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Zap! Zap, by Pascalle, is one of the most gorgeous comics you'll ever lay eyes on. Twice a week updates in full, beautiful digital art make Zap a treat to read, and the story's a good'un as well, which doesn't hurt. Following the dashing (and fairly naive) Zap around the universe with his crew of wannabe galaxy savers, Zap! is a ripping space opera with all the good bits- romance, fights, evil nemesi and, of course, laser guns. While it's not as masterfully told as some, it's solid science fiction told with a good degree of skill and dedication, with great characters and, I say again, art that will have you having to drool-proof your keyboard... |
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| The Wotch Written and drawn by 'Anne Onymous' and coloured by Robin Ericson, The Wotch manages to do what I do, only better, and three times a week to boot. It's one of those comics that, given half a bit of ink one way or a word or two the other would be totally unremarkable, and probably quite bad, but is instead one of the most awesome pieces of comic fiction out there. It follows the adventures of a comic Anne and friends as they find themselves in the middle of a pandimensional mystery, while anne discovers she holds the mysterious powers of 'the wotch'. Which she promptly abuses more than a catcaller on Jerry Springer. Hilarious and inspiring, the wotch was what got me writing my comic in the first place, and is still my home in cyberspace, with the wotch community hosting my forums. |
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Inhuman By 'Iccarus', Inhuman is not a joker's comic. It deals with the darker aspects of human nature in a whimsy, watercolour style that is both messy and deeply appropriate. Centering around two alien siblings on the world of Hekshano, Inhuman deals with their relationship with the blind, scarred human child known only as Grey. Inhuman is stark and deeply insightful, showing that not all comics are purely there for the laughs. It ranks among my favourite comics and I think it should certainly be more popular than it is. The only problem with it is its once-a-week schedule which, given the nature of the story, means it's a slow comic to progress through. |
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| El Goonish Shive El goonish shive, written by Dan Shive, is about as hard to explain as its title, and the rampant insanity that bubbles through the plot makes it even more of a delightfully odd read, but through all the madness and the gales of laughter, EGS is one of the the most moving and beautifully written pieces of storytelling around. Not just comics, mind, everything. El Goonish Shive follows eight teenagers on their journey through self discovery, love, joy and friendship so vividly you'll find yourself wanting to cuddle them when they look down. Especially if they're Grace, who is quite possibly the most awesomely cuddly character ever invented. Period. |
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Misfile Chris Hazelton's Misfile is an enduring comic on the web, one of the first of a growing group of 'transgender' comics which look at the minor problem of waking up in the morning and being the opposite sex. Ash Upton is the unlucky recipient of a brand new pair of boobs and, along with a girl who just lost the last two years of her life, the angel that did it to them and a supporting cast bridging heaven and hell, they just have to get along. Which is surprisingly hard when you realise you can't go to the toilet standing up any more. Misfile is funny, meaningful, beautifully drawn and updates every weekday without fail, making it a firm favourite of mine. | |
| Ctrl Alt Del Ctrl-alt-del is probably the foremost gamer's comic around. it follows the lives of a variety of video game influenced characters and their friends, pets and relations. With an irreverent, non-sequiteur brand of humor that has very much put CAD in a league of its own, you can be assured of a good read every time you check back, with four updates a week and animated comics every month for subscribers.CAD also has an inbuilt gamers media page where you can check out reviews of all the latest products and rumours in the world of electronic entertainment. |
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Penny Arcade One could argue that Penny Arcade is the origin of webcomic culture, so influential it has been on the waves of the world wide web. With thousands of comics, hundreds of thousands of fans, its own charity and convention and a 'contemporary' way of talking to society, Penny arcade is simply the biggest comic out there, bar none. The comic follows the ambulatory steps of Tycho and Gabe in a series of unrelated comic strips exploring everything from computer games to politics (mostly computer games though). Vulgar, rib-splittingly funny and reliable above all others when it comes to getting comics out on time, PA will leave you traumatised and addicted in very much the same way as drugs. |
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| Real Life Real life holds a soft spot for me, being the first webcomic I was introduced to and thus the originator of my arduous journey into the genre. Greg Dean is also the only creator on my links list I have had the pleasure of meeting in person, and taught me a whole bunch of really useful stuff you oughta know about comics(tm). Not that it in any way needs those two points to make my links list... Real life is one of the oldest comics around, with almost ten years clocked in and thousands of strips. It follows the everyday adventures of the author in a semi-realistic, semi fantastic manner and reliably gets me laughing even all these years later. |
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