It’s the start of July, which means that Pride month is now over. But as the rainbow flags are brought down from corporate offices and social media accounts around the world, there’s one part of the internet where you can continue to get your fix of queer-friendly content all year round! Here, friends, are three webcomics you can go on to read right now that continue the theme of Pride month well past June.
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Ten years ago, Matthew Inman posted a little comic on the internet that got… some popularity. You might have seen it shared by your Auntie Irma on Facebook.
Since then, Inman’s webcomic The Oatmeal has gone from strength to strength. If a decade of internet presence isn’t enough, The Oatmeal also has ten books in print and set crowdfunding records in 2015 for the card game Exploding Kittens. Inman also won the Eisner for Best Digital Comic in 2014 for his unique style which blurs the line between cartoon and infographic.
And now, it looks like Inman has scored himself… a movie deal!
Continue readingIt seems like only yesterday we were revisiting Andrew Hussie’s epic webcomic ‘Homestuck‘ when we looked at comics which have returned after long hiatuses. And as though our thoughts and words manifested into the ether, this week saw the return of none other than the internet’s most famous flash-based semi-interactive webcomic.
It’s time to choose… between meat and candy.
Homestuck’s latest update features an ‘epilogue’ to the story of John, Rose, Jade, Dave—and of course, Lord English—and much of the rest of the extended cast that grew with the comic across its nine-year run (although I guess that period technically needs to be updated now, huh?). It is, in true Homestuck style, a little confusing at first (especially if you accidentally skip the prologue and go straight to the main course/dessert as I did) and a little twisted at the end: but fans of the series will be rewarded by sticking through a read of both divergent (but intertwining) canon and non-canon paths.
I won’t spoil too much about what happens at the end, but… suffice it to say I wouldn’t be surprised if we were back here in another few years with a blog post entitled ‘Homestuck: the webcomic that keeps coming back’. Want to know why? Then why are you still here? Go read it now! 😀
Are you a fan of Homestuck? Let us know what you thought of its triumphant return in the comments below—and don’t forget to remind us that Hussie teased as much back in 2016 by catching us on Twitter and Facebook. And until next time, always remember: don’t eat the clickbait!
Don’t click away! It’s not the title of a Jane Austen novel you’ve never heard of (well, I guess it could be if ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’ is a real thing…). This week, we’re continuing our dive into all things Webcomic Demonic by moving on from Love Advice from the Great Duke of Hell to look another way demons can work their way into the hearts of their comic’s protagonists—the more, erm… direct approach.
Dating can be hard. Getting noticed, making a good first impression – this is why you need a great wingman!
Of course, if you’re wanting to secure a happily-ever-after with the love of your life, then perhaps calling upon one of the Great 23 Dukes of Hell, ruler over 30 legions of bloodthirsty demons who could descend in fury upon the cities of the world and reduce them to ash at the mere blinking of an eye… might not be your best option. Some (including Astaroth, the Great Duke himself) might say the idea is patently ludicrous. But Paul, the protagonist of Love Advice from the Great Duke of Hell by Unfins (Damien) isn’t alone in the annals of people selling their souls for ill-conceived reward. In fact, Paul’s Faustian deal is remarkably similar to the one made by the famous Faust himself – and the others that came before them who also sold their immortal souls for… just the silliest reasons.
Continue readingWebcomic authors are creative people – who can’t always be constrained by the number of words one can fit into a comic panel.
As they grate to narrate, more than one webcomic artist has dabbled in the time-honoured practice of the novel – not only for collections of their comics, but for fully-fleshed works of fiction or non-fiction that either tie into their webcomics worlds, or even stand fully apart. Today, we’re going to look at a few webcomic writers who’ve crossed the comic page’s gutters and tested the idiom that a picture is worth… well, you get it!
Continue readingBringing you only the hottest of hot takes, today we’re talking about “Hourly Comic Day”, the yearly event which happens on… Feb 1?! Aw, man.
Hourly Comic Day is a tradition that first began in 2005, when John Campbell (of Pictures for Sad Children fame—or, perhaps, notoriety). This first outing for the event occurred when Campbell posted a journal page with a series of doodles he had taken every hour throughout the course of the day. Over the following few years, more webcomic artists picked up on the trend, until it finally became An Event To Look Forward To on Feb 1st every year, from 2008 onwards.
1 Feb 2019 was no exception, and many webcomic artists jumped on the wagon to journal their days in comic form: here are a few to whet your appetite if you missed seeing the event unfold this year (like, apparently, some webcomic columnists out there…)
Continue readingWebtoon. Tapas. Comic Rocket. Comic Chameleon. Twitter. Facebook. Or for we old-timers on the Webcomics scene, the good ol’ .com. There’s so many ways and places to read webcomics these days, it gets hard to keep up.
But for the last couple of months, I’ve been noticing something new. Something cropping up in the place I least expected it…
Something that’s… Explosm-ing my mind!
If you were on Line Webtoon anytime last week, then it’s a pretty sure bet you were treated to the news that:
“Save Me” BU (BTS Universe) has launched on Webtoon!
Webtoon’s synopsis of the comic runs as follows:
Seven boys. Best friends. Their fates intertwined through the good times together, but also the tough times, as they have gone their separate ways and suffered greatly as a result. When all is almost lost for these boys, one is given a special chance to go back in time and help his friends fix the mistakes that led them down this path. He’ll do anything to save them, but can he? Or is he too late?
So far, so good. But who are these seven boys, you might wonder—and what… on earth… is the “BTS Universe”? It’s okay! You wouldn’t be the only one, especially if you’re not living in South Korea or the United States right now, where BTS Fever is hitting epidemic proportions.
Continue readingWhat a year 2018 was for Digital Strips! With dozens of new and returning Webcomics featured in the show, and of course the massive milestone of hitting FIVE HUNDRED EPISODES in March of last year, it has been a long, loving look at this medium which only continues to get better and better.
As Steve and Jason highlighted in their 2018 retrospective podcast last week, many of those dozens of Webcomics were particular standouts, with several making it to our fearless hosts’ personal pull lists and others eliciting vows to return and catch up on their ever-growing backlogs. Some, like Mary Cagle’s ‘Sleepless Domain’, have even reinvigorated the show’s very obsession with comics on the web.
Likewise, the DS Blog crew (okay, it’s just me) has been following the recommendations of the show, finding Webcomics of our own to read and examine, and fall in love with. Today, we’re going to look at a few of the Webcomics that topped our lists for 2018, and some that we can’t wait to follow into this new year.
Sleepless Domain
The aforementioned comic by Mary Cagle was Steve’s pick for 2018, being exactly what he was looking for to reinvest himself into the world of Webcomics and all it can offer!
Nothing Special
Don’t let the title of this one fool you! Katie Cook’s (yes, cutesy) brilliant webcomic about a young girl who turns out to be quite special indeed, you’ll also be hooked by the comic’s brilliant and engaging style, writing, and characters.
Space Boy
Steve McCranie’s interstellar epic was high on Steve and Jason’s watch list throughout 2018—and mine, too! I’ve kept up with this one every week through 2018, and next to one I’ll mention later was the breakout favourite of the year. Go read it, it’s great!
Deathbulge
Although it hasn’t updated as much recently, owing to the creator (Dan Martin) working to turn the comic into an RPG video game (yes, really!), this was another standout for Jason who enjoyed its sharp humour, clever writing and well-executed punchlines.
A Problem Like Jamal
One of Steve’s picks for the year, this webcomic by Tauhid Bondia made it to the top of his list due to it’s excellent exploration of important themes and it’s unique perspectives.
Apocalyptic Horseplay
Although this one didn’t make Jason’s list, it sure made Steve’s and Mine! Another which I have kept up with through to the present, this story by Boredman about the four horsemen of the apocalypse (and, lately, what became of their horses after their ‘retirement’) is a well-crafted read with an excellent visual style.
The Sword Interval
Although the podcast crew noted it way back in 2016, this crossed my own radar for the first time last year, and ties Space Boy for top spot on my personal 2018 list. Ben Fleuter’s tale of humanity’s struggle for life amidst a post-apocalyptic magical and monstrous dystopia is just incredible, and is certain to be the subject of one or more worldbuilding articles here on the site in 2019.
Tales of the Unusual
Still recently on my mind after Halloween, Seongdae Oh’s creepy series of short comics makes my top list for 2018 due to the sheer pants-dampening discomfort it brought me when I CONSUMED it’s archives! Seongdae has great skill at building tension, even through the language barriers of translation, and his art style is creepy as heck to boot.
So there you have it! The not-quite-exhaustive list of our top Webcomics for 2018. Were there any mentioned on the podcast or the Blog that you’ve been keeping up with? How does your own personal list stack up to the one we have here? We’d love you to drop a note here in the comments and tell us—or you can always reach us on Twitter or on the Facebook Page. Until next time, here’s looking to a bright 2019 full of Webcomics and many, many hours illuminated by our screens. And while you’re reading, remember—don’t eat the clickbait!
