Web Comics
I'll admit, I love these things. I have a huge list I check almost daily and have been for quite some time. I reccommend every single one of these comics to any gaming/fantasy/computer geek.
WTF Comics - WTF is a serial comic set in pre-cataclysm Norrath (the world of EQ1), it chronicles the adventures of Annashi, a young wood elf, and her unlikely Iksar companion Straha. The comic is funny, occasionally sexy and has an interesting storyline. Jeremy Waller has a nice cartoony style to his work. His female drawings look very nice, and his gnomes look very....gnomish. The storyline is a bit slow in going anywhere, but it's BIG and has a lot of seperate plotlines going.
Penny Arcade - One of my very favorite web comics, and one of the most famous of them all,.I check PA's news and comic every day. Tycho, who writes the comic and most of the front page posts, is a bit wordy to read pre-caffiene, but his opinions are usually spot on. Gabe, the comic's artist, isn't afraid of making himself look like a freak and playing clown to Tycho's straight man. One word of warning in that it has graphic language, but somehow....that just makes it funnier.
PvP - Another really famous web (and print) comic, authored and drawn by Scott Kurtz. PvP follows the staff of a small gaming mag, their troll mascot Skull and his evil cat. Scott has actually started a horde guild on the same World of Warcraft PvP server as the PA guys, and it's fun as hell to see their shots back and forth at each other, often accompanied by screenshots. Scott is a mature enough writer to do story arcs with his characters, and I would place him in the same level of quality as many comics I read in the paper.
VG Cats - Okay, this comic is WEIRD. Scott Ramsoomair obviously plays a lot of games I don't, but even those comics are damn funny. I like this one. I don't place it on the same enjoyment level I get from reading some of the comics above, but I'll admit it's probably because my game preferences mean I "get" those comics more. Scott goes a LOT further into nastiness, not only swearing, but various bodily fluids and organs and extremely lewd connotations are commonplace...and VERY funny. Just make sure you can minimize the window fast if you're looking at it at work.
8-bit Theatre - Another one of my favorites, and the webcomic that got me into the craze. 8-bit Theatre is to Final Fantasy what Twisted Mego (and Toyfare) Theatre was to superhero action figures. It takes four members of Final Fantasy I's famed Light Warriors, Fighter, Thief, Black Mage and Red Mage, very loosely through the events of Final Fantasy I. I say very loosely because Fighter is a total idiot, Thief is an elf supremacist who would steal the underwear off of his mother, Red Mage is the ultimate min/max powergamer (complete with character sheets he fudges his own skill rolls on), and Black Mage is a loveable psychopath who wantonly murders for fun and profit (loveable psychopath? read the comic.). Other warriors who make appearances include Black Belt (recently deceased) and White Mage (the Hawt Chick of the group). If you have ever played FFI or even HEARD of FFI, Read. This. Comic.
GU Comics - Woody writes very funny one-panels on various games and the life of him and his imaginary roommate Ted. I honestly like PA, PvP and 8bit's jokes a bit more than GU, but Woody does a great job with only one panel to work with, and his artwork is AWESOME. Another really nice feature to the site is that every comic is a link to a board post about the comic's subject, along with reviews and responses by his readers. All in all, it's a good, REALLY pretty, light and fluffy comic, perfect for people who are somewhat on the periphery of gaming.
Foxtrot - Okay this isn't technically a WEB comic, but they DO post it online. I ADORE Foxtrot. This guy is a real geek at heart, inserting C programming code, D&D references as well as computer game references into his work. When Watterson stopped doing Calvin and Hobbes, this became my favorite comic of any medium. Period.
Dilbert - No comic collection would be complete without Dilbert. I'd explain it more, but it's freakin' DILBERT. Go read it! Now!
Nodwick - Less about computer gaming and more about D&D, Nodwick goes WAY back with the official D&D mag Dragon Magazine, and the author draws a lot of his plotlines right from old D&D adventures, and then makes them go horribly wrong, usually for poor Nodwick, the hired henchman of your archtypical D&D stereotyped group of a Fighter (big meathead), Mage (skinny old nerd), and Priest (goody two shoes). Wondering where the Thief is? They really didn't need one, as they throw their henchman through most of the traps (and locked doors).
Bottom line is, you should be reading every single one of these right now. Go on....grab yourself some funny and enjoy.
