I'm going to talk about three webcomics today!

Not because anyone cares about my opinions, but because I want to talk about them. So the first once I'm going to talk about:

1) Girls With Slingshots http://www.girlswithslingshots.com/comic/gws1/

This comic is about post college 20 somethings dealing with adulthood. It has a very comical take on life and the absurdity of dealing with serious topics. Plus it features a mostly female cast of characters that treats their friendships (and sometimes romantic relationships with each other) as valid.

However this comic also has really frustrating takes on relationships with one pair of characters happily married, but any mention of commitment between any other characters is treated as undesirable. Not to say that commitment or marriage is for everyone, but I find it rather odd that the married couple were quickly faded into the background after their wedding and only brought back when it was relevant for another pair of characters who wanted to hook up.

Also the authress of the comic has taken missteps with wanting to maintain a light hearted tone for her comic, but then having a Mean Girl type character become attempt to rape a male character. And even after coming out and saying that No Rape Isn't Funny she proceeded to have a similar thing happen in another arc and turn a once likable lesbian character into a jerk who didn't seem to think it was important to check if her sexual partners wanted to maintain an exclusive relationship. Though strangely enough it was none of these things that made me bounce off this comic hard, but the arc about a long time character helping this hipstery loser hook up with the younger sister of another character. They were able to hook up after she wore a hoodie to their second date (of watching Doctor Who) so he wouldn't be distracted by his boner the entire time like he was in middle school. Because apparently the idea of actually maturing emotionally is a thing the authress doesn't really grasp as a concept.

Upon linking to it I have discovered that the character who got permission to seek out guys from her asexual girlfriend is trying to hook it up with a guy who takes issue with the fact that she already has a girlfriend. He even said that he would've backed off if she said she already had a boyfriend so why should this situation be treated any differently.

Okay I think I'm going to make two more posts about each of the comics so we can discuss them individually.

Talkin' 'bout webcomics part 2

2) Sister Claire http://www.sisterclaire.com/index.php?id=1

A little back story for how I found this comic is that I discovered it two summers ago during which I was dealing with a really bad depression spell, existential confusion, and the very legit possibility that I would never study animation. Being able to watch the first season of Adventure Time and reading this comic helped me not feel so terrible about life.

Anyway this comic is...well...okay everyone in this story is basically a nun or a cat and there have been a grand total of two male characters thus far neither of them being recurring characters. It's actually really refreshing seeing a story where the literal majority of the cast are female, all of whom have very unique and instantly recognizable designs, and a story where everyone is either gay, bi, or it's not stated. The plot of the comic revolves around the aftermath of a war between Nuns and Witches and the possibility of a new war cropping up. Sister Claire is currently pregnant with the Second Coming of Christ (well Messiah it's never specified that it's Christ) and her mother figure has been possessed by an evil cat.

It's a story that touches on a subject that I tend skirt around awkwardly when it comes up unless directly challenged about it. Religion is not a thing I like to talk about because I wasn't raised Christian despite growing up in a predominantly Christian part of the world. People who know I'm not a Christian/don't go to church assume I'm an Atheist because the notion of legitimately being spiritually moved by something other than Christianity is apparently baffling to them. And I really appreciate a story like this because neither side of the war is portrayed as completely bad or completely good. In fact our protagonist points out in a early point in the comic that Energia, the energy used to connect with God/Heaven that allows the Nun's to use their Nun Fu (this isn't just a thing that happens this is a plot point), is the exact same thing as magic, but the Witches use it differently than the Nun's.

However it is a story that is bogged down in extreme silliness. Not that humor and silliness are bad things per se, but early parts of the comic are a little too silly at times and tend to also be bogged down in shout outs. This comic makes so many references, especially early on, that it get's frustratingly distracting. Sister Claire get's better about this later though and references get more subtle...most of the time. When the humor comes from the actual content of the comic it's pretty great and the characters are all really likable even the ones who start off as antagonistic.

Webcomics: The Final Part (for now)

3) Bobwhite http://www.bobwhitecomics.com/?webcomic_post=20080728

This comic finished it's run a couple years ago and I actually found it through another webcomic artist I like a lot.

It's about three female friends attending an art college each of them with their own field. One is an illustrator, one is a film student, and the third is a game designer. We start at their sophomore year of college and follow them up to graduation. And I'm just gonna come out and say it this comic is the best of the three. Maybe it just speaks to me as a person who's been in art school/around other art students too long, but I genuinely feel that all the characters flaws and all are very real and wonderful.

My one gripe with it is there is only one gay character. One male gay character and one instance of a lesbian showing up. Yeah I know not everyone who majors in art or goes to art school is gay (unfortunately for me), but it's frustrating not seeing very many gay characters in setting that I as a gay person am very familiar with. Though I have to say it's also great how natural the romantic partners in this comic feel. Some of the hook ups are groan worthy, but they feel real and organic as do the characters even at their worst.

And not to give anything away, but it ends on such a hopeful note. Yeah not all our intrepid heroines know what they're going to do now that they're out of school. That doesn't mean they won't find their foot hold and live their lives the way they see fit.