I also, you know, couldn't walk for a couple days, but that's not part of me being productive.
Now, along with my productivity came... well, let's call it a shock. Shock seems good. See, I've written a lot of words... but I've also actively slacked off for quite some time, too. And I have one person to thank/blame for it.
Frances.
Pauli.
See, she got me into Homestuck.
Now, I tried to read Homestuck about, oh, a year ago. My nieces were (still are) slightly obsessed, and I figured what the hell? Problem was, it made my eyes bleed. It was so slow and boring and had absolutely nothing to do with trolls, which was part of why I gave it a shot. I had that issue with Harry Potter, too. I was promised phoenixes and shit, and instead I got some old cat lady.
But, just like with Harry Potter, I've become a fan. Although I'm still a much bigger Potterhead than I probably ever will be a Homestucker. But Homestuck got me thinking, too. And not about trolls. About webcomics. I read anywhere from 5-10 pages/panels of a webcomic in an average week, and lately it's been more as I try to catch up with Homestuck. I really do love them. So I thought I'd gather up my top 4 webcomics to share, in the hopes that you, too, will grow to love them.
Note that this list includes those webcomics with long-running stories. So sorry, no XCKD, Cyanide and Happiness, or The Unspeakable Vault of Doom.
3: Homestuck
See all that stuff I talked about above.
Now, why do I love it? The story is incredibly complex and far-reaching. Above anything else, that's the real reason I'm sticking with it, even through the parts that drive me nuts, like Andrew Hussie's meaningless self-insertions.
2: Earthsong Saga
Earthsong is an interesting one. I got turned onto it by SJ Tucker, who is far and away my favorite singer. I know, it's weird to take a suggestion for a webcomic from a singer. Listen to her music and it might make a little more sense.
Anyway, I started in. And it was actually quite fascinating. I've been with it for more than a year, now. It's brilliant worldbuilding, and Crystal Yates does a pretty good job on the art, too. The story is also fairly solid.
Where Earthsong falls down? The dialogue can be a little questionable, at times, but that's forgivable enough. But the schedule is brain-rakingly slow. Once a week. Some comics can do that. But Earthsong is often so reliant on what happened on the last page, or God forbid, two pages ago, I find myself having to go backwards and recap.
But even that's not a big deal. It's well-worth the read and, if you find that you jut can't stand the schedule, we're in the last chapter now. So wait and read it all in one go.
1: Gunnerkrigg Court
For once, the order of my list actually mattered! Woo! Gunnerkrigg Court is, in my opinion, the best webcomic out there.
(Sorry. I had to go with a Coyote picture for this one.)
A combination of fantasy and science-fiction, with just the slightest dash of 'what the actual fuck' mixed in for good measure. Like with the old 90's kid's show, Gargoyles, everything is up for grabs in Gunnerkrigg. Reynard the Fox and Isegrim. Old Man Coyote (obviously). World War II. Robots. Reality-warping mind powers. Alchemy. I could go on for paragraphs, here, but there's so much more to talk about.
The art has definitely evolved over the past 10 years, although it took me an embarrassingly long time to notice. However, I would never say that the art was bad at any point in the run of the comic. And today? Breathtaking.
Now, it's not complete, and I don't know when or even if Tom Siddell plans to end it. And, at almost 1500 pages to date, it's a bit of work to get caught up. But if ever reading something long and intense has been worth it, it's Gunnerkrigg Court. I can't sing the praises highly enough.
So seriously, go start it. You'll thank me.
What are your favorite web comics? Let me know so I can procrastinate even harder next week.
Voss
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