Webcomics

Since I mentioned a few already, I decided to put a list of webcomics I read in my sidebar. What are webcomics? In short, they are comic strips published on the web. There's more to it than that, however. Because they are published exclusively on the web, they keep their entire archives online. Aside from meaning that you have several years worth of comics available to read immediately, it also means that it's easier for the artist to create long, complex storylines which refer to incidents occuring weeks, months, or even years previously, since the reader has ready access to the previous events. Thus webcomics tend to be serial comic strips like Prince Valiant or Mary Worth--comics which I never read because I could never figure out what was going on. If they had online archives, maybe I would have. In any case, because of the importance of reading the archives in order to understand the current storyline, the links on the sidebar link to the very first comic in the archives, with the "(today)" link pointing to today's strip. These are not the only webcomics I read; I chose to highlight these because they are some of my favorites, plus they met my criteria of being daily strips, regularly updated (although some of the artists occasionally take short vacations), and in reasonably good taste. Here's a quick overview:

Sluggy Freelance by Pete Abrams-- My favorite these days. It's about a boy, his mad scientist buddy, and his homicidal bunny. We meet these folks, the male half of the cast, the first week. Rounding out the cast are the women: a man-eating alien, a hyperactive ferret, the magic-addicted ex-girlfriend, and the obligatory "normal" castmember, who's only a little cursed.

Day by Day by Chris Muir -- This one's the least serial, more gag-a-day. It's like Doonesbury, only funnier and conservative.

It's Walky! by David Willis-- It starts as a normal college comic strip. Then the aliens arrive. Don't worry, the artwork gets better in time.

College Roomies from Hell!!! by Maritza Campos -- This also starts as a normal college strip, but the supernatural stuff starts much sooner. The artwork in this one gets much better with time.

General Protection Fault by Jeffrey T. Darlington -- This starts as a normal software company strip, and then... you know the drill.

Schlock Merenary by Howard Tayler -- This starts as a normal far-future, intergalactic mercenary strip, and then... well, actually, it doesn't get much weirder than that.