Five Webcomics Everyone Can Enjoy

In the world of webcomics, an outsider might feel like there is nothing for them to find save nerds looking discussing video games. While this may be true for some webcomics, there are plenty that any fan of good writing and good content can enjoy. Here is a list of five webcomics that everyone can possibly enjoy:

Achewood

So a group of walking, talking, stuffed animals get into all sorts of situations with their cat neighbors. Sounds like some pretty cutesy stuff, right? Not so for Chris Onstad's dark sense of humor. While fans suspect that the name is derived from Winnie the Pooh's "Hundred Acre Wood," A. E. Milne would probably not have told these stories to his kids. Story arcs have featured an annual fight to the death, the wedding of Roast Beef, a main character, to his dead ghost girlfriend Molly, an almost murder which lead to the introduction of a homicidal maniac named Nice Pete, and a gay porn enterprise. One of my favorite reoccurring strips is between Liebot, a lying robot, and Phillipe, a five year old otter. Phillipe will ask Liebot, "What is the saddest thing?" and you really will learn the saddest thing. Sometimes it's hard to know exactly what's going on, even for loyal readers, so a good bit of advice is to start at the beginning of the archive and move forward slowly. Rest assured, if you like the darker side, you'll love Achewood.

American Elf

For years, James Kolchalka has been documenting his life in a four panel strip every day. In this time, he has fathered two sons, released a couple of albums with his band, quit his job to be a full time artist, and appreciated life to the fullest, even the cranky, sad parts. The strip is called American Elf due to the fact that he and his long-suffering wife Amy are drawn with elf ears. Other strange artistic choices include drawing his best friend Jason as a little white dog, drawing some characters with one giant eye, and drawing his kids as normal looking kids. James' daily observations are sometimes sweet and touching, sometimes hilarious, sometimes sad, and often all three. This comic will truly make your day more meaningful.

Cat and Girl

Dorothy Gambrel's thoughtful comic is, surprisingly enough, about a cat and a girl. But it's also about so much more, like commercialism, entering adulthood, principles, and presidential candidate Zombie Joseph Beuys. A fan favorite, the characters have inspired many shows of adoration, the most impressive of which was a time traveler's convention held at MIT inspired by one memorable strip. One perk of being a reader of this comic is the Donation Derby site; If you donate $10 or more to the artist, she will draw a comic illustrating how she used it for her site, and send you the drawing. You may be lucky enough to get one involving her cult hit of a boyfriend, artist Mr. Chen.

The Fart Party

Julia Wertz is your typical girl; she likes beer, cussing, cheese, whisky, more beer, bears, and beer. Oh, and she's also hysterical and witty. This sometimes fantastical chronicling of her life is no holds barred: if she's keeping anything from us, I certainly can't find it. This Northern California native has recently transplanted to Brooklyn, but she has taken her blunt view with her. If you're still a fan of reading things off of real paper, Julia is constantly pumping out mini comics and side projects for her fans to enjoy. She even has a full length book published by Atomic Books in Baltimore. If you want to laugh, this is where to go.

Toothpaste for Dinner

The art by Drew here may seem primitive to some, but it makes a great point. Whether mocking his pugs Charles and Chester,emos and nerds, or the general populous with comics about voting and the layer of Amazon.com crap that the humans of the future will find, Drew is a razor sharp wit. His site also features his wildly popular youtube videos such as "Charles Has a Licking Problem," as well as his other comic Married to the Sea: the Champagne of Webcomics.