Ask Slashdot: What Was Your Favorite Web Comic of 2012?

skade88 writes "It's time to do another year-end best-of roundup! Today's topic is web comics. What was your favorite web comic of 2012? Feel free to use the following categories, or make up your own. 1) Best overall web comic series of 2012. (Any web comic that produced content in 2012). 2) Funniest web comic of 2012. (This one represents the single funniest comic of any web comic series. Provide links!) 3) Best art in a web comic of 2012. (Web comic from 2012 with the most amazing art ever). 4) Web comic that was most relevant to you in 2012. (This one is even more subjective than the others)."

Comments

Favorite Comic

[Anonymous Coward]

Definitely XKCD!

Re:Favorite Comic

[kaehler]

XKCD has my vote...

Re:Favorite Comic

[bhcompy]

Nah, Spoderman is.

Re:Favorite Comic

[SternisheFan]

Yeah, and I read in the news today that they're killing off Peter Parker in the next comic book. T'aint right, I tell ya'.

Re:Favorite Comic

[davester666]

You're thinking of Spiderman.

That is so 2000.

SpoderMan is 2K13!

Re:Favorite Comic

[jetole]

I feel like it's a tie between XKCD, Diesel Sweeties, Questionable Content and Amazing Super Powers.

Re:Favorite Comic

[ComicFiend]

Usually not a fan of comic builder strips but this series about a baby with a dirty mind just cracks me up. CRUSHED CARROTS - http://www.lostandwonderful.com/crushed-carrots/

Re:Favorite Comic

[tinkerton]

Obviously the article should be retitled with the prefix 'Apart from XKCD What Was your Favorite..'

Re:Favorite Comic

[menno_h]

Definitely XKCD!

+1 agree

Re:Favorite Comic

[LifesABeach]

I guess my mind wondered. I thought of Mitch McConnell. I guess his super power is the ability to ingest without a lower mandible, impressive.

Re:Favorite Comic

[nomadic]

It takes a special kind of artist to draw something for 10 years and not get any better.

Too east

[cheater512]

Best art in a web comic has to be http://xkcd.com/1110/

Re:Too east

[chronokitsune3233]

I love XKCD, but best art? Well, in terms of artistic ability, stick figures are far from difficult. However, this particular "strip" along with all of its geekiness—the fact that you can drag it AND a lot of the content itself—was truly amazing. I can definitely agree with this vote.

Re:Too east

[trodofor]

Best art in a web comic has to be http://xkcd.com/1110/

Seconded!

Re:Too east

[dirk]

I think you are confusing most art with best art. It is certainly an accomplishment, but the art isn't particular amazing.

Re:Too east

[slimjim8094]

I think you're confusing best technique with best art. The art wasn't the beauty of the actual strokes, it was the beauty of the idea and execution.

Re:Too east

[jfdavis668]

All in favor, say aye!

Re:Too east

[FatdogHaiku]

I wore out a couple mouse skates on that damn comic... EXCELLENT... plus I now have over 99% of a 12" x 12" sheet of etched Teflon in my misc. supplies store.
I thought my friends would tease me but they let it slide...

Re:Too east

[Anonymous Coward]

Personally, I've come to hate XKCD('s following, at least)

Disliking it because it is popular? Speaking like a true hipster.

Re:Too east

[TheLink]

Hmm seems it's getting popular to dislike stuff because it's popular. What am I going to do when "everyone" does it. ;)

Re:Too east

[lashi]

omg it's huge. is there anyway to download that image to view at my leisure? I am truly impressed by the idea and the work that went into it.

Re:Too east

[X0563511]

Indeed. The dragging aspect is nice, but a zoom functionality is painfully missing.

Re:Too east

[postglock]

Indeed. The dragging aspect is nice, but a zoom functionality is painfully missing.

http://ares.aylett.co.uk/xkcd/ or http://xkcd-map.rent-a-geek.de/

Re:Too east

[beep54]

Kinda figured that that would have been one chosen. Took me awhile to realize that the title was also an imperative.

Re:Too east

[lashi]

thanks. he should have made it wrap. that would be interesting

Re:Too east

[BTWR]

here ya go!

Re:Too east

[Anonymous Coward]

Not so, I was hating hipsters before it was cool

Re:Too east

[steveo777]

I hated hipsters before it was cool.

Re:Too east

[Will.Woodhull]

Oh yes. I agree. xkcd for best single strip for sure.

Best serial strip is Girl Genius: adventure, romance, Mad Science!

Re:Too east

[Chris Mattern]

The zoom functionality is missing by design. He wants to indelibly impress on you how BIG it is. Being able to zoom out would ruin the effect.

Re:Too east

[X0563511]

Not really. I can pick up scale quite well enough from other cues. Such as the radio mast, or water tower.

Re:Too east

[WhatAreYouDoingHere]

Thanks. I just wasted over a half hour.... and still going

Re:Too east

[Chris Mattern]

Yes, you can judge the scale in a zoom function. He wants you to *feel* the scale. To beat you over the head with it.

Re:Too east

[X0563511]

... an artistic choice of course, but not necessary in my case. I can fully appreciate such scales without it.

Re:Too east

[Chris Mattern]

I still remember when I first looked at that comic and started scrolling. "Hey, it scrolls! Let's scroll to the end of it!" Scroll...scroll...scroll... "Wow, this is taking a while" Scroll...scroll...scroll... "Damn, this is big" Scroll...scroll...scroll... "Does it ever end? Holy cow, it scrolls up and down too--he's got stuff tunnelling way down in the earth. A LONG way down in the earth" Scroll...scroll...scroll "Is there any end to it? Will I even be able to see all of it?" There is just no way he could've gotten that impact if there'd been a zoom function to see all of it at once. That cartoon is one of Randall's most talked about comics, and I am firmly convinced that it would not have produced one tenth the reaction it did if it had had a zoom function.

Re:Too east

[postglock]

But if it wraps then that suggests a finite size to the "world"... So perhaps it's better not to wrap?

Re:Too east

[Janek Kozicki]

posting reply just to undo moderation. gosh reading slashdot on ipad is sometimes aggravating. I only wanted to open the URL, and accidentally I moderated

xkcd

[Anonymous Coward]

That is all.
I didn't even read the summary.

For gaming? Nerfnow.com

[saikou]

Nerf Now was my pleasant discovery in 2012 :)
Yes, some humor can be a bit weird for non-gamers, but you can't just limit yourself to XKCD (okay, maybe you can, but more regular content is better)

Re:For gaming? Nerfnow.com

[isorox]

Nerf Now was my pleasant discovery in 2012 :)
Yes, some humor can be a bit weird for non-gamers, but you can't just limit yourself to XKCD (okay, maybe you can, but more regular content is better)

Xkcd has come out every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for years. How is that not regular?

Re:For gaming? Nerfnow.com

[znanue]

Nerf Now was my pleasant discovery in 2012 :) Yes, some humor can be a bit weird for non-gamers, but you can't just limit yourself to XKCD (okay, maybe you can, but more regular content is better)

Xkcd has come out every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for years. How is that not regular?

I think he meant more [regular content] not [more regular] content.

Z

Day By Day

[smittyoneeach]

Christ Muir is teh man! http://www.daybydaycartoon.com/

Re:Day By Day

[Anonymous Coward]

OMG yes! The strawman democrat and reasonable republican duo never gets old!

Re:Day By Day

[rickb928]

Just cuz u don't get it don't make it not funny. Oh, for you it hurts. I got that.

Yeah, two thumbs up for DBD!

Re:Day By Day

[sysrammer]

Terrific! Doonesbury for the right! Hope they don't use big words.

Schlock Mercenary

[Sowelu]

For reliable quality I'd go with Schlock Mercenary. It's not-too-soft sci-fi, consistent and pretty good art, a daily update schedule, very good pacing, and nothing about it annoys me.

Re:Schlock Mercenary

[Y.A.A.P.]

I think Schlock cannot be mentioned enough.

The art is better quality than most web comics (or newspaper/dead tree comics), even if the style isn't going for as-real-as-possible. No storyline is ever dropped in the middle (there are cutaways to things happening on the other side of the galaxy, but these are things happening at the same time and the series will then jump right back to the main action).

Not every day has a LOL moment at the end (or during the strip), but that's because something's happening in the strip which is a very much OMG sort-of thing.

And, oh yeah, something else the parent post mentions which I've never seen any other web comic manage: a new comic every single day of the year (and it's never some kind of filler), and has done this since the comic started (which means a huge reading archive). Which means not a single day need go by without the reader getting some form of entertainment on that day.

Re:Schlock Mercenary

[BigSlowTarget]

It's really amazing to take a look at the first strips then walk through as the artist has improved in technique and detail. There's an easy jump to the first strip. Compare that to the latest one. The difference is profound.

Re:Schlock Mercenary

[peragrin]

After 12.5 years Some 4,500 updates.( you have to count days and leap years). I would hope the artist not only gets better with that kind of practice but faster too.

I read schlock daily. It is awesome. Multi year story arcs, Stories from multiple points of view. Consistency that Hollywood doesn't dream as possible.

Characters flawed, but very few actually over the top. everyone has a reason(logic, emotional, money) for doing exactly what they are doing and when.

Re:Schlock Mercenary

[MikeVx]

Unfortunately, at some point the artist decided that his art was not colored well enough for the books he was publishing, so a number of strips have been re-colored, and you miss part of the evolution of his art because he has removed the originals and left only the re-done strips. (At least according to his plans, I never bothered to check if he carried through.) The early stuff was still original last I looked, but I can't tell you if there is any original art left as I haven't been bothering to check. This sort of web revisionism is one of my annoyance triggers, with the result that I dropped the strip a while back. Apparently this sort of thing is generally acceptable, as I only remember reading one complaint on his blog, everyone else supported the move.

Re:Schlock Mercenary

[bern1959]

Definitely tops my list too.

Here's five examples

[Anonymous Coward]

Order of the Stick
Dan and Mab's Furry Adventures
The Non-Adventures of Wonderella
Menage a 3
Eerie Cuties

I could list more, but there's five for you. Find the links yourself.

Re:Here's five examples

[BakaHoushi]

Wonderella is pretty damn wonderful. Definitely on my list.

Re:Here's five examples

[snspdaarf]

I still like Ma3, but I have lost interest in Eerie Cuties, et al.

Re:Here's five examples

[jsepeta]

Order of the Stick hasn't updated in months. Burlew had an accident, and has a zillion special project related to his kickstarter. I'm beginning to wonder if order of the stick will ever update.

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

[noesckey]

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

Re:Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

[Anonymous Coward]

Agreed. Consistently funny. Often thought provoking.

Re:Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

[Rizimar]

Me thoughts exactly. I also like the little red button on each comic that delivers a second punchline, too.

Re:Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

[FlyveHest]

Holy crap, I have been reading SMBC for a long while, and I did not know this!

Re:Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

[Concerned Onlooker]

I will second that and add http://www.markfiore.com/ if we're allowing animated content. Fiore is hilarious political commentary. For some people. :-)

Re:Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

[jdbannon]

You just ruined my weekend with that "Red button" comment.

Re:Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

[crypticedge]

Mind blown.

Seriously that should be something he puts up top - Click the damned red button. I wish I would have known about that a long time ago thats for sure.

Wondermark

[oodaloop]

By far my favorite web comic, and some of favorites are from this year, like the one below about tic tacs. The link is for the first of a four-part series, so hit next to see the rest. And don't forget the alt text.

http://wondermark.com/813/

Re:Wondermark

[sysrammer]

Good stuff. Well drawn.

Best web comic

[vazuff]

http://dementiaofmagic.net/

Top Comic "Dondi"

[Tommy Bologna]

Top comic "Dondi", created by Gus Edson and Irwin Hasen Distant second "Gasoline Alley"

Re:Top Comic "Dondi"

[snspdaarf]

You're shitting us, right? Dondi?

Re:Top Comic "Dondi"

[sysrammer]

Yes! Dondi! I barely remember that. As a childster I got my hands on a really old copy. Fascinating.

Re:gay dicks raping your eyeballs

[NaCh0]

Then you aren't reading the best web comic out there: Jerkcity

oatmeal

[Icculus]

xkcd is great but I gotta throw in for The Oatmeal.

Re:oatmeal

[gl4ss]

oatmeal is great.

I'll never think of dolphins the same way again, those damn weasels.

Oglaf.com

[queazocotal]

Not worksafe.

Re:Oglaf.com

[Quakeulf]

I also came here to suggest Oglaf. It is without a doubt my favourite.

Re:Oglaf.com

[fahrbot-bot]

More specifically, my two favorite panels, in order:

Snow Queen (NSFW)
Bad Falcon

Re:Oglaf.com

[TheCycoONE]

I personally really enjoy and frequently link people to Fountain of Doubt: http://www.oglaf.com/fountain-of-doubt/

Re:Oglaf.com

[iplayfast]

But VERY FUNNY and very different. (although I like her earlier work best!)

Re:Oglaf.com

[packrat2]

hey, look! Twitchy made a dust angel.

Re:Oglaf.com

[Beezlebub33]

This is especially fun when you don't tell people that the rest of the comic is NSFW. And then they are surprised when IT shows up.

Re:Oglaf.com

[ElusiveJoe]

CSRF verification failed. Request aborted.

Well, duh. Will wait when it's up again.

Re:Oglaf.com

[kamikaze_late2party]

I'm working in "I.T." right now and I cant even access it :(

Favorite Web Comic

[celticgeek]

Best overall webcomic series of 2012: Questionable Content http://www.questionablecontent.net/

Re:Favorite Web Comic

[hormesis]

I logged in to my slashdot account for the first time in 5 years to tell you that you are a terrible person.

Re:Favorite Web Comic

[Xenkar]

The problem with Questionable Content is the way he draws eyes. Head turned in one direction, eyes orientated as if they are trying to see something behind said characters. It isn't in every comic but it is in enough of them to make me rage over it. Thus I stopped following it.

Re:Favorite Web Comic

[iamnobody2]

questionable content is great, i dunno what those haters are on about.

Re:Favorite Web Comic

[R3d M3rcury]

Another vote for QC.

Re:Favorite Web Comic

[ByteSlicer]

I like QC, but it is different from other web comics that either have a well-defined plot, or have discrete episodes with a joke or a twist, and maybe that's why some people don't like it.

QC is best described as a series of time slices in the lives of a few fictional persons. The story just flows from one strip to the next. Like life, there is no actual plot. Many of the scenes could easily happen in real life. The actual story is how the characters evolve over time and deal with day-to-day stuff.

The artwork also evolved a lot. It's easy to see this if you start at the beginning, and then jump ahead by half a year at a time. I find this sort of thing interesting, but some people might find it aesthetically lacking.

Re:Favorite Web Comic

[mblase]

Voting for both QC and http://girlswithslingshots.com/ as my favorite non-geek strips.

Basic Instructions is the Best

[Mark Atwood]

1 Best: Basic Instructions http://basicinstructions.net/
2 Single Best: too many to choose from
3 Best Art: Girl Genius http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/
4 Most Relevant: Dilbert http://dilbert.com/

Re:Basic Instructions is the Best

[Drishmung]

1 Best: Basic Instructions http://basicinstructions.net/ 2 Single Best: too many to choose from 3 Best Art: Girl Genius http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/ 4 Most Relevant: Dilbert http://dilbert.com/

If Dilbert is most relevant, time to change employers.

After discovering that I was living a Dilbert cartoon, I left that job, and once I'd healed, vowed that if my life ever again imitated that particular piece of art, it was time to leave. Thus far I'm pleased to say I've been OK.

Beyond xkcd

[tj2]

In no particular order:

The Oatmeal http://theoatmeal.com/comics
Schlock Mercenary http://www.schlockmercenary.com/
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal http://www.smbc-comics.com/
Girl Genius http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php

Re:Beyond xkcd

[Anonymous Coward]

woohoo Girl Genius is the best art and a fun read.

Hark a Ninja!

[ohnocitizen]

I can't decide between the often historical wackiness of Hark a Vagrant and the rocket fueled radical fun at Dr McNinja.

Re:Hark a Ninja!

[WuphonsReach]

Dr McNinja has good art, but isn't as good at telling a story. When reading through the panels, you're often left with the feeling that you're missing at least half the story. Note that it's improved slightly in the past few month.

XKCD April Fools 2012

[Maow]

XKCD's Umwelt comic for April Fools 2012, the best comic ever.

Dozens of different comics presented depending on your IP, your browser, your geolocation, and many other factors too numerous to enumerate.

A mind boggling concept, a tremendous amount of work, incredible creativity.

Shout out to Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal and Tom the Dancing Bug, too. Tom Tomorrow also hits it out of the park on occasion.

Re:XKCD April Fools 2012

[Maow]

Replying to self with link to a reddit page on the variations, XKCD forum, and a very brief summary of some of the variations.

The Perry Bible Fellowship

[anethema]

It has to be my favorite. It is too bad it doesn't get updated much anymore.

http://pbfcomics.com/

Re:The Perry Bible Fellowship

[magic maverick]

If it's still your favorite web comic of 2012, even though it has probably been updated once this year, then you need to read more web comics.

A short list (in no particular order) to get you started:
Menage a 3 - three times a week wacky hijinks
Misfile - I don't like the premise (an angelic fuck up), but the exploration of ideas with regards trans* folk is quite good
YAFGC - daily dose of DnD style humor. The art is rough, but that adds to the charm
Schlock Mercenary - others have discussed it
Sinfest - Daily, classic, long running.
Girls With Slingshots - Weekdays,
Oglaf - NSFW funny stuff, Sundays only.
Subnormality - Updated haphazardly, quite interesting and often strange comics. "Too many words."
------

Honorable Mentions (no particular order) go to:
Something Positive - Not updated as much as I like, and the story lines are a bit less funny then they have been.
Order of the Stick - If it updated regularly (at least twice a month) it would go up to the best list. But still.
Flaky Pastry - Fridays, quite good, but the stories move slowly because only one day a week. If it were updated more often it would get bumped up.
Questionable Content - not as good as in previous years, though the art's improved amazingly since the start
-----

Go for it.

Re:The Perry Bible Fellowship

[Briareos]

Finally someone who mentioned Subnormality... *phew*

Re:The Perry Bible Fellowship

[ByteSlicer]

Other fun comics:
- Channelate
- Optipess
- Antics
- Toon Hole

LFG Comic - best art

[Kwyj1b0]

My favorite web comic for several years has been Looking for Group

Sinfest

[Rhywden]

http://www.sinfest.net/

Re:Sinfest

[Johann Lau]

I'll third that! To me it's on a whole 'nother level of awesome 3

I've been slacking lately, but generally been reading this since 2000 or so, and been a better person for it. To me there's Sinfest, then nothing for long, long time, then other stuff.

Re:Sinfest

[Waldeinburg]

An interesting feature of Sinfest is the development of the characters. In most comics the characters have some basic features from the beginning and are gradually shaped during the years. In Sinfest, on the other hand, some of the characters (e.g. Lil' Devil) undergo life-changing experiences.

Some of 'em..

[Ardyvee]

Carciphona http://carciphona.com/... NavComic http://navcomic.com/... Yeah. I think these two are pretty good. Then there is also Rain over at devianart.

Unsounded

[dmbrun]

http://www.casualvillain.com/Unsounded/comic+index Fantasy comic. Brilliant.

Re:Unsounded

[EvolutionInAction]

HELL. YES.

Possibly the least well known webcomic out there, and one of the best. In art, in story, character design, everything.
And the artist is awesome, too. The crazy lady actively avoids donations or ads on the site. That's right, you have to work hard to donate money. It took months of work from fans to produce a kickstarter for a print version.

A what comic?

[Bazman]

What the heck is a web comic anyway? They're all on the web now. I'd rather see a poll for best non-web comic.

I'd vote for Steve Bell's If... strips as published in The Guardian, but you murkans wouldn't get the jokes. He was also meta before it was mainstream, one of his penguin characters joking in a strip about "the baggy-eyed yanks upstairs" when If... was printed underneath Doonesbury.

Oglaf FTW

[jnelson4765]

Gloriously NSFW. Hilarious.

There is one which really stands out

[toxygen01]

http://www.questionablecontent.net/

the most impressive 1) character development 2) character psychic over time.
and over 2 thousands strips...

Is it okay if

[LiroXIV]

I just answer everything with Homestuck?

Re:Is it okay if

[_3000farad]

I was hoping someone would bring up Homestuck. This webcomic never ceases to amaze me.

Yes, I would say it is "Best overall web comic series of 2012". Despite the young age of the characters and some of the younger themes (which are hardly the main points of the story at all), it is by far one of the most brilliant things I've ever encountered. The plot development and how everything connects over time are absolutely incredible.

Concerning the humor, it's certainly based on "randomness". But if you're a fan of that, then Homestuck is a great place for it - especially due to the unique development of its earlier acts. Seeing as Homestuck is written as if the reader is playing an adventure game, the author forced himself to use reader suggestions as the "commands" given to the characters, so the story often takes some very random and very funny twists.

The art in itself is also incredibly unique. Andrew Hussie, the author, does a great job of making things look shitty where it works (for example, the internal webcomic Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff, but does a wonderful job of making key scenes look fantastic in contrast. His art style is also something that develops the comic - the common lack of arms on characters and the idea that the entire comic was made in Microsoft Paint (where the name MSPaint Adventures comes from) certainly add to the work.

Relevancy? Well, considering the awfully strange universe that Homestuck takes place in, the literal plot is hard to relate to at all. But there are a huge number of characters that all have entirely different personalities, and every single one is characterized extremely well. With this in mind, the interactions between characters are relatable for a huge number of people.

I have never recommended anything more than I have Homestuck. It's a great story full of brilliant twists, exciting moments, relatable characters and fun. Not to mention that it has a huge community of (mostly) excellent people reading it.

I agree. Homestuck fits every category.

Homestuck!

[Wintervenom]

http://www.mspaintadventures.com/

still Megatokyo

[TheSHAD0W]

Definitely the best art.

Cyanide&Happiness

[hedley]

Consistently funny, esp Depressing Comic Week

H.

Re:Cyanide&Happiness

[clintp]

Agree about Cyanide & Happiness. Sick, perverted, and completely inappropriate. And always funny despite just being stick figures.

(The thinking man's version of xkcd.)

Re:Cyanide&Happiness

[dumb kid]

C&H gets my vote!

oh yeah...

[TheSHAD0W]

higher res version.

JL8 by Yale Stewart

[flabbergast]

Imagine if the Justice League met as super-powered children instead of adults. And their gym teacher was Darkseid. And Batman and Superman pretending to be Spider-man with the mouth sound effects (Tchoo!) Its sweet without being over-bearing and hits that perfect note of what it is to be children.

http://jl8comic.tumblr.com/

Re:JL8 by Yale Stewart

[Remus Shepherd]

I'll second this nomination. JL8 is a fantastic 'newspaper format' comic. It's a shame he was forced to change the name (it used to be 'Little League').

Re:Favs

[coplate]

Please note the menage a 3 is very NSFW

I nominate... Loading Artist

[julianl]

A few comics have been mentioned several times, and deservingly. If I may add my two cents, however, I would add a few more:

Best art in a webcomic: Loading Artist. Despite it being quite new compared to some of the veteran comics out there, it has shot in popularity this past year and not without reason. Not always the funniest, but definitely the most beautiful IMO. http://www.loadingartist.com/

Most relevant (to me in any case): "The Joy of Tech" by GeekCulture.com. Certainly appeals to the tech-orientied masses and is much easier to understand than comics like XKCD. It might not be as intellectually stimulating, but browsing through the archives is a great way to spend some time and have an easy laugh. http://www.geekculture.com/joyoftech/

There you have it.

Shortpacked!

[kd6ttl]

By David Willis.

Tom The Dancing Bug

[DrEasy]

Very clever social and political satire: Tom The Dancing Bug

Basic Instructions

[Snotnose]

2012: http://basicinstructions.net/
2011: http://www.explosm.net/
2010: http://xkcd.com/

Brian diarrhea on html formatting at the moment :(

Re:Basic Instructions

[jomegat]

I have to second Basic Instructions. It is consistently hilarious.

Lackadaisycats

[FlameWise]

In no particular order I'm currently reading:
1) XKCD http://xkcd.org/ (and yes, 1110 was amazing art even though it's mostly about arcane, subtle or smart references)
2) Dilbert http://dilbert.com/fast (makes actual work seem a little less sad)
3) Lackadaisycats http://lackadaisycats.com/comic.php (guns, alcohol and cats)
4) Unsounded http://unsoundedcomic.com/ (thieves and their pesky offspring)
5) Gunnerkrigg Court http://gunnerkrigg.com/ (a school with mediums, shadows and robots)

yes...manhwa...

[bigCstyle]

Best overall 2012: The God of Highschool, runner up: Noblesse
Best art: The Breaker: New Waves
Best Story: The God of Highschool, runner up: Noblesse

Depression Comics, --- From the makers of sexylose

[williamyf]

http://depessioncomix.tumblr.com

  for cat #4

Here's my list, sort it yourselves

[ArcadeMan]

http://twokinds.keenspot.com/ (be sure to read the one for 2012-12-26 - NSFW? - can't link directly right now because of the stupid "archives" way it uses to make links to past pages)
http://www.vgcats.com/comics/
http://www.xkcd.com/
http://www.google.com/ (you can search for more web comics with this thing!)

My favourites...

[tao]

1.) Pearls Before Swine ( http://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine?ref=comics )

2.) Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal ( http://www.smbc-comics.com/ )
Examples:
* http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2835#comic
* http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2560#comic
* http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2674#comic

3.) Romantically Apocalyptic ( http://romanticallyapocalyptic.com/ )

4.) A softer world ( http://asofterworld.com/ )

Re:My favourites...

[ByteSlicer]

I second that third.
I recently discovered Romantically Apocalyptic, and was blown away by the art (and the fact that they manage to create it so fast).
The story is definitely... different. Surreal sometimes. But there is a story, and I'm curious where it will go next.

Trustus Pharmaceuticals - video comics?

[sl149q]

Do YouTube animated comics count? http://www.youtube.com/user/ZombieSymmetry?feature=g-high-u

These are an animated comic with a Dilbert like take on corporate life for a big Pharma Corp. If you don't know what 5S or Silo's are you just haven't lived!

in order

[barv]

best online only

1. http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php
2. http://questionablecontent.net/
3 http://www.smbc-comics.com/
4. http://xkcd.com/

and these two are the best of the newspaper comics

1. http://www.uclick.com/client/wpc/nq/ nonsequitur
2. http://www.uclick.com/client/wpc/db/ doonesbury

Subnormality

[Anonymous Coward]

http://www.viruscomix.com/subnormality.html

Very good stories and art.

achewood

[GiganticLyingMouth]

Didn't do much in 2012, but I make it something of an annual tradition to read through the archive. http://achewood.com/

Check this list, possibly twice

[Atheraal]

1) Paranatural for overall besties
2) WHOMP! brings the funny
3) Lackadaisy Cats because whoa
4) and Girl Genius builds the stuff I wish I were building

Red Meat

[Hecubas]

Red Meat - always delightfully twisted.

http://www.redmeat.com/redmeat/current/index.html

Favorite comics.

[tragedy]

#1 and #2, best and funniest both belong to Sluggy Freelance in my opinion. #3, best art, is a lot harder to pin down. Pete Abrams on Sluggy Freelance can do some pretty good art, but he's not the best. There are a few possibilities from the stuff I peruse: Charby the Vampirate has some pretty good art or maybe No Need for Bushido. #4, most relevant to me, is definitely very, very subjective. I'm probably just going to have to go with xkcd.

Re:Favorite comics.

[guises]

Thank you, was looking for the Sluggy. I'm disappointed that more people aren't putting it higher on the list.

Re:Favorite comics.

[deek]

Been a long time fan of Sluggy Freelance. Even bought the megatome hardcovers (and waiting patiently for the next one). I sometimes wonder how easy it would be for a new reader to get into it, as there's a large amount of back story. Definitely worth the effort though. Quality web comic!

Re:Girl Genius Online

[El Royo]

Thirded.

Freefall

[El Royo]

Surprised to not see anyone recommend Freefall (http://freefall.purrsia.com). For art, I am really taken with A Redtail's Dream (http://minnasundberg.fi/) and The Bean (http://www.beanleafpress.com/). Aw, hell, and The Abominable Charles Shaw (http://www.abominable.cc/). Too many good ones for me to choose just one. My list just keeps growing so I'll stop.

Re:Freefall

[WillAdams]

Agree strongly.

Best of all, author tries hard to get the physics right.

Hunter Black

[S77IM]

Best Overall: Hunter Black -- http://www.hunterblackcomics.com

Favorite blah blah

[MagicM]

Who cares? Let's just post big lists of web comics so we can all click and read and woohooooo!

Beyond the obvious (XKCD, Penny Arcade, Dilbert, The Oatmeal) there are at least these:

http://amultiverse.com/
http://www.virtualshackles.com/
http://www.cad-comic.com/cad/
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comics/critical-miss.latest
http://chainsawsuit.com/
http://dresdencodak.com/archives/
http://www.happletea.com/
http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2347

Romantically Apocalyptic

[S77IM]

Best Art: Romantically Apocalyptic -- http://romanticallyapocalyptic.com

Re:Romantically Apocalyptic

[Dreen]

THIS

My Nominations and Choices

[SmarterThanMe]

1) Best overall web comic series of 2012. (Any web comic that produced content in 2012): Gunnerkrigg Court is a brilliant webcomic that has a compelling plot, interesting characters and art that has developed superbly since the comic's beginnings.

2) Funniest web comic of 2012. (This one represents the single funniest comic of any web comic series.): Evil Inc. got the most laughs out of me this year, even if a lot of the humour was a bit Dad-joke-ish. Runners up would include: Penny Arcade , XKCD , Scandinavia and the World and Overcompensating .

3) Best art in a web comic of 2012. (Web comic from 2012 with the most amazing art ever): Dresden Codak is, without any doubt, the repository of some of the most geekiest and beautiful artwork the web has ever seen. Runners up would include: Namesake , Lackadaisy Cats , Sore Thumbs and Avengelyne

4) Web comic that was most relevant to you in 2012: Real Life , because his adventures with Harper are roughly mirroring my adventures with my daughter Hailey.

Honorable Mentions (because they'd likely win categories if there were a couple more here): Bad Machinery (Best Story), Eerie Cuties (Best Black & White), Three Panel Soul (Best Drama) and Wapsi Square (Best Main Character), and Sinfest (Lifetime Achievement) among others.

Re:My Nominations and Choices

[bar-agent]

Dresden Codak has great art. But...Ashley Cope somehow manages two or three pages a week of this, this, and this.

That's respectable.

Battlepug

[S77IM]

Funniest: Battlepug -- http://battlepug.com

Re:well?

[johnsnails]

Seconded well the first one about the baseball being pitched @ ~1c

Dunno about best

[snspdaarf]

I look forward to Freefall, Ma3, SSDD, Devilbear, and GPF. Kevin and Kell is a regular, as is xkcd, Shortpacked, and Wapsi Square. I still like Funny Farm, even though it's in a rerun. I'm too lazy to put in links, but most of them are already in this thread somewhere.

Lackadaisy Cats, QC, GWS, SMBC...

[Dixie_Flatline]

Lackadaisy Cats is pretty much unbeatable for art: http://lackadaisy.foxprints.com/
Unless you also consider the Abominable Charles Christopher: http://www.abominable.cc/2012/08/

Consistently funniest is Oglaf (often NSFW): http://oglaf.com/branding/1/

Questionable content and Girls with Slingshots are personal favourites.

SMBC is the smartest comic out there. He updates every day. Sometimes he isn't as technically deep or impressive as XKCD (which I also love), but I find SMBC covers more topics and Ian way that can be appreciated by more people.

Girl Genius and Gunnerkrigg court get my vote for best long-running stories. Also lovely art and fantastic colours. (When the colourist for GG was sick, the strip was almost unreadable—the line work is very busy, and the colours really give depth.)

Your opinion is bad and you should feel bad.

[moogla]

Fred is a terrible comic artist and hasn't grown _at all_ in the 10+ years he's been puttering around with that waste of a comic. It also takes him entirely too long to do a single page and have the audacity to not even bother to ink it.

In that period of time Penny Arcade has changed it's graphical style immensely, having evolved a very distinct, vibrant, and clean look, while meeting deadlines, and even being in color!

Example: http://image.gamespotcdn.net/gamespot/images/box/0/0/6/943006_95411_front.jpg

Another example of a comic with a distinct style that has evolved and is wonderful to look at is Octopus Pie, see:
http://www.octopuspie.com/goodies/book2-coverpreviewtext8.gif

So... die in a fire, weeaboo.

Re:Your opinion is bad and you should feel bad.

[junepi]

I think the criticism of his art style is a bit unfair. If you compare his earlier stuff to his later stuff there is a huge difference. That said the amount of time he takes to produce is abysmal, the plot has been getting worse and worse for years and it's getting almost impossible to follow anymore. Megatokyo has a special place in my heart from when it first came out but really it started going downhill after Rodney left and it got to the point about two years ago where I just gave up on it. It was sad to have seen it happen but I just don't think Fred is cut out to do it as his career.

Alpha Shade...

[AcquaCow]

The artist draws everything in vector and often puts a lot of little details into each frame.
A vector viewer is available (swf) allowing you to zoom in and appreciate all the little details.

http://www.alpha-shade.com/0Comics/pages.php

Check them out. Definitely one of the most artsy comics I've seen online.

-- Dave

Schlock at the top

[RR]

1. Best overall: Schlock Mercenary
2. Funniest: Girl Genius
3. Best art: Gunnerkrigg Court
4. Most revelant: xkcd

Schlock has become a lot more kid-friendly since Tayler quit his job at Novell and now works surrounded by his children, but it's still entertaining. And he has kept its schedule for a pretty long time. Several other webcomics of that age gradually turned to weekday only, to Monday-Wednesday-Friday, to once weekly, but Schlock Mercenary keeps on updating every day.

Girl Genius has pretty good art, but what I like best is its large ensemble of delightfully inhuman characters. Every time I find a new favorite character, the Foglios introduce another crazy awesome character.

Gunnerkrigg Court doesn't have the very best art, but it's gradually getting better, and the story is intriguing.

xkcd is a comic by a nerd about nerds being nerdy.

Re:Derp, Derp!

[X0563511]

Derp derp, you apparently have never looked at that particular one.

Do yourself a favor and do so. It's unique.

4) Demon Archives

[DaemonDan]

The most relevant web of 2012 for me would have to be the one I started recently with my brother: www.demonarchives.com It has been a blast turning my story into something worth sharing (I hope).

The Mansion of E

[mastermind7373]

The Mansion of E has an awesome story. The author spent 9 years covering a 20 hour period, and did an excellent job in the process. Quite the feat.
http://mansionofe.comicgenesis.com/

Ctrl+Alt+Del

[ZeroSerenity]

Specifically this comic: http://www.cad-comic.com/cad/20121123 It really did just go there in ways I wasn't expecting. Made me quirked a bit, but overall enjoyed this new direction.

Pibgorn

[ChrisMaple]

Brooke McEldowney's work is the best available since the demise of new Liberty Meadows.

Underdog / relatively unknown comics

[RPI Geek]

I agree with a lot of other people on these, but I'm going to try to put a word out for my favorite comics that don't usually get the light of day.

Best overall:
I've been reading Supernormal Step since it was about a week old, and it quickly turned into my favorite comic. The art started out a bit amateurish, but has matured rather nicely. The characters are unique and likeable, the plot is constantly moving and twisting, and I'm quite happy with the small number of grammatical errors compared to a lot of the other comics I read.

Funniest:
Already mentioned, but go check out Gunshow (frequently NSFW). I love this one because the situations are so absurd. Both the serial comics and the one-offs are completely unpredictable (Wolves, Friday the 13th, Rabbits, Skulls). Honorable mention to The Non-Adventures of Wonderella.

Best art:
Also already mentioned, but for good reason: Dresden Codak is beautiful. I would have voted for Copper, but Kazu seems to have taken a hiatus from it and this IS supposed to be a list from 2012.

Most relevant to me:
This is a tough one, I don't really read comics for relevance. I'll put this out there though: Octopus Pie has some of the most REAL characters I've ever seen in a comic or webcomic.

Not A Villian

[muridae]

Not a single mention of NAV? I am disappoint.

American Extremists -- the Comic Series

[anagama]

Terrible art, awesome on the irony though:

most recent:
http://americanextremists.thecomicseries.com/comics/

a prime example:
http://americanextremists.thecomicseries.com/comics/470

Girl Genius

[Nefarious Wheel]

Unquestionably Girl Genius for me.
Besides, the Castle just went "clack"...

First Dog on the Moon

[Nefarious Wheel]

For us Australians, nothing says cultcha like FDOTM.

Most relevant to me? Mine.

[Peganthyrus]

Decrypting Rita, the sci-fi comic I write and draw, has certainly been the most relevant to me this year.

It's about a robot lady who's dragged out of her timeline and scattered across four separate realities. And a couple of hive-minds, one of which intends to assimilate the whole Earth. Also of course it's about the other versions of her - a normal lady in the here and now, a dragon living with her elf boyfriend and girlfriend, and a wizard journeying to the center of her world of floating islands. I try to keep it pretty fast-moving and action-packed despite it swerving into "what is reality?" territory now and then, though the page update rate has slowed to a crawl as I deal with fulfilling the Kickstarter I ran for the first collection of it.

Homestuck is the best web comic around, IMHO. Andrew Hussie is consistently pushing the boundaries of what a webcomic "should" "be" and making this crazy pile of transcripts, animgifs, and the occasional game or animation work as a coherent whole.

abstruse goose

[hughperkins]

http://abstrusegoose.com/

Specialized content for machine learning / artificial intelligence. I chain-read them for 18 hours till I'd finished!

Re:abstruse goose

[tguyton]

I second the nomination for Abstruse Goose, I'm surprised no one else has mentioned it yet. Another one of my regular favourites I haven't seen yet is Surviving the World.

This thread has been great for some new comics to read! As if I didn't have enough to keep me from doing actual work already.

Romantically apocalyptic

[sjukfan]

Romantically apocalyptic is beautyfully drawn using both photos and paintings http://romanticallyapocalyptic.com/ Goblins has to be mentioned because of the action and movement in the pictures http://goblinscomic.com/ Scandinavia and the World because of the spot on description of the Scandinavian countries http://satwcomic.com/

red meat is delicious

[JewFish]

I am a fan of red meat, a dark and twisted comic.

I enjoy the art at

[John.Banister]

Red Moon Rising

And I like that in response to admiration of the nice artwork, she made a tutorial about creating it.

Sinfest deserves your recognition

[klaasb]

Comics I follow are

http://www.sinfest.com/ (hands down the best)
http://www.dilbert.com/ (still going strong and providing daily comfort)
http://wumocomicstrip.com/ (funny)
http://www.joyoftech.com/joyoftech/index.html (mostly pro mac)
http://www.xkcd.com/ (the tool that belongs in every geeks toolbox)

Re:Forgot a category - funny because it's wrong

[Johann Lau]

That one I'm also subscribed to.. sometimes it tries too hard IMHO, but other times it's just genius.

I'd love a fatwa on my head. That's a hat, right?

Subnormality

[In hydraulis]

A quick page search didn't reveal any mention of Subnormality, so here's a link.

Beetlebum!

[gentryx]

Nice blend of geek culture and auto-biographical blog: blog.beetlebum.de. German only, though.

Re:Three Manhwa's

[ryzvonusef]

How could you possibly forget Tower of God, man? Or Trace?

Those Manhwa are AWESOME.

For all of you who are wondering WTF we are talking about, (Manhwa)Korean Webtoon is the new and upcoming thing, It's supposed to be the answer to Japanese Manga, but with a different format, and without all the "tentacle porn" baggage that all manga sadly carry, even if they are squeaky clean.

Go to Batoto.com and give them a try. (or korean websites like Naver and Daum, if you like the original Korean)

Re:well?

[azalin]

"The glass is half empty"

Can't choose just one...

[Briareos]

I can't decide on a single best webcomic, so that would be either Subnormality, Wapsi Square or Sequential Art.

Funniest would be either Girls With Slingshots, Two Guys and Guy or Shit Happens! (yeah, sorry - it's in German only).

Best art is again either Subnormality, Zebra Girl or Power Nap.

And the most relevant comic to me in 2012 definitely was Wapsi Square, the first thing I check in the morning after getting up (also going by the amount of prints I bought)...

Honorable mentions: Hobotopia, Bear Nuts, Modest Medusa, Flaky Pastry and Hate Farm.

np: Louie Austen - Never & Ever (What A Comeback!)

Johnny Wander!

[saihung]

Best overall in my book is Johnny Wander:
www.johnnywander.com

Why, you ask? Because of silly nonsense like this::
http://www.johnnywander.com/comics/437

My top 5

[Nerzhul]

1. XKCD (obviously)
2. Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
3. ChannelATE
4. Bug
5. Nedroid

You might also like The Perry Bible Fellowship, Basic Instructions and The Doghouse Diaries. The web is a wonderful place :-)

Re:gay dicks raping your eyeballs

[egcagrac0]

pintsize?

LICD, Penny Arcade, GU, Dark Legacy, Schlock Merce

[dywolf]

LICD, Penny Arcade, GU, Dark Legacy, Schlock Mercenary

And this lil mini lop rabbit says I gotta toss in Sluggy Freelance.
*snikt*

Jesus and Mo

[Epeeist]

Why the author hasn't had a fatwah issued against him yet I don't know - http://www.jesusandmo.net/

Fingerpori

[jones_supa]

Fingerpori is very popular in Finland. ;)

Translation of the 27th Dec strip would be "I bought eye shadow that really brings your eyes out" ... "I put too much".

Freefall

[WillAdams]

funny science fiction which tries very hard to get the physics right:

http://freefall.purrsia.com/

Honorable mention to Girl Genius by Kaja and Phil Foglio

Begin here:

http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20021104

Be sure to buy the printed books (if you pre-order you can pay extra and get hand drawn art). Victorian steampunk science fantasy suitable for teens and younger children.

William

Wasted Talent

[WhiteDragon]

Wasted Talent is about an girl getting through engineering school and then in the real world. It's great art and really funny! My personal favorite is hugo-nominated Schlock Mercenary, which I consider the best overall. It's been around a while, and is always funny, and always updates (no missed comics in over 12 years, even when his datacenter exploded). For best artwork, and a great story, I agree with many other posters in saying that multiple-Hugo-winning Girl Genius wins hands down. I do love xkcd, and most of the other ones mentioned. I should also mention Foxtrot, which is not strictly a webcomic (it's also in newspaper syndication). I also read Sluggy Freelance, another really long-running webcomic. Lastly, I like Free Fall, a little less well-known comic about a genetically modified wolf who gets a job as an engineer for a petty crook, and tries to stop the robot apocalypse.

Surviving the World

[cgi-bin]

Surviving the World is quirky and cerebral and gives XKCD a run for its money.

I used to follow /GU comics back when I played EQ and it was still being actively done.

here's my list

[morethanapapercert]

XKCD, Something Positive, Questionable Content, Sinfest and Gone with the Blastwave...

Re:whisper in the wind

[ryzvonusef]

I whole heartedly second his first two recommendation, especially the one about Korean comics.

As for the third, thanks for the recommend!

The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage

[TuringTest]

I can't believe none at Slashdot knows the hilarious 2D Goggles a.k.a. The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage, a geekish steampunk in which Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage have actually built an analytical engine and use it to fight crime! (sort of).

It's more a one-day experiment running amok than a webcomic, as the update pace leaves us waiting for months, but what's already written definitely warrants reading it.

Can't believe this isn't mentioned yet

[SrJsignal]

It's another stickfigure comic ala xkcd
http://thedoghousediaries.com/
They have me laughing on the floor often...

Re:Derelict

[EvolutionInAction]

I second this, I just wish it didn't suffer quite so much schedule slip.

Lost side of suburbia

[Sun]

http://www.gocomics.com/lostsideofsuburbia/

Good art, but more importantly, amazing stories. Suspense from comics to comics on one hand, but with story lines with a beginning, middle and an end. Whenever a story line ends, there is a pause, after which a new story begins.

The site is down right now (gocomics getting slashdotted?), but I would recommend reading from the beginning.

Shachar

sinfest.net

[msobkow]

But only because Sergio Aragone hasn't published a "Groo" web comic. :D

Gunnerkrigg Court

[SherlockPlissken]

First, Gunnerkrigg Court wins my vote for sparking more Wikipedia adventures to understand how deep the rabbit hole goes than anything but XKCD. Second, it is thought provoking both artistically and intellectually.

For those who have not read GK: The story (generally) follows the young Antimony through her arrival and schooling at Gunnerkrigg Court: a place that merges magic and technology. Nearby is the forest, populated by mythical creatures and gods (think Princess Mononoke). GK is a well told coming of age story between Antimony and her friends. At the same time GK is a beautifully rendered creation myth intertwining morality and the force of human belief.

Tom Siddell has masterfully crafted dozens of characters, each of which has a fully developed personality. Side characters reenter as necessary and provide a wonderful feeling of continuity and believability to the strip. The multiple storylines are distinct in tone and purpose but are never confusing, an issue many of the story based comics mentioned suffer from.

GK's tone shifts smoothly from childish fun (think the first 3 Harry Potter books) to dark examinations of natural and mystical philosophy. Its pantheon and art contains strong influences from Native American cultures and styles, such as the character of Coyote, but also others such as the Chinese Chang'e and the multicultural psychopomps. Tom manages to seamlessly integrate several art styles and mythos into a cohesive world. However, his world includes the mechanical (the heartbreaking story of the robots) and the natural, such as his crab couple inspired by eurypterids. Or this. http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=688. When I wikipedia from GK, it could be to find out more about Muut or xiphosura.

For the overarching story, the intellectual challenge, and the smooth transition between art styles and tone, I put Gunnkrigg Court at the top.

Questionable Content

[Maxo-Texas]

XKCD is fun too but QC is something wonderfully special.

Re:Alessonislearned

[constpointertoconst]

Although I don't think it qualifies as best of 2012, since it's updated just once in 2012, it's still very good. I also didn't know it updated, since it hasn't in years. Thanks for the heads up!

The art is done by the artist (David Hellman) who did the art for Braid (which was right after the comic stopped updating).