A few years back I posted a review of my top choices in science-oriented webcomics, highlighting outstanding works such as xkcd, Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal, Girl Genius, Schlock Mercenary, Abstruse Goose, Tree Lobsters, Scenes from a Multiverse, Dresden Codak, and others.
This time let's follow-up with a selection of yet-more truly
creative online comics, some serious space dramas, others satires or comedies.
Many offer humorous insights as they delve into science, space, the future… and
human nature. You'll find star-spanning voyages, vividly portrayed aliens, frequent use of faster-than-light travel (FTL), but …. no superheroes here!
(And yes, I have hereby destroyed your productivity for the next two months!)
Many of these talented webcartoonists are dedicated to updating their works daily or weekly, offering their stories and artwork for free online. You can support your favorites by subscribing to their websites, pledging on Patreon (many provide exclusive bonus materials to donors), or buying their collected works.
(And yes, I have hereby destroyed your productivity for the next two months!)
Many of these talented webcartoonists are dedicated to updating their works daily or weekly, offering their stories and artwork for free online. You can support your favorites by subscribing to their websites, pledging on Patreon (many provide exclusive bonus materials to donors), or buying their collected works.
In no particular order, this is just a selection of the marvelous stuff out there...
Brewster Rockit: Space Guy, created by Tim Rickard, is a ‘satirical,
retro-futuristic comic’ which often parodies popular culture and science fiction films,
books and TV shows. The comic follows the humorous misadventures of the crew of
the R.U. Sirius space station, led by the brave but not-too intelligent Captain
Brewster Rockit and second in command Lieutenant Pamela Mae Snap. In their journeys through space and time, they
encounter hazards from aliens, killbots, monsters and mind probes ... along with with a multitude of puns. Example: After our many missions to the Red Planet, "Mars has hit us with a restraining order."
Outsider,
by Jim Francis, is a full-color, beautifully illustrated “starship combat space
opera.” Set in the 2100s, humanity has ventured out to the stars, only to encounter
alien refugees fleeing war between the galactic superpowers Loroi and Umiak. With
little information at hand to base their decision upon, humanity must decide: which side should earth ally with? When
the starship Bellarmine finds itself caught in enemy crossfire, a hull breach
sends Ensign Alexander Jardin drifting in space -- where he is picked up by a
Loroi ship. As the outsider aboard the alien ship, he slowly begins to understand this
telepathic, formidable, all-female crew -- and gain insight into earth's place in the cosmos. Then he finds himself in a unique position to save humanity....
Quantum Vibe,
by Scott Bieser. This sequential science fiction webcomic offers some real
substance. The story begins five hundred plus years into the Space Age on the
orbiting city, L-5. After a doomed relationship falls apart, our fierce heroine,
Nicole Oresme, becomes technical assistant and pilot to Dr. Seamus O’Murchadha,
inventor of electro-gravity, who needs help with his plan to delve into
“quantum vibremonics.” Their adventures through the solar system include
escaping assassins, diving into the sun’s corona, visits to Luna, Venus (terraforming
underway), Mars, Europa and Titan. Earth is ruled by large corporations and
genetically divided into rigid social castes –
and even branched into genetic subspecies, multi-armed Spyders and Belt-apes. Libertarian
references abound but not inapropos for the setting and future. I’m impressed with the spec-science in the series, as well as tongue-in-cheek references to SF stories, including… Sundiver and Heinlein.
Freefall,
by Mark Stanley, a science fictional comedy which incorporates a fair amount of
hard science; it has been running since 1998. The serialized strips follow the comic
antics of the crew of the salvaged and somewhat-repaired starship Savage
Chicken, with its not-too-responsible squid-like alien captain Sam Starfall, a
not-too-intelligent robot named Helix, along with a genetically uplifted wolf
for an engineer -- Florence Ambrose. Their adventures begin on a planet aswarm
with terraforming robots and incoming comets. The light-hearted comic touches
on deeper issues of ethics and morals, sapience and philosophy, orbital
mechanics and artificial intelligence.
Drive, by
Dave Kellett, is a weekly humorous sci fic comic set a few hundred years in the
future. At war with aliens, Earth and much of the galaxy lives under the rule
of “La Familia,” a second Spanish Empire (based in Madrid). Humans were able to achieve FTL travel after they 'found' an alien engine –
the Ring Drive – but the Continuum of Makers will
stop at nothing to retrieve their invention. Of course, La Familia keeps the Drive's secrets closely
guarded. The blue-inked strip follows the voyages of the scout ship Machito -- its
Drive piloted by an alien with amnesia -- as they set off on a mission to save humanity, even while
serving a distant Emperor they despise.
Galaxion,
by Tara Tallan, is an episodic space drama, following the Nautilus-shaped Galaxion,
an interstellar survey starship operated by the Terran Space Association
(TerSA), under captain Fusella Mierter. The crew is to test a new jump engine which
will enable them to travel through hyperspace (the last ship, the Hiawatha, to
test it disappeared). The drive casts the Galaxion into a parallel universe; a
desolate post-apocalyptic Earth is not the one they left behind… The first few
chapters are a bit slow, developing the crews’ relationships, but the pace
picks up when they discover the wrecked Hiawatha on Earth, a band of humans
living underground, afraid of what’s out there…
Terra, a full
color, sci fi webcomic by Holly Laing and Drew Daily, set in the year 2309, in
the midst of an interstellar war between the United Earth Coalition and the
humanoid alien Azatoths. The only survivor of an Azatoth ambush, Gray O’Shea is
rescued by Agrippa Varus of the Resistance; he joins the rebels in their desperate crusade to
end the war. Viewed as terrorists by the
UEC, they must also avoid the deadly Shadow Cabal, who have enslaved and
subdued large swathes of the galaxy. When the resistance shoots down a UEC
fighter attacking their base, the downed pilots begin to question if they are on the right side. Good
action sequences, complex plotting and character development.
Mare Internum, by Der-shing Helmer, is a recent addition, a full-color science
fiction graphic comic, just started in 2015. This near-future drama follows researchers in a scientific
habitat on Mars, as they gather data to prepare for the first extensive human
colony. Their geologic explorations include delving into the planet’s interior... where they uncover some
surprising (and improbable?) secrets of Martian history. Yet, extended isolation has pushed some members of the crew to the limits
of sanity, with Dr. Mike Fisher contemplating suicide, as he is notified that he will be sent back to earth. Lavish color illustrations,
with a sense of whimsy, and added scientific detail below the panels.
Electric Sheep: I have often cited the work of Patrick Farley, one of the hugely under-appreciated treasures of paneled storytelling and vivid webcomix art. His Electric Sheep site offers several series that you'd swear could not have come from the same artist, all of them brilliant. "Spiders" takes an alternate reality view of middle east wars in a world of super-transparency. "Don't Look Back" is psychedelic far future space opera. And "Apocamon" will show you what the Book of Revelation is about - in manga style - vividly making clear why we should ensure that no one who prays for that raving prophecy to come true should ever get their hands on nuclear weapons.
Electric Sheep: I have often cited the work of Patrick Farley, one of the hugely under-appreciated treasures of paneled storytelling and vivid webcomix art. His Electric Sheep site offers several series that you'd swear could not have come from the same artist, all of them brilliant. "Spiders" takes an alternate reality view of middle east wars in a world of super-transparency. "Don't Look Back" is psychedelic far future space opera. And "Apocamon" will show you what the Book of Revelation is about - in manga style - vividly making clear why we should ensure that no one who prays for that raving prophecy to come true should ever get their hands on nuclear weapons.
Always Human, by walkingnorth, is a webtoon (set to music). In this future most people regularly use body-modification
technology to alter their skin, hair or eyes, to cure illness or enhance focus
or memory. A reflection on genetic engineering, body image,
beauty, and gender identity, as well as what it means to be human. The comic tells a tender love story between two young women; one a specialist in virtual reality, the other has a highly sensitive immune
system, which rejects the widely-used nanotech mods. She gathers confidence to be different and stand outside the norm of her society. And yet... "No matter how technology
changes us, we’ll always be human.”
A Girl and Her Fed, by K.B. Spangler, tells the tale of a young woman, a journalist intern, who
converses regularly with the ghost of Benjamin Franklin. When she discovers
that she’s been placed on a government watchlist as a possible terrorist threat, she angrily confronts the federal agent assigned to her. That agent - the Fed -- is one of five hundred
who were given cybernetic brain implants (the Pocket President program). These
implants are now malfunctioning -- and projecting an avatar of George W. Bush;
Ben Franklin’s ghost is able to reprogram the implant. It turns out that these agents have been
dying under suspicious circumstances. The Girl and her Fed team up to get to the root of this deepening mystery…. and unravel a complicated web of political intrigue and conspiracy.
Storm and Desire, written by Scotto Moore, art by Evelyn Dehais, is a brand new sci fi/ fantasy webcomic following three women whose fates collide, as they seek to uncover “the secret history of the multiverse.” Check back to see how the story unfolds…
Storm and Desire, written by Scotto Moore, art by Evelyn Dehais, is a brand new sci fi/ fantasy webcomic following three women whose fates collide, as they seek to uncover “the secret history of the multiverse.” Check back to see how the story unfolds…
Comics on philosophy, books and ideas:
Unshelved,
by Gene Ambaum and Bill Barnes, is a daily comic that simply celebrates
reading, books, literacy, and libraries. The characters are mostly librarians
and the setting is often… a library. Literary references abound, along with
light-hearted humor about book clubs, overdue books, bookmobiles, bureaucracy,
research… and the joys and challenges of reading. The Sunday full-color
full-page editions became the “Unshelved Book Club,” which highlight recent
books and graphic novels. Here's the one that focused on Startide Rising!
Existential Comics, by Corey Mohler, is “a philosophy comic about the inevitable anguish
of living a brief life in an absurd world.” One of the more intellectual comics
around, this one delves into philosophical ideas of Ancient Greeks, from Socrates to Plato and Zeno, as well as more modern thinkers, such as Camus, Descartes, Kierkegaard and Kant. Comics touch upon topics ranging from metaphysics to Marxism, empiricism to Stoicism… plus additional insight if (for some reason) you don’t get the joke! For example, in The Adventures of Fallacy Man, the masked man interrupts arguments with cries of Appeal to authority! Ad hominem!! or Slippery slope!!!
Lunar Baboon,
by Christopher Grady, features “a half man/half moon monkey trying to make
sense of it all,” chronicling the trials of a middle-aged father struggling
with depression and anxiety and parenthood – with references to Star Wars,
Harry Potter, supervillains, modern politics and the ordinary problems of daily life.
Drewford, by Damon Xanthopoulos, is a humorous comic that features talking (uplifted?) waterfowl. Drewford Duck, fired after an illustrious career making infomercials, becomes head copywriter in the advertising world (Mad Duck?). In a take on the Odd Couple, the fastidious Drewford shares his apartment with his disorganized brother Ormlu Duck, as they struggle in a modern world with complications from technology, apps, flashmobs, social media, gay ducks, duckpics... and more.
Some ended comics worth reading:
Crimson Dark, by David C. Simon, a serialized science fiction drama that ran from 2006 to 2012. Gorgeously illustrated with 3D graphics rendering detailed starships (capable of FTL jumps) and space battles (with lots of vivid explosions). Set in the 27th century, it follows a tough but troubled Commander Kari Tyrell. Sent on a reconnaissance mission, Kari’s Republic fighter is attacked; she is left drifting in space and rescued by privateers of the antiquated Niobe spaceship. When they return to base, Kari is taken into custody, accused of treason, as her past returns to haunt her… Officially declared dead, she casts her lot with the crew of the Niobe (led by Captain Vaegyr Ward), heading out to seek salvage and survive -- while avoiding pirates and hostile ships amid the treachery of a brutal war.
Digger, by
Ursula Vernon, was a fantasy adventure comic, which won the Hugo Award for Best
Graphic Story. This black and white comic has the tagline: “A wombat. A dead
god. A very peculiar epic.” Our heroine, Digger, a talking wombat, got very lost when
digging an “unnecessarily convoluted” tunnel, and surfaced at the feet of a
talking statue of Ganesh the elephant god. Digger finds herself in a land far
far away… a strange world with only her pickaxe by her side, and predators
closing in. “Man don’t you know not to mess with a sleeping wombat? We swing
pickaxes for twelve hours a day. We’re like biceps with feet.” Along her quest
to find home, there are nods to mythology and religion and existential crises of
good and evil.
Starslip,
by Kris Straub, a science fiction comedy that ran from 2005 to 2012, sketched
in black and white. The serial is set in the future world of the 3440s, aboard
the IDS Fuseli, a decommissioned luxury battle cruiser, now a starship museum,
archiving cultural treasures, alien and human. They travel via a Starslip drive,
which allows them to slip between parallel universes, which seems to involve swapping with a duplicate
version of themselves. The crew, headed by a drunken ex-pirate, must deal with
orbital celebrities, time travelers, replitons, and aliens… as well as rival
museums, bureaucracy and paperwork. Pop cultural references and puns abound (they
are attacked by Infra-Redbeard.)
SpaceTrawler,
by Christopher Baldwins, was a sci fi comedy that ran from 2010 to 2013, set in
a galaxy governed by the collective Galactic Organizational Body (GOB). GOB has enslaved
an alien race, the telekinetic Eebs, forcing them to continue to create “all
consequential technology in the known universe.” Meanwhile, earth is still a ‘dark
planet,’ not having achieved notable space travel, or attained a seat on GOB. A group of six humans is
abducted, shanghaied into aiding Interplanetary Amity, an activist group aboard
the SpaceTrawler, in a struggle to free the Eebs.
There! Did I just decrease your work productivity by at least 10%? Remember to allocate your comix reading time away from video games! And not from doing good work, citizenship or spending time with loved ones!
Oh, and it this is not enough stuff, then go find some diversion (or enlightenment) by checking out some other webcomcis....
Return to Part 1: my review of science-oriented online comics.
or continue to Part 3, More Science Fiction webcomics
Return to Part 1: my review of science-oriented online comics.
or continue to Part 3, More Science Fiction webcomics
