New Books!!!

I walked away from the convention quite a bit poorer and a majority of that money was spent on...can you guess?...books. Shocked, aren't you? I have a bit of a book addiction. But there were tons of books that I wanted to buy and almost all of them were at a fantastic price. So I splurged. And came home with a couple new reads.

First up was a beautiful Art of Bone book done by Jeff Smith. If you don't remember, I mentioned my love for the comic series in this post. I read the Bone series nearly addictively, moving from book to book. I even made two library trips, the same day so that I could keep on reading. So this book was a great find and for a very decent price. I love art-of books.

The next title on the list was the second book of the Mouse Guard series. I'm not sure how I missed that it had come out already. I read Fall many years ago and have been eagerly awaiting Winter to see what happens. When I was walking through the convention hall on the last day I spotted a copy and promptly bought it. And then moved it to the top of my stack of books to read.

The Mouse Guard stall was doing a "buy one get one free" deal so I also got to pick up a second book. I looked through their interesting titles but decided on a Field Guide for a graphic novel series called Berona's War. The salesman described it to me as Spy Versus Spy meets Looney Tunes. With that kind of description, how could I possibly pass it up? After I finally get to read the field guide I'm sure I'll be tracking down the original series as well.

But my last and most exciting purchase was two books from the Looking for Group webcomic. I've been reading Looking for Group for a while now and love it (I posted on that one here). I also read the author and illustrator's other comic Least I Could Do. So when I found out that they would be having a booth at Gen Con I knew I had to stop by. Jeff went a little fanboy standing in front of Ryan Sohmer and Lar DeSouza and I have to admit that I was a bit excited. It was a bit of a thrill to meet the creators of not one but two of your favorite comics. We bought Books 1 and 3 (I already have 2) and also picked up a stuffed Richard and Bunny (yes he's supposed to be riding the bunny. If you read the comic you understand). It didn't hurt that the guys were incredibly nice. Both of the editions were signed and I walked away a very happy fan.

General Housekeeping

I spent part of this evening updating my list of webcomics and blogs that I read. So if you're looking for something new to read check any of them out. They all have my stamp of approval. If you have questions about them or want to discuss, either shoot me an email or leave a comment. As always I love to hear from you.

By the way I have no idea why some of the blogs and comics are highlighted. Any ideas? Those aren't the new ones I added and they aren't just the google based ones. Hmmm.

Questionable Content

I needed another webcomic like I needed a hole in the head. Particularly a webcomic with over five years of back story. So when Jeff mentioned that he was reading Questionable Content and that I should check it out, I put it off for a little while. But everytime he started laughing while on the computer, it was because of this comic, and I knew I had to start reading.

Questionable Content follows the dramas and issues of Marten, an indie rock guy who happens to live with a woman who he has a crush on but who has too many issues to date him. He owns an AnthroPC named Pintsize who is constantly turning his life upside-down. He's dating his roommate's boss Dora, who owns Coffee of Doom coffeehouse. He's surrounded by neurotic friends, interesting parents, and constant dramatics. Throw in some great music references for fun, and you have a very enjoyable webcomic.

The strip is created by Jeph Jacques and publishes Monday through Friday. I spent the last two weekends reading all 1500 parts of the archive and now am a little sad that I have to wait for my daily dose of laughter. The characters are really a lot of fun. Hannelore, the OCD girl living upstairs, has to be my favorite. She's constantly cleaning and is a serious germaphobe. Yet she has some of the best lines in the comic. If I had to chose which of the characters I most resemble it would be Penelope, right down to the unemployed boyfriend (Just kidding, Jeff). But the best part about this strip for me, is that all the characters may be neurotic and odd but they are very realistic. I know people like these characters. The dialogue is realistic even if the situations are a bit odd. Plus I just love a good story and this supplies it. Best laughs I've had in a while. Check it out if you get the chance.

Least I Could Do

A while ago, I wrote a post about the comic Looking for Group by Ryan Sohmer and Lar DeSouza which a friend of mine introduced me to. He had lent me the first book and I devoured it. Then I went to the website and read the rest of the backstory. I loved the strip. I was bit less interested in the duo's daily strip Least I Could Do.

I would start the backstory and read a couple weeks before giving up. It's not that the strip wasn't funny. It's not that I was offended by the content. It was just that other webcomics kept getting in the way. Finally early last week I decided to sit down and read my way through the backstory. I never follow a webcomic until I have read all the archives. Considering the Least I Could Do started in 2003, I had an uphill battle ahead of me. What I didn't realize is that the more I got to know the characters the harder it was to stop reading. I read the entire 6 years of comics in four days. And I enjoyed every minute of it.

Least I Could Do is the brainchild of Ryan Sohmer. The strip has had three different artists during its 6 year tenure but Ryan has always been the author. The strip mostly follows Rayne, a Don Juan character who spends a majority of the early strips trying to get women into bed. He is surprisingly successful, marking each anniversary (50, 100, 1000). Rayne lives with John, his ever patient teacher roommate who has almost zero success with women. He is surrounded by Mick, who is often the butt of Rayne's jokes, Issa, a female friend that Rayne continues to try to bed, and Noel, his long-time buddy who's been in a committed (now married) relationship for much of the strip.

It was interesting to watch the progression of the strip from the beginning. We see each character as they get older. The early strips often took place either in bars or in Rayne's bed. He was primarily the focus of all of the early strips. As the story has progressed we see more and more of his friends and the focus is often on the relationship between all of them. Not of course saying that Rayne has stopped sleeping around it is just not the focus of all of the jokes. Instead recent years have focused on Rayne's friendship with his 5 year old niece who is a bit of a trouble-maker. Rayne has also picked up a job which he is incredibly successful at and even tolerated by his coworkers.

This strip is filled with hilarious moments, geek references, the occasional disturbing strip, and a lot of great characters. Ryan and Lar have a way of making great ensemble comics with characters that you slowly get to know and like. It is not a strip for the weak of heart though. Rayne is a bit of a womanizer and some might be offended by his cavelier attitude. I found it hilarious. What started out as a bit of a nonsequitor strip has become a great character series. I've added it to my daily comics and can't wait to see what Rayne gets into next.

Ask, and You Shall Receive

I was asked about my favorite webcomics. I had planned to write up a brief comment and leave it in the comments section but it kept getting longer and longer. I have so many of them that I read now. And each of them is very different. So I decided that instead of a comment, it would be a post. Susskins, thanks for the idea and of course thanks for reading. Here are all of my favorite webcomics all in one place. Be warned, this could get long.

Favorite

Some of these will have their links to the right but I'll include them here as well. If you were to ask me which of my webcomics were my favorite I would have to say Sheldon. Dave Kellett is just consistantly funny. He posts everyday and almost all of his comics are hilarious. Sheldon is a 10 year old boy genius, who (sometimes) runs his own company. He lives with his out of shape and gently grumpy grandfather, Arthur the talking duck, Flaco a lizard that Arthur considers his son, and an incredibly hyper pug named Oso. An odd combination that leads to hilarious punch-lines. This one is a definite recommendation.

Story Based Webcomics

I have four webcomics that I follow that tell one long and mostly consistant story. If you start reading these you will want to go back and read from the beginning. Otherwise they simply make no sense. I'll start with my most recent find, Looking For Group. For fans of World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings, and fantasy in general this comic is a must read. Funny, action packed, cartoony with a touch of darkness. I wrote a whole post about it here. The next is Dreamland Chronicles. This story follows Alexander who lives in two worlds. He is a normal college student during the day but when he falls asleep he returns to Dreamland, a place of his youth to try to save it. The story is indepth and Scott Christian Sava, the creator has clearly thought it through. Beautifully rendered this story is a wonderful fantasy comic.

The next of my story based comics is only partly that. Wapsi Square started out as any other webcomic with a great mix of characters and daily strips. It has evolved into an elaborate mystery involving Mayan time clocks, demons, and immortal girls. Paul Taylor creates a very interesting group of characters and I am constantly intrigued by where it will turn next. This is a great mix of touching, funny, and creepy. The last of my story-based comics is Order of the Stick. (link on the left) This comic follows a band of D&D adventurers on their quest to destroy an evil undead wizard. All the classic D&D archetypes are there: bard, warrior, rogue, wizard. The story pokes fun at the Role Playing genre with comments about random encounters, dice roles, and experience/levels. The characters play off each other well and the strip is just one adventure after another. Hilarious stuff.

Geekery

As I mentioned before I'm a geek. Actually pretty proud of that. Geeks tend to be some of the most interesting people. So I love geek comics. These are things that deal with video games, RPGs, computer stuff, fantasy, and SciFi. I have several. The most recent one is Weregeek, a comic about a reluctant gamer who is slowly drawn into the geek world while trying to keep his new game addiction a secret. I wrote a post about it here. Evil Inc is another new addition and one I've already blogged about. Set at a company for supervillians, run by supervillians this is a comic book fan's must read. Consistantly silly and funny, this pokes fun at the whole genre. PVP by Scott Kurtz is a comic about the staff of a video game magazine. This comic is filled with pop culture references, great characters, and one big blue Troll. PVP (short for Player Versus Player) is a model of geekery, discussing new video games, movies, and technology through its characters. The interactions between the characters is funny but the references are even better. The comic is currently following a separate story-arch involving a dwarven warrior and his bard.

Greg Dean's Real Life Comics follows him and his wife Liz in their daily life. Dean is a lover of all things SciFi, television, computer games, and other geekery. The strip tends to be random, jumping from idea to idea (just how life works) but the jokes are pitch perfect. You are guaranteed a good laugh with this one. XKCD is a bit of an oddity. It's not often that a webcomic is so intelligent, so interesting, that I need to go look things up after reading it. I am constantly heading towards google or a reference book after reading this very funny comic. The strip is very random jokes about computers, science, math, and physics. The drawings are mostly stick figures but the jokes are hilarious if sometimes over my head. I love that I not only laugh at this comic but get to learn a little.

Sweet

There are some comics I read for their humor and their sweetness. Little Dee by Chris Baldwin is the perfect example of this. The story follows Dee, a young girl, who is lost in the woods and befriended by a gentle bear, a sarcastic vulture, and a loveable dog. This is a comic that you will laugh at but also be touched by. The humor mostly comes from the animals playing off Vachel the vulture. This comic makes me go Awwww, so cute while I'm laughing. Another animal based story is Sandusky by John Prengaman. The story follows a mountain lion named Sandusky that was left on a man named Scott's doorstep. Scott, who lives with his husky named Bunker, can't turn the big cat away and adopts him. But as always happens Sandusky grows up and leads both Scott and Bunker on some interesting adventures. The strip is beautifully drawn and the story, which publishes three times a week, is constantly changing. The cast of characters are wonderful and Sandusky often become the butt of the jokes because of his now civilized ways.

A new comic that I've fallen in love with is Misery Loves Sherman. I wrote about it here along with Evil Inc. The story follows Sherman, a young boy who seems to always get the short end of the stick. He is joined by two aliens who live in his room, a small version of death, a bratty and often violent sister, and two parents who don't seem to understand him. Chris Eliopoulos's drawings are rounded and wonderfully cute. Sherman is an underdog that you can't help but root for. Unshelved doesn't really fit under cute but I can't quite find another place to put it. This hilarious strip follows the adventures of the librarians at the Mallville Public Library. Dewey (yes named after Melvil Dewey founder of the Dewey Decimal System) is the main character. He's a sarcastic young adult librarian who's not a huge fan of the rules and would rather be reading then helping patrons. The fantastic cast includes an overly perky children's librarian, a rule-setting straight laced library director, a technophobic reference librarian, and a large beaver who acts as both book mascot and book shelver. For a book lover and a librarian like myself this is just heaven. The strip is a great workplace comic with a ton of great book reference and SciFi references. Every Sunday the comic does a guest book review as well.

Pushing the Envelope

I know you're getting tired but I just have two more. These comics are the ones that constantly stretch the boundaries. Anything is likely to happen and often does. They are both hilarious but both could be incredibly offensive to the wrong person. The first is Sinfest by Tatsuya Ishida. This strip makes me laugh everyday. One of the funniest ones out there. The comic mostly follows Slick, a self-absorbed young man who is in love with Monique, a sexy and strong female. But the cast has pretty much everything. From the sweet Percy and Pooch (the artist's pets) to the devil and his succubi. Jesus makes regular appearances along with Buddha and God (or at least his hand which is often puppet covered). This strip will offend in so many ways. It pokes fun at religion, politics, sex, and drugs. It is incredibly risque but also incredibly funny. If you are easily offended this is not for you. If not, I guarantee you will laugh. The other I have just started reading. Least I Could Do is done by the two creators of Looking For Group. The comic follows Rayne a self-styling Don Juan. The humor is almost always focused on Rayne's attempts to have sex with pretty much every girl he meets. The comic is risque in the extreme but really funny. I laugh almost everyday at this one and am slowly working through the archives.

There you go, my current favorite webcomics all in one place. Be careful of what you ask for.

Wishing I was in San Diego

If I look a little green today, it's with envy. I'm wishing I was halfway across the country today in San Diego. The city itself is nice enough but the current draw for me is Comic Con. I haven't done a Con in way too long and this one interests me more than any other. I was hitting Gen Con every year for quite a while. When it moved out to Indianapolis I had to stop. Both distance and family stuff, kept me away. My brother and his family are going with my parents again this year. I'm a bit jealous of that. But the writer part of me, the webcomic addict part of me, and the serious geek in me wants to see the hugeness that is Comic Con. (the convention has been selling out for many years in a row)

The convention brings in some of the biggest names in comics along with pretty much everything else. Comics were the main focus but now the Con is much more inclusive. Films, pop culture, books.... But my interest is in the comics, particularly webcomics. Many of my favorite webcomic writers will be there. I have been glancing at their booth promotional material for weeks now in their blogs. I can already visualize my money being spent on signed books and figurines. I can imagine all the cool costumed figures and the great panel discussions. It is something that Jeff and I have talked about attending for a couple years now. And one day I'll get there. It just won't be this year.

Looking for Group

It's not often that I get to say this. I completely adore a sadistic, egotistical, violent, undead warlock. As most of you know I'm a pacifist, vegetarian, wouldn't hurt a spider kind of girl. So I'm not sure why Richard of Looking for Group comics struck a chord with me. His first act in the comic series is to incinerate a bunny. And it only gets worse from there.

A friend of mine turned me on to the series over the weekend when he lent me his copy of the book. I devoured it in one afternoon. The action adventure series is hilarious. The story follows Cale, a blood elf (hunter?) who is looking to make things right in the world. He is joined by a alignment questionable Troll priest, a sweet and bookish Tauren, a dwarven bard/warrior, and of course Richard. All of the character have their own humor but it is Richard that makes me laugh out loud. He is just so downright evil.

At one point in the series he is shrunk down and mistaken for a child. He's taken to one of the local nurseries. When the team pulls him out he simply can't understand why he couldn't stay at the buffet. Or when he incinerates two suspects and then tries to interrogate them. Eventually ending with a sad downcast look and the words "interrogations are hard".

The story is mostly sequential so if you start reading it you will need to start at the beginning. The writing by Ryan Sohmer is brilliant and any fan of Dungeons and Dragons or World of Warcraft will love the humor. The art, which is done by Lar deSouza, is just hilarious. His take on characters like Tim, the dim witted orc who follows Cale around calling him chicken, is wonderful. The images are colorful and cartoony and somehow that makes the absurdity of the scenes and the violence of Richard funny. These guys are brilliant. You may already have read their Least I Could Do webcomic which is also hilarious, although I'll warn you--not work appropriate. But Looking for Group has to be one of the best new webcomics I have found in a while. I'm already looking into purchasing printed copies. For a taste of the series, or to read the whole thing, head to Looking For Group. And don't mind Richard, he's chaotic evil. It's all in his alignment.

Let Them Eat Cake

This past week one of my favorite webcomics Unshelved pointed me towards a new blog. And this one is downright hilarious. I haven't laughed this hard since I found Fail Blog. The new one, which has already been bookmarked, is Cake Wrecks: When Professional Cakes Go Horribly, Hilariously Wrong. And similar to train wrecks, you simply can't look away. 

The site is dedicated entirely to terrible cakes. (Well, there are some amazingly pretty cakes, but they are few and far between.) Sometimes the cakes are homemade, and the mistakes can be overlooked. But a lot of the times these are professional cakes done by professional cake designers. And they are awful. Some are completely incoherent, some are just in horrible taste. You have to wonder what the people ordering the cakes and the bakers were thinking with some of them. I haven't read through the entire archive yet mostly because my stomach can't take anymore laughing right now. But I'll get through it. 

Here is just one of the horribly scary cakes, and this is one of the tamer ones. If you need a laugh, this blog is for you. 

New Webcomics

To say that I have an addiction to webcomics might be a bit of an understatement. I haven't actually counted to see how many of them I follow a day but it is enough to keep me busy in the mornings. The problem is that I keep finding them (not really a bad problem to have). But the real issue is that once I find a webcomic I am compeled to read through all the archives. This can get a bit time-consuming. Sheldon's archives had to be the longest one but I read through the entire thing. Years and years of dailies. When I added Sandusky it was a little easier since he's gone to a three times a week. And I wouldn't be following the amazing Dreamland Chronicles unless I had gone back and read from the beginning. It's a wonderful story but you need the background for the current stuff to make sense.

So it's not really good that I added two new ones this week. That's a lot of archive to go through. The first one was Misery Loves Sherman by Chris Eliopoulos which I was introduced to by Unshelved. This offbeat and entertaining webcomic follows Sherman as he is badgered by his family, his teachers, and his schoolmates. Sherman's very likable but he's surrounded by the sometimes cruel. His parents want him to get a job and make something of himself, even though he's in elementary. His sister beats up on him and never gets in trouble. And his teachers seem to have it out for him. But in Sherman's room things are different. Sherman lives with two aliens and one miniturized death. And it's always some sort of fun chaos in his room. One of the aliens is trying to take over the world. The other will eat pretty much anything not nailed down. And death, well death just wants to kill people, is that so wrong? This strip manages to be funny and heartwarming at the same time. The drawing style is fun and very cartoony. The whole strip is just adorable. I've worked my way through the entire archives and just loved every moment of it.

On the other end of the spectrum is Evil Inc by Brad Guigar. I've seen this webcomic mentioned by most of the strips I read. It is part of the Half Pixel cartoon group which includes three other strips that I read. So why it took me so long to try it, I'll never know. Evil Inc is hilarous. Nothing adorable here. The strip is set in the company Evil Inc, which is a company for super-villians, run by super-villians. The head of marketing is half-man, half-fly. Henchmen never survive to retirement. The receptionist can blast you with lightning bolts if you get too fresh. Evil Inc sells evil products and services to keep the villians fighting against the superheroes. I'm still working my way through the archives. Considering the strip started in 2005, I'm doing pretty well getting to 2007.

The characters are fun and the dynamic between heroes and villians is great. (you need to sign up for a nemisis) One of the main characters (a villian) is married to one of the big super-heroes. They are constantly foiling each other and then going home together to take care of their son. The product ideas are hilarous. I just wish I had started reading the strip earlier. I have so much more to go through.