Comic books are for dorks

Webcomics, on the other hand...*

So, you have a friend who's always raving about how awesome the comic(s) she reads are. Maybe she makes obscure jokes that have her cracking up while everyone else is just kind of smiling and nodding? Have no fear, wiggin is here to give you recommendations of the all-time best webcomics out there. I'm not going to give you a list of every one I read, just the ones that are consistently worthwhile. You, too, can make hilarious obscure jokes that leave your compatriots in the dark.

In no particular order, because they're all so awesome (WARNING: most of these include naughty words. Put more precisely, they are incredibly crude. If you are easily offended (which, given that you read my blog, isn't bloody likely), get off the internet and read something wholesome):

XKCD

This guy, with pencil-drawn stick figures, is more amusing than a barrelful of monkeys being delivered to Martha Stewart's door. (I need to work on my analogies.) In fact, he is so good to have caused the capitulation of another amazing webcomic out of sheer admiration. The author is a physicist who used to work for NASA, and now makes crude drawings and math jokes for a living.

What draws me most to his work is that he's so unabashedly a dork yet at the same time amazingly clever with minimal illustration and text. His mouse-over text for each comic are always worth the look.

A selection of his best work:
Pi Equals, Angular Momentum, Pillow Talk, Kepler, Valentine Heart (I thought about trying this on my girlfriend; a story for another time), Science (look up the COBE mission and this year's Nobel in Physics if you don't get it), and more. The archives are so full of goodness. I can't recommend this comic enough.

Penny Arcade

This is a comic that XKCD is in awe of (albeit kinda creepily). It is the Godfather of comics, garnering hideous amounts of traffic every day, and probably the most successful financially. It's a gaming comic, so many of the jokes go over my head (though if you read through Tycho's news post, you'll get an idea of what they're getting at)... nonetheless, it's beyond hilarious. They've gotten a lot more sophisticated over the years, both in terms of artwork and writing... but it's still worth it to go through the archives.

Best PA comic ever? This one. You can't buy that kind of humor.

Something Positive

This comic is beyond wrong. It takes 'evil sense of humor' to new levels. The Devil probably takes notes from Randy's comic. Nonetheless, it is funny beyond belief. Downsides are a somewhat erratic (though fairly regular) update schedule, and the fact that to get half of the plot, you need to start at the beginning. Then again, given this kind of beginning, who could resist reading the rest?

Toothpaste For Dinner

You know what I said about XKCD and stick figures? Well, at least he tries to draw. TFD has the worst 'artwork' I have ever seen... but he manages to pack a nice punch into his single-panel strips. Because he has a strict daily schedule, some of his jokes are less than worth it... but there are enough gems like this one to keep me coming back.

Questionable Content

This, like SP, is unusual to my tastes, as it actually has a plot, and is remarkably drama-ish. Nonetheless, the jokes are great: just this past Valentine's Day, he had a comic on necrophilia and having sex with comatose ICU patients. Now that's romance. This comic would be of particular interest to any people who are into music (particularly of the indie variety), but it's worth it for everyone. If nothing else, the protagonist has a violent and amoral pet robot; what could be better? Rarely does the drama interfere with the jokes. I can't really choose one 'representative' strip that makes it awesome, but feel free to post your own favorites.

Bunny

This is the comic that I previously said has capitulated to XKCD, which shows his excellent taste, if nothing else. The comics are generally fairly esoteric, and about a third of the time, I don't spend the time to get the jokes... but when I do know what he's talking about, it's definitely worth it. One of my favorites is buried deep in his archies: Giant Moon Laser. Give it a look!

A Softer World

I've been saving this for a strong finish. A Softer World is incredibly clever. It's a collaboration between a photographer and a writer; each comic is three panels of photographs with pseudo-types words overlaid. The humor is generally summed up in the third panel, at sharp contrast to the pictures or the previous wording. The mouseovers are an important bit to read, too.

Best comic? This one. Best T-shirt? "When I play doctor, I play to win."

So there you have it. The all-time best comics I've read. Any other suggestions are welcome, but if it's famous I probably read it or have tried it. Happy reading!

* Yes, yes, I know, comic books are the new cool thing, and 'graphic novels' are art, blah blah blah. I just never found them worthwhile. Nonetheless, I'm aware that perfectly cool people read comic books. I mean, some of my best friends read comic books. Heh.