Dicebox

All right, yesterday's over. Enough of the webcomics - that's not what this blog is all about! It's time for something new. Something different. Something called...


Dicebox.

All right, I lied, it's another webcomic.

A quick warning before we go on: this is decidedly non-Mormonic. There's gay marriage, open relationships, visible nudity/sexytimes, cussing, and warm beverages. Also, the blonde in the top-left of the image? Actually a lady.

The protagonists of the comic, 'Griffin' (the blonde) and Molly (the other one), wander the spacelanes in some far-distant future, doing minimum-wage work at the edges of society. The story's broken up into chapters, which are (largely) separate, recounting distinct episodes in the lives of the characters. There's hints of things hidden in their pasts - especially Griffith's - but the story that's been told to date tends to be fairly low-key, things like nights at the bar or cross-country trips.

That's... slightly misleading, admittedly.

Regardless, it's an oddly compelling read - for me, at least, stayed up rather too late last night burning through the archives - and the creator certainly has plans for it. (She's got 36 chapters planned, and, having worked on it since '02, has just started on Chapter 9. If this thing is ever finished, it'll be quite a while.) Won't cost you anything to... yes... have a look.

(Tomorrow: I announce the name change of the blag to "Webcomics Blog About Webcomics Webcomics Webcomics", featuring a whole new set of content. You'll never guess!)

The Phoenix Requiem

As earlier posts tonight reminded me, I never blogged about certain authors' latter works. That ends - now!

For the good of all mankind.

The Phoenix Requiem.

This, as with Ellerton's other works - Dreamless, mentioned earlier tonight, and Inverloch - is not a 'comic'. Characters, plot, drama, and some humour - but not as a primary focus. This is a story that is going somewhere - if a trifle slowly, at times - and it will stop for no man.

Also, the art is frequently splendid, the characters feel human (for the most part), and there are ghosts that get shot with shotguns. It's not on the top of my 'awesome webcomics that are the best things ever forever' list*, but it's consistently interesting, and for no-dollars - the price you must pay to access the site - it's worthwhile.

Next!

Order of Tales.

As I mentioned earlier tonight, this is Evan Dahm's second comic/graphic novel, after Rice Boy. It's a prequel to that worthy, set several hundred years before, set in the same world but with only a tangential connection in plot and characters. And, well -

It's not as good.

But it's hardly done yet - there's much yet to go. And, again, for no-dollars...

Hm.

I suppose there's a reason that neither of these have gotten a post thus far - I'm just not enormously enthusiastic about either. But at the very least, both are good, and so: here you go.

*I do not actually have such a list. (I could make one, I guess...)

Dreamless

One day, five posts! You know what that means? That means... more of the best of the blog! More... webcomics!



Dreamless.

Diligent readers may recall that earlier today, I'd mentioned my affection for comics of the more dramatic sort - story! Plot! Characters! Dreamless is quite certainly one of those. (Also, the art's splendid - but that's an aside.)

Illustrated by Sarah Ellerton, who I've mentioned here before (though never for her current project - what's with that?), Dreamless is a - well, an 'online graphic novel,' really - about a dude and a lady with a very special link. It's set in the 1930s/1940s, for the most part, and follows the relationship of the protagonists as they grow.

Not much INTENSE, ADRENANLIN-PUMPING ACTION, but if you don't mind that, certainly have a peek at it.

(These webcomic-posts are always a bit odd. I only ever post about webcomics I actually like, so every one of them is quite positive - "read this", "read this", "read this if it's your thing," "read this immediately on pain of death". Perhaps I should start finding webcomics I dislike and excoriating them here, to balance things out?)

(Perhaps not.)

Bear Quest

This is a spree! A spree of posting things no-one likes.

I present...

Bear Quest!

It's the comic about a bear, and also a fictional video-game, and it makes no sense!

Watch as an adorable, cyclopic bear leaves his bone-littered cave! Become awed as his ever-grinning visage consumes an increasingly diverse selection of foes! Wince as people shoot him with guns!

There are, as of this writing, no more than sixteen quite small pages*, so it'll hardly cost you any of your time to have a look. And you should! If only to say that you have**.

*Hm. Make that 17. Apparently the level-1 page does not contain all of the pages of level 1. Very peculiar.

Also note the mention of Evan Dahm's link there; truly, I but follow in his footsteps.

(His first comic, Rice Boy, I mentioned here. The sequel is ongoing; I've not blogged it, as of yet. Now You Know.)

**That is not actually a good reason at all! So read it because it is a strange and amusing thing, instead.

***This post is more post-script than post!

Johnny Wander

You know what we haven't had in a while? (Oh, say... six and a half months?)

Webcomics posts!
Johnny Wander.

This is not one of those webcomics - of which I am frequently enamoured! - which delights in long, epic narrative arcs, action-backed battle scenes, or drama which may drive one to tears. (Not that I, being a real man, ever cry. Ever. My tear ducts are sealed, with pure awesome.)

Hm.

Got a bit off track there.

Anyway, Johnny Wander. It's a pretty simple comic - approximating autobiography, though it occasionally wanders off into the slightly fantastic. The humour is unassuming - it's not nearly so deadpan as Dinosaur Comics, say, but it's hardly as over the top as Penny Arcade. No - if I had to use a word for it, it would be lagom.

Yes.

Johnny Wander is lagom.

Have a look!

Der Familienvater

(Or: Family Man.)



Long-form strip about an eighteenth-century German preacher fallen into a pot of trouble. The art is wonderful, dialogue is well-written, and there are even jokes! (In a webcomic!) I encountered it yesterday (via Kate Beaton, who I should write a similar post about one of these days - or have I?), and you must go read it at once if you read webcomics at all. (Skip the prologue.)

Go to!

(Note to certain parties left unnamed: Yes, xkcd is indeed a webcomic, and thus counts.)

(Note to all blagoreaders: It's been a while since I did a webcomics post, eh? I'm sure you're all overjoyed that I've written another.)

xkcd & me

Yea, did the Nikolous had a great adventure to-day, but for the facte that it was not indeed the Nikolous, who did the deeds, but his accomplise, the sage of the nighte, the lagomorphic batte, the king of pickeles, etc. And this is how it begane. Yea, did he sauntere down the cobbled pathe towards the immense lectorium by the school of the engine-makkers, and yea, was there a queue that stretched from out its gates, as the nile flows in the dessert, and he enqueued him-self, and was it hotte, and stickie, and he entered the building, and there were merchantes stationed in stationes, such that they distributed balles of many colours, that were made of plasticks, and filled with hotte aires, as in this encountransse, and we were partooken of them, and henceley, we satte in the seats, which were more comfourtable than the ones we were used to, for they were for the priviliged elites, the plebianes, and slaves. And yea, the ceremony started, and a goat was sacrificed, and then a womon, who was of a pleasing disposition, and nubile, and a scholar of the artes, did remarke of the gravitie of the event, and it was good. 

And then, by the grace of God, the sky cracked open and out spilled the man, him self, mssr. monroe, and they were instructed to bombard him with the gaseous spheres, as is the custome in his presentationes, and they did thus, like artillerie fired from the cracks of a thousand cannones, he did speak, and they were enthralled, such that they expelled bodily fluides, and applaud himme thounderously, and he spoke for a hour, and longer and it was brilliante, and the heat became stagnant, such that foul odours radiated from the populace.

And yea, behold, the ceremony did finish, and the populace evacuated, and the man did pick up a forlorn ball on the stage, as did many others, and pilfered them. And he tried to exit, but the pathes were clogged, such that he did become quite unskilled at navigation, and he wound up in several darke alleywayes, such that he was strucken with grave fear, and it was good.

And it came to passe, that, in the course of human eventes, there was a gathering, in the great hall, and yea, there was electronick games, oft those described in this, and in this. And yea, there were competitiones, thusly, that dictated the skilles of menn, thusly, and thusly. And there were many ladies, and gentle men, who did wear the costume of the occasion, and there were divers hattes, and tron paule, and men with signes.  Yea, and twas was a matter of course that a young womone would dress in a manner, and it was gleeful, and a mssr. paul did solve the cube, and there was rejoicing.

And yea, there were fruits of the labour, and they are thusse:

Rice Boy

Rice Boy.

It ended yesterday.

Rice Boy is a little odd. It's a story about a journey, or many journeys. That of the main character, Rice Boy, most of all, as he travels through very, very strange lands, in search of the key to ancient prophecy. And it's the story of other journeys, too; that of T.O.E., and Golgo, and others, as they strive for the fulfillment of prophecy; some working to help Rice Boy, some against him.

And it's about what they see along the way on the journey, too; strange and weird visions are par for the course in Rice Boy. Deserted towns, rich countryside, ancient underground cities... it is difficult to describe them any better - and if I did, then, it perhaps would ruin some of the fun for seeing them yourself, in the comic.

Rice Boy is long, and raises a lot of questions along the way, about the characters, about their places they go and what exactly they seek. Having now finished it, I can say that everything that needs to be answered, is, and quite well.

Have a look! It costs you nothing.

(BUT YOUR LIFE)

Astronaut Elementary

Astronaut Elementary.

Created by Dave Roman (who is a little bit crazy), Astronaut Elementary is a wob-comic about an elementary school... IN SPACE! It has a very light tone, manga-inspired. Very silly. Characters include: Señor Panda (a teacher at the school who is, coincidentally, a panda), Hakata Soy (boy superhero, fights the evil Gotcha Birds to save the happy rabbits of Hoppiton), and, of course, the principal, above. Very humorous! It updates about once in a blue moon so there is not that much archive - which makes it all the easier to read through!

Have a look! Amusement is guaranteed, or your money back.

(This may be the beginning of a wobcomic-flood. There are many which I wish to mention to you, dear reader. Beware!)

Erfworld

Because you all hate my webcomic posts so much, I decided to hand you a themed double package today! Until I found out that I'd already blagged Smithson. So instead, you just get a rich heaping pile of Erfworld. (Due to technical restrictions, I can only link to a specific strip or, as I chose to, the archive.)

(The above is pretty, neh? Just an excerpt from the many fabulously-illustrated strips in Erfworld! Which starts right here.)

You may remember my post about the Order of the Stick. Actually, you don't, but that's all right. This is on the site, but it's by different people, and is unrelated save in genre. (Fantasy. You know, with elves and such.) The Order of the Stick is, appropriately, illustrated with stick figures. That's all well and good.

But I'm not certain that it can quite match that sort of art.

And art's not all! In the time Erfworld's existed, the creators have made about 75 strips. In that time, they're introduced the premise and a rather large number of characters, fleshed out those characters with very real personalities and some rather nasty problems, and depicted several epic dragon battles.

That is a strip. Nothing against OotS, which I also love: but if what I've just said about Erfworld won't get you to read it, nothing will. Read it! It's cool. And it's only 75 pages, so you can finish it before supper! Unlike the dread Sluggy Freelance, bane of man.

In conclusion:

Webcomic Update

I've spared you for a few months, but now it's time for a WEBCOMICS UPDATE!

Firstly, some notes on webcomics that I have blagged previously: Hitherby Dragons has been on hiatus for many months. It's... dead. Inverness finished this Monday. There are some post-epilogue pages going up supposedly but it's basically over. Some of the others have been odd but by default they're as awesome as they were when I linked you to them last. (Starslip Crisis is actually even cooler. It is doing neat things right now. )

Now, some new things. Things so non-Mormonic that even their excellence was not enough for me to present them to you before. (When Devin was in the same state.) Mormons, shield your eyes. For the rest, I present:

-Something Positive (it's in the link page, actually, but I don't know why)
-Fans (I'm actually reading this right now - over the last few days - it used to be subscription-restricted, but it's been finished for two-and-a-half years now)
-Demonology 101 (finished for even longer than that - I read it years ago, liked it)
-CRFH (Stopped reading a while ago but I should really resume - starts silly, gets serious)
-Perry Bible Fellowship (the name decieves)
-Goats (early stuff is VERY ODD, current stuff is pretty neat)
-Questionable Content (milder than the name might imply)
-Slumbering Lungfish/Bad Gods (this is really quite non-Mormonic - very funny, though)
-Roomies/It's Walky (by the Shortpacked guy; both started silly, got serious - only IW is really NSFW)
-Anacrusis (like Hitherby Dragons)

That's all I can think of for the moment. Stay tuned! Because I do know you love these posts so.

Websnark.

Websnark.

Websnark, by Eric Burns, is not a webcomic. It is a webcomics journalism blog; reviewing and commenting on webcomics, though sadly updates (especially webcomic-related updates) have been scarce for the last six months or so. Regardless of his update schedule or lack thereof, Burns is an excellent writer. You can blame him for me linking you to so many webcomics; after all, he introduced me to quite a number of them. (Yes, yes, some of those aren't blogged. Some of them I forgot about, some just aren't right for the League.)

He's cool! Sample his better days. You're sure to find something you like!

Gunnerkrigg Court

Gunnerkrigg Court.

Gunnerkrigg Court; created by Tom Sidell. It's not been around for as long as many of the other webcomics I recommend here - only started in April of 2005. I started reading it very nearly when it started, and I can tell you that it's quite good - really, a webcomic unlike any other that I've encountered. It's a story about two schoolgirls (in the British equivalent of middle school, if I recall correctly) who have adventures in a very strange boarding school. There are robots! There are ghosts! (Sort of.) There are dragons! It's really quite nifty. It's mainly plot focused - while there is frequently humour, it's not the focus of the strip. It updates three times a week, and begins here.

(Not that anyone who reads my blag looks at the webcomics, anyway. Sadness overwhelms me. Why don't you give it a shot? This is no Achewood - it's universally cool!)

Achewood

Achewood.

Basic facts sheet: started October 1st, 2001, updates 3-5 times a week, created by Chris Onstad in black-and-white... eh, you can get all of this from Wikipedia. That's not the point.

The point is Achewood. The thing is, it's a strange comic. The humour is frequently surreal, the characters are very strange... it's an odd comic. But if you can work through that, then there are some very creative storylines and quite a number of real characters waiting for you, being cool and snazzy and all.

The first strip is here; I'd recommend against reading backwards, as the storylines are pretty important. (Unlike, say, Penny Arcade.)

Outsider

Outsider.

A comic of space warfare and exploration. Created in a 3D-modeling program of some sort; "Lightwave", maybe? Nearly never updates. Seriously, this is one of the first webcomics I ran into, four years ago, and it was up to page 25 of chapter 1. Now? Page 50. Created by Arioch, who takes his time. It starts here.

The comic itself is fairly interesting. Arioch definitely did a lot of work brainstorming and planning Outsider; I read the forums, four years ago, and he went to a lot of trouble to avoid the obvious cliches and create a plausible future, filled with relativistic warfare and realistic societies. So that's pretty neat. But... well. He's up to page 50 of chapter 1. The last time he posted a new page was nearly a year ago. If you want to read a comic that will likely finish, or even ever update again? This isn't it.

But what there is possesses good quality, plus it's a little nostalgic for me. So hey, there you go.

(A lot of big pretty comics recently. Shall the next be simpler? Perhaps!)

minus

minus.

A comic of magic in a mundane world. Created with watercolours (?) on Illustrator board. Updates every week or two, irregularly, starting on the ninth of February 2006. Created by Ryan Armand.

minus is quite unusual. Each comic tells a short story about minus (the protagonist, a young boy with magical powers), sometimes in continuity and sometimes not. It teeters on the edge of wish-fufilment, with minus revenging himself on bullies and traveling to far-away lands, but just enough humility and 'realism' is added for it to work. As such, it's quite interesting to see just what Mssr. Armand will think of for each comic; the youth of the protagonist by no mean diminishes the depth of the content.

If my enthusiasm lacks something, despite my best efforts to the contrary, seek out the Qesley (in the comments), that he might make up any shortfall twofold.

Dresden Codak

Dresden Codak.

Very large comic, frequently filled with the sciences and maths and fantasy. Created in the pretties! It might be originally analog? But it certainly got Photoshopped at some point. IT'S AWESOME. Seriously! Um... it updates irregularly, starting on the Eighth of June, 2005, and is created by some Aaron Diaz guy.

Dude it is so rad! There is the thing with the art (which is totally insanely awesome), the size of the comics (rather astoundingly large), the topics (very cool and unorthodox), and the humor (rather surprising!)... it is all QUITE GOOD. Try it! There is not that much so it will not take you long. Currently the dude is running a series (as of the time of this post), but there is plenty of stuff unrelated to it! It is cool.

Dude.

Crimson Dark

Crimson Dark.

A long-form science fiction webcomic. Entirely created in 3D-modeling software and Photoshop. Updates somewhat irregularly, but generally two-three times a week. Started 22/5/06. (So not so long, really.) Creator: David C. Simon.

Crimson Dark is sci-fi about a war. In space! There are people, and ships, and pretty explosions. Also technology! It is pretty neat. There aren't really any aliens, but the people are more than strange enough to compensate for it.

Read it! It is pretty, and it has not run for long enough to have gigantic archives. There will be no pain.

Hitherby Dragons

"When Ellen was a young girl scissors attacked the Earth. There were billions of them and they came from space. They were unreasonable in their aggression and humanity had to defend itself, leaving in the end an exhausted, stunned, and uncertain world littered in the mangled corpses of snippy blades." (The Dynamite Trilogy: Navvy Jim)

Hitherby Dragons.

I'm going to break with my standard format here (haven't noticed one? Compare any few of the posts, I stick to it fairly closely) to discuss Hitherby Dragons, because it's something quite different from any other webcomic - well, "webcomic" - that I've encountered. Some basic facts first: Hitherby Dragon's been running since September 2003, it's written by Rebecca Borgstrom
(she has her own Wikipedia entry!), and it's a 'text webcomic.' I'm pretty sure that's her own description of it - it's not something I'd call it otherwise, but it sort of fits, and that's why this is a 'webcomics' post... anyway.

Hitherby Dragons is pretty complex - awesome, but complex. A good summary can be found here: but if you don't want to bother clicking, then basically it's a bunch of really neat and creative short fiction (frequently using elements of popular culture in an unexpected fashion) with a running backstory. The first post is here; the plot 'begins' here, but it has no particular attachment to chronological order. Plus the first few have some interesting things going with metaphor and figurative language...

Seriously, though, you should probably click that link.

It used to update daily, but it went on hiatus for a month and a half recently, and for the last few months before that updated only thrice-daily. Still, update frequency isn't that big a deal, especially with four years of archives to read, and the quality far overweighs the quality. Read it! If I advocated any of the webcomics that I've posted here (and I certainly have), then I recommend this one easily twice as much*.

*Note: If you cannot read but can only look at pretty picture, you may ignore this recommendation. Otherwise, it stands.

Smithson

Smithson.

A long-form webcomic about college life and stranger things. Updates every Thursday, or so. Full colour! Very classy. Started September 2003, by Shaenon Garrity, who you may remember as the author of this excellent webcomic.

Smithson started out seemingly focused on normal college life, but swiftly grew to include 1) a campus superhero, 2) a mysterous floating advisor, and 3) a coven of malevolent songstresses. It moves slowly, but it is written by Shaenon Garrity (who is totally awesome) and has been illustrated by no less than three separate artists, which lends an interesting feel. Have a look! The story starts here.