Friday, July 31, 2009

The Webcomics Section

Comic Con 2009.

A group of webcomics got together and published their strips on paper, Sunday Funnies-style. And I'm happy to say, most of them worked great in that format. It may be my favorite freebie of the Con.

I'm going to briefly mention all the strips that were included and give you links.

Shortpacked! by David Willis
    Unfortunately I am too lazy to scan anything and this strip doesn't seem to be on their site, which is a shame because I loved it. Loved it much more than anything I saw on their website as I was scanning around. One thing that is interesting is that they frequently feature guest artists. So that's kind of cool.

    But man, I wish I could show you that strip....

    Shortpacked!



Girls with Slingshots by Danielle Corsetto
    Clever, not hilarious; scanning the site, that seems about par. Sadly, I can't find this one either. I'm wondering if the deal for this handout was original art only? Which is a shame. Because everyone loves cartoon catsnracks and I wish I could share them with you.

    This instead:

    girls with slingshots



Diesel Sweeties
    This is another superpixilated webcomic. I'm happy to say this one is better than most, imho, though still not great. Here's a reasonably apropos one I found that will give you a feel for it:

    Diesel Sweeties



by Remy "Eisu" Mokhtar and Bobby Crosby
    So this is a published graphic novel --- could've bought it if I wanted. This is the page that was in the paper, right after the popstar meets the fan she impulsively married.

    Marry Me



Eric Monster by Eric Mulligan
    This looks quite different from pretty much every other webcomic I've ever read. One example:

    Eric Monster

    I'll be interested to see more.



Templar, Arizona by Spike
    This is a story, a continuing saga, etc. It hasn't grabbed me, but I do like the sepiaish tones.

    Templar, AZ



Ellie Connelly by Indigo Kelleigh
    If this were a book, I would pick it up. But I don't like reading longform comics on the web. I have made a few exceptions, but generally, I don't like it. I like paper. I'm old fashioned that way. But still. This looks cool.

    Ellie Connelly



Least I Could Do by Ryan Sohmer and Lar deZouza
    Five minutes of looking left me bored. This look at the comics' changing look was interesting though.



Just a Bit Off by Jeff Zugale
    I really wanted to find the defragged dining room table for you, but alas. Nothing else was quite as good.

    Just a bit off



Minimum Security by Stephanie McMillan --- "20% funnier than other leading brands of anti-capitalist propaganda"


    Minimum Security



Wondermark by David Malki!y
    Everytime I read a Wondermark in an altweekly I tell myself that I need to look this strip up online. I love it. I love how he takes an old image and plays it against itself. I have pretty much loved all the ones I've read, and the one here was no exception.

    Then I went to the site and saw a wider variety of strips with a lower hit-to-miss ratio, and I'm no longer so sure how I feel.

    But there's still plenty of awesome. I didn't find any of the type that leave me laughing for hours afterwards, but these ones are cool:

    Wondermark



Schlock Mercenary by Howard Taylor
    I read Schlock back in the old days then forgot about it, but it was just up for a Hugo, so maybe it's time to come back? Maybe? A recent one:

    Schlock Mercenary



Unshelved by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum


Piled Higher & Deeper by Jorge Cham
    I generally require my gradschool friends to let me know when it's worth stopping by. Here's the most recent one as of this writing:

    PhD



Dinosaur Comics by Ryan North
    I know this is everyone's favorite, but I've never gone for it. But the one in the paper? Friggin hilarious. Reason?

    I suspect this may be an issue of too much text for an online comic. I think that might be it.

    I'm learning a lot about myself through this write-up....

    Dinosaur Comics



Goats by Jon Rosenberg
    No comment.

    Goats



    Some of these are very very funny. But some of the best are a tad off color. I didn't want to share the beating-a-dead-horse one with you, for instance.

    Also note that the comic style varies delightfully. Delightfully! The one I'm posting looks nothing like most of them.

    Bad Gods



Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal by Zach Weiner
    This one's really hitandmiss, but when it hits, it can be hiLARious. Just a couple for your pleasure:

    SMBC



The Book of Biff by Chris Hallbeck
    The Book of Biff


Do it again next year, webcomickers!

2 comments:

Wm Morris said...

Schlock is best experience a month's worth of strips at a time; otherwise, it's a bit slow.

My favorite webcomics:

Erfworld (note that it's current content is atypical -- it's on a summer interregnum/prose transition)

The Order of the Stick (so funny and geeky and yet there are times when the strip gets profound or wise or touching)

Questionable Content (immature content of a semi-mature nature [adult language and situations, basically -- no nudity or violence] and although it starts out being all indie rock, Jeph manages to move away from that -- when it's at its best, it's excellent dramedy)

Freak Angels (mature content -- lots of violence and some sexual content although it's very much rated R not X) -- the art work is amazing and the story is quite intriguing.

Th. said...

.

QC had a booth at Comic Con as well. I've been there a few times and I'm headed back now.

My alltime favorite must be xkcd though, and I'm not even a mathematician.