Top 10 Cool Webcomics November - December 2011

Way over due an update to my top 10 cool webcomics. A few of my favourites have ended since I last did a top 10 so great online comics like Acrobat, The Fowl and Freakangels are now complete. You can still read them at their respective site. Anyway, here's the current rundown for November/December 2011


10. Questionable Content by J. Jacques
9. Flying Sparks by Jon Del Arroz
8. William Feist: Paranormal Investigator by Old Dying Kitty Comics
7. Jesus Christ: In the Name of the Gun by Eric Peterson and Ryan Cody
6. Gunnerkrigg Court by Tom Siddell
5. Pictures of You by Gibson Twist
4. Superfogeys by Brock Heasley & Marc Lapierre
3. Specimen B-28 by Stephen Daymond
2. Vanguard by Mr Hades(Dan Butcher)
1. Smash by Chris & Kyle Bolton

It's a real struggle trying to get this down to 10 comics as there are so many good webcomics out there now. A few that came really close and may get into the top ten at some point are Spindrift, Adler's Watch, False Positive and Deathboy.
As always if you'd like to suggest a web comic for the Cool Webcomics list please email me. I do get lots of submissions and don't have the time to respond to every one (i only get about 20 minutes free time per month to mess around online, mostly I work, or be a dad, or clean, or be a husband, or train, or sleep. so I'm sorry if i don't get back to you.) However if I see something that is awesome I will most definitely come back to you and post it on the blog. It might even make the Top 10.

More from the Twitter Feed

Time for some more of the Cool Webcomics that I've been shouting about on Twitter. . . well typing about at least. At last count I'm up to 86 followers and can't believe that 86 people are interested in what I'm saying. Once I get a couple million more I'm gonna start some kind of cult. Not sure what type yet but it'll be one of those cool ones where we don't all commit mass suicide. Maybe just a big party or something.

Anyway rambling already. . . On to the links.

Nathan Sorry by Rich Barrett http://bit.ly/uZwmk. It's a cool concept about a guy who everyone thinks has died on 9/11. well worth a read.

Go read 'Heist' by Brendan McGinley. It's really cool. Oh, and it has a really cool logo too. http://bit.ly/gX5XRm

Here's a cool webcomic worth checking. Wake the Knight: http://bit.ly/eWZkh8. Should be OK to read again since Drunk Duck is back online.

I recently got turned on to Super Fogeys: http://bit.ly/hra6. It's a whole lot of fun. Why had I not read this before???

Spinnerette is pretty cool and it's probably one of the few Manga-esque comics you'll see promoted on this blog. Go check it our for yourself. It's about a young girl who gets bitten by a radioactive spider and becomes a super hero. . . . sound familiar? http://bit.ly/9DaPoc

Fusion is about a young girl who has an alien entity sharing her body, giving her superpowers. Well that's the basics go read the rest for yourself at http://www.drunkduck.com/Essay_Bee_Comics_Presents_Fusion/

OK that's plenty for now more to come later. As normal if you are following me on twitter you may have already read some of these. I'd love to know what you think.

Webcomic Tweets on Twitter

Hey folks,
I don't get to post full comic profiles as often as I'd like but if you follow me on Twitter you'll know that I've started to Tweet about Some of the cool webcomics I found out there on that Internet thing. so with this post I thought I'd update you on what I've been tweeting about so anyone not on the old twitter bandwagon can also click through to the awesome webcomics i tweet about.

I think going forward this may be the new format for posts. So by following me on Twitter you'll get links to all these cool webcomics and more a few days quicker than they'll apear here, but if you want a bunch of comics all listed together with basic info about them, then this is the place to come

The Rioteer over on WEVolt is a good one to start on. Click here to go read that.
Synopsis
1948: America entered WWII too late to stop the 3rd Reich. Emboldened by their victory in Europe, the Germans brought the war to American soil...and won. Now the East Coast belongs to the Axis Powers, and is a testing ground for their depreaved mad scientists. Only one man stands between the huddled masses and scientific horrors: the last surviving result of America's super-soldier program. Atomic zombies, Nazi vampires, terrors from beyond the stars...nothing is too much for The Rioteer: Champion of Freedom! Comic updates on Fridays

Next up is Geist which is a little bit different to the stuff I normally post about although still very good and has lots of promise. To read Geist click here.
Synopsis
After weeks in hospital, Kate Crowley returns to school scarred, cursed and looking for revenge. But it won’t be easy: her targets are the untouchable Geistlords, influential students with the power to control the invisible monsters known as Geists. Worse, her cursed eye is making her hallucinate. And her only ally is her former best friend, who hates her almost as much as he hates the Geistlords. To get her revenge – and, maybe, win back her friend – she’ll have to use her curse to discover the truth about Geists…if it doesn’t drive her insane first.

Now this next one is an online garphic novel that has been completed and is available for you to read in full. Heartless Dark by Phillip and Adam Sevy. To read it click here.
Synopsis
Heartless Dark follows both Matthew and Ailis, two people at opposite ends of an apocalyptic prophecy, as they struggle to link global occurrences, personal events, and historical writings in a race to save the world.

OK about big mech robots and city destroying monsters. Kill all Monsters has that covered. Go here to read this high octane slugfest. Kill all Monsters is by Michael May and Jason Copland.
This webcomic is lots of fun and well worth a read (not that the others are not, i just don't have a synopsis for this one)

Some Superhero goodness now with Frostfire. I enjoyed this one hope you will too. Go here to read it.

Next is Wayward Sons: Legends. An Epic Sci-fi, fantasy, super powered, mythilogical saga with great art and a cool story. Read Wayward Sons: Legends here.
Synopsis
The Pantheans have just prevailed in a bloody civil war. Things go quickly awry while attempting to imprison the traitorous Kronos and a multitude of monstrous intergalactic criminals. Now the crew of the Ulympea, led by Captain Suras, must do whatever it takes to stem a full-scale prison break. What happens next, however, is completely unexpected! What starts as a straight forward Sci-Fi story, soon takes twists and turns into a genre-bending epic that defies explanation.

Red Moon Rising is really nice and is building to be another epic webcomic. Read it here.
Synopsis
Red Moon Rising is a full-colour steampunk fantasy webcomic set in the midst of a magic-fuelled industrial society, following one person’s small mistake and the knock-on effect it has on the people and the world around them.

Next I tweeted a link to Danielle Dark. If you like vampires then you'll like this. if you don't like Vampires then I suggest checking this out because its got so much more going on and the art is nice too. Read it here.
Synopsis
Danielle Dark is the story of a vampire not entirely accustomed to what she is. Danielle is trying to fit into mortal society, but discovers that is more difficult than she imagined.
Turned just over 150 years ago, Danielle is a relatively young vampire, but the circumstances of her change have made her a vampire with additional abilities. The fact that Danielle is different than other vampires has not escaped the attention of various entities with their own agendas. Some merely wish to observe Danielle’s activities, while others want her cooperation. There are also those who want Danielle destroyed.
Fortunately, Danielle Dark is a formidable vampire with equally formidable allies. But her biggest challenge is to accept herself for what she is. Find out more about Danielle Dark each week. Updates are every Friday.

More coming in the next post but enjoy these for now

The Replacements - Web Comic

I stumbled across this web comic just floating around on Comixpedia. and I'm so glad i did. It was a great read and a fantastic find. Now I'm sure some of you will have already read this comic as it was fist posted online way back in 2003. This might be considered a Golden Age webcomic(wow epic fail on humour there). Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed this and read it in one sitting. I hope that you enjoy it too and if you've read it before then go back and check it out again. you wont be disappointed.

The Writing
There is a nice flow to this comic. as each of the main characters are introduced you simply accept them. The heroes are pretty typical. There's a reluctant hero, a full on wanna be hero and a robot who appears to be John Wayne. What more could you want. . . OK how about a villain hell bent on revenge for being jailed for years and years so he just want the whole world to suffer. What about cool evil henchmen with robot arms or hook chains for eyes. I can top that too. How about lots of other dimension monsters ripping up stuff and causing mayhem. This comic has all that and more.

The Art
The art has a manga-esque feel to it with a touch of cartoon goodness. Not normally my cup of tea but it does suit this story. Its black and white but don't let that put you off as many of the best webcomics are. The action scenes work well and the quiet moments are well paced. The art is by Sara Turner and Jerzy Drozd.

Updates
Completed so no more updates.

Links
The Replacements
Jerzy Drozd's Website
Sarah Turner's Website

Recommended if you like. . .
Magellan, Tin Tin, Hero By Night, The Front etc

Jesus Christ: In the Name of the Gun - Web Comic

Ok. Now for a little web comic that may or may not get me grief from some religious types. Before I go any further please be aware that i did not draw or write this webcomic, so aim your anger over there at the heretics who have created this abomination. I do however find it thoroughly entertaining and this it should be made mandatory as part of any modern religious education curriculum(ha). Jesus kicks some serious ass in this violently hilarious webcomic. Imagine Bruce Campbell running around in a tabard with a beard and a wrist mounted time machine.

The Writing
I find the flow of this online strip just perfect. There is enough detail played out to keep you interested in the bigger picture but the main focus, so far, seems to be on the all out action and terrific one liners. Some of the gags are genius. I won't go too much into the story but here is my take on it so far. Jesus (The son of God) Christ has decided that the way history has panned out is a bit shit. so he sets about fixing things. Now to do this he's gonna need to be able to travel through time to certain points in history and right the wrongs that he sees as being done. Want to know more? Of course you do so go read it.
Eric Peterson has crafted an enjoyable and, as it continues, a very intriguing story which is fast becoming one of my favourite webcomics.

The Art
So far there is one complete volume with the second volume well underway. The art in the first story arc is by Ethan Nicolle who's art is of the cartoony variety. It does work well with the fantastical plot of the comic and where it needs to be it can be dark and powerful. I get a slight tang of Robert Crumb in this art, which is very cool. The Artist on the second volume is a guy called Ryan Cody. Now I'm familiar with Ryan's work as I follow his art on his Deviant art site, so I'm already a fan. Ryan's art is nice and simple. He has an amazing skill with blacks with his art reminiscent of Paul Grist creator of Jack Staff and Kane.

Updates
Normally twice per week

Links
Jesus Christ: In the name of the Gun
Ethan Nicolle Website
Ryan Cody Blog

Recommended if you like. . .
Battle Pope, Preacher, Jack Staff, etc

Lilly MacKenzie and the Mines of Charybdis - Web Comic

How best to describe this. . . A beautiful Space fairing, Ginger, half Scottish, half African American beauty, who kicks some serious butt and hangs around with a vertically challenged, pink haired engineer of sorts, who appears to love her unconditionally but is happy just to be friends go on an adventure into deep space with possibility of no return. . . . Sounds good to me are you interested yet?

Writing
As the above suggests this story is pretty involved and hooks you from the very start and then rolls along at a nice pace allowing you to take in the scale and scope of the galaxy spanning storyline. The characterization through the story is just sublime. Cosmo is by far my favourite character so far although Lilly also really cool. Simon Fraser(The Creator) has a fantastic imagination and his attention to the fine details of the Science Fiction he has created just blow me away.

Art
Simon Fraser is both the writer and artist of this wonderful webcomic and his style is an absolute joy. It reminds me of Barry Windsor Smith with a slice of Brian Hitch or Alan Davis and a topping of Steve Dillon and Kevin McGuire. Now Simon has been around for a good few year working on Stuff for 2000AD, IDW and various other things. Be sure to check out his Nikolai Dante stuff.

Updates
Weekly

Links
Lilly MacKenzie and the Mines of Charybdis - Web Comic
Simon Fraser's Website
Act-i-vate
Nikolai Dante Semi-Official Website

Recommended if you like
Alien Movies, Total Recall, 5th Element, 2000AD, Star Trek etc

Heist - Web Comic

Heist is the story of the world's greatest thief and follows his adventures as he steals things that no one else can. It's a fairly simple premise but I feel that there is lots more to come from this comic and as the pacing and art are good I'm going to stick with it for a while to see what's going to happen. My only issue is that its not easy to navigate through the site so that you can read the comic.

The Writing
As I mentioned above the pacing is good and the characters are intriguing. I feel like I've missed an origin or something as the story seems to pick up in the middle. Its a bit like watching Empire Strikes Back if you have not seen A New Hope, Really enjoyable and entertaining but you could do with knowing who all the characters are.

The Art
Great art, great colours great style. The main character looks a bit like Cobra Commander. The art is sharp, crisp and clean my only gripe. not getting enough of this comic.

Updates
Weekly - every Thursday.

Links
Heist Online Comic

Recommended if you like. . .
Mission Impossible Movies, James Bond, Entrapment Movie etc

The Fighting Stranger - Web Comic

Saw the title and was instantly hooked. First read it over at Zuda when it was part of one of the monthly competitions in september 2008. I thought it should have ranked higher than it did. Maybe it was a bit slow to start or maybe the just the first 8 pages were not enough to show people the potential this had, but now that its getting going I think its great. So far the characters seem really good and although we are early in the story, as of this post, I'm with it for the long haul.

The Writing
The pace so far has been steady with not too much in the way of action, although when we did finally get some around page 25 it was worth the wait. I eager to see where this story is going. We have the usual post apocalyptic backdrop as so many other web comics seem to although not much is given away except that breathing outside is not easy.

The Art
Good solid art. Reminds me of some of the art in 200AD over the last few years. Not much else to say about the art as it probably one of the most professionally finished web comics that I've come across.

Updates
Weekly

Links
Fighting Stranger Online Comic
Creator Adam Monetta's Blog

Recommended if you like. . .
Mad-Max, 2000AD, Cyborg(movie with JCVD) etc

Flobots - Web Comic

Right. Rise of the Flobots is a story about a guy who keeps putting up campaign signs and keeps getting them destroyed or broken. . . No it's a story about an Iraq Veteran who has been sidelined due to injury and longs to be back in the field. . . No actually its a story about Robots in a far flung future that a fighting for survival in a post apocalyptic worlds or so it seems. I actually have no idea what Flobots is about. I started reading it because I was a fan of DJ Coffman's Hero by Night over at Drunk Duck. and was gutted when that stopped. I found out that he was doing stuff with the Band Flobots and thought I check it out.

The Writing
As a fan of DJ Coffman, I enjoy his writing style and know that it will lead somewhere interesting. Once I got past the two seemingly unrelated intro stories the main strip set in the future show lots of promise and feels like it could burst into life at any moment. Still waiting though.

The Art

I'm a fan of DJ's art. its simple yet good enough to keep you interested. It's easy to follow and has a very animated feel to it. I sometimes feel that animated style give a false sense of fun to some of the more serious scenarios in the storyline, but that's just a minor gripe. The colours are really good.

Updates
Fairly regular

Links
Flobots Online Comic
Creator DJ Coffma's Blog

Recommended if you like. . .
Hero by Night, I-Robot, Terminator etc.

Questionable Content - Web Comic

Questionable content is a prime example of on online comic i should hate. I know absolutely nothing about Emu's . . . or Emo's and have never heard of half of the bands and music references that come up in the course of the story, however the characterization by J. Jacques and the smooth flowing story drags you in and makes you love the characters. I even like the strange girl who works in the library. This is one of my daily pleasures and find myself eager for more.

The Writing
You could easily believe that J. Jacques is writing from life. The interaction between characters is absolutely brilliant. The story takes you one way and then an other always entertaining and never too serious although it does cover some real issues involving suicide and heartbreak. This comic is not normally the type of thing I read but a story underlying story is what drives me to keep reading. I care about most if the characters and want to see what happens to them. This, for me, is the new Friends, albeit in an online comic format. Oh and the little anthro computer "Pintsize" with plans for world domination (pictured above) is hilarious.

The Art

As is the case with most webcomics the art at the beginning is a bit shaky but quickly progresses and with over 1300 pages done I'd put the art style up there with the like s of Jeff Smith's Bone or Scott Kurtz's PVP. This online comic is presented in full colour. There are also the occasional guest weeks where artists and creator from other online comics and medias take their own stab at the QC gang. There is however this really annoying bird that appears from time to time instead of the main strip and just basically insults everything. He's great by the way.

Updates
Updates normally about 4 times a week Monday through Thursday.

Links
Questionable Content Web Comic
J. Jacques Live Journal

Recommended if you like. . . .
PVP, Friends, Big Bang Theory, CTRL-ALT-DEL etc.

Sacred Pie - Web Comic

I found Sacred Pie about a year ago and kept putting off reading it because i thought the art looked too much like the Beano or the Dandy. I thought this looks like a "fun" story. Boy was i wrong. I was wrong about the art, i was wrong about the story. This is an amazing body of work. The story centres around Sid, Bob and Roonas who are a bunch of typical slackers/wasters who do nothing but play video games etc. The three guys by pure chance (or so it appears) get caught up in an intergalactic Heaven vs Hell epic war. With more than a passing resemblance to various famous and some obscure Sci-Fi and fantasy stories/movies.

Writing

Great! Deep Space Battles, time travelling Medieval adventures, gladiator style alien prison planet epics. This story has it all. Fights, Love, Death, Deep emotion.

Art

This was what originally put me off reading this. but when i started it i soon forgot how bad the art was, only to discover than fairly quickly the art improved and improved and then went full colour then went all flashy too.

Updates

Gets updated about once a week usually on a Sunday.

Links

Sacred Pie Site

Sacred Pie Online Store

Recommended if you like. . .
Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Space Balls and Gladiator

Freak Angels - Web Comic

Freak Angels is an Free weekly online comic by the creative team of Warren Ellis and Paul Duffield.

The story centres around the Whitechapel area of London in a post apocalyptic vision of Britain.

The Writing

If you like any of Warren's other comics you'll love this. The pacing of the story fits perfectly with the characters and their situation. At time a few episodes can pass with not much happening but when it kicks off the pace changes and becomes faster to fit the action.

I find that every Friday I'm really disappointed when i reach page 6 as i have to wait for another week for the next installment.

The Art

Paul Duffield's art is simple yet elegant and the colours work really well with the tone of the story. Its hard to compare Paul's work with other artists as his style is quite unique, I love to tell you that if you like Jim Lee or Greg Land you'll love this but i cant. it has an animated quality which has a manga flavour without being remotely manga.

Updates

This online comic updates every Friday

Links

Freak Angels Website

WhiteChapel Message Board

Warren Ellis

Paul Duffield

Comments welcome as I'd love to know what you guys think of it.

Recommended if you like. . .
Warren Ellis