Top 10 Webcomics

I have been reflecting on my comics recently and I have decided on a hard truth. What I want out of Lona is not what people like, but at least I am starting to understand what people like. What people like are fun characters and humorous responses to situations, not overly forced philosophical ramblings. They want to see characters grow in a story, not just illustrate a point. I have decided to all-out scrap Lona and just go back to telling whatever stories I find amusing. I have learned quite a bit in the past two years, but this is still going to be by the seat of my pants.

I have been watching a number of film criticisms by Nostalgia Chick (http://blip.tv/nostalgia-chick) and I feel that is influencing my already overly analytical take on all things pop culture. Seriously, I cannot just sit down an enjoy something these days without thinking about why I enjoy it and how it uses it medium.

Since I am going to go back into being gung-ho about comics, and I feel a need to analyze everything, perhaps I should list my most influential web-comics and what they mean to me. So, without further ado, here are my top 10 most personally influential web-comics.

10: Dilbert (www.dilbert.com)
You may find it odd that I am listing a syndicated comic as a webcomic, but Dilbert is more a web-comic than anything. While not independently published, it was the first mainstream comics that utilized the World Wide Web as a major outlet and email as a main means of communications. It was born out of cooperate networks and really became the first smash hit comic online. In fact, one major employer from my hometown received an email from the publisher asking if their employees ever did any work because they received so many hits from them each day. It is the first comic to truly make the jump from print to digital in a big way.

What Dilbert means to me, besides a historical context, is that it was my first does of daily cynicism to which I could truly relate. Here was a cartoon about corporate engineers, and it took me through engineering school and into my chosen profession. I’ll never quite forget the first “Dilbert” moment I had as an intern, walking into the conference room finding buzz-words painted all over the walls like it was a good thing. I think more than anything Dilbert has influenced my world-view than my actual cartooning. Wally is my engineering idol. I guess what Dilbert means to me more than anything is that a cartoon can be a mascot of a people, even if that people is just about everyone, because we all have frustrating days at work.

9: Surviving the World (www.survivingtheworld.net)

OK, for the uninitiated, STW is a comic, but it is not a cartoon. Let’s get technical here. A comic is a story told by static images. There can be one, like the Far Side or Family Circus, or there can be many like your typical comic book. There is nothing dictating that they must be produced by a certain medium. A cartoon, on the other hand, is an intentionally simplified illustration of an object or idea intended to capture the essence of object but not duplicate it. Thus, something like the Shrek is a cartoon because it is not trying to be photorealistic with its characters. Whereas, something like the Star-Wars Prequels, despite being heavily animated, is not a cartoon because it is intending to fool you into looking like real life. Am I being clear? Honestly, I just wanted to expound on some stuff. I will get back to the task at hand now.

            Maybe it is the engineering/academic/thermodynamisist connection, but I really get Surviving the World. Part of it is my shared frustration with him on how people behave, but I admire the approach Dante Shepard takes. He plays the role of professor, (which he is in real life) and it is his job to educate us. His comics don’t fall into the beat-you-down-because-you-are-stupid category, which a lot of frustration comics fall into. Instead, he comes at you with a lesson, you feel better about yourself to know something new, and maybe you won’t make the obvious mistake this time. I guess it is more a lesson of being a teacher than being a cartoonist, but if you ever want to be a good cartoonist, sooner or later, you are going to be teaching your viewpoint, and you want to educate people not insult them.

            8: Doghouse Diaries (www.thedoghousediaries.com)

This comic also falls under the frustration-at-the-world category. The Doghouse Diaries takes a slightly different approach. The cartoons take frustration and push it to hyperbole. Common themes are daily annoyances based on things coming between us and our inane desires and, as the title suggests, the struggle between the sexes that often lands us in the proverbial doghouse. What makes this comic influential to me is that it allows the creators to poke fun at the overly simplistic viewpoints that men are purported to have, but the misgivings of common female viewpoints do not make it off Scott free. See http://thedoghousediaries.com/1764 and http://thedoghousediaries.com/1771 . I admire that in the end, this comic is a group of men honestly reflecting and making sense out of their lives, and we get to see the humor in it. 

            7: Connie Wonnie (www.conniewonnie.com)

I like Connie Wonnie for so many reasons but most of all because I like the creator. I generally consider her an actual friend, but I think I may have scared her off. I tend to do that to people. Anyway, why is liking a creator such a big deal to me? It simple. That is exactly what you are getting in Connie’s comics. You are getting the world through her eyes, pure and unadulterated. It is frustrated, whimsical, and brutally honest.  If you are ever need inspiration to open up, this is the comic for you. I think today’s comic illustrates this perfectly. Also, it has cute animals. (http://www.conniewonnie.com/2013/12/free-nuzzles.html)

Also, I really identify with her whole, educated, perpetually-singe, living-away-from-family-in-the-Northeast motif. I think I am noticing a pattern of liking comics with which I identify.

6: Dr. McNinja (www.drMcninja.com)

The name says it all. He is both a doctor and a ninja. Unlike other comics whose humor relies on what might be considered randomness, Dr. McNinja stays somewhat logical. Yes, the characters and situations are a bizarre fantasy one might dream up as a young boy, (complete with references back to the creator’s youth) but the resolution and interpersonal conflicts are strongly grounded in reason and realistic emotions. It’s a lesson in humor as I like it. Humor isn’t about being over-the-top. Humor is about pointing out the absurdity of life with hyperbole and bizarre substitutions that somehow still work. I think Dan McNinja’s line on this page says it all (http://drmcninja.com/archives/comic/4p15/)

            This comic also taught me another lesson. I don’t want to do action. I will just leave that for the best of them, because there is no way I could compete.

            5: PhDComics (www.PhDcomics.com)

If there was ever a comic that influenced a life decision, this was it. I was introduced to the PhD Comics while I was contemplating graduate school. When I read the entire archive, I was hooked. It sounded like fun. Basically, I was bored and suffering sounded like more fun that watching my brain rot. I was already pretty cynical from years of Dilbert, but PhD finished me off. I was so jaded that I thought I could take on anything, and in that mindset I embarked on what can be poetically referred to as "the best mistake of my life" all because I thought it would be fun. Yes, it actually was loads of fun. However, over that 5-year period I would keep on experiencing frustrations, setbacks, and feelings of impending doom, and in those moments I would recall some comic I read years ago that applied perfectly. It was comforting more than anything because it reminded me that if these problems are common, then people must be able to overcome them. You see, that is what is special about the cynicism of PhD Comics. Whereas Dilbert is the mascot for the masses who that binds us together, PhD is for the broken that are reminded that they are not alone. If you want to understand the frustration of a graduate student, just go through this list. (http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/most_popular.php)

            This comic also taught me a lesson. I really don’t need to be another comic laden with cynicism. I prefer to look at things through a more optimistic light. Let others do the commiseration. I will add the hope.

            4: Questionable Content (www.QuestionableContent.net)

QC was probably the first webcomic I truly loved. When I found it, I read through the entire archive in like a day (maybe two) and despite my efforts, I cannot put it down. What does QC mean to me? In some ways it is the classic slice-of-life webcomic, a slightly tweaked reality with a large fun cast of semi-rejects, ongoing soap-opera drama, and designated comic relief characters that could not exist in real life. It comes complete with a glorification of hipsters in coffee shops. I guess what keeps me in QC is two things. First, the characters are genuinely interesting and endearing. You want to hear what they have to say and how they react to different things. The other thing is that the world keeps moving in the little things, be it the change of the seasons, the daily rotation of their clothing, or the specials listed on the chalkboard. You can actually count the days as they move. The stories are neither static nor do they jump disjointedly from event to event. They progress through time just like life, and QC captures this.

            Like all of my top comics, QC taught me something valuable about what I don’t want from a comic. I don’t want to play up to the cool stuff to do like hanging out in coffee shops and talk about music just because that is the trendy thing to do at my age (or was). I kind of want my comics to be a little more timeless. We’ll see how this goes.

            3: Dresden Codak (www.DresdenCodak.com)

I will find it hard to describe what Dresden Codak means to me. Dresden Codak is the first comic I fell in love with because of the artwork. It is philosophical, funny, and ornate. It can range from huge strips with tons of artwork for a simple payoff (http://dresdencodak.com/2009/09/07/the-sleepwalkers/) to straightforward literature jokes (http://dresdencodak.com/2009/09/22/caveman-science-fiction/). Either way, if you are willing to wait the sometimes months between updates, you are rewarded with something quite amazing each time. I am not going to say much about this comic, not because I don’t have much to say, but because it is hard to summarize. It draws influence from so many areas, yet it manages to run all of the conflict through one strange mal-adjusted protagonist. I think that is its strength. While brilliant, Kim’s excesses are relatable as she geeks about the silliest ideas in a way we would too if only we could conceive of them. (http://dresdencodak.com/2010/06/10/dark-science-02/) It influences why I must get philosophical in my work.
            I guess the lesson with Dresden Codak is that you should never take yourself too seriously in your message or your artwork. Sometimes, people just want a pretty picture and a smart joke, and if you get a little pretentious about that, you can turn off people. Also, you tend to take longer when you take yourself too seriously, and people don’t like waiting.

            2: XKCD (www.XKCD.com)

What is there to say about XKCD? Well, let’s heap some praise on it. Randall Munroe is considered a god among geeks, and the true torchbearer of the single-panel comic, passed along from the greatest of them all, Gary Larson, whose flame of humor must have been stolen from the heavens in a truly Promethean manner. Hefty words, I know, but hear me out. XKCD is not really a comic about anything. Much like The Far Side, it is a really a collection of disconnected ideas with occasionally reoccurring themes. It is rooted in the way Randall Munroe wants to see the world, a world where geekiness is used for cuteness (http://xkcd.com/162/) and to solve problems (http://xkcd.com/322/). It is a tool and a quirk, but it is also a drawback in many situations (http://xkcd.com/309/). It is his personal fight against the rest of the world (http://xkcd.com/172/), yet it is not angry (http://xkcd.com/968/). He romanticizes, and stands in awe despite the obvious problems around him. That is XKCD. I wish I could do that. Also, seriously, he can get some totally awesome emotion out of stick figures (http://xkcd.com/486/).

            I guess what XKCD taught me not to do was that I do not want my works to be without theme. I like pulling things together on a personal level like he does in his jokes, but I also like feeling like I am telling a larger story. It is hard to do that with every strip just bouncing around. Also, if I am going to do an info-graph, it should either be informative, awe-inspiring, or funny. Charts for the sake of charts don’t do it for me.

            1: Girls With Slingshots (www.girlswithslingshots.com)

Why GWS? Are you surprised? Why is a comic I probably wouldn’t show my grandmother the most influential web-comic I read? Part of it was timing, I guess. GWS was the tipping point. I read some GWS through the years, but it never really clicked with me until February of 2012. Then, in about a 24 hour period I read the entire archive and decided that this was what I wanted to do with my life. I am still nowhere near ready to make it a profession, but I will at least take it seriously.

            I think the biggest thing for GWS, as far as influence goes, is that there is something very accessible about it. In reading the archive, I got to experience the progression of Danielle Corsetto from part-timer to professional to Goddess of the Web-comic world. I am simultaneously in awe of much of her artwork without being intimidated by it. It is beautiful yet simple, a tough act, and it is only getting better. However, I saw from where it started. So, I know I can make the same progression.  It is extremely encouraging.

            I think the biggest thing about GWS is accessibility. Danielle writes much of her own personality into her main protagonists. That genuine nature comes through, and she writes her supporting characters to be people she would actually like. I can only assume many of them are based on people she knows. Also, her situations are wacky and border on fantasy with talking cacti, ghost kittens, and other oddities, but the driving stories are personal and human. In many ways, if QC is the classic slice-of-life comic, GWS is slice-of-life perfected.  I mean look at today's strip (http://www.girlswithslingshots.com/comic/gws-1765/).

            The other major thing GWS is how personable Danielle Corsetto is, even over the Internet. Of all of the comic authors I have followed, she is the most open. Whereas, I have mixed feelings about #TMItuesday, I appreciate that an author incorporate her readers in her life to the point that they are the go-to solution for any technical problems she encounters. She also post GWS inspired recipes (http://www.girlswithslingshots.com/comic/ask-the-cast-4-2013--ginger-pear-cookie-recipe/) As fans, we will gladly share what we know with her because she gladly shares herself with us. It is nice not to have some author who just occasionally updates us on progress or lack-there-of but brings us into the challenges of being an artist. She also does fun things like occasionally live-streaming her drawing process some nights. During the last EOS I drew, her live-stream was in the background. It was good to know that I was not the only person making a comic at that time of night. Oh, and she would stop and join the chat with the readers. How cool is that? If there is one thing that night taught me, I am more creative when I am feeling connected to people. Maybe that is the key I need to learn, “connect.”

            I guess, the one thing I would not do that GWS does is that I would not let such dirty themes enter my comic, but that is just staying true to myself. I guess that is the lesson I learn. Don’t imitate someone else’s model for success. Be true to yourself.

So what does this say about comics and me? Don’t imitate others. I prefer comics that connect to my station in life. I prefer comics when I can relate to the author. I like comics that reinforce my cynicism to get me through the hard times, but I would rather have hope and wonder.