Sitcomocity Ad Absurdum

Maybe one can gleam from the title of this post, but it is quite late, and as such, my brain is scrambling to put two words together, let alone cogent sentences capable of communicating thoughts to the readers of such text walls as mine.  My offering to the less informed of the internet today is as follows:  A slice of life comic that not only parallels the cartoonists actual life, but takes turns into the absolute absurd and back again, without even batting an eye, as if to say, "Oh that?  That was Tuesday."  This is a comic that blends the life of a grown up geek with such topics as orbital space stations, mech suits, and interdimensional Volvos.  Strangely enough, it works.  Maybe it's time I name this comic, which is Real Life, written and drawn by Greg Dean, and also one of the growing herd of comics to update every day, sans weekends.  Content usually follows the life of Greg and his wife Liz, as they live out their lives, dealing with drama such as design school, WOW guilds, and friends building interdimensional wormholes in space.  Here is a recent update, to get you in the swing of things:

 

Falling into the habit of showing how much a particular webcartoonist has progressed, here is this, dredged up from Sir Dean's archives:



Wow.  Ten years is a long time, huh?  This is understandable, seeing as Dean uses digital art to draw his comic, Illustrator I believe, but I'm not even sure that was around ten years ago, and if it was, then this is a record of how much further imaging technology has advanced in only ten years.

The bottom line is that if you have a few minutes each day, where you find yourself wondering what to do, why not wander through the Real Life archives?  It will surely be worth your while.

Ninjas, Gorillas, and Raptors, Oh My!

In the world of webcomics, there are certain genres that are followed, much like television.  We have drama, comedy, action, adventure, and everything in between.  However, there are certain comics that eschew the traditional labels, or are simply astoundingly good.  One fine example of this label is Dr. Mcninja, written and inked by Chris Hastings.  Dr. Mcninja is, as its title may suggest, about a ninja who also practices medicine, with his gorilla receptionist, Judy.  Either way, the comic, which updates three times a week, chronicles the good doctor's attempts to keep his town of Cumberland, Maryland safe from the likes of gangs, unicorn motorcycles, and ghost wizards.  For those who think I type in jest, there is this:

As you may be able to tell, dear reader, this is a rather old comic, but now, Dr. Mcninja is fully colored, and even crazier than this.  Have you ever wanted to see a dinosaur with a jetpack?  Well, here you go:

If I haven't been able to convince you that Dr.Mcninja is a thing you should be reading, either you are blind, or legally dead.  Either way, you are not the target audience, so good day to you.  Other, more interested readers will be directed to go here:  CLICK ME.

To Arms!

Well readers, now that we have gotten to know each other(as well as people can know each other, connected via nothing but miles of fiber optic cable), let's get to the meat of this particular internet rambling:  what webcomics are relevant to your interests and why.  To kick things off, lets start with a personal favorite of mine, a strip by the name of Questionable Content, written and drawn by the great Mr. Jeph Jacques.  Started in the summer of 2003 as a strip mainly focused on indy rock humour, QC has continually evolved until it is nigh unrecognizable from its original incarnation.  QC is unique among the webcomic world in not only does it update daily and without fail, each strip is a masterwork of colour and design, every detail showing that not only is this work a man's occupation, but his passion.  The basis of the comic is the interaction  between the large cast of characters, which provides not only humour, but also an almost soap opera like drama that draws you into the lives of the characters that Jacques has created.  Here is a recent strip that shows in pictures what I struggle to describe in words.

Hopefully this sample shows even a shred of what QC is about, but for those that remain unconvinced, feel free to visit the site, and maybe you'll see what a gem QC is among the rest of the drab internet.

Introductory Remarks

Well, hello there!  Perhaps you stumbled upon this particular text wall in error, or maybe one too many clicks of the "stumble" button brought you to my word lair.  It matters not, for you are here now, and you might as well pull up a chair (or rather, move one's chair closer, so as not to miss anything vital) and stay awhile, for here is an amalgamation of all things web and comic, and if we are lucky, perhaps the twain shall meet.  In short, if one feels slighted by the physical media's lack of leisurely entertainment, is it not right that one should seek out new outlets of entertainment, perhaps in the digital realm, where any and all things can be witnessed and written, for better or for worse (A prime example of a comic that should be put down behind a nice barn somewhere).  So stick around, and you may find that the comics aren't limited to what can be drawn on a section of dead mahogany seven days a week, and can instead be long running works of art, with all the depth and entertainment that newspaper comics lack (The one exception that springs to mind is of course Dilbert, which continues to be subtly hilarious, despite the best efforts of newspapers.)  So, let us begin.