Assorted Webcomics (see below for sites and authors)

Lately it's been books, books, books around here so I figured a change in media might be welcome. Since we received such an enthusiastic response for our review of Sluggy Freelance webcomics seems a good call, but first I have to say a piece about vanity publishing:
     Don't do it. Trust me.
     For those who are unfamiliar with the concept vanity publishing is when someone takes a written work - I hesitate to dub them 'authors' - and pays someone to print copies, which they will then try to sell on their own. Before I get besieged with people telling me that their friend's cousin's uncle's sister's babysitter knows someone who got rich with a self-published book let me just say that even if that person exists, for every self-publishing success story there are hundreds of flops and failures. Is it a good idea for cranking out a few dozen copies of a Club cookbook? Sure. Is it a reasonable way to get your novel in print? No. Why not? Glad you asked!
     Listen, the publishing world is a difficult place right now, especially in the sci-fi/fantasy realm. Have a rejected book? Perhaps your manuscript, when it was plucked from the slush pile, was read by a junior editor who had just broken up with her boyfriend. Or maybe he'd spilled coffee on himself in the subway and was in a foul mood. Or, maybe, just maybe, your book just isn't good enough to be printed. It always seems like you've spun gold when the tale is first set to paper, but believe that I speak from experience when I tell you it's not. There's a reason we have editors and to believe that you've written a 100,000 words that need no changing at all is pure hubris. Sit down and try again. That's the great thing about being a wanna-be writer. You can always try again. Instead of sending to Tor and getting a form rejection slip back, try one of the smaller houses. Keep trying and understand just because you know how to punch keys and string together semi-coherent passages does not mean that you are a writer, nor does it guarantee that you will ever be recognized as one. Many people want to be able to stand at home plate in Yankee Stadium and crack a homer into the bleachers - very few have the talent and ability. So, too, it is with writing.
     Why am I all worked up about this? I happened to be reading a web comic Friday (aha! Nice segue!) and one of the ads was a link to an 'author's' web site, where he was hawking his book. It took a great deal of searching to discover that his 'publisher' was iUniverse, an online vanity press. Once I read his except it was clear why he made that choice - his writing was crap. Awful purple prose, the sort of thing that would have gotten a C- in freshman comp. Life is too short to read lousy books, gang. That's why we're here, to try to help you sniff out the good 'uns.
     Okay. Rant over. Below are a few web comics out of the countless thousands that exist in cyberspace. I've tried to stick to ones with a fantasy flavor and I admit right now that this is not a exhaustive list and maybe I've left your favorite off. It might have been because I didn't know about it. Maybe I did know about it and just happened to think that it stinks. Go post about it on the message boards. Taste is a selective thing. Educate others as to what you like. Maybe you'll make a convert.

Scary-Go-Round
by John Allison
Even if I didn't think this comic was funny I'd still like it because I love John A's funky artwork. Since it is a wacky, nutty, droll kind of funny that works out even better as a loosely tied group of friends deal with everyday problems such as zombies, evil gas clouds, and dimensional portals. Updated Monday thru Friday.

Something Positive
by R.K. Milholland
Allow me to point out, in large letters, that Something Positive is not a comic FOR CHILDREN OR THE EASILY OFFENDED. In fact, you might want wait until to get home from work before checking out the exploits of whipping boy Davan and his two twisted she-devils PeeJee and Aubrey. SP deals with explicit language and sexual content but they also play RPGs and go to cons so I'm allowed to mention it here. Plus there's a boneless pink cat named Choo-Choo Bear. So there. Updated Daily (in theory).

Dominic Deegan, Seer for Hire
by Mookie
This offbeat, hand-drawn strip follows the adventures of an irritable seer and his friends. There's an underlying sense of sweetness to the strip - well, when people aren't dying, that is - and the author is an incurable romantic. Updated Monday thru Saturday.

Queen of Wands
by Aeire (I may have spelled that wrong, sorry)
Another bright, colorful strip that I get to sneak in because of Wicca and Ren Faires. A starcrossed trio makes their way in a world full of challenges and disappointments. Keep the kiddies away due to strong language and sexual content. But it's damn funny, as are the author's news updates. Updated Mon-Wed-Fri.

El Goonish Shive
by Dan Shive
This strip describes itself as 'really weird' and I'd be hard-pressed to argue that point. In its simplest terms it's about a few friends in high school but is also has more trans-genderism than Wigstock and lots of half-human, half-animal sightings. Furries, anyone? Lately the storyline has taken a darker turn and should prove to be quite interesting. Updated Mon-Fri with fillers on the weekend.

     I will continue culling the Web and perhaps have more for you soon. For now, let me get back to the new Dark Tower book. Keep reading!   §