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  • Home > Links > Comic Links

    Comic Links

    I've finally done it! I've created a page for my comics. It is nigh time. As you can see by looking below, I like comics and have a ton of favorites. I've tried to give them some kind of organization, to make it easier to find them. I could have easily done other categories, like "humorous" and "graphic novels," or "character driven" and "adventure." The following will do for now.

    Web comic strippers are usually hard-working folk who do it for the love of the art and a couple of words of praise. Few of them make it big, although those that do are an inspiration for all. I have been reading comics for a long time, and like many current artists, I started with Charles Schultz and Peanuts. Not the watered down version of later years, but the truly funny stuff he wrote in the early days. I recall checking out compilations of his humor in grade school and reading for hours. The stuff I saw in the papers when I was a paper deliverer (late 80's, early 90's) were merely a shadow of his former work. Nonetheless, I was saddened when Schultz died a few years ago, and salute him for what he did to bring comics into the mainstream.

    Newspaper comics fascinated me for a long time, and I especially enjoyed Beetle Bailey, The Far Side, Bloom County, Calvin and Hobbes, and when I got a little older, I began to understand the humor in Doonesbury (it helped that I read many of the old comic anthologies when I first went off the college). Several of the artists in this list have retired from the business (although Berke Breathed has recently restarted). The newspaper comics page became a barren place

    Enter the internet. I found several online comics in the early days (around 1997) that captivated some of my early wonder. Strips like Sluggy Freelance, Elflife, The Afterlife of Bob (now defunct; this link is to a graphic-less web archive copy of his site) and Freefall had depth of character, insanity and topics that wouldn't dare darken the pages of a newspaper. Early on, I befriended Ian McDonald, of Bruno the Bandit fame, back when we were both on Geocities. Ah, good times. We lost touch with one another, and I suspect he has forgotten my existence. Back then, I wrote web poetry, a genre never to gain the popularity and respect that web comics have received. We encouraged one another and had a good time sharing our work. As his comic has become better known, his fame exceeded mine by a large margin; this is the closest I have come to a web celebrity.

    There are many pioneers in the comic world today, pushing the limits of what digital medium can offer. I hope I can share some of the great works I have found. These are all freely shared works, although donations, book and t-shirt sales go a long way toward helping the artists out. Tell me if you have found any good web comics not on the list that should be included here.

    Some of these are relatively new. Some have long, long archives, going back to 1996 or earlier. All are worth a good read. The categories I place these in do not reflect how good these are. Some of these, I have written a brief review. I include a small icon next to those, in the off chance you want to read the review.
    One final note- the comics are rated by the following dots:
    green dot - Safe for everyone
    yellow dot - Safe for 13 and up
    red dot - 17 years and up. By the way, in some cases, this is probably not work-safe, either.
    My rating system is all my own. You may not agree. Convince me and I'll change it. Otherwise, use your own judgement, please!

    Last updated 4/01/07
    Newest items marked with a *

    Regularly updated comics
    Abby's Agency green dot
    Achewood yellow dot
    Alien Loves Predator yellow dot
    Andie Wear yellow dot
    Bad Blood red dot
    Basketcase Comicsgreen dot
    Bob the Angry Flower yellow dot
    Bored and Evil* yellow dot
    - Chronicles the tale of a young man who sells his soul to live at an apartment with monsters. Twice. He's a loser and is insulted, abused, killed and more on a regular basis by his roommates, a bog monster, a werewolf, a sentient tentacle and a killer in a hockey mask. Oh, and Jesus sometimes appears (Mohammed made a guest appearance, once). Sounds strange (and it is!), but very entertaining.
    Butternut Squash yellow dot
    Ces't La Vie green dot
    Checkerboard Nightmare green dot
    Chugworth Academyred dot -
    Not sure how to explain this one. There's this school, and it has a bunch of teens who sometimes turn into manga. The stories involve a lot of adult themes, risque artwork, comedic violence, and there's a lot of surreal scenes that don't quite make sense to me, but it's somehow addicting.
    College Roomies from Hell yellow dot
    Control Alt Delete (Ctrl Alt Del)yellow dot
    - A gamer comic with a great storyline, some laugh -out-loud moments and memorable characters. Has some naughty language, but nothing to bad. Unlike some gaming comics, this one is not a bunch of one-off jokes, although occasionally, there are some. In fact, sometimes, the real world melts away and you are inside a game with "what-if" scenerios. Then there is the surreal chef who spouts out nonsense.
    Courting Disaster red dot
    Cox & Forkum Editorial Cartoons green dot
    Crimson Darkyellow dot
    - Beautifully rendered comic/space opera/graphic novel, made completely by software such as Poser and Photoshop and such. The artist is also a writer, and it shows. The story is engaging and the characters are fun to watch. The artist also keeps his audience informed of his progress and trials. The story is only in the third chapter (as of my posting this), and has a long way to go, but shows so much promise already. A little dark, but not dirty or overly violent, so far. Still, it's a little too much for the youngest kiddies.
    Deuling Analogsyellow dot
    - Fun little gaming comic strip. Most of it is just one gag after another, with little continuity and few regular characters. However, the topics range from retro and classic gaming to the very current games. Always interesting, and just a little bit on the racy side (some days, a little more than that). Great artwork, and I enjoy the artist's news bites where he explains (without making it unfunny) the strip of the day.
    Dinosaur Comics green dot
    Dog Complex green dot
    Down to Earth green dot
    El Goonish Shive yellow dot -
    Funny name, great comic. The topic is a little bit strange, with furries, transformations and transgendered experiences, not to mention duplicate opposite selves and living goo. Honestly, my description doesn't do justice to the comic. Why? Because it is about characters. One storyline can take months, but you stick with it because you care what happens to these characters. Well worth the read.
    The Epilogue green dot
    Evil Inc. green dot
    Extra Lifeyellow dot
    - Fun little comic about geek life. Features gaming humor, cyberculture, technology, movies and more. No ongoing story, just one or two-shot gags. Pretty funny, with decent artwork.
    Foxtrot green dot
    Freefall green dot
    The Front yellow dot
    Funny Farm green dot
    General Protection Fault green dot
    Goats yellow dot
    Greystone Inn green dot
    Hackneyed Productions green dot
    I Am Geek
    green dot - A newer strip about a couple of friends, male and female, who live together and who are geeks trying to spread the word about what a be a geek. Has blocky, fun artwork.
    Idiot Box yellow dot -
    Political comics in the vein of Red Meat. Has a liberal slant. Good writing, very topical.
    Incubus red dot
    Instant Classic green dot
    Jason Love's Dailies green dot
    Kristy Vs. the Zombie Army yellow dot
    The License yellow dot

    Least I Could Do red dot - Sex comedy done comic style. The main character is highly insensitive and selfish and mysogynist, but somehow, this comic is still appealing reading. Three different artists render this strip (during three different eras). However, the writing is what has impressed me most. It has remained dirty throughout the life of the strip, but the character development seems to have taken off and become more important in the last two or so years.
    Lore Brand Comics yellow dot
    Loserz yellow dot
    Make with the Funny yellow dot
    Man-man Comics green dot
    Martin's Misdirection green dot
    Melonpool green dot
    Minions green dot
    Newshounds green dot
    Nowhere Girl yellow dot
    Ornery Boy yellow dot
    The Outer Circle yellow dot
    Overcompensating yellow dot
    Partially Clips yellow dot
    Penny and Aggie green dot
    A Perfect World yellow dot
    Phables green dot -
    by Brad Guigar, same author that writes Greystone Inn, Evil Inc., Courting Disaster and Everything Cartooning. Brad has a gentle style and in this biweekly comic, he tells stories of living in Philidelphia.
    Piled Higher and Deeper green dot -
    Follows the adventures of students stuck in university earning their PhD (hence the title). Nice art and characterizations.
    Player Versus Player yellow dot
    Pointless yellow dot
    Questionable Content yellow dot
    - I recently reread the archives of this comic and remembered why I liked it so much. It's the characters and their interactions. Yes, there is funny, and sometimes, a lot of it, especially in the form of obscure music and literature references and indie-music snobbery, but the characters are what I care about in this comic. The short version: a young man makes friends with several females but cannot seem to hook up with any of them. Plenty of sexual tension (worthy of X-Files before that got lame) to keep the interests high. Some drama, some weirdness, and even anthro-PC. The author keeps coming up with fantastic T-shirt designs, as well. These shirts keep him afloat, as this is what he does, full time. Great stuff.
    Sam and Fuzzy yellow dot
    Scary Go Round yellow dot
    Sev Cartoon Archives yellow dot
    Schlock Mercenary green dot
    The Seraph Inn green dot
    Sluggy Freelance yellow dot
    Soap on a Rope yellow dot
    Something Positive yellow dot
    Spamusement yellow dot
    Striptease comic yellow dot
    Stuff Sucks yellow dot
    Superosity yellow dot
    Surlinessyellow dot
    Ugly Hill yellow dot
    Zap in Space yellow dot
    Zortic green dot

    Irregularly updated, dead or ended comics
    Absurd notions green dot
    Avalon green dot
    Basil Flint yellow dot
    Calvin and Hobbes Fireside -
    Informative site, has a lot of little goodies, like character descriptions, trivia, fan art and more.
    Calvin and Hobbes: Magic on paper -
    Gone, but not forgotten. Calvin and Hobbes is one of the greatest comics ever. This tribute page tries to convey the greatness of all C & H were.
    Calvin and Hobbes Unplugged -
    This site tries to be a little different, and has some interesting and unique features. Has Calvin and Hobbes tributes, a collection of Watterson essays, speeches and interviews, and an encyclopedia of Calvin and Hobbes.
    Darwin's Complex yellow dot -
    Not just one comic, but actually several different comic styles and storylines, an old high school acquaintance of mine draws this. It appears to be currently on hiatus.
    Elflife green dot
    Elf Only Inn
    Fluble yellow dot
    Gleaners green dot
    Her - Girl
    Vs. Pig yellow dot
    It's Walky
    Kids in the Street yellow dot
    Lowbright yellow dot
    Mad about U green dot
    The Perry Bible Fellowship red dot - One-off comic strip with outrageous sight-gags and visual puns, as well as witty commentary on society (oh, don't forget the random stuff that is just plain funny). The artwork is different for every comic, but generally is very good.
    Pupkin yellow dot
    Queen of Wands yellow dot
    Return to Sender yellow dot
    Roommates with Cookies yellow dot
    Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal yellow dot
    Scarecrow yellow dot
    Scott McCloud's Comics green dot
    Shiga Books yellow dot
    Silly Cone V green dot
    Simply Calvin and Hobbes - Another Calvin and Hobbes site. Has various themed areas, such as a sample comic section, animated pictures, weird bits of information about the characters and where to find them in the comics, and more.
    Skirting Danger green dot
    Star Bored green dot
    Untitled Again green dot
    Vern & Dern green dot
    Vir Bonus yellow dot
    Zombie Jesus yellow dot





    Comic collectives, comic lists and cooperative stuff
    Buzz Comics
    Comics Genesis - Free hosting for webcomics. Hosts over 6000 comics and was launched by Keenspot.
    Drunk Duck
    Dumbrella

    Online Comics

    The Nice
    Global Comics Jam
    Sketch Battle

    Smack Jeeves
    - Free webhost for webcomics. Hosts over 5000 comics and has some nifty tools for the budding artist.
    The Webcomics List* - This site helps you keep track of your favorite online comics, telling you when they have been updated. They boast of monitoring over 8500 webcomics. Pretty impressive.
    Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards - Every year since 2001, several cartoonists have gotten together and did their best to honor the outstanding web comics they come across. Kind of like the Screen Actors' Guild Awards or some such. They even present the "ceremonies" online.
    Webcomics Nation - Another free host for webcomics. Offers peer reviews of hosted comics, among other things.
    Comic commentary and news
    Bill Watterson and the Cheapening of Comics - Watterson talks about what is wrong with the world of comics in newspapers. This was written before the internet made it possible for artists to have their strips on the web.
    Bill Watterson on Licensing Calvin and Hobbes - Classic essay on why Watterson did not want to license his creations on every mug and greeting card out there. Not every comic stripper agrees, but I suspect they all respect his decision.
    Bill Watterson Interviewed by his fans - At the release of The Complete Calvin and Hobbes, Watterson relented and answered several questions submitted by fans around the world.
    Bill Watterson and Some Thoughts on the Real World by one Who Glimpsed it and Fled - Early in his career, Watterson gave this speech about finding a career that you love and living life to its fullest.
    Comics I don't Understand
    The Comics Journal
    Comics should be Good
    Comic Strip Fan
    Comic Thrash
    Comixpedia
    Digital Strips
    History of Web Comics
    Journey Into History
    Modern Humor Authority
    Nightgig
    - Small but vibrant community of web comics.
    Talk about Comics
    Web Cartoonist Choice Awards
    Web Comic Examiner
    Webcomic Finds
    Web Comics Review
    Web Snark
    - Influential comic commentators/reviewers that troll through the masses of comics and post insightful "snarks" about what they have found. Covers more than just web comics, but that's the primary focus. I've made many discoveries of comics new to me through these guys.
    Unique Art (sometimes with text)
    Creatures in my Head
    Stefan G. Bucher's Daily Monster -
    Every day, this artist blows some ink on a piece of paper and whatever random blob results is turned into a picture of a monster, while you watch. Then, viewers like you can post their comments and backstories to these monsters. Fun diversion.
    E-Sheep
    Exploding Dog
    H. R. Giger
    Low Morale
    Mark Ryden
    Xiao Xiao Animated Stick Figure Kung Fu
    Weebl's Stuff
    Disappeared or status unsure
    EEight.com
    Inktank
    It's About the Girls
    Comics I'm currently checking out (not rated yet)
     

     

     

    Copyright © 2007 Matthew Rutherford
    My Other Projects
  • Mathoni.com
  • Correct Principles
  • LDS Doctrinal Blog
  • Missing Piece Blog
  • E-book project
  • Writer Resources
  • The Best . . .
  • Friends
  • Rutherland
  • The Ladder
  • Lars
  • Christian
  • Ken
  • Scottish Proverb
    All is not gold that glitters.
    What is this?