Comic Genesis Forums

Thought I would try to start a conversation. What comics (web or print) are you reading right now? What is your favorite/least favorite thing about them?

I still read my two mainstays - Schlock Mercenary by Howard Tayler and Girl Genius by Studio Foglio but that's a bit of a cop out since they are both pretty much pillars of the webcomic collective. They've been around since the early days and work to a really professional standard.

I haven't found any new webcomics to read in a long time, haven't had as much spare time available as I used to. Most of the old ones that I used to read fell by the wayside of natural attrition and didn't pick up any new ones to replace them.

I've been fantasising about an idea to make a webcomic with photographs of physical things, using 3D printers to create characters and scenery and stuff. It could totally be done... if I had spare a few thousand dollars and a workshop and a warehouse and ... and ... well, you see why it's a fantasy.

Raven's Dojo ( http://ravensdojo.com/ ) moderately not safe for work for cartoon nudity and subject matter
++ One of those "so bad it's good" situations. Not to suggest that the author is talentless; he illustrates some great visuals and has some fine writing, with puns being his strong suit. It's just that the content/story is so incredibly stupid. And it knows it, and revels in it. The main character is called "Earth's mightiest moron," after all.
-- The aforementioned stupidity can be a bit much to swallow at times, and there's more than a lot of gratuitousness. But that's sort of like complaining that pure maple syrup is too sweet. What else could it be?
-- Updates are sporadic, usually done in small bursts.

Rice Boy ( http://rice-boy.com/ ) occasional depictions of cartoon violence and blood
++ I've been reading since the original Rice Boy storyline. This work is incredibly engrossing and wildly creative. The world feels truly alive.
++ More than one story set in this wonderful world, offering an assortment of epic adventures and short stories.
++ Excellently simple web design means that the comic be read even with older browsers. More websites of all kinds should take a page from this kind of web design philosophy.
-- Sporadic updates.

Darths and Droids ( http://www.darthsanddroids.net/ ) spoilers if you've never seen Star Wars, I guess?
++ Thoughtful parody of the Star Wars franchise through the lense of a tabletop roleplaying game. Some excellent commentary on both the Star Wars films and on gaming tropes.
++ Precise three-per-weekly schedule. You could set your wrist watch to them!
++ Active community in their forums with regular interaction from the comic authors.
-- Occasional Australians-only jokes. Mercifully usually only in the titles of pages.
-- Occasional puzzle with esoteric solutions. Mercifully imbedded in side materials.

Magellan ( http://magellanverse.com/ ) cartoon violence
++ Deeply constructed super hero setting revolving around the education of cadets.
++ Fun side projects/stories, including one I co-authored with Grace Crowley!
++ Author is fantastic and involved with her audience in the comments section.
-- Pretty much all villains so far have been tropishly over-the-top. There were some good moments between Miasma and Dragonklaw, but even they were garishly evil. Great characters, but all pretty much irrationally evil for evil's sake. Some non-villain antagonists exist, though, and make up for it to an extent.
-- Grace goes through some pretty heavy shit in real life, and the comic's update schedule suffers for it. The last chapter took years to complete.

Selkie ( http://selkiecomic.com/ ) + Sue and Kathryn ( http://sueandkathryn.com/ ) incredibly safe for work, though may cause diabetes due to sweetness
++ Pathos-ridden story about an adopted fish-girl trying to make her way through dry-land life. Heart-warming . . . which kind of terrifies me, given how cold my heart is. (and the side-project of the on-going in-universe children's animated television series of a zombie vampire and her ghostly mad scientist roommate)
++ Decent update schedule, though occasionally mishaps occur.
-- Art style has seemingly diminished from the early-mid portion of the story. Probably a matter of the author trying to find a balance between production quantity and quality.

various Hentai Foundry comics (http://www.hentai-foundry.com/?enterAgree=1) VERY NOT SAFE FOR WORK, LITERAL PORN SITE
++ Pornographic drawings and erotic stories! What's not to love?
++ Some AMAZING artists' work available here. This includes some long-form epic storylines, both comedic and dramatic (but all sexy).
-- Some members of the site are disturbingly bigoted, and you may occasionally see something outside your comfort zone.

Oglaf ( http://oglaf.com/ ) Usually not safe for work
++ Hilarious!
++ Boobies!
++ Horrid undead, magical beasts, and fantasy assholes being absolute pricks to one another!
-- . . . uh . . . can't think of anything, really? Maybe they're starting to retread some old ground with some of their jokes, but they're definitely not in Garfield or Peanuts territory of rehashery.

Lovin' Sis (https://www.pixiv.net/user/12244043/series/23830) DO NOT VIEW IF YOU HAVE ISSUES WITH INCEST OR SUBJECT MATTER RELATED TO YOUTH IN SEXUAL SCENARIOS, Not Safe for Work
++ Adorably drawn misadventures of an incestuous family and their friends. So cute!
-- Author has English as a second language, so she occasionally has some really painful-to-read dialogue. She is usually good about editing it, though, after someone points out the grammar issues.
-- Deals with subject matter which a lot of people are violently opposed to, even though it's meant to be simple comedy in this context.

Two Guys and Guy ( http://www.twogag.com/ )
++ Cute comic about an anxiety-ridden moron, a sadistic asshole who tortures him, and a mad scientist who occasionally destroys the world.
-- On hiatus, again.
-- Some jokes just fall flat.

After putting it off for almost a decade, I finally got around to reading Crossoverlord (which I loved) and that led me to Sidekick Girl which I have been loving!

I have been following Can of Beans for a spell, although I am not sure what I think of it. Pretty good drama, but not really my scene. Still, I keep reading it.

And, of course, I recently found Mansion of E, but haven't read as much as I want to. Those archives are dense, but the jokes are fun.

Geez, I can't believe I forgot to mention Out at Five by Matt 'Cortland' Johnson. He is currently releasing a prequel story right now called 'Four of a Kind'. Updates Mondays.

And just last week I discoverd Dawn of the Dad A supernatural teen comedy/action comic about a HS girl and her Ghost Dad. A lot of fun!