Discovering Webcomics in 2008

As I survey my new year’s resolutions, a part of the comics world I want to know better is that of webcomics. With the ease of publishing and the number of creators out there, it’s high time I embrace this new delivery method. Sure I read PVP and Penny Arcade, but there are many others worth checking out.

For my initial round of comics, I checked out Misery Loves Sherman, Butterfly and Evil, Inc.
One of the hangups I’ve had previously about webcomics is format. Typically, webcomics have followed the strip format most similar to that found in newspapers. A horizontal format of a few panels, makes for a brief moment in the comic. While I grew up on this format, for some reason I have a hard time wrapping my head around it as I’m older. Part of it is that I always forget to go check the site for updates, but with the wonderful world of RSS and Google Reader, I can subscribe to my favorite webcomics and have the new strips pushed to me directly. I know some are experimenting with ongoing online graphic novels, like Tyler Page’s Nothing Better , but I’m not there yet. For now, I’m starting small.

Misery Loves Sherman – A new webcomic that just launched a few days ago ( and was partially the inspiration in my discovering webcomics) from Chris Eliopoulos. You probably know Chris Eliopoulos from his lettering work on books like Astonishing X-Men, Daredevil and Amazing Spider-Man or from an episode of iFanboy with him. But he’s also a super good cartoonist, as evidenced in his recent work on Franklin Richards and Spider-Man Family. With Misery Loves Sherman, we have a daily strip chronicling the adventures of Sherman, a young boy who gets beat up by his sister, misunderstood by his parents and has 2 aliens living in his bedroom, one being the genius/world takeover plan type and the other a bumbling assistant.

While the comic is barely a week old, already the strips have shown that this is going to be fun to read. It’s similar to the work Chris has done in Franklin Richards in that it’s about a young kid, but is separated from the Marvel/superheroes connection. Sherman is endearing and you can relate to him and his supporting characters, which makes the strip that much more enjoyable. An industry vet, Eliopoulos isn’t doing this to practice his skill, rather to give himself an avenue to create the comic that he wants to make and not have to worry about publishing. The skill and love for the medium shows in every panel. All ages and accessible, Misery Loves Sherman could be the breakthrough webcomic for families and kids in the same way that PVP and Penny Arcade were for gamers given the attention and notice it deserves. So jump on board now and you’ll avoid having to catch up later on.

Butterfly – If there was one artist that I would label as one to watch, it would be Dean Trippe. You may recognize him from the Project Rooftop, which is the character redesign project that gave us such memes as the “Redesign Supergirl.” While browsing his personal site, I discovered his webcomic, Butterfly.

The tale of a sidekick in a superhero world, Butterfly is not updated nearly as much as I would like. There are maybe 2 new strips a month, but when there is a new strip, boy is it worth it. It’s not so much the stories being told, which are fun plays on super hero archetypes; rather it’s the art of Trippe, which shows off his playful, young and attractive (but not in a creepy way) character designs. Whenever I see something Trippe has drawn, I want to see more. There’s a certain elegance to the cleanliness of his art, combined with an upbeat attitude, portrayed through the strip. It’s interesting too, if you go back to the beginning, to see the evolution of the strip. From the sketchy beginnings to the more recent fully colored strips, you can watch as Trippe hones his talent. I seriously can’t say enough good things. Get on the bandwagon now, because if there’s any justice in this world, you’ll be hearing about Dean Trippe a lot in the future.

Evil, Inc. – I recently stumbled upon Evil Inc., by Brad Guigar when I was looking for new webcomics and noticed the podcast, “Webcomics Weekly” (iTunes link) which features Brad Guigar along with Scott Kurtz of PVP fame and some other webcomics artists. What grabbed me about Evil, Inc. was the concept. A legitimate evil empire. A company dedicated to evil but working within the boundaries of the law. Similar to Butterfly, it’s a new spin on an established concept that we’re already familiar with in comics. but done in a unique way, without the oversight of a big company/established continuity. And so we get a daily strip telling the adventures of Evil Atom and his colleagues. Brad’s been working on this comic for about 3 years or so, which gives a hefty archive of comics to go through. But once you get started, you’ll find that it’s totally enjoyable and time will fly by until your caught up and then have to wait until tomorrow for the new one. A slice of humor and playing on the established concepts of super heroes and villains makes Evil, Inc. a great comic that is well worth the read.

And so I’ve dipped my toe in to the pool of webcomics. I’m not sure if I’ll stick with it, but for right now, I plan to follow at least these three, and possibly some others. I’m sure I’m not mentioning or not even aware of some other great webcomics. Maybe you even write and draw one? If so, leave a comment and share with me and the other iFanboy readers your webcomic picks!