Key Takeaways
- Webcomics combine indie creativity with online reach, yielding excellent and daring content.
- Reading webcomics beats social media for enytertainment and offers a vast collection of engaging stories.
- The webcomics world is massive, easily accessible, and continuously evolving, with options in various genres for all preferences.
I love reading comics of all kinds, but one of the most compelling takes on the art form is the webcomic. Made by anyone, censored by no one, webcomics are some of the best content on the web. If you don’t have at least one webcomic you check out regularly, you’re missing out!
Webcomics Are One of the Best Things on the Internet
Webcomics combine the raw indie creative spirit with the mass reach of the internet in ways that I could never imagine. When anyone with artistic talent can draw comics their way, post about it on a few forums, and then have it catch fire through word of mouth, you have a recipe for excellent content. Of course, as with most things, the vast majority of webcomics never become successful and are by and large terrible, as per Sturgeon’s Law.
However, given the sheer number of people who have attempted making webcomics over the years, even if only 1% of all webcomics are good, that still means a mountain of great titles. Since webcomics don’t require a massive budget, or a team of people to make them, you see many more daring ideas and interesting takes. This, to me, elevates it above even creative spaces like YouTube, which has become a little formulaic now, as creators try to please advertisers.
Just like most people, sporadically during the day I feel like slacking off and checking my social media, but what I’ve tried to do instead is check up on my favorite webcomics. Some prolific comics might even have multiple releases per week, and if you have a few that you follow, there is almost always something to read and have a chuckle at instead of doomscrolling X or Facebook.
Even better, if you’ve only just discovered a long-running webcomic, there are likely hundreds or thousands of comic pages to go through. It’s a guilty pleasure of mind to start these sorts of webcomics from the beginning. I particularly like seeing how artists get better over time when it comes to writing and their art. While social media is fine and dandy to give you a break from work or study every hour or two, I can say that rarely do webcomics leave me feeling depressed after reading one. Unlike social media, which has a pretty decent hit rate when it comes to putting me in a bad mood.
There’s an Enormous Amount of Webcomic Content
No one knows how many webcomics are out there, but you get an idea of how much comic content there is simply through the fact that Wikipedia has a list of lists for notable webcomics. Despite my comments about social media a minute ago, platforms like Facebook and X have done a pretty good job of spreading webcomics even further than ever before, and there are constantly new artists coming onto the scene and the level of art is meeting and exceeding professional quality. It’s almost unbelievable that you get to read these comics for free.
That said, there have been more than a few comics which have now made the jump to print, with book versions of their comics available in book stores and online.
Get Started With These Geeky Webcomics
I read webcomics in various genres, but there are a few worth highlighting such as XKCD which covers science and technology, and is both funny and informative. Though not always at the same time.
I was also a huge fan of MS Paint Adventures though now it’s part of Homestuck comics and is also ended. It was an innovative comic where readers essentially played an adventure game and the author would draw the consequences of those choices. The art style is hilarious, but not nearly as funny as the actual writing, and since this is written as a branching story, you can spend a lot of time plumbing the depths of MS Paint Adventures.
Another superstar choice is The Oatmeal, which has gone so mainstream it even has its own Netflix Series. These are all largely safe for work, but if you want something more edgy, there’s no end of comics that will suit your particular proclivities. So why not start looking for lists of the best geeky webcomics and get that bookmark folder filled with joy instead of the typical anxiety you get on the web these days.