Brian Koontz
05-01-2003, 10:38 PM
I've been reading web comics for a few years now, and I'll share my favorite ones with you including some commentary (I suspect I haven't encountered a few high quality ones, so if I left some out its probably because I haven't been introduced to them):
Best: Sluggy Freelance
Great plot which never seems to be creatively exhausted possibly due to its insanity, great and deep characters, and great humor. Ka-click!
2nd best: Megatokyo
Inconsistencies in production hurt this somewhat, but this comic has soul in spades. Very original and seemingly as Japanese as stuff produced in Japan! Hard to believe some guy in Michigan does it.
3rd best: Penny Arcade
It might not even make the list if I wasn't taking into account the quality of the news. Though I predict that Tycho will drown in his own pool of linguistic cleverness at some point.
4th best: Nodwick
Every person who has played D&D has to read this. The other obviously seriously deprived people should play D&D and THEN read this ;).
5th best: PVPOnline
For a webcomic, the LACK of an edge as found in PVP is actually radical. Other than its content (gamer-oriented) and violence this comic could be read in a newspaper.
6th best: Dork Tower
Inconsistent humor but some real gems are there.
Comic that used to be great but got killed: Elf Life
At one time this thing was better than Megatokyo, but it switched to some weird monthly update.
Comic that's *too* absurd even for a webcomic but still has its moments: Superosity
Superosity also suffers from lack of creativity.
Its amazing after reading these for a while and turning to a newspaper and reading the comics there. The comics there SUCK! After Calvin and Hobbes shut down there just isn't a point to the newspaper comics. Also, Calvin and Hobbes was about 10 times better than anything else in newspapers at the time.
Best: Sluggy Freelance
Great plot which never seems to be creatively exhausted possibly due to its insanity, great and deep characters, and great humor. Ka-click!
2nd best: Megatokyo
Inconsistencies in production hurt this somewhat, but this comic has soul in spades. Very original and seemingly as Japanese as stuff produced in Japan! Hard to believe some guy in Michigan does it.
3rd best: Penny Arcade
It might not even make the list if I wasn't taking into account the quality of the news. Though I predict that Tycho will drown in his own pool of linguistic cleverness at some point.
4th best: Nodwick
Every person who has played D&D has to read this. The other obviously seriously deprived people should play D&D and THEN read this ;).
5th best: PVPOnline
For a webcomic, the LACK of an edge as found in PVP is actually radical. Other than its content (gamer-oriented) and violence this comic could be read in a newspaper.
6th best: Dork Tower
Inconsistent humor but some real gems are there.
Comic that used to be great but got killed: Elf Life
At one time this thing was better than Megatokyo, but it switched to some weird monthly update.
Comic that's *too* absurd even for a webcomic but still has its moments: Superosity
Superosity also suffers from lack of creativity.
Its amazing after reading these for a while and turning to a newspaper and reading the comics there. The comics there SUCK! After Calvin and Hobbes shut down there just isn't a point to the newspaper comics. Also, Calvin and Hobbes was about 10 times better than anything else in newspapers at the time.