The only webcomic I read (+ four more I used to read)

Webcomics were huge back in the 1990s and 2000s, but ever since YouTube and now Netflix the trend has wound down.

They're not dead or even dying, but my interest has waned.

I'm going to cover the only webcomic I still read, plus four more I used to read.

SPOILER: The main reason I stopped reading these webcomics is their lack of an update schedule.

##########################################################################

The one webcomic I still read

Whomp

Whomp is a webcomic that revolves around Ronnie, who is based on the creator Ronnie Filyaw.

It is a slice of life series that focuses on hard-hitting topics like depression. anime, and chicken nuggets.

It's great.

Whomp is by Ronnie Filyaw, created in 2010, and has currently ceased.

The series started off like any other webcomic but the focus shifted more on the creator.

Unlike Sonichu, that plan actually worked to its benefit. I like it!

Ronnie

Ronnie is big into anime and often sings anime songs loudly in Japanese.

He also has a fanaticism for McNuggets. He dreams of them, he breathes them, even his bodypillow is of a McNugget dunked in sauce.

Ronnie has depression. This turns him from a sack of flab to a sad sack of flab.

The universe dictates that he has to be sad. If someone points out that he's happy, he immediately becomes depressed again.

Yeah, Ronnie is fat. It's magic fat; any shirt he puts on turns into a Hawaiian shirt.

He is also quite a timid man.

Thunder and lightning scare him, even when encountered in online videos.

And when he has nightmares, he runs and cries to his roomate, Agrias.

Agrias

Agrias, real name Li Ming Chiu, is Ronnie's normie roommate.

Yes, her nickname is named after the Final Fantasy Tactics character Agrias Oaks.

Agrias was born in AMERICA to Chinese parents. Now she's here for good.

She works at a zoo. Sometimes Ronnie goes to visit and is mistaken for an escaped animal.

She exists as the normie counterbalance to Ronnie's weirdness.

It turns out she too has some weirdness about her.

It might seem that there is a love thing going on between Agrias and Ronnie.

But then Ronnie hits on her colleague. You can almost hear the stress evaporate.

Motivation Dude

Motivation Dude - M Dude for short - is the physical manifestation of Ronnie's motivation.

M Dude's duty is to motivate Ronnie into drawing more strips for the webcomic.

He also enjoys tormenting Ronnie, whether it be by hitting him or calling him useless.

This guy doesn't really do much. Chances are he only appears in the comic when the real Ronnie needs actual motivation to write a strip.

Needles

Needles is Ronnie's black cat. I love black cats.

Needles is a black blob of a beast. When he curls up in a ball you can't tell where it begins and ends.

I wish Needles will appear more in the strip. Filyaw, if you are reading this, make it so.

##########################################################################

The four webcomics I used to read

VG Cats

A lot of webcomics followed the popular trend of what TV Tropes call Two Gamers on a Couch.

I did look at Ctrl+Alt+Del and Penny Arcade and saw that they either tried too hard or didn't try enough.

VG Cats was a comfy niche in the middle.

VG Cats is by Scott Ramsoomair, created in 2003, and is currently still kinda going.

VG Cats is a webcomic about two cats and their video game shenanigans.

Topics range from them discussing games to acting out inside a video game world.

A new development: now Ramsoomair is working on a lewd version: VG Lewds.

Get your free samples from the official Twitter.

Why I stopped reading VG Cats:

VG Cats doesn't update often enough for me to pay attention anymore.

Once in a blue moon, like maybe every six months or so, I remember VG Cats and check out the latest strips since I last saw them... all five of them.

------------------------------------------------------------

Irregular Webcomic!

Irregular Webcomic! is a webcomic made not by the pen and Paint but with figurines and Lego.

The strip may seem like silly puns but read the annotations: this strip is high IQ.

Irregular Webcomic! created in 2002 by David Morgan-Mar, and is still going to this day.

This webcomic doesn't focus on a person or duo but instead a wide cast of characters such as:

* Steve and Terry, based on the late crocodile hunter

* Mythbusters, which were HUGE back in the 2000s

* pirates, aliens, Star Wars, Indiana Jones

* Lord of the Rings fantasy characters

The strip started off as the adventures of the strip's author.

Soon he turn to the toy side, unveiling the adventures of his figurines.

The strip lasted for around nine years, ending in October 2011.

For years Morgan-Mar updated the comic by adding annotations to comics whilst re-running them.

In April 2015 his Patreon goal was hit, so now the comic continues with weekly new comics.

David Morgan-Mar also created Square Root of Minus Garfield, which is a webcomic in which the strips are made by the viewers.

Lots of weird edited Garfield strips here. I actually like it.

Square Root of Minus Garfield would have made the list but I don't really count it as a webcomic, so it gets an honourable mention.

Why I stopped reading Irregular Webcomic!:

I never really got into the sense of humour. I got more enjoyment out of the annotations.

I was always more into his side project, Square Root of Minus Garfield.

It's good to see David Morgan-Mar back in action though. You can't keep a good webcomic down.

------------------------------------------------------------

Nedroid

Nedroid is a webcomic about a bird and a bear-potato thing doing silly things.

It's better than it sounds.

Nedroid was created by Anthony Clark in 2005.

The webcomic has no set schedule and updates whenever Clark has a funny idea.

Anthony Clark also did work on The Adventures of Dr. McNinja, a webcomic that I admit I never really looked at.

I like the differences in art style as the comic progresses. 

It circumvents the copy-paste sameness that other webcomics suffer from.

Nedroid has all sorts of random comics, in different art styles. 

Hell, our main characters don't show up until 2006.

Here they are now.

Reginald

Reginald is half-man, half-bird, and all-ego. He holds a high esteem of himself, like breaking down into tears when forced to wear glasses.

Beartato

Beartato is half-bear, half-potato, all-charming. You can't stay made at him, even when he is mischievous at times.

Harrison

Harrison is half-man, half-shark, all-hated. No one really likes Harrison. I do...

Why I stopped reading Nedroid!:

Nedroid updates whenever creator Anthony Clark wants to.

Due to having no schedule, I stopped tuning in. 

Once a year I check in form the updates... all five of them (okay, I exaggerate... six).

------------------------------------------------------------

The Perry Bible Fellowship

The Perry Bible Fellowship is an interesting mish-mash that tells offensive jokes in various art forms.

That's right up my alley.

The Perry Bible Fellowship was created in 2001 by Nicholas Gurewitch.

The webcomic is still going with updates out of the blue every blue moon.

Due to every strip being in a different art style, it makes them all unique.

You won't get fatigued binging them I'll tell you what.

There isn't really much else to say other than to dive right in.

Gurewitch has recently worked on Notes on a Case of Melancholia, Or: A Little Death.

I've read it tried to read it. That's shit's for the birds.

Why I stopped reading The Perry Bible Fellowship:

The comic is on semi-hiatus, so updates a rare.

I check in every 6-12 months for the updates. 

##########################################################################

Honourable Mentions

Here are some webcomics that I have looked at in the past but not enough to say that I used to read it:

Cyanide & Happiness

Cyanide & Happiness is a daily webcomic by some lads with a twisted sense of humour.

It was created in 2005 by Kris Wilson and continues to have new writers on the cast.

I could never really get into Cyanide & Happiness. It's just too cringe-inducing.

From the bad jokes to unashamed black comedy to the awkward silences... 

This is prime fodder for edgy people who are new to the Internet.

In 2014 a Kickstarter-funded animated series began: The Cyanide & Happiness Show.

It's surprisingly well done. If I liked the webcomic I would like this... but I don't.

xkcd

xkcd is a daily comic that mixes stick figures with maths, science, tech, and sex.

Sounds like my sort of thing... but it doesn't work well with me.

xkcd was created in 2005 by Randall Munroe.

It started off with sketches but soon his creation took form... as smartass stick figures.

The subject matter is good but the delivery of jokes usually makes me roll my eyes.

The use of intelligent humour isn't clever. You know what makes jokes funny? A punchline.

Must be all that anti-humour stuff that teenagers and manchildren adore. Not me though.

Awkward Zombie

Awkward Zombie is a weekly webcomic that typically deals in video games.

I was drawn to this one because it is done by a WOMAN.

Awkward Zombie was created in 2006 by Katie Tiedrich.

I love her cats.

I guess I never really cared much for webcomics by the time I found this one.

That and most of the strips are Nintendo related, which I admit I don't know much of.

Megatokyo

Megatokyo is a mammoth of a webcomic.

It was created in 2000 by Fred Gallagher and Rodney Caston and is currently done by Gallagher now.

The update schedule is erratic due to Gallagher's wife's death, so be nice.

The premise is of two Americans who are in Japan for E3 but can't get back home, so they live in Japan with their friends.

It starts off simple but builds into a complex story.

I never got into Megatokyo due to its massive plot expansion. Ain't nobody got time for that!

Though, to be fair, if I were to acquire a complete collection on paperback, I would read it... or at least try to.

Dinosaur Comics

Dinosaur Comics is an interesting one. 

Every single strip has the same artwork but different dialogue.

I love this sort of thing, with limitations imposed. It adds flavour.

Dinosaur Comics is a thrice-weekly webcomic, created in 2003 by Ryan North.

I have tried to get into it but I always tackle it in blocks, only to give up.

I want to get into Dinosaur Comics but there's just too much to sink my teeth into.

##########################################################################

It's good to know that in this day of YouTube, Netflix, and video games that webcomics can only still exist but thrive.

The thing that's changed is me. My life is like a real life Dinosaur Comics: same art, different dialogue.