Comics, Anyone?

by Debbie Ginsberg


When we gamers aren’t playing, we can often be found reading comics. At something like $2 to $3 a pop, comic books can be awfully expensive to read. Fortunately, the web provides us with a plethora of comics we can read for free.

This probably isn’t news to most gamers. PVP Online, Penny Arcade, and Dork Tower are some of the most popular comics online. These three comics feature a variety of games and gaming styles, from hard-core console games to light hearted RPGs. They update regularly, PVP every day and the others several times a week. They are well drawn and scripted.

Beyond these three, of course, there are plenty of other strips on the net which gamers might like. Lately, I’ve been enjoying four in particular. RPGWorld and VG Cats focus on console games. Order of the Stick is an illustrated RPG adventure. Something Positive tells the story of the gamers themselves (well, sometimes gamers),

(For all I know, they are as popular as PVP and everyone’s already reading them. Oh, well!)


RPGWorld (http://www.rpgworldcomic.com/)
Writer/Artist: Ian James-Quarty

This comic tracks the story of a hero (generically named “hero”) and his companions as they fight against their nemesis, the evil Galgarion. RPG World has been on the net since August 2000. Its large backlog of comics is available for free (so large I haven’t yet been able to finish it).

The comic had initially been published about 2-3 times a week. Over the last few months, it seems, Ian hasn’t been publishing his comic as often though he is still working on it. It’s drawn more or less as a comic page, with most strips in black and white. Sunday and special strips are in color. This week, he published his 500th strip – quite an achievement for a web comic!

While the comic contains a mix of seriousness and humor, it mostly focuses on the latter. One of the funnier running jokes is that RPG World is set in the universe of a fantasy RPG-style console game and works within the rules of one – for example, the “players’ take turns when they fight. At least one character has figured out their world makes no sense (“Why am I just sitting here waiting?”). The others seem to be oblivious to the strangeness of their world.

Generally, I’ve been very impressed with the art in this comic. It’s appropriate for the subject matter, is clean, and easy to read. Ian tends to alter his art style from time to time and some of his experiments have been more successful than others. Yet I was quite surprised when I got about half-way through the backlog and learned the writer was going to attend his senior prom – I had not realized he was a high school student! If he’s showed this much talent so early on, I expect some amazing comics from him in the future, even if he eventually decides to move on from RPG World.


VG Cats (http://www.vgcats.com/comics/)
Writer/Artist: Scott Ramsoomair

VG Cats focuses on console gaming, each strip making fun of a different game. It is drawn as a color comic page featuring cartoon style cats (usually). It has no set schedule for updates, but seems to publish about once a week.

This comic pretty much exists to take humor about console games to its most sick level. It has no ongoing story. No game is immune – from Pokemon to Fable to Aliens, all are treated with equal love and derision. The art’s highly rendered, anime style only accentuates the comic’s strangeness.

Readers should note that many of the jokes in VG Cats are “R” rated – the comic isn’t for everyone. Also, as someone who plays console games only occasionally, many of the references fly past me. However, the art is quite beautiful, and the humor makes South Park look tame. Its take on the Super Mario Brothers is the … most wrong thing I think I’ve seen for a while.


Order of the Stick (http://www.giantitp.com/cgi-bin/GiantITP/ootscript)
Writer/Artist: Rich Burlew

Order of the Stick tracks an intrepid group of Dungeons and Dragons characters through their various adventures. Like RPG World, the universe works within the rules of D&D. For example, characters level up when they get experience. The comic appears every Monday and Thursday as a full-page color strip. The backlog isn’t very large – just over 100 comics.

The Order of the Stick takes a page from South Park and uses a very simple style to tell its story. As the name of the comic suggests, all of the characters are drawn as stick figures. Don’t be fooled, however – the artist is a professional and gives his characters a full range of expressions and features. The emotions Rich has been able to portray with just a simple line have been amazing.

As might be expected from a comic with stick figures, the story is generally humorous, with serious moments from time to time. So far, the story has focused on a single dungeon crawl. As of the current strip, that crawl is just about over. I hope he continues the comic to tell further tales. We don’t even know yet why the characters call themselves the Order of the Stick.


Something Positive (http://somethingpositive.net)
Writer/Artist: R. K. Milholland

Something Positive tells the story of Davan MacIntire, the man who cannot get a break. Unwitting cat owner, sometimes GM, always sarcastic, Davan has struggled through various relationships with his friends, family, and of course, women.

Something Positive is one of the most real comics on the net, Choo-Choo Bear the boneless cat not withstanding. The characters are fully fleshed out, so much so that often the comic reads much like a LiveJournal. This is one of the few comics which has made me cry. More often, it makes me wince.

The art is simple and expressive (not as simple as Order of the Stick, however). The drawing has improved over the last few years, especially the facial expressions. Note that sometimes if he’s really busy Milholland will cheat – but often the “bedroom scenes in complete darkness” are some of the best in SP. Like VG Cats, some of the humor is adult oriented (the first strip features a hanger as a baby shower gift).

The comic has a backlog to late 2001, the size of which has greatly increased in the last year. Until recently, the writer posted full color comic pages 3-5 days a week. One day, he jokingly said he’d quit his job if his readers would raise enough money for him to only draw comics. To his surprise, they did exactly that. Over the last few months, he’s posted SP pretty much every day.

While not game specific, the characters sometimes RP. Some of the characters, male and female, are diehard gamers; others seem embarrassed by the hobby. The featured games are ones I’d love to try someday – especially the RPG featuring favorite kids’ toys.


Comics featuring games and gamers are some of the best on the net. One thing, however: while these comics feature strong and interesting female characters, they are drawn and written by men. If any of you know of some gaming comics with women creators, let me know. I’ll review them in future issues.


Copyright 2004-2005 The Lady Gamer. All rights reserved.