Updated on December 10, 2021
Here’s what comic strips and webcomics I recommend, including classic strips that ended their runs. All of the strips below are available either in print compilations or have online archives.
Daily newspaper comics
- Peanuts.
- Calvin and Hobbes.
- The Far Side.
- Doonesbury.
- For Better or For Worse.
- Bloom County (original series).
- Monty. (www.gocomics.com/monty) A comic about a geeky guy and his misadventures.
- Pearls Before Swine. (www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine) A comic about a cynical rat, his dopey pig roommate, and various other characters. Prone to making lots of bad puns or taking shots at the strip’s own creator, who’s an in-story character.
Weekly newspaper comics
- FoxTrot. (www.foxtrot.com)
- A Couple of Guys. (www.facebook.com/acoupleofguys) A comic about a gay couple in New York and their cast of friends.
- Kyle’s Bed & Breakfast. (kylesbnb.blogspot.com) A comic about a gay-oriented bed and breakfast in suburban New York.
- This Modern World. (thismodernworld.com) A long-running political cartoon that runs in weekly papers. Occasionally features a penguin named Sparky, who unlike “Bloom County”‘s Opus, isn’t remotely naïve or clueless.
Webcomics
- Kate or Die. (comicsalliance.com/category/kate-or-die-2/) Kate Leth’s occasionally updated series of comics about the comic industry.
- Diesel Sweeties. (www.dieselsweeties.com) A comic with artwork in the style of old-school 8-bit video game characters. Features lots of coffee jokes.
- Dinosaur Comics. (www.qwantz.com) The same clip art of a green T. rex and a few dinosaur cohorts, but with different dialogue every day.
- Hark, A Vagrant! (www.harkavagrant.com) Comics about various historical figures, often dating from during or before the Victorian Age.
- Not Invented Here. (notinventedhe.re) A comic about the staff of a dysfunctional software company.
- Scandinavia and the World. (satwcomic.com) A comic about the countries of the world as people, focused mainly on the Nordic countries.
- The Joy of Tech. (www.geekculture.com/joyoftech) A comic making fun of recent developments at the major tech companies.
- The Non-Adventures of Wonderella. (nonadventures.com) A superhero parody starring Wonderella, who’s basically Wonder Woman if she were Karen Walker from “Will and Grace.” That is, she’s vapid, selfish, drinks often, and does her superhero job in an inept manner.
- The Oatmeal. (theoatmeal.com)
- Unshelved. (www.unshelved.com) A comic about the hard-pressed staff at a public library.
- Bloom County. (www.gocomics.com/bloom-county) “Bloom County” is back, now as a webcomic.
- Questionable Content. (www.questionablecontent.net) A long-running webcomic that’s a “slice of life” story set in a “twenty minutes into the future” setting, with sentient robots, etc.
- My Cage. (www.gocomics.com/mycage) A comic set in an all-funny animal world, about a platypus stuck in an awful dysfunctional office.
- AJ & Magnus. (www.gocomics.com/aj-and-magnus) A comic strip that’s basically “Calvin and Hobbes,” but with two Dads… and they have actual names, though AJ calls them “Dad” and “Pop.”
- CommitStrip. (www.commitstrip.com/en/) A webcomic about the daily lives of web developers.
Conclusion
While there’s plenty of classic newspaper comics, webcomics are where the majority of comic strip innovation lies these days.
(Updated 8/5/17)
