Current mood:	pleased
Entry tags:	comics, fun, nifty stuff

good webcomics. trust me on this.
Recently I've rediscovered web comics again, and I have to say, I'm quite impressed. Before, my main visits were things like Megatokyo, Sinfest, and, of course, the ever-popular Penny Arcade.

These are still good favorites (although I haven't kept up with Megatokyo, to tell the truth), but overwhelmingly the image in my mind was variations of the Sunday funnies. They might have more edge, maybe were more topical, and were tailored to my age group, but in the end, it was still very much about the punchline. (Except for Megatokyo, which had notably started drifting into its own storyline, thanks to Japanese gaming and shoujo manga influence.)

But a few days ago I stumbled by accident upon Top Web Comics. There's some really good, compelling stories out there. Well-plotted story arcs, beautiful art to rival any manga artist, and dynamic(!) character development that any novel writer would be envious of. I don't think I'll ever look at the genre the same way again.

Okay. Enough exposition. On to the good stuff!


Good webcomics (storyline + art):

Girl Genius

Steam-punk adventure/humor strip, otherwise known as "Phil and Kaja Foglio's Gaslamp Fantasy with all the Adventure, Romance and Mad Science you can stand!" This started out as a proper comic, but switched to the niftier online format recently. I recommend starting with Girl Genius 101. That's the storyline started in real comic-land, and are now transferring slowly to their web archives. They update pretty frequently (both the current story and their 101 storyline), so no worries about being left hanging.



Inverloch

This strip? Is fucking awesome. It seems to start off fairly typically; a kidnapped child, a quest to win the hand of a maiden, and the prerequisite cast of elves and wizards and rogue thieves. But the characters are really well fleshed out, and it's not as predictable as you might think. (And yes, it does seem to be following true to many of the fantasy genre's conventions, but it does it well.) The art is beautiful, and the story (even the romance bits) is not making me cringe. Also appears to be regularly updated. What's not to love?



No Rest for the Wicked

I admit it. I'm reading this for Red Riding Hood. She is my hero. If I had an axe and a twisted psycho presence like that girl, I would die a happy camper.

An amalgam of Grimm fairy tales, this webcomic has that dreamy surreality of McKillip's works, but with a dark undercurrent like Fables. Good atmosphere.

"One day, the Moon up and disappeared; where it went, or why, none can say. Without the Moon's light to keep them in check at night, monsters, crawling horrors, and other creatures of the dark run rampant throughout the land. But Princess November has much more pressing matters to worry about: she hasn't had a decent sleep in ages."



Closetspace

Time to take a break from the fantasy realms and check out real life. Surprisingly compelling in its character portraits, ClosetSpace pulls you in with its mix of drama and humor.

"The story of a boy who thought he could be a woman so well, he moved in with one. And the chaos that followed."




Saturnalia

Sci-fi/Blade Runner premise, but with more campy humor, and an obnoxious protagonist. (But in a good way?) Sysreq is a cop. A loud, cranky, self-centered, and totally clueless traffic cop. Did we mention he also can't seem to let go of his ex? And he hates androids? Weirdly enough, even as you keep reading, you don't want to kill him on sight. Probably because you get the feeling the other characters will do it for you.

Give it a try. It's fast-paced, sometimes silly, but still has a point. Bonus: it doesn't waste time jumping into the story. And the art is good. You'll find Sysreq and co. starting to grow on you, despite yourself.



Fallen

Fallen angels. Mysterious pasts. This one is worth reading. Believe me. It's a little slow-paced, but the characters are endearing. (I'm making it sound all warm and fuzzy now. It's not... exactly. Kinda. But in a good semi-not-quite angsty way.)



This is getting really long. I'll post some more later.

Next category: Good art or promise, but too early to tell if it'll deliver or not.