2012-366 Day 7 – Webcomics

Seeing as I’ll actually be at Cutting Edge Karate most of the day, and a Graduation party for FZ2 most of the evening (can’t tell if that’d make a good DJ nickname or was just an orphaned license plate part), I’m trying my had at preparing something in the past and having it upload during the day. So yes, that means you’re reading this from the FUTURE! Well, technically you are always reading these in the future from when I write them, but . . . you know what, you know how this works, let’s move on.

So over the course of this year, I’m going to give you a little tour of my RSS feed. For those of you who don’t know, an RSS reader is a program where you feed it website addresses (their RSS feed), and it then gives you a central place where you can see all those updates without having to visit those individual websites. The first area we’re covering? Webcomics. Yes, just like the Sunday funnies we all used to/still love, the new version has gone online to create all sorts of havoc. So here’s what I read, a little on what it’s about, and why I read it. They’re in alphabetical order just because.

NOTE: Everyone’s tastes are different. I do not expect you to like all my choices, I’m just letting you know what they are.

Atomic Laundromat – http://www.atomiclaundromat.com/
A quirky strip about a guy who owns a laundromat in a world full of superheroes. Yeah, it’s a little nuts, but it’s fun and has a lot of heart.

Basic Instructions – http://basicinstructions.net/basic-instructions/
I like this one because the guy who makes it shares a lot of my sense of humor (that should probably warn you off right there), although the art style (tracing of photographs) takes a bit of getting used to. Every strip is four panels on a specific topic, although they generally don’t seem to end up where you might imagine. . .

Cleopatra in Spaaace! – http://www.cowshell.com/cleopatra
This one hasn’t updated in a while, but you can catch up on the first two chapters here. A great artistic style and a setting which blends ancient Egyptian elements with Science Fiction.

Dilbert Daily Strip – http://dilbert.com/
It’s Dilbert. The same one you get in the newspaper. It would probably also be on the chopping block if it didn’t take three seconds to catch up on everyday.

Dork Tower – http://www.dorktower.com/
One of the originals, and very geeky/gamer oriented. I have an affection for the characters due to reading it for a long time, YMMV.

Drive Comic – http://www.drivecomic.com/
A Science Fiction comic from the creator of Sheldon (see below), it has an irregular update schedule as the creator’s main bread winner is his original comic and he has a few other projects going. That’s unfortunate, since I really like the art style, and the universe he is building is genuinely intriguing.

Evil Inc. – http://www.evil-comic.com/
A long running comic about a unique universe of superheroes and villains. The art can be a bit cheesecake at times (if you don’t know what that means, ask your parents), but the world parodies the comics fairly well, so the art might as well too.

Gronk – http://www.gronkcomic.com/
Might have a few points deducted from my Man card on this one, but this is a cute comic about a little girl monster living with her adopted mom, cat, and dog. Don’t bother taking my Man card though, as I’ll just have Todd issue me a new one (yes, I just made a joke that a grand total of two people will get, and I don’t know if one of them even reads this).

Lady Sabre & The Pirates of the Ineffable Aether – http://www.ineffableaether.com/
A comic about space pirates. Actually, this is a collaboration of a couple of well known physical comic creators, and there’s a lot of information about their process and ideas as well as the actual comic. The story itself is moving a tad slow, but it’s the extras that make this one interesting.

malandchad.com – http://malandchad.com/
This comic has actually been discontinued (well, actually moved to the print realm, creator is making graphic novels now), but you can read all of the original strips here, and he still updates the site with information on the new books. The comic itself is the closest thing I’ve found to Calvin and Hobbes (probably my all time favorite strip, beating out the second place Fox Trot by a bit) if Calvin was a bit more science minded and Hobbes was a dog. A whole lot of fun.

Not Invented Here – http://notinventedhe.re/
A comic about programming and programmers made by one of the creators about a comic about libraries. Uh yeah, so take from that what you will. The original artist just finished his run and they are about to move forward with a new artist, so we’ll see what happens there.

Order of the Stick – http://www.giantitp.com/Comics.html
A stick figure comic set in a world based on the rules of Dungeons and Dragons. I’m beginning to become uncomfortable with how much a list of comics I like is revealing about me. . . Anyway, the art is actually really good for stick figures, and the story line, while going back a while now, has been great. Several of the individual strips have been absolutely amazing just as things to think about (such as the one on the advantages of being the evil despot to be overthrown in long running fantasy arcs), although, oddly enough, this is the second most impressive and thought provoking stick figure comic on the list.

OUR VALUED CUSTOMERS – http://ourvaluedcustomers.blogspot.com/
A simple one panel comic done by the owner of a comic shop about all the crazy stuff he hears in his store. Usually makes me frightened for society, and occasionally makes me want to smack somebody. From the “it’s funny because it’s true” camp.

Penny-Arcade – http://www.penny-arcade.com/
This falls squarely in the Things I Shouldn’t Know Exist category (thanks Jon Acuff). It crosses all the gaming and comic boundaries and will just as often have me laughing out loud as it will have me facepalming and moving on to the next website. Taking it off the list would be inauthentic, however, since I do keep up on it, so here it is.

Power Nap RSS Feed – http://www.powernapcomic.com/
Bizarre comic about the one guy who has to sleep in a world where sleep has been medicated away. Story just took an interesting turn, and the art is kind of fun, but still on the chopping block.

PvPonline – http://www.pvponline.com/
Long running comic strip about a company that makes a magazine about games (wait, I’m beginning to see a pattern here). A lot of strong characterization in this one makes it a great read, but again, I’ve become attached through long term exposure.

Real Life Comics – http://www.reallifecomics.com/
Uh, it’s a little hard to describe this one, as it’s about a guy who lives in Northern California and his real life adventures, except their not-so-much real life, and there are a bunch of zany adventures. And he can go off on long story lines about Star Trek, or his new kid, or. . . you know what, you can just try it and see if you like it.

Sheldon, The Daily Comic Strip, Dave Kellett – http://www.sheldoncomics.com/
A comic strip about a boy genius who starts a software company, makes millions of dollars, and his life. Although the money and the software company have surprisingly little to do with it. Oh yeah, and a duck that talks because he had a dictionary uploaded into his head who has adopted a lizard son. . . okay, now I’m starting to scare myself.

Sluggy Freelance RSS Feed – http://www.sluggy.com/
One of the granddaddy of webcomics, this one has been going since August of 1997. The archives are enormous, but, if you can get through them, you will be rewarded with a far reaching, surprisingly well thought out story that crosses dimensions and time, and is just a bit crazy to boot.

Surviving The World – http://survivingtheworld.net/
A man and chalkboard conduct a fictional college class on a topic a day. Covers a crazy amount of area, and he is an actual college professor (though I believe he is in between teaching gigs and working for the government right now), which gives you hope that all of us professors can have fun. Oh, and I came in 3rd place in his 20 team fantasy baseball league (he came in second).

The Abominable Charles Christopher – http://www.abominable.cc/
This comic only updates once a week, but just go look at the art. The fact that there is an story at all, and the fact that the story is pretty awesome in itself, is just icing.

The Adventures of Superhero Girl – http://superherogirladventures.blogspot.com/
The creator of this strip is more well known for her other comics, but I don’t read them and this one is superhero related, so I think you know why I’m on board. It’s definitely a fun, quirky strip. I can’t believe I’ve used quirky twice (er, I guess three times now) in this blog post.

The Gutters – http://www.the-gutters.com/
A single comic book page every few days by a rotating cast of professional artists that makes fun of some aspect of the current events in the comic book industry. Sadly how I get most of my comic news since I dropped out of buying them mid-last year.

The Non-Adventures of Wonderella – http://nonadventures.com/
What if Wonder Woman was a sarcastic, drunken, unmotivated wreck that often caused more problems than she solved? You can look at the results here.

The Trenches – http://trenchescomic.com/
A joint venture of two previous comics on the list (Penny Arcade and PVPonline), this one is fairly new and details the life and times of a software QA company (game testing), which is legendarily soul sucking and difficult.

xkcd.com – http://xkcd.com/
The premier stick figure comic on the Internets. Has touched on pretty much every significant subject, with a heavy math and science bent (although quite a bit of philosophical thought and even a bit of sex is thrown in). Some of the most amazing comics don’t even have stick figures in them, as the creator has painstakingly put together charts on radiation and money you have to see to believe.

Weight: 240 Max: 240 Min: 240
Yearly Mileage: 4 miles
Current Belt: White – Next Belt: Purple – Next Test Date: 1/7/12 (today!)
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