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Your favorite webcomics!

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Zwiebelchen

Hosted Project GR
Level 35
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7,236
I'm totally into webcomics lately. I have been doing one archive-dive after another and always discover new gems while doing it. It's amazing what amateurs are capable of sometimes. Often, these free webcomics are better than the comics you actually have to pay money for.

Anyway, what are your favorites? If possible, review them, because just mentioning them is lame and won't anyone convince giving them a try.


Here are my 4 favorites:

The Order of the Stick (read this one if you are a D&D nerd)

A webcomic that started out as a couple of random gag strips about an adventuring party in a dungeon, but evolved into a long continued story about a Lich trying to ressurect an ancient being that will bring chaos to the (Dungeons & Dragons) world.
Genres: Comedy, High-Fantasy

Story:
While the first strips clearly show a lack of a clear direction (the author claimed that he originally never intended that the characters will ever leave his dungeon or encounter a real story), the story really picks up at the moment the author decides to actually have a continous story. It's basicly a classic fantasy trope about an evil wizard trying to resurrect a god of destruction. Nothing special in that regard, but the stellar writing and the great characters make it absolutely worthwhile.
7/10

Characters:
The strongest point of this webcomic. This is not very visible at first, but later on, all characters, be it side or main cast just ooze personality. It's amazing how much emotion can be delivered through simple stick figures.
In fact, one of the strongest points of OotS are it's side characters. You just can't help caring for them, even if some of them are (intentionally) super-annoying. It should be said, though, that engaging female characters are possibly not the strongest point of the author and this shows a lot. Varsuvius, on the other hand, kind of makes up for that. His/Her gender identity is a running gag throughout the story.
8/10

Humour:
What should I say? If you love D&D jokes and nerd humor, then this comic is for you! The delivery is brilliant and to the point and he even managed to integrate jokes in even the most dramatic moments without taking out any of the momentum. A skill that many other writers lack. The humor suffers a bit from the cerberus syndrome, though, which is the reason why I can only give it a
7/10

Art:
It's stick figure art. What could I expect? Ironically, my expectations have been surpassed greatly. Not only does the art improve A LOT throughout the story, but the way the Giant gives emotions to these characters is phenomenal. If you dig minimalistic and stylized art style, then you will love OotS.
Some of the backgrounds, especially in the later comics are pretty detailed, but always in tune with the stick figures. However, we have to be fair here and can not give it a higher rating than
4/10




Grrl Power (read this one if you love quirky mains and supers)

A webcomic about Sydney, a comic-nerd slash ADHD-tomboy slash super-heroine who gets discovered by Arc, a kind of super-hero police force during a bank heist.
Genres: Comedy, Slice-of-Life, Super Powers

Story:
Don't be confused when reading this: the story focuses on the Slice-of-Life aspects of being a super hero, not neccesarily on action. While there is some action here and there, it's absolutely not the main point of the story, which are strong (in kind of a literal sense) female characters and their daily life. Due to the genre, there is not much that could actually qualify as a real storyline; we just follow Sydney through her daily life that just happens to be turned completely upside-down as she gets befriend with a super called Maxima. The author is obsessed with detail and logic and science. If you dig that and always wanted a super comic adress stuff like collateral damage (I'm looking at you, Clark Kent!), then this comic is for you. I have to subtract a point for pacing, though, because this comic has been running for years and we are still at day-2 of the story...
7/10

Characters:
As a character-centric story with mostly female supers, I expected this to be good. And it is. Sydney is one of those main characters that drags you completely into her zone right from the get go. Adorkable as adorkable can be. Unfortunately, she also kind of overshadows all the other characters in the story with her quirkyness. Other characters rarely take the spotlight, which makes some of them look bland or reduced to their relationship with Sydney. The only character that gets characterized more than just the fundamentals is Max and even her character only really plays out in her dynamic with Sydney.
However, if you love protagonist-centric stories, this comic is definitely for you.
9/10

Humour:
The humor of Grrl Power is mostly based on playing with tropes and averting them. It's a play on everything that is unrealistic in super stories. And what should I say? It works! I love all the little details and hidden jokes you can find along the road. Obviously, the hyper protagonist is a gag factory, but it's more than just that; all the characters have their particular, spicy brand of jokes so that you will find practically everything in the book - from sex jokes to witty puns to subtle references.
9/10

Art:
I want to be completely honest here: Grrl Power is one of those comics where I actually don't like the evolution of the art. It starts primitive, but pretty in a quirky anime-style, then blends more and more elements of western comic books in. While Sydney always remains in Anime style, the author has a tendency to overdo the details, which sometimes falls on the wrong side of the uncanney valley. I felt the art is at it's strongest halfway through the story. And while I dig all the details in the backgrounds of his current art, I think that he should take a step backwards in his character designs. Still, this deserves a high rating of
8/10




Unsounded (this one is for ... HOLY CRAP DAT ART!)

One of my newest finds.
It tells the story of Sette, a tomboy thief princess with a lion tail and her undead wizard escort Duane in a fantasticly built fantasy world.
Genres: Drama, Fantasy, Action

Story:
The story has some pacing issues at first, as the exposition is mostly based on the premise of Sette having to travel to her cousin to collect a dept for her father. But as fantasy story usually go, it evolves into much more than that, and the heroes ultimately get dragged further and further into a deep web of intrigues, crimes and politics between three different countries. There is a lot of stuff going on and many different parties involved, but the story always remains clear and followable for the reader.
This is because the writing is fantastic and the author makes sure to end plotlines at the same regular basis as she establishes new plotlines. And while there is an overarching background story going on, it never feels like any of the sidestories is open-ended or takes long to get concluded. In fact, the story is currently at a point on which the initial premise is mostly concluded, leaving the reader with a feeling of satisfaction, as it never feels like one of those frustrating "endless stories".
The twists (albeit one was a bit predictable) are superb and overall masterfully executed.
9/10

Characters:
This one is probably a bit controversial. What you think of the characters really depends on how you can deal with flawed characters that show a strong evolution throughout the story. Especially Sette is very annoying at first, which, unfortunately, is kind of the point. Even Duane first gives the impression of being bland and boring at the beginning of the story - which ultimately makes the story hard to "get into". But all these flaws are intentional and make all their character moments so much more powerful. I initially hated Sette for being an annoying brat; now she is my absolute favorite character. If you like protagonist-centric stories, all I can say is stick with this comic! I promise that it is totally worth the pain of the first two chapters. I have to subtract one point for the relatively uninteresting side-characters, though. There are only some so far that I really like, but it doesn't matter much in the big picture, as this is definitely the Sette & Duane Show.
9/10

Humour:
Practically not existant. It's a drama, don't expect much jokes. There are some funny situations, but they are hardly worth mentioning. No rating for this, simply because it's not supposed to be funny.
-/10

Art:
This updates three times a week? How is that humanly possible? This artist is a machine! Just look at this. Holy crap!
Also, this artist deserves a bonus point for how she plays with the canvas in the different chapters. Way to set the mood!
11/10




El Goonish Shive (read this one if you are into genderbender and transformations)

One of the oldest webcomics that is still being continued. It has been around since 2002 and has over 2000 pages.
It's a slice-of-life story about teenagers (mostly girls) with magical powers, mostly about transformation. Mostly about romance and teenage angst, it has some drama elements and fanservice sprinkled in.
Genres: Slice-of-Life, Romance, Mystery

Story:
I want to be completely honest here: the story is not the strongest part of this series. The obvious lack of experience and direction of the comic's early days show and draw their nasty shadows all over even the most recent updates. And while the storytelling really picks up around 2004 (the writing and pacing has become fantastic lately!), the initial foundation between 2002-2004 is quirky and mediocre at best. If you can manage to get through the first 500 strips of this comic, you will find yourself in a very engaging coming-of-age story. Until then, it's painful to read from a writer's perspective. Fortunately, the transformation and genderbernder stuff keeps you hooked even through the early years of the comic if you are into it.
6/10

Characters:
Most of the characters start out extremely bland and one-dimensional. We have the pervert nerd, the marty stu protagonist, the fanservice girl and the boring girlfriend at first. However, the story quickly adds new characters to it's roster which are far, far more interesting than the initial main cast. Actually, these new characters completely steal the show of the original ones, which ultimately leads to the weird situation that they get more showtime than the initial cast in more recent pages. And that's a good thing. Granted, Elliot loses some of it's Marty Stu'ness throughout the story and I appreciate that, but Grace, Tedd and Sarah are still as boring as ever. However, all the other characters more than make up for this flaw (Susan is my absolute favorite feminist character ever and the most recent addition, Ashley, is just adorable. I also dig Ellen trying hard to be different from Elliot and struggling with her identity).
I really recommend sticking to this comic if you are into magic, genderbender and transformation. I'll guarantee it is worth it. The writing really picks up around the "Painted Black" arc.
8/10

Humour:
The humor consists mostly of sexual jokes and weird genderbend situational gags. Some nerd-humor is thrown in for the mix, but never really sticks out. I got to say that the humor is not the strongest part of the story. You should definitely not read this for the jokes, even if there are some good ones.
4/10

Art:
Wow... this one is hard to judge, simply because the art changes enormously throughout the story. The recent pages are just fantastic! The girls are super cute, the outlines are strong and visible and the composition never distracts from what is important. I will judge this comic based on the current art, which, despite being black and white, scores a whopping
7/10
 
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Zwiebelchen

Hosted Project GR
Level 35
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7,236
For me, it doesn't get much better than XKCD and PhD Comics. I'd like to pick up reading some manga again, but I really don't know where I'd want to start.
Yeah XKCD is awesome. I dig that comic, but since it isn't a continous story, I didn't really consider it in my personal list...
Unlike the comics I posted above, I usually just wait out a month or two and then read all the new updates on XKCD in a bulk.

If you want to start something new, I highly recommend trying out my recommendations. Especially Unsounded, which is just phenomenal.
 
Level 30
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You should try Snafu Comics, I just browsed the site and yeah its still alive thanks to the series that takes too damn long to develop. (hint I was still in highschool when the chapters were getting really slow, I'm now a full grown man working and pooping)

There is a series of webcomics being produced there where all of the characters in the old Cartoon Network and some Nikelodeon are mixed up. Chapter 1 is cool, then it took so damn long for the story to build up so I quit it, but I guess you might like it.

Another is Commander Badass, at first its kinda nice because he's like a trainer for all of the recent game characters doing random junk, but then I kinda stopped as well lol.

these free webcomics are better than the comics you actually have to pay money for.

Actually, there is a event called Free Comic Book Day, Halloween Event, and some more to be mentioned that you can get free comics! from old to new, to the samples and previews, and full story arcs. There are also a few shops where you can grab comics that is not too pricey, trust me its kinda my gig nowadays. :grin:
 

Roland

R

Roland

Wizard People, Dear Reader was a recorded narration to be listened to alongside a muted DVD of the first Harry Potter film. But when Neely took to performing this “audio book” live, Warner Brothers shut him down.

Wizards People, Dear Reader was the best web comic ever, Ever ever ever.. Well sadly, The asshole Warner brothers took him down.

http://creasedcomics.com/wpdr/
 
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