As far back as I can remember I could read, and I grew up reading the comics Sunday morning. When I entered the period in my life where I had my very own internet-connected computer I had a My Yahoo start page with my favorite Sunday Morning Cartoons posted for me to read as soon as there was a new strip. Then I came across the world of web comics, starting with Ctrl+Alt+Del by Tim Buckley (sometimes referred to as CAD). This series really enthralled me, being a video gamer and major geek the characters seemed like someone I could hang out with. If you read some early CAD comics, you’ll understand the appeal pretty easily. It was shortly thereafter I discovered Penny Arcade by Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins. Again, this comic appealed to me with video gaming and geeky references that I would enjoy and joined CAD as one of my all-time favorite webcomics.
When Digg, and later StumbleUpon, helped me peek out of the little bubble of the internet I was aware of I discovered many new, interesting, and fun webcomics to add to my daily reads (or at least check for updates on a regular basis). Some of them even give me the feel that I could do it myself if I only had the talent of an original sense of humor (stick figures I can do). This influx of new discoveries quickly turned me into a webcomic-aholic. So without further ado, I present you my list of webcomics, complete with a link to their RSS, a link to the author or comic’s official twitter, a short description, my rating on a scale of 1-5, and selected comics (if permitted). My rating scale is inspired by Netflix’s rating system because it’s too simple – 5 denotes Love it, 4 denotes Really Like It, 3 denotes Like It, 2 denotes Dislike It, 1 denotes Hate It. You won’t see any 1′s or 2′s in my list, if they drop that low they don’t get read by me.
- Questionable Content (RSS) – Now that I’m grown up interact a bit more in the social world and still have those geeky tendencies this comic is a near perfect fit for my psyche. I have no idea about the number of readers of this comic but it is underrated no matter the readership. QC’s storytelling style combines romantic melodrama, sitcom, humor about indie rock music, and sexual or scatological humor. I found this via StumbleUpon and is the one comic I will read if I only have time for one. Also, if you really enjoy it you can follow the Characters’ Tweets to add to the whole experience: Penelope Gaines, Sven Bianchi, Dora Bianchi, Faye Whitaker, Marten Reed, Hannelore, and even Pintsize!. Created by Jeph Jacques (Author’s Twitter). 5/5
- Ctrl+Alt+Del (RSS) (Twitter) – I’d be willing to say with certainty that this is a webcomic for video gamers by a video gamer, created by Tim Absath (Author’s Twitter). 5/5
- XKCD (RSS) – Intelligent humor “a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.” as described by its creator, Randall Munroe a former contractor to NASA. 5/5
- Penny Arcade (RSS) – Geek humor, similar in appeal to CAD – focused on video games and gaming culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. 4/5
- Cyanide and Happiness (RSS) - Controversial, sometimes awkward humor. Not for everyone, but I’ve got a twisted sense of humor that I attribute to being on the internet and seeing its many ugly sides. Created by Four different authors on a rotation – Kris Wilson, Rob DenBleyker, Matt Melvin, and Dave McElfatrick. 4/5
- Another Random Day (RSS) – Another comic that picks at my twisted sense of humor, inspired by the IRC logs at Bash.org. Sometimes it is actually dirtier than Cyanide and Happiness, but for the most part it is on par. Simple stick figure drawings and having a dirty mind are what the authors do best. I discovered this via StumbleUpon. Created by “a few cats”. 4/5
- Not From Concentrate (RSS) – A bit calmer than Cyanide and Happiness, but it appeals to my twisted sense of humor just the same. I discovered this via StumbleUpon. Created by Thomas Dobrosielski. 4/5
- The Joy of Tech (RSS) – The title of the comic kind of gives the subject matter away – however it won’t lead you to believe this is a Apple-fanboy-leaning comic. It does cover a range of topics you’d typically hear about in a Diggnation or TWiT episode. I wish the website was less crowded, and the RSS feed didn’t have that teaser image – it’s just mean!. Created by Liza Schmalcel and Bruce Evans. 3/5
- AmazingSuperPowers (RSS) (Twitter) – Unique illustration style, comedy is usually derived from a play on words. I discovered this via StumbleUpon. Created by Wes and Tony. 3/5
- Dark Legacy Comics (RSS) – If you play WoW and you’re not reading this comic, you’re out of the loop. Even though I don’t play anymore I still check on this comic to see what the current issues are that they poke fun at. Created by Arad Kedar. 3/5
- Truck Bearing Kibble (RSS) – Situational, anecdotal, and play-on-words type humor with a polished artistic style make this comic enjoyable. Created by Jeremy and Eric. 3/5
- VG Cats (NO RSS FEED) – Even though it isn’t in my RSS Reader, I make an effort to visit the comic on occasion. This one features parodies of popular video games using a pair of anthropomorphic cats playing the common roles. Created by Canadian cartoonist Scott Ramsoomair. 3/5
DISCLAIMER: I do not claim to own any rights to any of the comics displayed or linked on this page. If you are the Author or Representative of one of these comics and I have incorrectly linked or embedded your comic, please let me know what I can do to correct it (email webmaster (at) n00tz.net). Some of the information on this page is supplemented by excerpts from various articles at Wikipedia, the rest is opinion.
Tags: comics, ctrl+alt+del, geek, internet, QC, Questionable Content, read, related comics, rss, rss feeds, twitter, web, webcomics, xkcd
Tags: comics, ctrl+alt+del, geek, internet, QC, Questionable Content, read, related comics, rss, rss feeds, twitter, web, webcomics, xkcd
When not spending time behind a computer screen bringing you his latest blog posts; you might catch him playing video games on his PC; eating/cooking something in the kitchen of his house in Northwest Georgia; watching movies from his Netflix queue; volunteering for the Boy Scouts of America; fueling his wilderness interests by hiking, camping, backpacking, rafting, kayaking; sustaining his established hobbies in Amateur Radio, videography, photography, or music; running his DJ business with his brother as a partner; or hanging out with his friends doing any number of fun activities. 
December 26th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
Just googling QC with nothing to do, so here goes:
When I first got into this whole webcomic thing, I was reading Penny Arcade, CAD, Applegeeks and VG Cats. To me, Scott’s comic has always been more about gore (and general psychedelia) than humour, though (either that, or he’s just not very funny), which gets dull after a while. Haque/Hawk draws well and has nice stories but again: Not terribly funny. PA is great, but virtually all strips are stand-alone, so there’s really nothing there to string you along. However, if you’re into clever running commentary on what’s new in gaming, then there’s no-one better than Gabe and Tycho, and their fame is definitely well-deserved.
With CAD, Tim gives you both jokes and a story, but his characters don’t ever really change. By the time I gave up following it, Ethan was just as one-note and one-track as he’d been when it all kicked off on their couch. In that respect, QC is infinitely better: The characters have actual depth and change over the course of the series as they wrestle with inner/outer conflicts and relationships.
Aside from QC, however, there’s one comic that I follow religiously (though it sadly isn’t updated with the same clockwork precision that you get from Jeph) and that’s “Order of the Stick”. Its characters are mainly 2D, but since it’s a fantasy spoof they’re meant to be, and if you know anything at all about roleplaying (or, quite often, even if you don’t) many of the strips are downright hilarious, even as Rich Burlew manages to tell a skillfully woven story that I seriously need to have on my shelf one day (so far, 5-6 issues of collected strips have been published).
Well, that’s all I wanted to say, really: Unless you hate RPGs or D&D with a vengeance, try out OotS. Next to QC, it really is head and shoulders above all other webcomics I’ve read or glanced at. Have fun, and remember: “Evil is a growth industry”