Webcomics Wednesday: Comic Strips

For those of you new to Webcomics Wednesday, it’s a weekly tradition at Comic Booked where we showcase five webcomics with a shared theme. They are chosen and presented in no particular order based on art, story and appeal. Today we’re featuring some awesome webcomics that are published regularly in the strip form that we all know and love.

Comic: Ralf The Destroyer

Creator: Scott Lincoln

In his own words: Ralf the Destroyer had his beginning in 2004 as part of a drawing lesson I was teaching and developed into so much more than even I could have imagined at the beginning. The strip was designed for daily newspaper syndication and follows a more classic style, which incorporates a longer story arc than is typically seen in strips today. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I do creating it!

In our words: Ralf the Destroyer has come to destroy the earth with a laser ray from his ship! One button and the planet explodes… but will he really ignore his conscience in favor of his pride? This comic strip is amusing, adorable, and hard to stop reading once you start. If you’ve never fallen in love with a little green man, now is the time to do so!

Comic: User Friendly

Creator: J. D. “Illiad” Frazer

In our words: It’s an oldie but goodie! Updated regularly since 1997, User Friendly is a delightful webcomic about life in tech support. If you have anything at all to do with computers (which you obviously do if you’re reading this article), you’ll relate to the fantastic humor and laughable situations present here. It may have been going on for fifteen years, but it’s the kind of thing that just doesn’t get old.

Comic: Garfield Minus Garfield

In the site’s words: Garfield Minus Garfield is a site dedicated to removing Garfield from the Garfield comic strips in order to reveal the existential angst of a certain young Mr. Jon Arbuckle. It is a journey deep into the mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness and depression in a quiet American suburb.

In our words: It’s just what it sounds like: Garfield minus Garfield. The same comic strip that we’ve all chuckled at dozens of times without the lazy orange cat. If you were to take a magic marker and scribble all over Garfield himself and everything he says, you’d be left with a strange and possibly schizophrenic Jon talking to himself alone. And that’s just what this is (only without the magic marker). Hilarious and kind of sad, Garfield Minus Garfield is one of the more innovative webcomics out there.

Comic: xkcd

Creator: Randall Munroe

In his own words: A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math and language. Warning: this comic occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors).

In our words: A cult favorite, xkcd is one of those comics that you can’t stop reading after just one panel. The topics are broad, though often science-based, and the stick figures are epic. True, the art is plain and much simpler than the art from other comics, but the comic itself is so well done that it’s irresistible!

Comic: Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

Creator: Zach Weiner

In our words: Like xkcd, SMBC is full of odd humor over a broad array of situations, and if you like one, you’ll probably love the other. SMBC is a bit more cerebral in nature, and often you’ll need to read the strips through a couple times before they make sense. Still, there’s always a fun treat lying in every panel, and always a way to make your day! We did feature this before on Webcomics Wednesday: Single Panel Gags, but it’s delightful enough that we thought to bring it back to share.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s selection of webcomics, and please come back next Wednesday for another delightful showcase! Whether you have a spare minute at work or some serious down time, each of these strip webcomics is a perfect way to spend it. Also, we love getting feedback and suggestions for future material. Feel free to tell us of any awesome online comic strips you think should get more attention or any possible themes you’d want to see in future Webcomics Wednesdays! We’d love to hear from you.