Questionable Content

November 14th, 2008

Questionable Content is a that I learned about this week (thanks, Jeffy).  I’m not sure how this one has escaped me, but it is a weekdaily digitally drawn four-panel one-off that centers around some people who work in a a coffee shop and always seem to be wearing a new t-shirt that you’ve never seen before.   The really popular ones wind up getting printed and sold in the Questionable Content shop.    And although every strip has an element of absolute craziness, they manage to address real life in their own special way often enough.

Happy !

Update: I kind of have a comic-crush on the crazy blonde chick.

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minimum security && protest

October 10th, 2008

, poigniant, comic; oddly relevant story arc starts here:

http://minimumsecurity.net/blog/2007/10/10/excuse-me-senator/

Sarah Palin is going to be in Philly tomorrow, go make your point heard:

http://steph99.livejournal.com/66597.html

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Wondermark

September 26th, 2008

Here’s another comic that I’m surprised hasn’t come up already.  It is also another comic that isn’t exclusive to the online realm.  It runs widely in several papers, including America’s finest news source, The Onion and many school papers.  It has also spawned several printed books and stuff.

It falls, broadly, into the cut-and-paste category of comic.  The interesting twist here is that David Malki ! uses 19th century engravings that he pulls from old books and stuff.   He then adds a little editing wizardry mixing them together, often with hilarous results.

Usually, however, the hilarity is just the text.

Another point that contrasts Wondermark from most of the webcomics that grace this space is that there is no continuity.  The strips are all one-shots.  That means you either laugh (or don’t) every time and then you move on.  It also means the strip is ideally suited for newspapers.

The strip has been in production since 2003, so there’s plenty to keep you occupied for a few moments at a time all day.

And I particularly love the byline “An Illustrated Jocularity.”

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ahoy-matey!

September 19th, 2008
...one beautiful wench!

After last week’s comic, I feel like I need to demonstrate that I’m not a total pansy.

Step one, take some pirates.  Step two, some LEGO.  Step three, some simple, digital photography with word balloons.  Now mix it all together with heaping amounts of wit.  Then add more wit.  Now, get yourself a yeti, travel through time, and … you still don’t have a hook for a hand.

So The Adventures of Captain Jibidy & Pillaging Pete certainly passes the I wish I’d thought of that first test, the highest award that can be bestowed upon cleverness.  That includes, but is not limited to, being collected under the domain name ahoy-matey.com.

I’ll try not to spoil the plot lines, but the mind of Dwain Smith is a , place.  he describes it like this:  “[Cap'n] Jibidy gets kidnapped by evil scientists (and, um, Vikings). Howard the Android and Jake Venture organized a rescue party but are now also in the clutches of the evil Viking-tists. Er, Scien-kings. Whatever. Read the comic!”

This is the sort of thing that proves to me the redemptive value of the Internet.  And humanity.  Is that hyperbole?  Your comments are welcome, but you have to read the comic first.  And again, start at the beginning because if you don’t get the plot line(s) you’ll be tempted to dismiss it as fun with LEGOs.

It is also worth noting that Dwain Smith is also the force behind Eavesdrop DC, the local entry in the series of overheard catalogs.  He also wrote a book called The Junk Whisperer or, Things Tequila Taught me which you can download for free in .pdf format.

Also note that today, September 19th is International Talk Like A Pirate Day … just like it is every year.

So, Arr to ye! Read the rest of this entry »

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Red String

September 12th, 2008

This one is for all the ladies in the house.

Actually, I say that because I’m conflicted about liking this in the way I get conflicted when I enjoy a rom-com. Red String is “a romantic tale of destiny and self-discovery by Gina Biggs.”  Who is a very talented graphic novelist.  And I do enjoy Red String.

This one also differs from the other stuff in the category because it is also published as a graphic novel.  That’s a testament to Gina Biggs’ skill and the large appeal of Red String.  At least among the shōjo manga set.

So, have fun with this.  And remember: cute can be okay.

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Cute gone bad >_<

September 5th, 2008

Happy short-week (Americans).

Kawaii not.  For this week’s , a series which does not include a plot or a story-line, just a bunch of independent little strips that manage to turn cute on its head every time in four panels.  And, if you haven’t guessed, kawaii means “cute” in Japanese.

The author is Meghan Murphy who can use her incredible talents to create things that aren’t punny or silly but sometimes just can’t help herself.  Some things just need to be anthropomorphised (and if you don’t believe me, think again).

So there you are; enjoy.  Not too much, though, because being that it is a short week you’ve probably still got some catching up to do.

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Do You Work Here?

August 29th, 2008

At one time in my life I worked in a job where I had to wear a nametag and a tie to work for an hourly wage.  After some time I inspected my world and decided that I would make it a goal to never work a job for which I was required to do those things again.  Truth is, occasionally it is still necessary but not on a regular basis and if I do submit, I get a decent free lunch out of it.

Working retail is hard.  Not heavy lifting hard (well, usually it isn’t), but having to deal with the general public on a regular basis while wearing a costume is a certain kind of hard.  It isn’t designed to confound and confuse you and crush your soul, but it is designed to squeeze it until the sound of cracking ribs can be heard.

There is a vicious cycle which everyone who walks through the door of a retail establishment is involved with.  You automatically have to assume that any employee falls into one of three categories:  too stupid/lazy/stoned to work anywhere else and thus probably too stupid to provide any help beyond pointing me to the right aisle for the products I’m looking for. Then there is the slacking underachiever who is plenty smart but battles the spirit-crushing pressure with turtle-speed apathy.  Finally, we have the first job-er who has yet to be completely beaten down and has yet to identify which of the two other groups s/he will eventually fall into.

A situation so familiar and so horrible is ripe for laughs and the comic strip Do You Work Here? delivers well.  It is clever, it is simple, it isn’t fancy but it gets the point across well.

Another relatively new entrant into the race, DYWH has only been around since the beginning of the year, so the quantity is still fairly low.  While you could argue about the quality of the drawing or site, or even dismiss it because the subject matter is so obvious and easy. But don’t, because the subject matter is so obvious and easy and nobody else, as far as I can tell, is doing it.

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Blip

August 22nd, 2008

Here’s another great for another great :  Blip.

Blip started at the beginning of this year and the story line is just starting to pick up steam.  It is a little more comic-y than I normally go for.  With sci-fi good v. evil and witches and all that, but it is adorable in its way (or maybe i’m slowly becoming a comic nerd).  The characters are beautifully consistent in their, well, character.  And the language is so very right now (if a little crass, but that’s the vernacular reality).

Important:  you’re going to be very lost unless you start at the beginning.  Don’t worry, there are only eighty something strips so far, so you should be able to get up to current in less than an hour.  From there you could, maybe, do something productive despite it being or just drop the ruse and take off early.

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We The Robots

August 1st, 2008

If you haven’t had enough slacking off this week in your cubicle, you are invited to spend part of your enjoying this cheeky which is on the verge of going viral (I only say that because I learned about from Danielle’s blog), called We The Robots. If you work in a cubicle too, the “we” is you. Us.

It puts the data in the spreadsheet!

It puts the data in the spreadsheet!

Think Dilbert if when he and Wally were are eventually replaced by robots. At least this will keep your from being too boring. Whatever, I’m taking the day off while the rest of you are stuck playing Cubicle Freakout. So long, jerks. I don’t plan on answering my phone.

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