S
Schlock Mercenary
If it should turn out that the Muslims are right, that there is One God and Mohammed is his prophet,
then I believe that Howard Tayler will be one of the only Mormons who is saved from the fires of Hell. Why?
Because, quite simply, any Paradise, by definition, requires cartoonists of his caliber.
Schlock Mercenary clawed its way from Keenspace to
Keenspot using sharp wit, explosive art, and dangerous weaponry. Tayler
has a thing for sci-fi, so the Schlockiverse is technically detailed, often with explanations of the physics
included below a particular strip. Don't go thinking that Schlock Mercenary is dry, however-- the gratuitous
physical violence and caustic humour make this thing well worth reading.
It's daily, and never really offensive. Howard's brother, Randy, draws
Randym Thoughts.
That's Schlock that Ghanny is imitating in this
strip.
Shallow
An amigo of mine, Bladewing (a.k.a. Lord Rahn, a.k.a Adley Tang) draws this interesting fantasy strip. There's plot--
scads of it-- but it'll be explained over time, I guess. It started out wacky, but Bladewing knew enough to move over to
a more serious main strip, and shift the wackiness to a substrip. Good for him.
I don't just read this because I'm Tang's friend.
Shaw Island
I like this comic a lot. It's very bitter.
There are talking hamsters and crabs, and some of it is whimsical, but most of it is just plain angst. I usually
agree with anything said in this comic about relationships or love. Not so much with politics or religion, but that's
okay. I'm just happy that there's talk about politics and religion.
If you're single, I recommend you read this. If not, look elsewhere.
Sheldon
This former Keenspotter is about a pre-teen software billionaire. Oddly enough,
he has yet to turn really evil. Instead, he goes on little adventures, hangs out in a swimming hole, and converses
with his duck Arthur.
This comic recently made it to newspapers, but I still show my support by visiting the Syndicate website. You should
too.
I got nothing to say here, really. It's reliable and clean, I guess.
Silly Cone V
This Keenspacer is one of the
Four Toon Tellers. It deals with a computer programmer who moved to Silicon Valley (hence the name
of the strip), and subsequently had various adventures, including the summoning of his duplicate from a parallel
dimension. Wacky stuff, ladies and gentlemen. Wacky stuff.
It's daily, inoffensive without being trite, and the art has gotten better with time. You may not get some of
the jokes if you're not a tech-head, but it isn't really an issue.
Sinfest
Tatsuya Ishida is the reincarnation of Walt Kelly. It's that simple.
Some strips are dandelions-- they grow, mature and die within a year. Sinfest is still maturing. This thing is
a sequoia, people, a mighty, funky sequoia.
The art is, quite simply, incredible. The jokes are hilarious. A word of warning, though: it's called Sinfest for
a reason. There's no gore or nudity or politics, but they are suggested.
I like how Ishida gives himself a new title every day. I tried to mimic his style in
this strip.
Sluggy Freelance
This is, I think, the most popular of all online comic strips, and with good reason. Sluggy Freelance is, as artist Pete
Abrams claims, a very nifty strip. Bun Bun alone is reason enough to read it. In fact, if you're reading 1/0, and
you actually haven't heard of this strip yet, you desperately need to read it.
That's not to say, of course, that Sluggy Freelance does not have its problems. It does. Pete Abrams has a
terrible phobia of ever missing an update, and when you combine that with the fact that he is one of the few
webtoonists who actually has a life, it means weeks worth of filler material by Shirt Guy Tom. Pete has
employees. Can you believe that? Employees. He makes enough money from T-shirts and book sales that
he can have employees. Ludicrous.
That's Bun bun that Marcus is trying to imitate here.
Snail Dust
Jenny Rowland, a.k.a. Napoleon, draws this thing on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. She'd hate me for
saying this, really, but it's a little like Cathy. I mean,
aside from the talking snail, and the fact that the main character is about half Cathy's age, and the fact that the
art is 100% better, and the fact that it's actually funny.
Napoleon is responsible for single-handedly popularizing the term "defenestration". Unfortunately, she stubbornly
clings to the idea that she is "Too Cool for Keen", and thus the gods of cartooning (who are normally benign, and
even benevolent on occasion) cause her computer to break down quite often.
Snail Dust is clean, though. It's good stuff. I particularly enjoy reproducing Napoleon's material without authourization.
Soap on a Rope
This Keenspotter is interesting, to say the least. It's black and white, and
comes out on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Everything is weird. I mean everything.
We find ourselves following the exploits of Max Slacker and his friends, exploring the intricacies of dimensional
travel, alien life, generation gaps, the Internet, and
what women do when there are no men around. I think Bob Roberds actually makes those parts up. The
art isn't great, but it's reliable.
I usually enjoy this strip.
Strange Daze
Oh yeah. Weird stuff over here.
This strip has featured various characters dealing with gods and dimensions and reality. It's all either very deep
or very, very made up. I can't say much more than that.
The schedule's erratic, but it's not too bad. It's in black and white, but the art is pretty good. There's some blood,
though. Don't go here if you have problems with a little blood.
Stubble
Stubble is about a guy named Clint who is, apparently, always depressed. He's in high school, though, so that's normal.
Also, there are spontaneous visits from the authour, and a freaky kid named Timmy
who had his own miniseries.
Even when it isn't on hiatus, it doesn't always update on schedule. It's pretty funny, though, if you don't mind the
pathos. Nothing too dirty, really...
The Suburban Jungle
This Keenspotter is about the career and love life of one Tiffany Tiger, a
temp and aspiring runway model. The Suburban Jungle universe is populated with anthropomorphised animals
(mammals, mainly), and, like in Kevin and Kell, they still conform to
their regular instincts and eating habits, making for a very awkward society.
John "The Gneech" Robey tries to be daily, but often takes breaks. The art's pretty good, though, and there's
nothing offensive here in any way, shape or form.
Robey also draws a delightful little fantasy strip called Never Never.
Superosity
Chris Crosby, who creates this daily strip with the help of his Mom, is one of the founding members of
Keenspot, and is now one of its CEOs. Hail to thee, Crosby. Hail.
Superosity is about two brothers (one nice and one evil), a hyperintelligent Board from an unknown world,
a movie star turtle, a dog, a cat, time travel, various monsters, and pop culture. Everyone seems to have an
IQ of 24 or lower, and therein lies much of the humour.
The stupidity is daily, and in colour. This is good stuff, people. Not terribly cerebral, but very amusing.