On Comics: A Webcomix Reading File

By Matthew Shaer

Over at Digital Strips, the Midnight Cartooner notes that, “More and more creators are learning that it’s easy as cake to take their webcomics and get them printed. Even if an established printing house won’t pick up a collected work, there are options via Lulu and other print-on-demand services that ensure your ego, large and shadow-inducing as it is, can be seen by as many eyes as you can shove it under.”

Right on: As comix continue to swing into mainstream culture, the audience for web-comics will swell accordingly. That's just simple science. So where to start? Well, Digital Strips itself has a new semi-regular review space; if Midnight manages to keep it updated, it'll be a good resource.

The roar of the 'Dinosaur'

And a year ago, Joe Bernardi wrote a good piece for the Boston Phoenix on the boom in good online content. Among his are the major league staples: Perry Bible Fellowship and the excellent Dinosaur Comics.

Still, there's a lot to sift through these days – and there will be more to come – so it's best to stick with the big lists. Among the best: the self-explanatory webcomiclist.com, and topwebcomics.com, which stacks things according to online balloting.

Then again, if you're totally new to the medium, it's best to start with the very best. XKCD brands itself as "a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language," but it's a bit heavier on the sarcasm and the math than it is on the romance. Need a quick primer? Try this:

'What XKCD means' – courtesy xkcd.com

Got a favorite web comic? Drop it into the comments section.