Originally published at Thus Sayeth the Lord…. You can comment here or there.

Here is a list of webcomics I follow:

Order of the Stick : OOTS follows the adventures of a classic bunch of D&D heroes: Fighter, Theif, Cleric, Bard, Ranger, Wizard. It is a comic for audiences who know their RPGs; there are lots of metagaming jokes and gags. OOTS manages the funny and the drama equally well. Rich Burlew’s artwork, though simple, adds to the flavor of the strip; don’t make the mistake of thinking that stick figure pictures can’t be art. Burlew is a master of style.

Erfworld: The Battle for Gobwin Knob: Contained within the same webspace as OOTS, Erfworld answers to a different set of nerds– the miniature wargame freaks. Truly bizarre people, who I don’t understand in the least. The comic’s good, though. Like OOTS, it contains a lot of references to its inspirational material, so it may not be for everyone. You can appreciate the comic even if you don’t understand miniature wargaming; and there are some truly enjoyable moments. Especially clever (IMO) are the analogs of real world inventions (an book for instant messaging, for example). Rob Balder and Jamie Noguchi have created a wonderful world– I think that’s the selling point here. Who wouldn’t love a world formed by mountain-high Elvises?
Penny Arcade: Another geek-devoted comic. Or comic devoted to geeks. Or whatever. Penny Arcade is a video game and pop culture review comic– heavy on the video game. There ARE some things here that you will not understand if you don’t “get” video game culture. Also, it’s fairly heavy with profanity. Whatever PA is, it is over the top; these guys take hyperbole to a whole new literary meaning. It is somewhat self-referential, so reading the archives is warranted. The art and story are clever, though, so it’s worth it.

Just remember, I warned you about the profanity.

PvP Online : Another comic directed at video game geeks, and science fiction geeks, PvP follows the lives of a staff of video game magazine professionals. (Honestly, the magazine end of things has been somewhat absent of late; I wish Scott Kurtz would return to that.) PvP keeps a running continuity: characters have relationships, break relationships off; they affect one another, and their world. Unlike OOTS and Erfworld (which are milieu/event stories) and PA (which is…gosh…idea oriented, I guess) PvP is about the characters’ relationships with each other.

That makes it sound like the Lifetime channel. Hmm… Maybe if Lifetime had more trolls, more machiavellian felines, more narcissistic Mac users, more video game geekery, more…PvP, I’d watch it.

Schlock Mercenary: Howard Taylor’s ‘Schlock Mercenary’ was the first webcomic I ever read. Bar none– this is one of the best webcomics out there. Taylor is funny, his art is well done, his stories are memorable, his characters are engaging; what’s more is that he updates his comic EVERY DAY. In webcomic publishing, I understand, that’s the gold standard. Whatever the case, I’m a faithful fan. You should be too.

Schlock Mercenary follows a crew of group of lovable, cutthroat space mercenaries–Tagon’s Toughs– as they battle for love, justice, and money. Mostly money. It’s largely an ensemble comic; characters may get spotlighted in one or two story lines, but Tayl
or does a good job at spreading the wealth among his characters.

Questionable Content : If it weren’t such a funny comic, I don’t know I could stay with this one. I mean, it’s about 20-somethings that like indie music. But I keep coming back for J. Jacques relationships, and the characters’ quirkiness. It’s updated every weekday, and is probably one of the longer (in terms of daily format) comics I read.

Crimson Dark : A sci-fi comic that has some beautiful settings. I’m not sure what to say about this one; to me, I feel like it hasn’t quite hit its stride yet. I keep up with it because…well, because it’s got starships, and adventure, and pretty fair artwork. There are a lot of cliches though. And I’m afraid that the art style (kind of computer graphic-y stuff) does not lend itself to characterization.

Inverloch : The most beautifully drawn webcomic around. I swoon. Inverloch is a fantasy story about the loss of magic in the world, and one character’s search to put things right. The storyline is not the strongest; you’ve got your basic fantasy-race stereotypes (elves–haughty, magic using creatures; cute, furry, savage things that live close to nature; humans that are power hungry and mercenary), and your basic fantasy setting (forest, city, forest. More forest. Look, Ma, more forests!).

Inverloch is wrapping up; the word is the author Sara Ellerton is going to be finishing it soon.

Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire: I really like this comic. I didn’t think I would. I wasn’t a huge fan of the style it was drawn in…but…the storyline was compelling. Michael Terracciano writes terrific, wonderful stories. There are NO easy characters here. The villains have real, valid, reasons for BEING villains. The heroes make real, valid sacrifices.

Dominic Deegan is alternately funny and dramatic. It is always worth reading. Since Terracciano updates daily, it is one of my daily pleasures to read a new DD comic.

Looking for Group: A fantasy webcomic, inspired (I think) by World of Warcraft. It follows a good-hearted elven warrior fallen in with some bad company. They fight crime! No, but they do have a good romp. The artwork is exciting, and so is the storyline. Nothing deep, nothing fancy, but it’s an enjoyable read twice a week.

Brat-halla : The Norse pantheon turned into pre-teens and teens. How could I NOT like this comic? I can’t. It’s wonderful. I only wish it updated more frequently.