Basically, if Disney did webcomics.
August 25, 2013 1:53 PM Subscribe
I am really overwhelmed by the world of webcomics. I have no idea where to start, although I have stumbled across a few that I really like. Can you help me find some that I would like, based on my current preferences? - which are below the fold. Thanks guys!
Lackadaisy
Platinum Grit (NSFW-ish)
The Meek (ditto)
Unsounded
I like:
-the pretty, complex, Disneyish art - this is a big draw for me - I like to look at pretty things.
-the strong, complex stories.
-the long form (I like a story I can get lost in)
Other points:
-I'm not looking for super NSFW stuff but a little bit of nudity or sex is OK.
-I get deeply frustrated when comics go on hiatus. I don't think Platinum Grit has been updated for a while now.
I am familiar with Achewood, Penny Arcade, Hark a Vagrant, XKCD etc but they are not quite what I am looking for at the moment. Although I really like Achewood.
I am overwhelmed with how much there is out there so I am hoping you guys can point me towards the good stuff.
Lackadaisy
Platinum Grit (NSFW-ish)
The Meek (ditto)
Unsounded
I like:
-the pretty, complex, Disneyish art - this is a big draw for me - I like to look at pretty things.
-the strong, complex stories.
-the long form (I like a story I can get lost in)
Other points:
-I'm not looking for super NSFW stuff but a little bit of nudity or sex is OK.
-I get deeply frustrated when comics go on hiatus. I don't think Platinum Grit has been updated for a while now.
I am familiar with Achewood, Penny Arcade, Hark a Vagrant, XKCD etc but they are not quite what I am looking for at the moment. Although I really like Achewood.
I am overwhelmed with how much there is out there so I am hoping you guys can point me towards the good stuff.
Gunnerkrigg Court
It's very long-running and the build up can be pretty slow, but when it's pretty, it's gorgeous.
posted by Mizu at 2:16 PM on August 25, 2013 [4 favorites]
It's very long-running and the build up can be pretty slow, but when it's pretty, it's gorgeous.
posted by Mizu at 2:16 PM on August 25, 2013 [4 favorites]
Nimona is super excellent! It's got a cool story with knights and villans and an awesome shape shifter girl.
For long form stuff, and drama and funnies, there's always Questionable Content and Girls with Slingshots.
The Abominable Charles Christopher has gorgeous art, but hasn't updated in a while. What's there is a good read though.
Derelict Comic is also gorgeous with an engaging stofy.
posted by robot-hugs at 2:27 PM on August 25, 2013
For long form stuff, and drama and funnies, there's always Questionable Content and Girls with Slingshots.
The Abominable Charles Christopher has gorgeous art, but hasn't updated in a while. What's there is a good read though.
Derelict Comic is also gorgeous with an engaging stofy.
posted by robot-hugs at 2:27 PM on August 25, 2013
Rice Boy
Dresden Codak
Copper
...and seconding Gunnerkrigg Court.
posted by Sing Or Swim at 2:28 PM on August 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
Dresden Codak
Copper
...and seconding Gunnerkrigg Court.
posted by Sing Or Swim at 2:28 PM on August 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
More:
Depending on what you think of as "pretty" you might love Bad Machinery (and all of John Allison's deep back catalog, which can keep you occupied for months.)
My favorite webcomic of all time, Bruno.
You'll be wanting to be a fan of Kazu Kibuishi over at Bolt City, maker of Copper and many utterly gorgeous print comics.
Ditto Dresden Codak.
Wapsi Square is very long running and may be to your taste.
The Non-Adventures of Wonderella is almost always hilarious, but if you sit down and read a bunch of it in a row it also has surprising consistency and logic.
Depending on your ability to put up with inconsistent authorial enthusiasm and terrible, terrible jokes, the entirety of Dave Willis's... everything might keep you occupied for a while. If you go to Shortpacked, and look to the right, there's links to his older work. I started reading It's Walky! but you can go all the way back to Roomies or just start with current Shortpacked.
posted by Mizu at 2:30 PM on August 25, 2013
Depending on what you think of as "pretty" you might love Bad Machinery (and all of John Allison's deep back catalog, which can keep you occupied for months.)
My favorite webcomic of all time, Bruno.
You'll be wanting to be a fan of Kazu Kibuishi over at Bolt City, maker of Copper and many utterly gorgeous print comics.
Ditto Dresden Codak.
Wapsi Square is very long running and may be to your taste.
The Non-Adventures of Wonderella is almost always hilarious, but if you sit down and read a bunch of it in a row it also has surprising consistency and logic.
Depending on your ability to put up with inconsistent authorial enthusiasm and terrible, terrible jokes, the entirety of Dave Willis's... everything might keep you occupied for a while. If you go to Shortpacked, and look to the right, there's links to his older work. I started reading It's Walky! but you can go all the way back to Roomies or just start with current Shortpacked.
posted by Mizu at 2:30 PM on August 25, 2013
Goblins. Fair warning, the art is very rough in the beginning, but it improves rapidly. The comic has been running for more than eight years now, and is telling a single, very complex, story. There are certainly sub-stories along the way, but they all add to a greater whole that has already been completely written (I.E. - the author is not "winging it", and as such there are hints and details early on that take YEARS to pay off. But they do pay off, and the writing is solid.
posted by Lokheed at 2:44 PM on August 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Lokheed at 2:44 PM on August 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
Eerie Cuties
Magick Chicks (spin off of Eerie Cuties)
Menage a 3 (NSFW)
Penny & Aggie (complete; gets a little weird towards the end but still good)
posted by These Birds of a Feather at 3:06 PM on August 25, 2013
Magick Chicks (spin off of Eerie Cuties)
Menage a 3 (NSFW)
Penny & Aggie (complete; gets a little weird towards the end but still good)
posted by These Birds of a Feather at 3:06 PM on August 25, 2013
Digger.
Warning: It is in B/W and the art style is... different (wood-block print like, and the art style evolves a bit over the course of years). I figured it wouldn't hurt to suggest it since all the other substantive bits are there (strong cast, complex story, great dialogue, etc.).
I'd also recommend Girl Genius. Mad scientist stuff.
posted by Ky at 3:11 PM on August 25, 2013 [3 favorites]
Warning: It is in B/W and the art style is... different (wood-block print like, and the art style evolves a bit over the course of years). I figured it wouldn't hurt to suggest it since all the other substantive bits are there (strong cast, complex story, great dialogue, etc.).
I'd also recommend Girl Genius. Mad scientist stuff.
posted by Ky at 3:11 PM on August 25, 2013 [3 favorites]
I am a fan of most of the comics already mentioned (seconding Gunnerkrigg Court and Girl Genius in particular for fabulous art, solid stories, and like-clockwork updates.) I recently discovered and became enamored of Namesake.
(They're not quite there on the "complex art" axis, being constricted by the four-panel format, but if you read Girl Genius and Nimona and Dresden Codak and are jonesing for more mad science then Narbonic and Skin Horse will hook you up.)
posted by fermion at 4:00 PM on August 25, 2013
(They're not quite there on the "complex art" axis, being constricted by the four-panel format, but if you read Girl Genius and Nimona and Dresden Codak and are jonesing for more mad science then Narbonic and Skin Horse will hook you up.)
posted by fermion at 4:00 PM on August 25, 2013
I would recommend "Argon Zark" except that he hasn't updated it in about two years. But what's there is gorgeous, and hilarious.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 4:07 PM on August 25, 2013
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 4:07 PM on August 25, 2013
Platinum grit hasn't been updating because they are doing Oglaf. which is awesome. Best if you start at the beginning and read them in order.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 5:10 PM on August 25, 2013
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 5:10 PM on August 25, 2013
A fellow named Jake Wyatt has teased a Web comic that he'll be starting next week (August 28), about a heroine who goes by the name of The Third Sword. It looks awesome, so you might want to keep an eye out for that.
I always recommend Erfworld because it continues to be a delight. I will second, third, fourth Nimona, for similar reasons but also because it fits your crtiteria to a T.
posted by zueod at 5:48 PM on August 25, 2013
I always recommend Erfworld because it continues to be a delight. I will second, third, fourth Nimona, for similar reasons but also because it fits your crtiteria to a T.
posted by zueod at 5:48 PM on August 25, 2013
yay! i love these threads. :)
copy and pasting from my list of fave webcomics in my mefi profile:
SFW
al'rashad: fantasy world at war
bad machinery: pre-teen detectives
copper: my favourite echo of Calvin & Hobbes
hark! a vagrant: sarcasm about history, fat ponies
incidental comics: architecture, love, work
namesake: fairy tales gone wild
sailor twain (now finished): mermaids in the Hudson River, steamboats, charcoal drawings
strong female protagonist - superheroes debating who will watch the watchers
wormworld saga: childhood daydream adventure
xkcd: nerd jokes
NSFW - SWEARS
questionable content: indie coffee nerd jokes
NSFW - NAKED BODIES SOMETIMES
i do not have an eating disorder: non-fiction journal comic, amazing, lgbt, anorexia
NSFW - SEX
go get a roomie: more sex, but also friendship love
ménage à trois (and the same writer/artists do a whole series of comics, and used to do penny & aggie which you should also check out): québecois-infused sexy roommate romps
teahouse: the most beautiful whorehouse paintings you've ever seen
--
Too much? Start with Namesake. Gorgeous, interesting, and a regular posting schedule. No hiatus so far, as their Kickstarters have been successful.
posted by heatherann at 6:17 PM on August 25, 2013 [2 favorites]
copy and pasting from my list of fave webcomics in my mefi profile:
SFW
al'rashad: fantasy world at war
bad machinery: pre-teen detectives
copper: my favourite echo of Calvin & Hobbes
hark! a vagrant: sarcasm about history, fat ponies
incidental comics: architecture, love, work
namesake: fairy tales gone wild
sailor twain (now finished): mermaids in the Hudson River, steamboats, charcoal drawings
strong female protagonist - superheroes debating who will watch the watchers
wormworld saga: childhood daydream adventure
xkcd: nerd jokes
NSFW - SWEARS
questionable content: indie coffee nerd jokes
NSFW - NAKED BODIES SOMETIMES
i do not have an eating disorder: non-fiction journal comic, amazing, lgbt, anorexia
NSFW - SEX
go get a roomie: more sex, but also friendship love
ménage à trois (and the same writer/artists do a whole series of comics, and used to do penny & aggie which you should also check out): québecois-infused sexy roommate romps
teahouse: the most beautiful whorehouse paintings you've ever seen
--
Too much? Start with Namesake. Gorgeous, interesting, and a regular posting schedule. No hiatus so far, as their Kickstarters have been successful.
posted by heatherann at 6:17 PM on August 25, 2013 [2 favorites]
If you like "Girl Genius", be sure to also check out Buck Godot.
posted by Johnny Assay at 6:19 PM on August 25, 2013
posted by Johnny Assay at 6:19 PM on August 25, 2013
Ava's Demon pretty much hits all your wanted points in spades. The art is radiantly luminously pretty, and it's a long form graphic novel set in a complex sci-fi world, with multiple fully realized characters.
Someone above me linked Rice Boy but that artist's current running comic you might also like is Vattu.
posted by foxfirefey at 6:43 PM on August 25, 2013
Someone above me linked Rice Boy but that artist's current running comic you might also like is Vattu.
posted by foxfirefey at 6:43 PM on August 25, 2013
Epic is an interesting story and beautifully drawn.
FreakAngels also seems up your alley. As does The Finder.
I second Girl Genius. And I love Questionable Content and Girls With Slingshots, but they are both of the panel with a stand-alone funny variety (though I love the long-term arcs they can have in that form, it's not the same as a long-form comic).
posted by Margalo Epps at 7:08 PM on August 25, 2013
FreakAngels also seems up your alley. As does The Finder.
I second Girl Genius. And I love Questionable Content and Girls With Slingshots, but they are both of the panel with a stand-alone funny variety (though I love the long-term arcs they can have in that form, it's not the same as a long-form comic).
posted by Margalo Epps at 7:08 PM on August 25, 2013
The only reason I'm not wholeheartedly giving you Templar, Arizona is because it's on a bit of break, but promises to resume soonish ( for the best reasons, the author is too successful). Otherwise, it's a rich detailed alternate universe story with a complex plot and finely drawn characters within a deep bed of narrative and cultural detail ( and a huge backlog).
posted by The Whelk at 8:36 PM on August 25, 2013
posted by The Whelk at 8:36 PM on August 25, 2013
Mrs Binaryape recommends:
A Redtail's Dream - a mix of Finnish folklore and modern Finland. It's about to end, but at 500+ pages it's a large comic and now's a good time to start as there's a crowdsourced campaign for a print version. It looks great even though it's the author's "practice comic".
Her other recommendations were Cucumber Quest and Unsounded.
posted by BinaryApe at 1:51 AM on August 26, 2013
A Redtail's Dream - a mix of Finnish folklore and modern Finland. It's about to end, but at 500+ pages it's a large comic and now's a good time to start as there's a crowdsourced campaign for a print version. It looks great even though it's the author's "practice comic".
Her other recommendations were Cucumber Quest and Unsounded.
posted by BinaryApe at 1:51 AM on August 26, 2013
Order of the Stick starts very basic artistically but it is an astonishing feat of plotting and story telling that is currently (~1000 strips in) about 3/4 of a genuine work of pop literature.
It starts as a parody of Dungeons and Dragons, but gets past being just that in the first ten strips or so. Very, very highly recommended.
posted by Sebmojo at 3:55 AM on August 26, 2013 [1 favorite]
It starts as a parody of Dungeons and Dragons, but gets past being just that in the first ten strips or so. Very, very highly recommended.
posted by Sebmojo at 3:55 AM on August 26, 2013 [1 favorite]
Something Positive follows a group of friends in more or less real time since 2002. It can be silly at times, but it's also dealt with real world situations (losing a job, getting married, moving away) and tragedies (suicide, death of a loved one). It's always engaging, often moving, and takes a long view on story arcs, with the ramificaitons of a story being felt *years* later.
posted by JonahBlack at 1:25 PM on August 26, 2013
posted by JonahBlack at 1:25 PM on August 26, 2013
Response by poster: Thank you thank you thank you!
I hope to come back and best-answer as I work my way through these!
posted by Ziggy500 at 5:58 AM on August 27, 2013
I hope to come back and best-answer as I work my way through these!
posted by Ziggy500 at 5:58 AM on August 27, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by The otter lady at 2:00 PM on August 25, 2013