It all started more than 6 years ago now. For this blog, I shall be adding some extra comments, and considering how long these "extra" comments are getting, it'll probably be the last time for many of these.
January 2, 2003
1. The Parking Lot is Full - Expect to see a few dead comics on this list, some of these are the best of the batch. And PLiF is my all time favorite. Not a pure webcomic (it was actually published in a periodical for a while), but it blows most of ones I'll review out of the water. The only comic I've ever found that can truly fill the shoes of the Far Side. They stopped making it about a year or two ago, but the archives are still there in all their glory. Read this comic, or die without truly ever living.
October 11, 2006 - Still one of the best. Has there been any comic that has even come close? No, not at all. But there is some good news, they've actually added older comics to the archive. That's right, there are sort of new strips. It's from the early days, but you might as well go enjoy them, it might make up for the complete lack of PLiF over the last few years.
TODAY - There really isn't much to add. There have been pretenders to the throne of PLiF, but none have ever actually taken the crown.
2. Sluggy Freelance - Did you honestly believe this wouldn't be on here? You poor deluded fools. Probably the first true webcomic I had the pleasure (and insanity) to read, in a virtual marathon 4 day session. Was it worth it? Hell yes! The granddaddy of comics, it's got something for nearly everybody, and if doesn't have it yet, it will. My only issue is that I think that its time for Pete to start thinking about ending the thing. It's a great comic, but going out on top is the only way to go. I don't want to see it crumble too much before it dies.
August 1, 2003 - All round, probably the best comic on the internet. Like 8-Bit and Errant Story, a must read.
October 11, 2006 - Four years on and it's still in production. So much for trying to convince him to end it without him knowing who I am. My tastes in webcomics have changed slightly, so I wouldn't say Sluggy is the best any more, but it is the quintessential webcomic. Everything that a webcomic is or can be is more or less wrapped up inside of Sluggy Freelance, from the greatest heights to the most spectacular of failures. If you want to know what webcomics really are, just read this one. Hell, it's actually enjoyable too.
TODAY - And it still remains that. As I write my examinations, I have a feeling I'll often point to Sluggy Freelance for examples of what to do, and what not to do, with a webcomic.
3. Jerkcity - This is a stupid comic, it even admits it. But it's also strangely alluring, especially after you're an avid reader of Old Man Murray forums (before it closed, now go to Caltrops). It's not nice, but it isn't explicitly vulgar, and one has to wonder if there's something in them that you're not getting. Don't bother with the archive, most of the jokes are the same comic to comic, but are occasionally useful during a flame war.
August 1, 2003 - Still stupid, yet I continue to read it. I don't know why.
October 11, 2006 - Still stupid, not reading it. It's not that the comic got bad, it's just that it's the same joke told every day. It does get old. I've moved on to better comics, but Jerkcity will always be one of those comics I remember.
TODAY - Again, not much to say, I will remember the comic, but only as it really didn't change much over the course of its continued existance. Don't expect much from it, but it is what it is, and let us leave it at that.
4. General Protection Fault - It started as a pure hearted geek comic, evolved into something more, screwed that up, and fell back to where it belonged. Fun to read early on (with far too many geek jokes that I got, and that scares me), then he went and did his big story, which sucked! Jeff, my friend, DON'T DO IT AGAIN! Not like that anyway. I nearly stopped reading it over that thing. GPF's still not back up to where it was, but I'll stick with it for a while longer. For now.
August 1, 2003 - Gone. During and after Serendipitous Machines, the whole strip took a nose dive in humor and story. All the fun that was there early on disappeared in a flash of time travel. Even the Matrix/Tron/Reboot parody couldn't save it.
October 11, 2006 - Still haven't gone back to read it. I see ads for it once in a while, but I've never gone back. I hear he's doing a sequel to Serendipitous Machines, maybe he learned his lesson. Probably not.
TODAY - Jerkcity I stopped reading because there was nothing new. PLiF just died. But GPF is the first comic (as these reviews are generally in order of when I read them) that ever turned me away from it. I could, perhaps, give it another chance, but I probably won't. I've got enough comics on my plate, I don't need to worry about another one.
5. exploding dog - i wouldn't call this a comic, but i'm not sure if it's art either. the premise is simple, you send in a phrase or word, and the guy draws it. sort of. kind of. just go look at it, you'll understand. be ready for some strange things though (including a joke i've used in this entire review, see if you can guess it).
august 1, 2003 - riding the line between art and, er, something.
october 11, 2006 - i don't know why, but i just stopped reading it. probably the same reason jerkcity flee off my daily radar. it's just the same thing over and over again. doesn't make it any less surreal, but i moved on.
today - it is the same reason as i stopped reading jerkcity, nothing new. that's nothing against the comic, it is what it is, but i just don't have the time or enegry to spend on it any more. also, do you see the joke in the review for it?
Out of the first five comics, only one remains on my read list. Considering I've read about 180 comics, and there's no way I can follow them all forever, I suppose that's quite alright.
Well, that's it for this. I need to go read some more comics for a proper update in the future (as in, whenever I get done reading them), so see you next time.
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