Can't Live Without 2018 Edition

One last time, one last list.  This one is a little harder than most because this time I want to think about it, which 10 comics do I want to be around for as long as possible?  Which 10 would be the ones I would read if stranded on a deserted island?  Which 10 out of all of those I covered in the last two weeks should be here?  You get 3 freebies, the rest. . .

1.  Sluggy Freelance - First freebie.  Yes, I do still expect to end, but not for another year or two at least.  Too much ground to cover to finish it properly.  But when it does, promises to keep. . .

2.  Schlock Mercenary - Second freebie.  While there are a few better sci fi comics, most of them don't update as frequently and are as expensive as Schlock.  And it'll likely be around for a long, long time.

3.  Gunnerkrigg Court - Last freebie.  There is a LOT to love about this comic, so much I would recommend it to, well, everyone.  You have read it by now, RIGHT?

4.  Stand Still, Stay Silent - This comic is wonderful.  Easily one of the best right here and worth all the attention that it can be given.

5.  Between Failures - Likely one of the most grounded comics I read and one that manages to keep me hooked on the next thing.

6.  Namesake - The twist on fairy tales, how it incorporates more modern fiction into the mix, and of course the characters that run around make this one of my favorites.

7.  Sunstone - Started life as bondage pinups, turned into a love story.  I'm a sucker for nice art and happy endings (either kind I suppose), and this one is definetly that.  With the second book, Mercy, slowly coming out, I'll be reading this for a while.

8.  Ava's Demon - My most recent find and spectacular looking too boot.  If it manages some regular updates, it'll likely be one to have for the long haul.

9.  Our Time in Eden - I don't talk much about this comic since it updates very slowly, but damn is it good, and dark, and depressing.

10.  UnCONventional - I know nothing of running conventions, but you don't need to to enjoy this comic and I do.  And some of the best stick figure art there is, which is just as weird writing it as you reading it.

And that's it.  No honorable mentions this year because I kind of did that already.

Next time, promises to keep.  Until then kiddies.

Can't Live Without 2016 Edition

Well, this is nice, back to this once again, right as the new year begins as well, so that works out.  You know, I never did state what the concept behind this really is, even back with the original one.  Really the idea is that if I could only have 10 comics to read on a desert island, it would be these 10.  Thus why the arbitrary order, there's no particular sequence or order they could ever actually be in, just there for me to read.  So with that let's get the next one going.

1.  Sluggy Freelance - Yes, it's still on this list and will remain there until it ends.  It is and remains my Standard, and will forever and a day.

2.  Schlock Mercenary - This one I call Best Overall and every strip earns it.  It's a must read for science fiction enthusiasts, and lovers of humor as well.

3.  Gunnerkrigg Court - Hmm, the first two have whole long series dedicated to them, but not this one, that seems odd. . .  Maybe I should . . .

4.  Derelict - Remains the only comic I bought a hard copy of, and probably will be for some time.  Worth reading.

5.  Sunstone (NSFW) - Despite the delays that have plagued this year, including a physical injury that crashed nearly all of his comics, I still want to keep reading this comic.  Aside from being really great to look at, the comic is a romance of all things and it keeps me interested.

6.  Between Failures - It's nice to have a comic that isn't really that "out there" on my list.  No fantastical elements, just a comic about everyday people doing everyday things.  Even introducing a group of "furries" is done without being too crazy (well, no crazier than normal for this comic).

7.  Spinnerette - Still my favorite of the various superhero comics I've been finding.  It's funny, serious and creative.  Worth reading and enjoying.

8.  Namesake - It taps so many ideas that attract my attention that I can't help but read it.  Reading, writing, books, alternate realities ect etc.  And it's damn good too, which makes it even better.  Go forth and read it.

9.  Stand Still, Stay Silent - When I first started reading it, I thought it would just devolve into another zombie comic, but it hasn't, at all.  It's something significantly different, gorgeous and well worth reading despite it's disjointed (at least from the rest of the comic so far) introduction.

10.  The Non-Adventures of Wonderella - My dose of laughter comic is still here and likely will remain for some time to come.  Especially now that it's done with all that kickstarter nonsense and can publish regularly again.

Honerable Mentions go to Gaia, It Hurts! (sometimes), Skullkickers and The Meek, all of which are kind of the bubble of being on this list.

As I stated last week, the blog will be dark for the remainder of January as I finish my move and such.  I hope to be able to post something during the month, but I suspect I won't even have a nothing post.  It will be that crazy.  Afterwards, I should be back to a relatively regular schedule.  Hell, I'm already planning my next long series (if you missed the hint, reread this page), so I will be back.  Until then, Happy New Year.  Next time kiddies.

Can't Live Without 2014 Edition

Dear god, I've done this blog long enough to have a bi-yearly series.  Neat!  Anyway, I figure I should only do this every 2 years because, well, I don't add that many comics to my list in a single year, and some changes are pretty stark.  As a reminder, this list is presented in no particular order as it doesn't represent a "best of" list, it's just a list of comics that I want to read forever if possible.

1.  Sluggy Freelance - I spent a good chunk of this year talking about Sluggy, so is it really any surprise this is on the list?  Sluggy has really drawn me back into it and knowing that it will end at some point has me pulled in even further, hope Abrams can live up to it.

2.  Schlock Mercenary - How many times have I called this the best overall comic on the internet at this point?  I think I've lost count.  That's why it's here.

3.  Gunnerkrigg Court - Speaking of best comics, this comic is certainly up there.  Why haven't you read it by now?

4.  Spinnerette - There's something freeing about a comic that just goes with a genre.  The superhero genre itself has been in desperate need of it for a long time and Spinnerette fills that need.  It's the comic the industry needs, and so do I.

5.  Gaia - This comic has really grown on me since I started it.  The imaginative world, the limited yet already hinting at epic story, and the great art have elevated it up to a level that Gunnerkrigg Court and Errant Story once dominated.  Hell, it's practically a full on successor to Errant Story at this point.

6.  Derelict - My original review of this comic can be summed up with the word "wow."  It is damn near everything I look for in a comic (I prefer a bit more humor generally).  It has mystery, well used art, story telling without TELLING and is just plain awesome.  I hope it keeps going for a long time.

7.  City of Reality - There still isn't really anything like this comic out there.  It plays with so many ideas, but at it's core is understanding and that makes it one of the most positive comics online today.  Sure, dark things happen, but there is so much optimism in it, it's used as a fuel source (literally, in the comic universe).  While the artist has been torn between multiple projects (including doing the art for The Wotch), whenever he returns to CoR, I know it'll be awesome.

8.  The Non-Adventures of Wonderella - Sometimes I just have to have a dose of laughter.  Once this was filled by Nobody Scores!, now, since that comic dead as a doornail, Wonderella is here to the rescue, or whatever.  Seriously I have gotten more chuckles out of this comic as time has gone by than I should reasonably.  I need something to laugh at and with, and this is the best that I have right now.

9.   Between Failures - I haven't been in a good place the last few years, not the least of it being the lack of a steady job.  Between Failures, for some reason, rings well with me, and eases some of the issues I've had in my life.  It reflects the state I've found myself in and I can't help but enjoy reading it.  It's not perfect, but it's also not outlandish and seems to understand that even small scale can be interesting without being melodramatic (for the most part).

10.   Sunstone (NSFW) - Okay, I know what you're thinking, but seriously no, that's not why it's here.  It doesn't HURT it, that's for damn sure.  The comic is just fucking gorgeous, of course, but the story is a well done tale of romance that I guess I'm just a sucker for.  I can't help but enjoy it, even if it is stuck on deviant art.  Get a real website already!

My  Honorable Mentions go to two comics that I want to keep reading, and CAN, but only because they're in reruns, Errant Story and Weapon Brown.  I love the idea of reruns of comics, though I can see why they aren't done very often.  And if you compare this list to the last one, a lot has changed, sometimes because a comic simply up and dies (Blip) or because I've decided I like something else better (The Adventures of Dr. McNinja).  Nice thing about doing these every couple of years, my tastes can change rather dramatically.

There is one other comic that almost made this list, but for one very important reason I couldn't put it here.  I'll talk about it next week, until then kiddies. 

Can't Live Without, 2012 Edition

So I skipped doing this last year because I had other things to do, but the list has changed a bit from way back in 2010.  Two comics on the original list ended/died utterly, one stalled out, one is nearing its end and I've discovered more comics, so the list needs to be updated.  Again, these are in no particular order, so no one is better than the other, and this is not a "best" list at all, just comics I never want to not read.

1.  Sluggy Freelance - Despite all the weird twists the comic took, I still enjoy Sluggy.  I WANT to see where it goes everyday, whether it's the darkness of 4UCity or the silliness of the Hampsternom, I want to see the next strip.

2.  Schlock Mercenary - Still probably the overall best comic on the net, I love how the story simply flows from one event to the other, ranging from local hotspots to galaxy spanning conflicts.  The characters all have their strengths and weaknesses, and all manage to do it in the funniest way possible.  A classic webcomic that deserves your attention.

3.  Weapon Brown - There are few action comics that are as awe inspiring as Weapon Brown.  The repurposing of classic comic characters into a post apocalyptic setting is amazing and well done.  If you haven't read this comic, you're missing out, go do it.

4.  Gunnerkrieg Court - This comic is great, and not reading it should almost be a crime.  The art, the characters, the story, all of them come together to make one of the best comics there is on the net.  There should be a franchise built around this, it would be awesome.

5.  The Adventures of Dr. McNinja - Humor is McNinja.  Weird, surrealist humor with a bit of action.  Dr. McNinja is a comic that never forgets WHAT it is, no matter how weird or long the story goes and deserves to be read.

6.  The Whiteboard - The silliness continues with this comic.  On one end it's a fairly simple adventure/gag comic, on the other, it goes over the top in such a way that you can only laugh.  The cast has gotten more rounded over the years and I really think this is getting better than most.

7.  Spinnerette - I've been reading this from it's beginning, and it has only gotten better and better with each new chapter.  It gives me hope that superhero comics can actually rise above the current garbage out there while still being fun.  It's serious and fun, smart and hilarious.  The art is spot on for such a work, and it deserves the movie they're now working on (an independent film).  Go read it.

8.  Dead Winter - The zombie fad is hard to do different and interesting.  Dead Winter manages this, I think.  It's less about fighting zombies than the people doing it, if anything the zombie fights are almost casual annoyances most of the time.  The art is great too, getting better with each new strip and likely some of my favorite art in a comic I've read.

9.  Heart Shaped Skull - Okay, technically the comic is called Serenity Rose, but that's the name of the site and I'm a stubborn soul.  Despite the otherworldly nature of the comic (magic is big here), it is pretty well grounded.  Serenity is pretty normal, relatively and that gives it an odd depth that I enjoy.  The art is great, the message is well thought out and I just think this comic works.

10.  Blip - Where Serenity is neck deep in the magic of her world, K is completely oblivious to it.  I love that aspect of the comic, where she is utterly unaware that her three best friends are a vampire, a witch and a robot.  It's an odd angle for a comic as most usually throw the main character in or have them wallowing in it already.  I suspect that K will NEVER know what's going on around her, or if she finds out, the comic will end.  It's a great angle for a great comic.  Just wish the artist would fix the date system attached to the updates.

As always, I have some Honorable Mentions:  City of Reality, Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, Errant Story, The Adventures of Superhero Girl and Sinfest.  All of them could easily get on this list if the rest weren't there, though Errant Story isn't because, well, it's nearly over and at some point I will have to live without it.

Well, that's it.  Happy New Year to you and yours and hopefully I'll have some new reviews instead of half baked articles this year.  Later kiddies.

Can't Live Without

I've thought about doing a Top Ten list of comics, but that might just be impossible.  With so many different comics, deciding that 10 comics are the "best" would be very difficult.  But it's the end of the year, so I need a list.  I decided that the best way to do this is to pick out the 10 comics I wouldn't want to live without.  That means that the ranking here is basically arbitrary, so ignore it.  Incidentally, these are only ones that currently update, because I need to save something for next year after all.  Alright, so here is my 10 Comics I Can't Live Without.

1.  Sluggy Freelance - This is the comic that introduced me to the greater webcomic world and while it isn't the BEST comic on the web, it certainly holds up even after all these years.  When I was on a modem, it was the last thing I did before logging off for the night, and it remains the last comic I read even with broadband.  I certainly wouldn't want to live without it, even after I suggested ending it before.  Yeah, yeah, I know.

2.  Schlock Mercenary - Schlock is probably the best overall comic on the internet, hands down.  Oh, other comics may be funnier or better drawn or have better stories, but Schlock does all three really well at the same time.  Oh, and it updates on time and everyday, something a LOT of comics can't do at all.  If you aren't reading it, the real question is why?

3.  8-Bit Theater - 8-Bit is the only sprite comic I read, but it's also the one comic I'm guaranteed of getting a laugh out of.  Every strip makes me laugh, maybe only a little, but it's always there.  It's slowly coming to a close, but that's alright, I imagine that the ending will have me rolling around on the floor with laughter.

4.  Errant Story - I've been reading Errant Story for, well, years, it was one of my earliest reviews, and it still holds up after all this time.  There are few comics that come even close to matching it for epic storytelling.  It is certainly one of the great comics of all time and while it will eventually end, until then I couldn't live without.

5.  Gunnerkrigg Court - Speaking of comics that can stand with Errant Story, there's Gunnerkrigg Court.  The simple artwork belays a wonderful and imaginative story that is nearly peerless in it's scope and unfolding nature.  It's younger than Errant Story, but no less of a comic and certainly one of the best on the web.  Go read it already!

6.  Punch an' Pie - This is probably the most realistic comic I would keep.  There's no ghosts or aliens or gods or anything, just normal people living normal lives, and it's great.  I guess it's a "chick comic" because it's about relationships and such, but it's so well done I have to keep reading it.  Hell, one of the characters kind of reminds me of my sister.  Kind of.

7.  Nobody Scores! - While 8-Bit may be the most consistently funny comic I read, Nobody Scores! makes me laugh the hardest.  The little comic of eventual disaster has caused me to slip into uncontrollable fits of laughter for most of the day after reading some of them.  While this list has a lot of comics that are funny, when it hits the mark, nothing is funnier than Nobody Scores!

8.  Blip - One of the more recent entries on my read list, Blip is like something I want to write.  Yeah, there's supernatural stuff in it (witches, vampires, cyborgs, angels, devils, etc), but the main character is unaware of any of it and there is little evidence that she ever will be.  While other comics revel in their weird stuff, Blip keeps it away from the main character, making her reactions more like a real person's.  I just love the idea, and I really want to see how it all plays out.

9.  The Whiteboard - It's about paintball, which I know little about, and yet it's easy to get into and enjoy.  There are no 'great' adventures compared to other comics, but it still has that wild nature of a polar bear that has Mountain Dew for blood and a nuclear reactor powering his paintball gun.  It's fun and I enjoy it probably far more than I should.

10.  City of Reality - This is such a different comic than anything else I've read, and even as the story evolves it still manages to stay that way.  From updating a CHAPTER at a time rather than one page at a time, it feels more complete than most other comics.  It uses flash in ways other comics don't, the story is fun and interesting and it twists your perception of the world in a way that's really hard to describe (he actually spent a couple of chapters on that very subject).  Though one of the newest comics on the read list, I suspect that it could be here for a long time indeed.

Special nods go to Ice, Count Your Sheep and Zebra Girl, all three of which sit right on the bubble and could easily slip into this list if one of the others went dead.  I really had to debate with myself when it came to those.

Well that's my list.  Hopefully I can think of something new to write for next week.  Happy New Year kiddies.