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Teh Best in Online Comics

Too little credit is given to the comic strip. As much as I love to write and read comic books, I think it may take more skill (or at least more discipline) to create a comic strip. Think about it. Not only do you have to make your readers laugh and tell a complete story, but you also need to do it in such a short time frame. It is too bad that two of my current favorite comic strips can’t be read in a daily newspaper by all; but, I suppose online is better then nothing.

So, just what are these two strips of genius that I speak of?

The Order of the Stick – Rich Burlew

Rich is one of those people that every gamer wishes they could grow up into when they are in high school. At least, he is the person we think we want to be forgetting that the freelance lifestyle of the writer (and / or game designer) isn’t an easy one. Responsible for many of the entries in WotC’s best Monster book to date, Monster Manual III, Rich created the genius online comic The Order of the Stick in 2003, the world’s first self-aware comic strip based in the world of Dungeons and Dragons. Posted every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (with some exceptions) The Order of the Stick is always a very solid and dang funny read. I should let some folks know that, while not completely necessary, it does help to have a working knowledge of D&D and the D20 rules to get some of the humor. As exampled in the first entry where each character suddenly changes abilities (and size) when Wizards of the Coast updated the rules to Dungeons and Dragons. That being said, the personalities that Rich has created within his strip can be enjoyed by anyone. Like the best comic strips, Rich is able to tell a self-contained story with each entry while furthering any ongoing tale (or joke) from previous entries. I’ve made The Order of the Stick one of my required reading online and as I missed the first printing, am eagerly awaiting a new printing of the book Dungeon Crawlin’ Fools, (a collection of The Order of the Stick strips). In the meantime, check out his site.

Alien loves Predator – Bernie Hou

Every Geek when they were young (and some currently) put their actions figures in…strange situations. While I won’t tell you what your friendly neighborhood Geek used to have the Baroness do with Princess Leia I will tell you it wouldn’t make you laugh out loud like Bernie’s Alien loves Predator does! Living together in a small apartment in New York City, Abe and Preston do their best to survive as geeky and often inept outcasts in a world of normal humans. Once again proving that the simplest concepts are often the best, Alien loves Predator matches up the two greatest monsters in all of Sci-Fi and makes them far more interesting then anything Paul Anderson can even dream about. Like The Order of the Stick, Alien loves Predator assumes you know something about these iconic creatures; and really, who in the modern pop culture world doesn’t know theses dudes? Trust me, there is nothing funnier then a snarky Alien admitting to his “cloaked” Predator roommate that he can indeed see him all the time and just chose not to say anything when he is…um…when he is doing what we all would do if we could turn invisible. Make a point of adding Alien loves Predator to your e-mail list and I guarantee your week will never be without a solid Geeky laugh!