Web Comics! - Part 1

I call this "part 1" because I fully intend to discover more awesome web comics out there:

Anyway, here are ones I have read (and am up-to-date on or finished with) that I think really stand out for their humor (in order of discovery), rated on a scale of 1 to 5 stars:

xkcd **** (4 stars): This site is just hilarious. It's very witty and some of it requires prior knowledge, but most of the observational comedy should be understood by most people.

There isn't much that can be said about all the comics taken as a whole because many of them are so wildly different. Math, semantics, love, sex, and science (usually physics) come up frequently and prove to be the source of many crazy occurences in the lives of the graphically perfected stick-figure beings that inhabit the xkcd "world."

I'm a little stingy with perfect ratings. It is a little bit niche, so it will not appeal to everyone, and because some of the jokes do require some previous knowledge, they can be hit-or-miss at times. It still gets a solid 4.


Darths and Droids **** (4 stars): This one is definitely something you either appreciate or you don't, with nearly no middle-ground. The reason for this is simple: whereas xkcd is nerdy in a witty way about life, Darths and Droids is nerdy in a witty way about Dungeons and Dragons. That said, this comic is funny if you accept that it's about Dungeons and Dragons and you're willing to laugh at the game and at Star Wars.

I actually found this comic to be funnier than DM of the Rings, which was a big inspiration for Darths and Droids. DM of the Rings improves in the later episodes, but this starts out exciting from the get-go.

The characters (both the players and the in-comic characters of the players) are funny, active, and even plausibly real. There are certainly people that play like that, and the notes after episodes make a good point of acknowledging the truths behind player actions.

This would be a 3.5 if I could do half an asterisk, but I can't. It's definitely niche. Not everyone will "get" it or like it. But those that do will probably love it. It's fast-paced, full of twists created by the characters themselves (not contrived plot twists beyond the characters' control, even if the characters themselves are subject to the control of the author, because their actions still feel natural), and a great parody.


DM of the Rings *** (3 stars): This starts out pretty slow, in my opinion, but if you can push past the first few episodes, it picks up and ends up providing excellent entertainment value as it pokes fun at the The Lord of the Rings trilogy. My only major disappointment was that the ending felt a little weak: Gimli and Legolas' annoyance seemed to be stretched out more than it needed to be. Whether this was actually meant as a subtle joke about the ending of the movie trilogy (or "endings" rather) is not something I can confirm, but it doesn't feel that way. If it had came off like that, I don't think I would have any complaints given that it was a learning experience (explaining the progression from the early comics to the later ones).

This is definitely worth a read if you like the genre and especially if you plan to read Darths and Droids (it's fun to contrast them and it provides a little extra background information on the origins of Darths and Droids).

There are a lot of jokes that fall flat in their presentation, are already expected, or just aren't that funny in the first place (usually because they have been done to death). It's still funny and it gets a 3.


El Goonish Shive **** (4 stars): This is a long-running web comic, and I have to say I have never really been disappointed by it. Though the author is currently on a short break from posting them (to work on them instead!), there is plenty of material for new readers to play catch-up with.

I don't want to spoil anything, so any discussions of the exact oddities of the El Goonish Shive universe will remain omitted, but suffice to say this comic is filled with the antics of ani-morphing, gender-bending, extra-terrestrial, magical teenagers and their exploits. I may go into more detail in other posts.

It's hilarious and I highly recommend anyone who likes quirky, silly, sometimes witty material that leaves you quizzically looking at your screen while grinning and thinking, "What...? But why? Why di-... what?"

I want to say this is 4 stars because it has something for everyone. The characters are mostly goofy, but there are serious characters and serious moments even between the sillier cast. It has drama, action, comedy, and more (though there's no clear (Wild) Western element yet). It's still somewhat niche despite this, however, by virtue of the whole "animal-people, gays, bi-sexuals, straight people who just aren't their original sex at the moment, aliens, extra-dimensional beings, magic, Ki powers, and general nerdiness" thing. This might be a little low on the 4-scale, but I can't type half an asterisk to give it a 3.5 for niche-ness, so it's a 4 because of personal enjoyment.