Monday, September 1, 2008

Happy Labor Day, one and all. I would like to extend a special thanks to Ari Collins, who provided a guest update last week and gave us a refreshing selection of comics that are neither Nobody Scores nor Cat and Girl. I, Jackson Ferrell, am beginning this week with a special bonus update because I cannot shut up about webcomics.

Kris Straub's F Chords has been going for a couple of weeks now, but until last week, I remained unconvinced that it was anything more than a good second-string comic. Then along came this strip: the strip that sold it for me. Our musician friends come up with a sweet hook, but can't think of lyrics to go with it to save their lives. "I know you like how I do the thing" is not even the most hilariously pathetic of their attempts. Then, as the week progresses, we see Wade accidentally play the hook while recording music for a radio commercial. Aw snap!

Suffice it to say, with a hilarious intro strip that segues into a cool storyline, I'm--pardon the pun--hooked. (Audience groans.) But you should go read F Chords, because the Straub is a much funnier man than I. Just listen to Ash describing his work: "This is my magnum opus. My .357 magnum opus. This song will put a hole in a man the size of a grapefruit."

Last week, Penny and Aggie dared to ask questions on the topic that few webcomics dare to touch: God and religion. Kudos to the creators of P&A for daring to broach the big questions. I will probably return to that business for this Friday's update, but for now, let us note that Penny Arcade has also been tackling the tough theological questions: namely, what God smells like.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

And don't forget Tim Buckley's hard hitting look at religion from two years ago in CAD's Church of the Gamer plotline (FYI I'm bein' facetious here).

In all seriousness, though, here's two comics that deal with beliefs on a nearly fulltime basis: Sinfest (which more or less thinks it's ridiculous) and Silly Daddy (which is a more honest look at how Christianity plays a role in raising a child... and which I am in the process of reviewing on my own site. Cheap plug!).

Anonymous said...

Taking on religion is a risky business, I mean I get about 5 emails a week telling me just how I'll be making my way to hell.

My strip 'Input/Out' was posted across several aetheist sites as a battlecry and more recently I had one 'Christian' refer to my beliefs (humanism) as akin to racism and facism.

here's a link and the comments are towards the bottom of the page:

http://theflowfieldunity.com/2008/08/12/invade-we-trust/

Jackson said...

WCO: to be entirely accurate, there's very little that Sinfest doesn't think is ridiculous, whether it's religion, sexuality, society, or the human desire for power and acceptance. It doesn't so much tackle serious questions as trip them in the lunchroom. Thanks for the recommendation for Silly Daddy, though; it sounds interesting from your description. I'll have to check it out.

Thanks for the link to the comic, Adam. I find it interesting that your "Input/Out" comic generated less argument about religion than your comic with the American flag.