The Funnies

I admire comic artists who write their own scripts. I feel like the people who can accomplish this possess talents for both drawing as well as writing. Kudos, comic artists, kudos.

In recent years (or maybe in the recent decade,) I've noticed webcomics have become a pretty big thing. Readers can get weekly doses of about 4+ panels to make them laugh, ponder, or just keep up with a story arc that's been progressing over recent days. Webcomics also foster a community among artists as I've seen guest artists take over updating someone's series for a day as they draw and sometimes write in the original characters but with a twist on style.

But now there are numerous cases where a webcomic doesn't need a refined style or where the artist doesn't have to be super-talented in a drawing sense. Take for example Cyanide&Happiness,  xkcd, or TheDogHouseDiaries. I wouldn't say any of these comic series blow me away with fantastic drawing skills. Instead, their success lies in the writing, or the punchlines, I suppose. What these series have in common is the ability to peak readers' interest in the simple, clean format of their panels, only to slap them in the face with a witty/sarcastic/clever ending. I feel that CH is notorious for this. The language in xkcd is more or less science/math based with references to some current events, and added with a dash of romantic-wittiness.  I imagine not everyone who reads xkcd will pick up on all of the artist's humor, but I admire just how smart alot of the work is. The people of TheDogHouseDiaries use a style that I feel is kinda similar to xkcd, except their range of topics and punchlines are more rounded than the former's.  Sometimes less is more, simple is better, and there's no denying that these three webcomic series embody that idea.

And as for series that I feel DO display a certain talent...

I've long been following VGcats, for one. It used to be updated every Monday, but well. Busy people are busy and it gets updated irregularly. This series is heavily videogame inspired. So granted, knowledge of the game each comic alludes to would be important. Something I also enjoy is going back to the first comic uploaded and observing how the artist's style changes over time. VGcats is definitely an example of that. Another interesting thing is Scott Ramsoomair also updates another series on the side (that is still accessible from the main VGcats page) titled SuperEffective. It's basically a parody of Pokemon, what's not to love?

Foxtrot is a series that reminds me of being a kid, probably because I must've been around 10 or 11 when I first read one of the Foxtrot books that belonged to my friend. The humor greatly appealed to me then: crazy family of five, youngest, mega-geek supersmart brother likes to harass somewhat self-absorbed middle-sister while the oldest brother whose lightning-fast metabolism prevents him from gaining muscle mass to impress chicks can't care less and meanwhile the dad is pretty oblivious to his kids' antics but tries to understand anyways while the mom, who appears to be the only sane one, is the linchpin that keeps the family together. Bill Amend will also semi-frequently allude to things geekdom like Star Wars, computers, or Dungeon and Dragons, which is pretty cool. Today though, he runs a webcomic of the same series which I enjoy checking up on every now and then. He still continues referring to pop culture things; one strip he alluded to the double rainbow guy! I laughed pretty hard. He still continues writing comics for Sunday papers and occasionally releases Foxtrot collections, or anthologies. Books, basically.

And finally, something I've recently discovered: GirlsWithSlingshots. This series revolves mainly around  two best friends and their friend group as they all deal with life, love, and everything else in between. I'd definitely describe the series as raunchy since most of its humor draws from sex, relationships, and alcohol, with a little bit of homoeroticism and some things girl-related mixed in. I think it's a clever, witty, and hilarious webcomic that Danielle Corsetto (artist) also releases in buyable book collections.

I've never heard about this series until several nights ago, and now I'm completely hooked. Damn you, stumbleupon, damn you.

Now I should be studying for my final instead of writing an essay about webcomics. Crap.