–which turns out is true, but I’m over that now.

Mostly.

And thus all the unfortunate people who are following me for some reason are now going to be subject to structured weekly ramblings. It’s even got a title, so it’s more official than ramblings, right?

It better be because it took minutes to come up with. MINUTES.

I’m not going to put a hard limit on the subject matter of the articles, but the focus for a lot of them is going to be webcomics and other independent media online. My intent for part of this is to review every webcomic on my reading list (hundreds, so I’ve got quite a bit of material) and maybe I’ll throw in some original animation I’ve been meaning to watch. I’ve got plans for some articles on the crafts of webcomics and animation as well as writing, and there will probably be the offhand article or two on hiking and nature.

 

So let’s begin. Blueberry PopTarts and barbecue sauce don’t go very well together.

Wait, no. No one wants to hear about my breakfast. Let me start over.

WEBCOMICS.

Webcomics are awesome, guys.

There are a million of them out there. That probably isn’t even hyperbole. Some of them you know. Most of them you don’t. (Most of them I don’t.) The sheer number of them, and the sheer number of quality webcomics makes it hard to stand out. Especially if, like me, you have difficulty connecting with other people. As implied, I can’t really help with that. But maybe I can introduce you to a new favorite you’ve never seen before.

For this article I’m going to get the “big names” on my reading list out of the way. These are the comics that are not necessarily household names (I don’t think any webcomics are? Maybe The Oatmeal is.) but if you mentioned them in a webcomics community, a good portion of people would recognize the title.

YU+ME Dream (Fantasy/Romance)

This one is actually completed which is a rarity for webcomics. The story follows Fiona Thompson, a high school student who is unhappy with her life and mostly deals with it by sleeping – until a new girl moves in next door and changes everything. It’s a super cute comic with fascinating characters and later on, a lot of very strange world aspects and cool style changes. Rosalarian’s other comics are great too! (Though I haven’t ventured into the 18+ stuff, not really my thing)

Ava’s Demon (Fantasy/Sci-Fi)

Unique in that rather than being laid out in pages, you read the story one panel at a time. (My understanding is that it’s supposed to be more like an animation storyboard than a comic.) Ava gets a second chance at life by making a deal with a demon who has been haunting her. Set in a bright, boldly-colored, futuristic sci-fi world, it holds a strange balance of fantastical wonder and horror.

The Adventures of Business Cat (Comedy)

One of the few comics I read that’s in the Sunday paper-strip format. A cat runs your Fortune 500 company. How do you deal with it?

Earthsong (Fantasy)

I have a weird history with this comic. I actually have the first print volume for some reason, but I don’t recall reading it all the way through until recently, though I’ve been aware of it for years (it started in 2004). In any case, the comic is quickly coming to a close. A young woman with no memory of who she is or where she comes from awakens on a planet that is home to many different alien species. She finds herself drawn into a war between the living spirits of planets.

Sleepless Domain (Magical Girl)

A strange city, protected (and isolated) by a dome shield that goes down at night for four hours for some reason. The streets fill with monsters with the shield down. What’s the solution? Magical girls, and lots of em.

Flipside (Fantasy)

This has been one of my absolute favorites since I got into the webcomics community, and it’s a good thing it updates three times a week because the author is a master of suspense. It follows Maytag, a jester with split personalities, and Bernadette, an arms instructor, as they venture across a unique, almost modern fantasy world.

Grrl Power (Superhero)

A partly serious, partly comedic take on what our world would be like if superheroes were suddenly a real thing. The government is just announcing Archon, the military branch dealing with superheroes. We see this through the eyes of Sydney, a hyperactive co-owner of a comic book store who may just have hidden powers of her own –