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Volume CXXXIII, Number 7 |
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Web comics offer alternative to newspaper funnies
SEAN O'HARA
STAFF WRITER
Are you tired of the vanilla jokes and outrageously timid quality of
the majority of most comic strips? Are you searching for edginess and
variety in your daily comic that just isn't to be found in reruns of "The
Lockhorns?" You just may be in luck. Comics have taken to the internet
in the form of webcomics, free of the constraints of the daily paper.
But how is one to find the quality strips among the literally hundreds
of webcomics out there? Here are a few recommendations:
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| Characters from the comic Megatokyo. (Courtesy megatokyo.com |
Megatokyo is an anime-styled,
story-based webcomic. The story, told in excellent black-and-white pencil
art, follows Piro and Largo, two mostly-hopeless geeks who become trapped
in Japan. The storyline shifts from relationships and internal change
of the characters (a young girl finds Piro's sketchbook and develops a
crush) to wacky and outlandish adventures (Largo breaking out of prison
on a "Rent-a-Zilla" with the help of the ninja Junpei), and
is always sweet and amusing, thanks to the touch of creators Fred Gallagher
and Rodney Caston (Piro and Largo, respectively).
Megatokyo has attracted a highly devoted fan base due to its amazing
characters (especially the cute female ones), wonderful storytelling and
distinctive art (not to mention its common usage of the faux-language
"l33tsp34k"), and is definitely worth a look. Just be sure to
read the archives, as it is a story-based strip.
If you're looking for the "Never, Ever Make the Sunday Strips"
category, then Chopping Block
may be right up your alley. Chopping Block redefines sick humor by making
as its protagonist a hockey mask wearing, knife wielding serial killer,
inventively named Butch. Despite its repulsive subject matter- the constant,
casual and often innovative taking of human life--the strip manages to
be hysterically funny, thanks to the twisted sense of humor of its creator
Lee Adam Herold. The backgrounds and colors of the comic may be dark and
brooding, but the characters are decidedly cartoony: Butch is pretty much
a nice (if a bit dull) guy, not unlike your average comic strip character--it's
just that his hobby happens to be serial killing.
Along the lines of a more classic newspaper comicstrip is Sinfest.
Created by Tatsuya Ishida, Sinfest shows the influence of the Sunday strips
in its form: cartoony figures, three-panel layout, and small-running storylines.
But no newspaper comic has what Sinfest has: open and frank talk about
human sexuality, and coarse language (that is to say, sex 'n swears).
But it's not just a "comic- WITH SEX!" Sinfest tackles issues
of gender roles, the injustices of modern society and even religion. Two
characters are God (represented by his hand puppets) and the Devil, who
runs a Lucy Van Pelt-esque "Soul-trading" stand.
If you want to find more webcomics, just keep your eyes open! There are hundreds of webcomics out there, for all tastes. Look for hosting sites such as Keenspace, or just follow the links set up at other webcomic sites (online artists are a tight bunch). Some recommendations: Penny Arcade, Winter, PvP, and Mac Hall. Remember: always read the archives, and happy surfing!