows us the gaming-drenched lives and experiences of Ethan, Lucas, Lilah and Zeke.

A new comic should be released three times a week, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

VG Cats

VG Cats, a satiric animal reflection on video games, is also one of the more popular webcomics. The Aeris and Leo characters, which you can see in the comic below, reappear frequently, starring in most comics.

He usually updates his comics on Mondays, or bi-monthly, although there he’s taken a break right now.

PVPonline

The comic centers around the employees of a fictional video game magazine. Though featuring frequent ‘regular puns’, the comic also engages some more serious matters from time to time.

The comic publishes weekly, not always on a regular schedule.

Do you think we’ve missed any? Want to share your opinion on those stated above? Which are your favourites? Tell us all about it in the comments!

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• How to Find and Read Comic E-Books Online (13)
• 6 Fun Websites To Waste Time On (9)
• 5 Great WebComics you Should Read (58)
• 5 Great Web Comics You Should Read [Part 2] (86)
• Yo Frankie! – Free Open Source Platform Game (16)

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?

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• How to Find and Read Comic E-Books Online (13)
• The 3 Best Sites To Read Manga Online (16)
• Faux News: 10 Best Websites for Fake News & Satire (19)
• 5 Great WebComics you Should Read (58)
• 10 Great Online Gaming Webcomics! (35)

While nothing can beat dead tree printed comicbooks during ‘morning rituals’, reading your friendly neighborhood heroes on-screen could also be nice. Doing it on the Mac makes everything even more nicer.

Searching the Sagas

Before reading, you must first obviously have the comic books. Here are a few ways to find the electronic version of your favorites.

1. Use torrents

There are many torrent portals out there, but if you are a Demonoid member you are lucky because they have a special section dedicated to comic books.

2. Use a search engine

Any of them – cough! Google! Cough! – will do, just use the search string

-inurl:htm -inurl:html intitle:”index of” “Last modified” “Title” comics cbr.

Make sure that you change the “Title” into whatever title you are searching for. Additional note: ‘CBR’ is the common compression extension for electronic versions of comic books.

Other popular extensions are CBZ, ZIP, and RAR. Try changing the extensions during the search if you don’t find what you’re looking for.

3. Try online storage sites

The popularity of online storage services makes them ideal places to keep digital collections. Try searching inside some of them. If you want suggestions on lists of online storage sites, Make Use Of has covered many of them. Or better, use Rapidshare search engines.

4. IRC

This old chatting world has been and still is one of the best resources of any kind of files – comic books included. One caveat is that you have to know exactly where to look. I’m not an IRC expert so I can’t help too much on this. If you can share some knowledge, please use the comments below.

Viewing and Reading the Virtual Pages

Now comes the fun part – reading comic books online! As a Mac user, I can recommend a few reading programs which run under the Mac.

1. FFView

One of the favorite comic readers among Mac users.

2. Jomic

A Java based comic viewer. So it can run under other platforms as well. Just be sure to have Java 1.4 or later. But as with other Java apps, this one too can be a bit ‘heavy’ on older machines.

3. Sequential 2

This one is an image viewer originally designed for opening a folder of images and displaying them in order.

4. Simple Comic

This one is my personal favourite. I like the ability to view two pages of a comic. It makes you feel like you are reading the hardware version. Also the ability to get the sneak peek of pages using the thumbnail on the progress bar.

For Windows users, aside from Jomic, try Comic Rack. This app display your comic collection iTunes-style. I can’t seem to find any other better options – the same goes for Linux. But then again, maybe I didn’t search hard enough. So, does anybody have any better suggestions?

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• 5 Great WebComics you Should Read (58)
• 5 Great Web Comics You Should Read [Part 2] (86)
• Who Needs The Amazon Kindle When You Have A Netbook? (26)
• Ways to Stay on Top of The News (13)
• The Seven Wonders of The World (Wide Web) (45)

With the rise of the internet came the ability for everyone and anyone to self-publish. ‘Webcomics’ is a term that came to refer to any cartoon published on websites and archives.

While many conventional cartoons are also published on websites like Comics.com, Webcomics developed a unique and definable style which differentiates them from print media comics.

To give you a sample of some popular Webcomics I’ve chosen just 5 which are my favourites. Don’t get too worked up over me omitting your favourite comic, it was hard narrowing it down and there were quite a few more I would have liked to put in.

Dinosaur Comics

Dinosaur comics is a WebComic that has also made itself into print media and a selection of strips have even been published in book form.

The format consists of just one set of 6 panels which contain exactly the same art each day but are accompanied by a different series of dialogue.

The characters consequently remain consistent throughout the series; T-Rex, Utahraptor and Dromiceiomimus. Occasionally other characters will interact with T-Rex but only through dialogue and stay off panel.

A Softer World

It’s hard to ever truly explain a Softer World. It’s humorous, sometimes, even when you’re not sure why. It’s thought provoking, which isn’t always a good thing and often it’s just plain disturbing.

Every strip contains three panels displaying one photograph by Emily Horne and several captions by Joey Comeau. It’s released three times a week and one book of selected comics have been published.

On the Softer World website hover your cursor over each cartoon for an additional sentence which often provides the text what could be a 4th panel.

Garfield minus Garfield

Barely 6 months old Garfield minus Garfield is already gaining rapid popularity and success and has been featured in numerous publications such as Time and Rolling Stone.

“Garfield Minus Garfield is a site dedicated to removing Garfield from the Garfield comic strips in order to reveal the existential angst of a certain young Mr. Jon Arbuckle. It is a journey deep into the mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness and depression in a quiet American suburb.”

In fact Garfield creator Jim Davis likes the idea so much he’s even publishing a book juxtapositioning the originals against the modified ones.

Garfield creator Jim Davis was intrigued by—and pleased with—the concept. “I think it’s an inspired thing to do,” Davis said. “I want to thank Dan for enabling me to see another side of Garfield. Some of the strips he chose were slappers: ‘Oh, I could have left that out.’ It would have been funnier.”

Possibly the first original idea to come out of Garfield for 20 years.

Gaping Void: Cartoons on the Back of Business Cards

I don’t really know if this is a ‘web-comic’ as such, it’s published on a website so that is good enough.

Hugh Macleod draws cartoons on the back of business cards and yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like.

In recent times he seems to have branched out a lot more and does giant squiggly patterns to sell to New Yorkers to hang in their apartments. He also wrote an incredible article on “how to be creative” which is one of the best pieces of writing I’ve read.

He posts his business card cartoons on his blog as well as his work in progress and his thoughts on technology and marketing in general.

ToothPaste for Dinner

A minimalist hand-drawn WebComic consisting of single self-contained panels which cover strange, ironic and surreal topics.

Do you know of any good webcomics that I have missed out that you would like to recommend? If so, post the URL in the comments and let us know why you like it! Or maybe you have your own webcomic you would like to show us?

(By) Laurence John was born naked, screaming and utterly helpless at some point in the last century. He currently blogs about heroic failures and the development of Windows 7.

Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!

New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/

• How to Find and Read Comic E-Books Online (13)
• WriteOnIt – Funny Photo Captions, Magazine Covers & Other (8)
• Wordle – Become Addicted To RSS Feeds The Fun Way (13)
• What are you lookin’ at? Cool Sites To Feed Your Photo Fetish (8)
• The Seven Wonders of The World (Wide Web) (45)