Fun webcomics
August 3, 2020 10:06 AM Subscribe
Looking for webcomics with all or some of the following characteristics: great art, fun/interesting storylines, unique/unusual twists.
Prior favorites have included Nimona, Oh Human Star, and Digger. I like Oglaf even though it doesn't have a single plotline all the way through. I liked Curvy well enough but have had a little trouble getting into the art - something about it is just a little harder on my eyes for some reason.
(I have a couple of previouslies on this but they're from the distant past).
Prior favorites have included Nimona, Oh Human Star, and Digger. I like Oglaf even though it doesn't have a single plotline all the way through. I liked Curvy well enough but have had a little trouble getting into the art - something about it is just a little harder on my eyes for some reason.
(I have a couple of previouslies on this but they're from the distant past).
These are pretty old recommendations and you may have come across them already but if not, I think they fit your criteria.
The Less than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal
Lackadaisy
posted by unicorn chaser at 10:35 AM on August 3, 2020 [4 favorites]
The Less than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal
Lackadaisy
posted by unicorn chaser at 10:35 AM on August 3, 2020 [4 favorites]
Kill Six Billion Demons
Stand Still. Stay Silent
posted by zamboni at 10:37 AM on August 3, 2020 [4 favorites]
Stand Still. Stay Silent
posted by zamboni at 10:37 AM on August 3, 2020 [4 favorites]
Seconding TJ and Amal and K6BD, also on hiatus but fascinating is The Family Man
posted by moonlight on vermont at 10:40 AM on August 3, 2020
posted by moonlight on vermont at 10:40 AM on August 3, 2020
Hah, came in to rec Gunnerkrigg and KSBD as well. A note on Gunnerkrigg - the art style develops *significantly* over the course of the series - the very stylized but flat-ish character design of the early series becoming a bit more nuanced and then significantly more detailed and dynamic as the author and the characters both develop.
posted by FatherDagon at 11:15 AM on August 3, 2020
posted by FatherDagon at 11:15 AM on August 3, 2020
BARBAROUS! IT'S SO GOOD!
I also came in here to say Tiger, Tiger, so -- seconding that!
posted by Narrative Priorities at 11:23 AM on August 3, 2020 [1 favorite]
I also came in here to say Tiger, Tiger, so -- seconding that!
posted by Narrative Priorities at 11:23 AM on August 3, 2020 [1 favorite]
The Property of Hate is practically made of unique and unusual twists, and is gorgeous artistically.
posted by wanderingmind at 12:14 PM on August 3, 2020
posted by wanderingmind at 12:14 PM on August 3, 2020
Dead Man at Devil's Cove
Girl Genius
Sam and Fuzzy (particularly the newer, more serialized stories post-2006 or so)
posted by Johnny Assay at 12:47 PM on August 3, 2020 [1 favorite]
Girl Genius
Sam and Fuzzy (particularly the newer, more serialized stories post-2006 or so)
posted by Johnny Assay at 12:47 PM on August 3, 2020 [1 favorite]
Fangs is lovely.
On a Sunbeam is so beautiful that I bought it in hard copy, but the whole thing is online.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 12:53 PM on August 3, 2020
On a Sunbeam is so beautiful that I bought it in hard copy, but the whole thing is online.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 12:53 PM on August 3, 2020
All of the following are completed comics, which may or may not be a bonus from your perspective. The first three ran/are now running with "director's commentary".
- Narbonic (mad science) is really fun, twisty, etc. I personally love the art (which did evolve significantly over the course of the strip). The artist, Shaenon Garrity, is currently the artist and half of the writers for Skin Horse, which I personally enjoy less but which you might enjoy more (and which has a lot of Oz universe references, if you like that kind of thing).
- Octopus Pie (brooklyn slice-of-life/bildungsroman/surreal) hits all your criteria and the art is sometimes breathtaking.
Girls With Slingshots (slice-of-life, not so much in the way of twists and turns) was also fun. Much more relationship/sex centered than Octopus Pie. (Sample strip for fans of grammatical pedantry)
- Bad Machinery (surreal mysteries solved by very British kids/teens). The same author has various other strips if you like his style - everyone seems to have a different favorite.
- Bobwhite (art school slice-of-life, based on RISD). The writing is funny and wry, with unusually natural dialogue. YMMV on the artwork, but I grew to love the artist's style and especially her use of color. She has a currently running comic called Monster Pulse (kids+their magic monsters) that I've enjoyed less, but again ymmv!
Rice Boy and related comics (fantasy) - I've only read Rice Boy and remember enjoying it and the atmospheric setting, but not a lot beyond that.
Ongoing strips with potential:
- Rigsby, WI (high school slice of life in rural WI) seems very good so far (apparently it's a reboot of the artist's previous strip with a very different art style, but from the little I've read of the older one I think the new one is much better.)
- Witchy (fantasy, magic) also seems good so far, but still early days and updates around once a week.
Other:
- Power Nap (fantasy, dystopia) has some incredible art. It also has such a glacial update pace that I've mostly stopped following it, but given that it's been running for years you can enjoy a good few chapters in a sitting by now!
- No Rest for the Wicked (fairy tale-inspired) - this one unfortunately stopped updating mid-chapter years ago. What exists is good enough that I remember it years later, though. (Also I googled the author to see what she was up to now and came across this temporarily free short comic, which I haven't read yet but might be interesting to you.)
posted by trig at 1:02 PM on August 3, 2020 [2 favorites]
- Narbonic (mad science) is really fun, twisty, etc. I personally love the art (which did evolve significantly over the course of the strip). The artist, Shaenon Garrity, is currently the artist and half of the writers for Skin Horse, which I personally enjoy less but which you might enjoy more (and which has a lot of Oz universe references, if you like that kind of thing).
- Octopus Pie (brooklyn slice-of-life/bildungsroman/surreal) hits all your criteria and the art is sometimes breathtaking.
Girls With Slingshots (slice-of-life, not so much in the way of twists and turns) was also fun. Much more relationship/sex centered than Octopus Pie. (Sample strip for fans of grammatical pedantry)
- Bad Machinery (surreal mysteries solved by very British kids/teens). The same author has various other strips if you like his style - everyone seems to have a different favorite.
- Bobwhite (art school slice-of-life, based on RISD). The writing is funny and wry, with unusually natural dialogue. YMMV on the artwork, but I grew to love the artist's style and especially her use of color. She has a currently running comic called Monster Pulse (kids+their magic monsters) that I've enjoyed less, but again ymmv!
Rice Boy and related comics (fantasy) - I've only read Rice Boy and remember enjoying it and the atmospheric setting, but not a lot beyond that.
Ongoing strips with potential:
- Rigsby, WI (high school slice of life in rural WI) seems very good so far (apparently it's a reboot of the artist's previous strip with a very different art style, but from the little I've read of the older one I think the new one is much better.)
- Witchy (fantasy, magic) also seems good so far, but still early days and updates around once a week.
Other:
- Power Nap (fantasy, dystopia) has some incredible art. It also has such a glacial update pace that I've mostly stopped following it, but given that it's been running for years you can enjoy a good few chapters in a sitting by now!
- No Rest for the Wicked (fairy tale-inspired) - this one unfortunately stopped updating mid-chapter years ago. What exists is good enough that I remember it years later, though. (Also I googled the author to see what she was up to now and came across this temporarily free short comic, which I haven't read yet but might be interesting to you.)
posted by trig at 1:02 PM on August 3, 2020 [2 favorites]
Questionable Content its a webcomic that has been going since 2003, so the graphics (and storyline) have changed significantly, but its mainly about Hipsters and Sentient AI.
posted by Julnyes at 1:29 PM on August 3, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by Julnyes at 1:29 PM on August 3, 2020 [5 favorites]
Love Advice from the Great Duke of Hell on WEBTOON is a funny one with fun twists.
posted by buttonedup at 2:47 PM on August 3, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by buttonedup at 2:47 PM on August 3, 2020 [1 favorite]
Paranatural. Art starts out sketchy but charming, develops at an exponential rate. Supernatural mystery, main cast are middle schoolers (and cast ranges into their teachers who are perhaps not as adult as they would like). The writing is extremely funny, and there's an emotional intelligence that can really suckerpunch you when you're not expecting it, especially as the story progresses. Over the last 2 chapters or so it's become obvious that the plot is yet to be fully uncovered and has been going on since at least the previous generation if not longer.
posted by automatic cabinet at 4:14 PM on August 3, 2020
posted by automatic cabinet at 4:14 PM on August 3, 2020
Ariel Magic is beautifully drawn, and the artist also composes music that goes with each chapter and keeps pace with the average read through time. It functions through WebToon which has an app or a browser site.
I've never seen a comic with a soundtrack and I was immediately charmed. A+ for fun plot, excellent world building and a diverse cast of characters.
posted by ananci at 7:36 AM on August 4, 2020
I've never seen a comic with a soundtrack and I was immediately charmed. A+ for fun plot, excellent world building and a diverse cast of characters.
posted by ananci at 7:36 AM on August 4, 2020
Ooh, this is a great thread. I'll add Sleepless Domain to the list.
posted by tickingclock at 10:14 AM on August 4, 2020
posted by tickingclock at 10:14 AM on August 4, 2020
My morning routine: turn off phone alarm, read that day's Dumbing of Age. It's a daily webcomic about a group of students in the Freshman dorms at a university (Indiana, I think). The story centers on Joyce, the extremely sheltered youngest child of a homeschooling Evangelical Christian family who is suddenly confronted with people like her roommate (child of divorced parents!), her new best friend (an atheist!), the girls in her hall (sexually promiscuous feminists! biker babes! cheerleaders! Poly people! Bi people! An evil RA!) and on campus (nihilistic assholes! chauvinist pigs! party animals! predators!) . Sure, she's sheltered but is genuinely outgoing and wants to learn about the Big Big World without losing who she is at her core.
And there's a superhero, lots of interpersonal drama, evil parents, serious themes, a best friend from back home who goes through a lot in a short amount of time, a Republican Representative that meddles in their lives, and so forth. It posts daily and has done so for ten years. It's worth going back to the start and catching up...sounds like a lot, but it could be done in an hour or so. Time moves slowly in Dumbiverse so after ten years they have just finished Midterms of the first semester. But it's honest and funny and dammit, I just really like it. It's a good thing to wake up to in the mornings.
posted by Gray Duck at 6:09 PM on August 4, 2020
And there's a superhero, lots of interpersonal drama, evil parents, serious themes, a best friend from back home who goes through a lot in a short amount of time, a Republican Representative that meddles in their lives, and so forth. It posts daily and has done so for ten years. It's worth going back to the start and catching up...sounds like a lot, but it could be done in an hour or so. Time moves slowly in Dumbiverse so after ten years they have just finished Midterms of the first semester. But it's honest and funny and dammit, I just really like it. It's a good thing to wake up to in the mornings.
posted by Gray Duck at 6:09 PM on August 4, 2020
Dicebox is an SF adventure that pretty much drops you in res media in its futuristic setting, keeping you out of the loop just enough to make things interesting. The art starts out nice and moves on to lovely (especially in the current book), the intrigue is intriguing, and the cast is very matter-of-factly inclusive and varied.
Very much seconding Unsounded. Ashley Cope is one of those few comic artists who are gifted in all aspects of the craft: The art is beautifully assured, kinetic and loose and expressive as hell; the writing is likewise solid, with a strong sense of story and a great ear for dialogue, not to mention the inspired characterization. If that wasn't enough, the storyboarding is top notch and the colour work is never less than inspiring. One of my faves.
As a bonus, both of these have been going for years, so they have a nice big backlog to chew through!
posted by bulgroz at 9:31 PM on August 4, 2020
Very much seconding Unsounded. Ashley Cope is one of those few comic artists who are gifted in all aspects of the craft: The art is beautifully assured, kinetic and loose and expressive as hell; the writing is likewise solid, with a strong sense of story and a great ear for dialogue, not to mention the inspired characterization. If that wasn't enough, the storyboarding is top notch and the colour work is never less than inspiring. One of my faves.
As a bonus, both of these have been going for years, so they have a nice big backlog to chew through!
posted by bulgroz at 9:31 PM on August 4, 2020
sequential art is one of the best webcomics that no one knows about. scifi/slice of life. amazing art. good stories.
lots of back story, so I suggest starting at the start.
https://www.collectedcurios.com/sequentialart.php
posted by evilmonk at 8:40 AM on August 5, 2020
lots of back story, so I suggest starting at the start.
https://www.collectedcurios.com/sequentialart.php
posted by evilmonk at 8:40 AM on August 5, 2020
Seconding Octopus Pie, adding Anders Loves Maria! Also Achewood, which takes a minute to get going, but is certainly unique.
posted by quatsch at 1:23 PM on August 5, 2020
posted by quatsch at 1:23 PM on August 5, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Alterscape at 10:33 AM on August 3, 2020 [7 favorites]