Ask Slashdot: What Was Your Favorite Web Comic of 2012? 321
skade88 writes "It's time to do another year-end best-of roundup! Today's topic is web comics. What was your favorite web comic of 2012? Feel free to use the following categories, or make up your own. 1) Best overall web comic series of 2012. (Any web comic that produced content in 2012). 2) Funniest web comic of 2012. (This one represents the single funniest comic of any web comic series. Provide links!) 3) Best art in a web comic of 2012. (Web comic from 2012 with the most amazing art ever). 4) Web comic that was most relevant to you in 2012. (This one is even more subjective than the others)."
Favorite Comic (Score:5, Funny)
Definitely XKCD!
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Too east (Score:5, Insightful)
Best art in a web comic has to be http://xkcd.com/1110/ [xkcd.com]
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I think you are confusing most art with best art. It is certainly an accomplishment, but the art isn't particular amazing.
Re:Too east (Score:5, Insightful)
I think you're confusing best technique with best art. The art wasn't the beauty of the actual strokes, it was the beauty of the idea and execution.
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I thought my friends would tease me but they let it slide...
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omg it's huge. is there anyway to download that image to view at my leisure? I am truly impressed by the idea and the work that went into it.
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Indeed. The dragging aspect is nice, but a zoom functionality is painfully missing.
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thanks. he should have made it wrap. that would be interesting
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I still remember when I first looked at that comic and started scrolling. "Hey, it scrolls! Let's scroll to the end of it!" Scroll...scroll...scroll... "Wow, this is taking a while" Scroll...scroll...scroll... "Damn, this is big" Scroll...scroll...scroll... "Does it ever end? Holy cow, it scrolls up and down too--he's got stuff tunnelling way down in the earth. A LONG way down in the earth" Scroll...scroll...scroll "Is there any end to it? Will I even be able to see all of it?" There is just no wa
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I hated hipsters before it was cool.
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Derp derp, you apparently have never looked at that particular one.
Do yourself a favor and do so. It's unique.
For gaming? Nerfnow.com (Score:2)
Nerf Now [nerfnow.com] was my pleasant discovery in 2012 :)
Yes, some humor can be a bit weird for non-gamers, but you can't just limit yourself to XKCD (okay, maybe you can, but more regular content is better)
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Nerf Now [nerfnow.com] was my pleasant discovery in 2012 :)
Yes, some humor can be a bit weird for non-gamers, but you can't just limit yourself to XKCD (okay, maybe you can, but more regular content is better)
Xkcd has come out every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for years. How is that not regular?
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Nerf Now [nerfnow.com] was my pleasant discovery in 2012 :)
Yes, some humor can be a bit weird for non-gamers, but you can't just limit yourself to XKCD (okay, maybe you can, but more regular content is better)
Xkcd has come out every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for years. How is that not regular?
I think he meant more [regular content] not [more regular] content.
Z
Schlock Mercenary (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Schlock Mercenary (Score:5, Informative)
I think Schlock cannot be mentioned enough.
The art is better quality than most web comics (or newspaper/dead tree comics), even if the style isn't going for as-real-as-possible. No storyline is ever dropped in the middle (there are cutaways to things happening on the other side of the galaxy, but these are things happening at the same time and the series will then jump right back to the main action).
Not every day has a LOL moment at the end (or during the strip), but that's because something's happening in the strip which is a very much OMG sort-of thing.
And, oh yeah, something else the parent post mentions which I've never seen any other web comic manage: a new comic every single day of the year (and it's never some kind of filler), and has done this since the comic started (which means a huge reading archive). Which means not a single day need go by without the reader getting some form of entertainment on that day.
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It's really amazing to take a look at the first strips then walk through as the artist has improved in technique and detail. There's an easy jump to the first strip. Compare that to the latest one. The difference is profound.
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After 12.5 years Some 4,500 updates.( you have to count days and leap years). I would hope the artist not only gets better with that kind of practice but faster too.
I read schlock daily. It is awesome. Multi year story arcs, Stories from multiple points of view. Consistency that Hollywood doesn't dream as possible.
Characters flawed, but very few actually over the top. everyone has a reason(logic, emotional, money) for doing exactly what they are doing and when.
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal (Score:5, Interesting)
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Holy crap, I have been reading SMBC for a long while, and I did not know this!
Wondermark (Score:3)
http://wondermark.com/813/ [wondermark.com]
Best web comic (Score:2)
Top Comic "Dondi" (Score:2)
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oatmeal (Score:5, Insightful)
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oatmeal is great.
I'll never think of dolphins the same way again, those damn weasels.
Oglaf.com (Score:5, Interesting)
Not worksafe.
Oglaf FTW (Score:2)
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Re:Oglaf.com (Score:4, Funny)
More specifically, my two favorite panels, in order:
Snow Queen [oglaf.com] (NSFW)
Bad Falcon [oglaf.com]
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I personally really enjoy and frequently link people to Fountain of Doubt: http://www.oglaf.com/fountain-of-doubt/ [oglaf.com]
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But VERY FUNNY and very different. (although I like her earlier work best!)
Favorite Web Comic (Score:3, Insightful)
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The problem with Questionable Content is the way he draws eyes. Head turned in one direction, eyes orientated as if they are trying to see something behind said characters. It isn't in every comic but it is in enough of them to make me rage over it. Thus I stopped following it.
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Another vote for QC.
Beyond xkcd (Score:5, Interesting)
In no particular order:
The Oatmeal http://theoatmeal.com/comics [theoatmeal.com]
Schlock Mercenary http://www.schlockmercenary.com/ [schlockmercenary.com]
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal http://www.smbc-comics.com/ [smbc-comics.com]
Girl Genius http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php [girlgeniusonline.com]
Hark a Ninja! (Score:4, Informative)
XKCD April Fools 2012 (Score:5, Interesting)
XKCD's Umwelt [xkcd.com] comic for April Fools 2012, the best comic ever.
Dozens of different comics presented depending on your IP, your browser, your geolocation, and many other factors too numerous to enumerate.
A mind boggling concept, a tremendous amount of work, incredible creativity.
Shout out to Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal and Tom the Dancing Bug, too. Tom Tomorrow also hits it out of the park on occasion.
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Replying to self with link to a reddit page [reddit.com] on the variations, XKCD forum [xkcd.com], and a very brief summary of some of the variations [webpronews.com].
The Perry Bible Fellowship (Score:4, Informative)
It has to be my favorite. It is too bad it doesn't get updated much anymore.
http://pbfcomics.com/ [pbfcomics.com]
Re:The Perry Bible Fellowship (Score:4, Interesting)
If it's still your favorite web comic of 2012, even though it has probably been updated once this year, then you need to read more web comics.
A short list (in no particular order) to get you started:
Menage a 3 - three times a week wacky hijinks
Misfile - I don't like the premise (an angelic fuck up), but the exploration of ideas with regards trans* folk is quite good
YAFGC - daily dose of DnD style humor. The art is rough, but that adds to the charm
Schlock Mercenary - others have discussed it
Sinfest - Daily, classic, long running.
Girls With Slingshots - Weekdays,
Oglaf - NSFW funny stuff, Sundays only.
Subnormality - Updated haphazardly, quite interesting and often strange comics. "Too many words."
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Honorable Mentions (no particular order) go to:
Something Positive - Not updated as much as I like, and the story lines are a bit less funny then they have been.
Order of the Stick - If it updated regularly (at least twice a month) it would go up to the best list. But still.
Flaky Pastry - Fridays, quite good, but the stories move slowly because only one day a week. If it were updated more often it would get bumped up.
Questionable Content - not as good as in previous years, though the art's improved amazingly since the start
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Go for it.
LFG Comic - best art (Score:3)
My favorite web comic for several years has been Looking for Group [lfgcomic.com]
Sinfest (Score:5, Informative)
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I'll third that! To me it's on a whole 'nother level of awesome 3
I've been slacking lately, but generally been reading this since 2000 or so, and been a better person for it. To me there's Sinfest, then nothing for long, long time, then other stuff.
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That one I'm also subscribed to.. sometimes it tries too hard IMHO, but other times it's just genius.
I'd love a fatwa on my head. That's a hat, right?
A what comic? (Score:3)
What the heck is a web comic anyway? They're all on the web now. I'd rather see a poll for best non-web comic.
I'd vote for Steve Bell's If... strips as published in The Guardian, but you murkans wouldn't get the jokes. He was also meta before it was mainstream, one of his penguin characters joking in a strip about "the baggy-eyed yanks upstairs" when If... was printed underneath Doonesbury.
There is one which really stands out (Score:4, Informative)
the most impressive 1) character development 2) character psychic over time.
and over 2 thousands strips...
Is it okay if (Score:4, Insightful)
Homestuck! (Score:2)
still Megatokyo (Score:4, Interesting)
Definitely the best art [megatokyo.com].
oh yeah... (Score:3)
higher res version [deviantart.com].
Your opinion is bad and you should feel bad. (Score:3, Insightful)
Fred is a terrible comic artist and hasn't grown _at all_ in the 10+ years he's been puttering around with that waste of a comic. It also takes him entirely too long to do a single page and have the audacity to not even bother to ink it.
In that period of time Penny Arcade has changed it's graphical style immensely, having evolved a very distinct, vibrant, and clean look, while meeting deadlines, and even being in color!
Example: http://image.gamespotcdn.net/gamespot/images/box/0/0/6/943006_95411_front.jpg [gamespotcdn.net]
Ano
Cyanide&Happiness (Score:4, Insightful)
Consistently funny, esp Depressing Comic Week
H.
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Agree about Cyanide & Happiness. Sick, perverted, and completely inappropriate. And always funny despite just being stick figures.
(The thinking man's version of xkcd.)
Tom The Dancing Bug (Score:2)
Basic Instructions (Score:2)
2012: http://basicinstructions.net/ [basicinstructions.net]
2011: http://www.explosm.net/ [explosm.net]
2010: http://xkcd.com/ [xkcd.com]
Brian diarrhea on html formatting at the moment :(
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Lackadaisycats (Score:2)
In no particular order I'm currently reading:
1) XKCD http://xkcd.org/ [xkcd.org] (and yes, 1110 was amazing art even though it's mostly about arcane, subtle or smart references)
2) Dilbert http://dilbert.com/fast [dilbert.com] (makes actual work seem a little less sad)
3) Lackadaisycats http://lackadaisycats.com/comic.php [lackadaisycats.com] (guns, alcohol and cats)
4) Unsounded http://unsoundedcomic.com/ [unsoundedcomic.com] (thieves and their pesky offspring)
5) Gunnerkrigg Court http://gunnerkrigg.com/ [gunnerkrigg.com] (a school with mediums, shadows and robots)
Depression Comics, --- From the makers of sexylose (Score:2)
http://depessioncomix.tumblr.com
for cat #4
Trustus Pharmaceuticals - video comics? (Score:2)
Do YouTube animated comics count? http://www.youtube.com/user/ZombieSymmetry?feature=g-high-u [youtube.com]
These are an animated comic with a Dilbert like take on corporate life for a big Pharma Corp. If you don't know what 5S or Silo's are you just haven't lived!
in order (Score:2)
best online only
1. http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php [girlgeniusonline.com]
2. http://questionablecontent.net/ [questionablecontent.net]
3 http://www.smbc-comics.com/ [smbc-comics.com]
4. http://xkcd.com/ [xkcd.com]
and these two are the best of the newspaper comics
1. http://www.uclick.com/client/wpc/nq/ [uclick.com] nonsequitur
2. http://www.uclick.com/client/wpc/db/ [uclick.com] doonesbury
Red Meat (Score:2)
Red Meat - always delightfully twisted.
http://www.redmeat.com/redmeat/current/index.html [redmeat.com]
Favorite comics. (Score:2)
#1 and #2, best and funniest both belong to Sluggy Freelance [sluggy.com] in my opinion. #3, best art, is a lot harder to pin down. Pete Abrams on Sluggy Freelance can do some pretty good art, but he's not the best. There are a few possibilities from the stuff I peruse: Charby the Vampirate [drunkduck.com] has some pretty good art or maybe No Need for Bushido [noneedforbushido.com]. #4, most relevant to me, is definitely very, very subjective. I'm probably just going to have to go with xkcd [xkcd.com].
Freefall (Score:2)
Hunter Black (Score:2)
Best Overall: Hunter Black -- http://www.hunterblackcomics.com [hunterblackcomics.com]
Favorite blah blah (Score:3)
Who cares? Let's just post big lists of web comics so we can all click and read and woohooooo!
Beyond the obvious (XKCD, Penny Arcade, Dilbert, The Oatmeal) there are at least these:
http://amultiverse.com/ [amultiverse.com]
http://www.virtualshackles.com/ [virtualshackles.com]
http://www.cad-comic.com/cad/ [cad-comic.com]
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comics/critical-miss.latest [escapistmagazine.com]
http://chainsawsuit.com/ [chainsawsuit.com]
http://dresdencodak.com/archives/ [dresdencodak.com]
http://www.happletea.com/ [happletea.com]
http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2347 [questionablecontent.net]
Romantically Apocalyptic (Score:5, Informative)
Best Art: Romantically Apocalyptic -- http://romanticallyapocalyptic.com [romantical...lyptic.com]
My Nominations and Choices (Score:5, Informative)
1) Best overall web comic series of 2012. (Any web comic that produced content in 2012): Gunnerkrigg Court [gunnerkrigg.com] is a brilliant webcomic that has a compelling plot, interesting characters and art that has developed superbly since the comic's beginnings.
2) Funniest web comic of 2012. (This one represents the single funniest comic of any web comic series.): Evil Inc. [evil-comic.com] got the most laughs out of me this year, even if a lot of the humour was a bit Dad-joke-ish. Runners up would include: Penny Arcade [penny-arcade.com] , XKCD [xkcd.com] , Scandinavia and the World [satwcomic.com] and Overcompensating [overcompensating.com] .
3) Best art in a web comic of 2012. (Web comic from 2012 with the most amazing art ever): Dresden Codak [dresdencodak.com] is, without any doubt, the repository of some of the most geekiest and beautiful artwork the web has ever seen. Runners up would include: Namesake [namesakecomic.com] , Lackadaisy Cats [lackadaisycats.com] , Sore Thumbs [keenspot.com] and Avengelyne [keenspot.com]
4) Web comic that was most relevant to you in 2012: Real Life [reallifecomics.com] , because his adventures with Harper are roughly mirroring my adventures with my daughter Hailey.
Honorable Mentions (because they'd likely win categories if there were a couple more here): Bad Machinery [scarygoround.com] (Best Story), Eerie Cuties [eeriecuties.com] (Best Black & White), Three Panel Soul [threepanelsoul.com] (Best Drama) and Wapsi Square [wapsisquare.com] (Best Main Character), and Sinfest [sinfest.net] (Lifetime Achievement) among others.
Battlepug (Score:2)
Funniest: Battlepug -- http://battlepug.com [battlepug.com]
Dunno about best (Score:2)
Lackadaisy Cats, QC, GWS, SMBC... (Score:2)
Lackadaisy Cats is pretty much unbeatable for art: http://lackadaisy.foxprints.com/ [foxprints.com]
Unless you also consider the Abominable Charles Christopher: http://www.abominable.cc/2012/08/ [abominable.cc]
Consistently funniest is Oglaf (often NSFW): http://oglaf.com/branding/1/ [oglaf.com]
Questionable content and Girls with Slingshots are personal favourites.
SMBC is the smartest comic out there. He updates every day. Sometimes he isn't as technically deep or impressive as XKCD (which I also love), but I find SMBC covers more topics and Ian way th
Alpha Shade... (Score:2)
The artist draws everything in vector and often puts a lot of little details into each frame.
A vector viewer is available (swf) allowing you to zoom in and appreciate all the little details.
http://www.alpha-shade.com/0Comics/pages.php [alpha-shade.com]
Check them out. Definitely one of the most artsy comics I've seen online.
-- Dave
Schlock at the top (Score:4, Informative)
Schlock has become a lot more kid-friendly since Tayler quit his job at Novell and now works surrounded by his children, but it's still entertaining. And he has kept its schedule for a pretty long time. Several other webcomics of that age gradually turned to weekday only, to Monday-Wednesday-Friday, to once weekly, but Schlock Mercenary keeps on updating every day.
Girl Genius has pretty good art, but what I like best is its large ensemble of delightfully inhuman characters. Every time I find a new favorite character, [girlgeniusonline.com] the Foglios introduce another crazy awesome character. [girlgeniusonline.com]
Gunnerkrigg Court doesn't have the very best art, but it's gradually getting better, and the story is intriguing.
xkcd is a comic by a nerd about nerds being nerdy.
Pibgorn (Score:2)
Underdog / relatively unknown comics (Score:2)
Best overall:
I've been reading Supernormal Step [supernormalstep.com] since it was about a week old, and it quickly turned into my favorite comic. The art started out a bit amateurish, but has matured rather nicely. The characters are unique and likeable, the plot is constantly moving and twisting, and I'm quite happy with the small number of grammatical errors compared to a lot
Not A Villian (Score:2)
American Extremists -- the Comic Series (Score:2)
Terrible art, awesome on the irony though:
most recent:
http://americanextremists.thecomicseries.com/comics/ [thecomicseries.com]
a prime example:
http://americanextremists.thecomicseries.com/comics/470 [thecomicseries.com]
First Dog on the Moon (Score:2)
For us Australians, nothing says cultcha like FDOTM.
Most relevant to me? Mine. (Score:2)
Decrypting Rita [urnash.com], the sci-fi comic I write and draw, has certainly been the most relevant to me this year.
It's about a robot lady who's dragged out of her timeline and scattered across four separate realities. And a couple of hive-minds, one of which intends to assimilate the whole Earth. Also of course it's about the other versions of her - a normal lady in the here and now, a dragon living with her elf boyfriend and girlfriend, and a wizard journeying to the center of her world of floating islands. I try t
abstruse goose (Score:2)
http://abstrusegoose.com/ [abstrusegoose.com]
Specialized content for machine learning / artificial intelligence. I chain-read them for 18 hours till I'd finished!
Romantically apocalyptic (Score:2)
Beetlebum! (Score:2)
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Then you aren't reading the best web comic out there: Jerkcity [jerkcity.com]
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Please note the menage a 3 is very NSFW
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I second that third.
I recently discovered Romantically Apocalyptic [romantical...lyptic.com], and was blown away by the art (and the fact that they manage to create it so fast).
The story is definitely... different. Surreal sometimes. But there is a story, and I'm curious where it will go next.
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Wonderella is pretty damn wonderful. Definitely on my list.
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1 Best: Basic Instructions http://basicinstructions.net/ [basicinstructions.net] 2 Single Best: too many to choose from 3 Best Art: Girl Genius http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/ [girlgeniusonline.com] 4 Most Relevant: Dilbert http://dilbert.com/ [dilbert.com]
If Dilbert is most relevant, time to change employers.
After discovering that I was living a Dilbert cartoon, I left that job, and once I'd healed, vowed that if my life ever again imitated that particular piece of art, it was time to leave. Thus far I'm pleased to say I've been OK.
Girl Genius (Score:4, Insightful)
Unquestionably Girl Genius for me.
Besides, the Castle just went "clack"...
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Just cuz u don't get it don't make it not funny. Oh, for you it hurts. I got that.
Yeah, two thumbs up for DBD!