Some Lighter Fare

Ok, well, after yesterdays plunge into the intricacies of mankind's attempts to kill himself in slow motion, let's see if I can't lighten the mood a bit here.

What I've got is a collection of really amazing, astounding, stunning internet websites. I'll keep the webcomics for last, and try to get the generic "Everybody loves this" stuff up front where someone might notice it.

www.pandora.com

Simply put, this is the website for music fans. Nothing else really even comes close. Just type in the name of a favorite musician or song and this site builds you a personalized radio station that will introduce you to other songs and musicians that are similar. It even learns as it goes along, say it plays something you don't like...just tell the program you don't like it and songs like that get axed. This is the kind of thing I've always thought the internet would create, but hadn't yet done so.


Well well. Silly me, I can only think of one interesting thing on the internet that you are unlikely to have previously heard of that doesn't revolve around comic strips.

I guess I could view this in one of a couple of ways: 1) the nooks and crannies of the internet are increasingly losing their novelty or 2) I have a real problem with webcomics.

Nevertheless, I feel it is my obligation to direct you, my loyal friends and readers, to some of the really amazing webcomics out there. Here is my list of 'regulars'. These are comics I check on every time they are update. I suppose we could call them the illustrius ten. I'll go ahead and list them in order of my affection:

10. Lozerz:

This comic is all high-school antics and college guy humor (and viewpoints). Despite this, I really like it, hard to explain why...it's just great. This thing could actually survive in print.

9. Questionable Content

One of the most richly detailed stories in any webcomic. This would be my favorite comic on the web (barring Bob of course) except for the mindnumblingly long time it takes to finish story lines. This is one where I read the first 100 or so strips all at once overnight, that's how good I thought it was. Again, this could survive in print (although not as well).

8. One Man Knife Fight

This is the first example on this list of what I would call 'classic' webcomic humor. Dark, comicly over the top, often extremely violent. I call this classically webcomic humor because no other medium seems capable of replicating this, despite numerous attempts. Read through this one at your own risk, it takes a while to get.

7. white ninja comics

And if classic webcomics are ones that are violent, the other classic is absolute non-linear thinking, taken almost to a fault. In fact, I would suggest that no comic, on the web or elsewhere, are anywhere near at the writing level these guys achieve. The 'poorly' drawn feel of the comic is just a farce.

6. Ctrl+Alt+Del

The third in the holy Trinity of webcomics must be video games. However, only 4 webcomics even matter here. Ctrl+Alt+Del is the second best out there (I will hear no argument otherwise). The best is the 800 pound gorilla upcoming on this list, while the fantastic PlayerVsPlayer (or PvP) is outstanding and Little Gamers is also incredibly entertaining. I don't want to offend other great artist however: VG Cats is in my heavy rotation, I followed Red Vs. Blue religiously for quite awhile, and of course I don't know shit.

5. Perry Bible Fellowship

And now were into the strips that I consider to by 'personal' to me. As in, I feel a deep connection to the comedy or I found them 'independent' of the other strips. PBF is, quite simply, a joy to read. I eagerly await the arrive of the weekly strip, much in the same way I eagerly await my can of pop in the morning. If you know me, you realize the power of such an addiction. I can't put this strip any higher, however, because of a lack of continuity. I need contiguous characters, I'm weak that way.

4. Boy on a Stick and Slither

On many occasions I have been heard to recite "There is nothing wrong with you that reading a 100 strips of Boy on a Stick and Slither won't make you feel better about." If that sentence makes any sense at all (and I think it does if you concentrate), then so does BOSAS. If it doesn't, well, hey, at least it is very colorful!

3. diesel sweeties

I wasn't looking for a wonderful comic strip when I stumbled onto Diesel Sweeties. I was looking for something to pass an hour before dinner. I read a few strips, then did something else. Apparently something stuck, because that night I came back and read the entire, enormous archive in one long, unbelievably long, setting. I'm still not sure why I like this strip so much, but I feel happy to read it.

2. Penny Arcade

Well, Penny Arcade is so popular that I'm sorta stunned when I find people who don't know what it is. This is pretty much the pinnicle of success in webcomics. There's no higher peak above this. The strip is simple. It sticks closely to the holy Trinity of webcomics (violence, randomness, video games), and in fact makes most other strips seem like pale imitations. I couldn't possibly be more irritated by the persistent problems in there archives, because the strips are so good that re-reading them is a joy. Oddly enough though, the Penny Arcade experience is as much about the accompanying news-posts as it is about the comic. This might actually work against it, since I'm always torn when I first get to the site as to whether I should read the post or the strip first. Usually I read the strip first. I crave new Penny Arcade strips the way an addict craves heroin.

1. Bob the Angry Flower

Well, this should be no surprise to those who know me. This is the ultimate expression in random over-the-top. I'm not even sure the strip is really funny anymore. It has sorta transcended mere humor and moved into some higher place. A place of happy chaos. The early strips are so good I'm almost moved to tears. There was a stretch there were I was continuing to read based almost totally on faith, but the creator has brought his strip through that rough patch admirably. If I had to pick one strip I wanted to continue to read over the next 10+ years, and I could only pick one, I'd pick Bob the Angry Flower. I'd pick Bob over Calvin and Hobbes, Get Fuzzy, Penny Arcade, and any other comic strip you can imagine.



So there you have it...My Top Ten WebComics. I'm leaving out a lot of great comics, this is just my list, and has nothing objective about it. Maybe sometime I'll make a list of comics that deserve honorable mention here in the near future. Until then....poke around the archives of those strips I mention above and have fun!

Later