Some of My Favorite Webcomics

Or how I learned the difference between "heroine" and "heroin"

Here are my 5 favorite webcomics I enjoy reading in order of discovery. Please note that while I try to refrain from swearing on my blog in case a young child stumbles upon it (what a young child is doing on the interwebs without it's parent's permission is beyond me!), these comics don't refrain from swearing. Or making sex jokes. Or drug references. Or being dirty in general. So...you've been warned. Don't judge me too harshly:

1) Natalie Dee by Natalie Dee

A ridiculous gag-a-day comic that opened the door of online comic possibilities. It's awesome. It's so strange and beautiful. It looks like it's basically drawn with a tablet and colored in with microsoft paint, but that's what makes it so beautiful. Sarcastic, silly, and sometimes nasty, this comic will always have a special place in my heart. Plus, she makes knitting jokes, and I love to knit.


In Short: Colorful (both language and pictures!) gag-a-day comic.

Things To Note: It might make you hate pugs. And don't read it if your a republican.

One Reason It's Awesome: Comic "weeks". A whole week dedicated to a theme. I think the most recent one was "Horsemeat Week".

2) Questionable Content by Jeph Jacques

Silly, serious, and full of indie music references and jabs, this comic is a slice o' life comic mainly about Marten Reed and his group of friends in Northampton, Massachusetts. At first, Marten is a lonely, sad hipsta' boy who lives with his robot friend, Pint Size. Soon, he meets indie-hottie Faye at a bar and ends up letting her move into his apartment. Shortly after the introduction of Faye into Marten's life, the characters in QC begin to develop. As more characters get introduced, the comic becomes less of "indie-music reference jokes" and more of a sitcom, but with well developed characters and no bad acting.

In Short: A TV sitcom about friends in web-comic form.

Things to note: The art changes a lot from the first strip to the now 2000th something strip; what was first a very flat, two dimensional and almost crude drawings turns into vibrantly and carefully depicted scenes. So, if you're like "art looks boring", it gets so much better. Stick with it, it's all about the story, anyways. 

One reason it's awesome: Updated every day M-F, so you never have to wait long for a new strip.



3)  The Abominable: Charles Christopher by Karl Kerschl

A beautifully drawn, gray scale (with blue highlights) comic about a forest full of woodland creatures and of course, The Abominable, Charles Christopher. This one has my favorite art work hands down. Every panel, every strip, is drawn carefully and with love and attention- and you can tell. The comic mostly revolves around Charles Christopher, a mute Sasquatch, and his relationship with the forest, the creatures in it, and people. Touching, sweet, funny and occasionally traumatically sad, this is the webcomic I always direct my non-webcomic reading friends to. Since it's only updated every Wednesday and just a few years old, it's easy to read through the entire comic in a day or two. The story line, while oftentimes simple, reveals thought-out complexities and personalities behind every character. Beautifully drawn and a joy to read, this one keeps me looking forward to my Wednesday mornings when I'll make a cup of tea, a bowl of oatmeal, and read the newest strip before going to class.

In Short: A comic about a mute sasquatch and forest creatures.

Things to note: If you want to buy a t-shirt and live in the US, wait until a t-shirt sale. Shipping is dangity dang expensive. However, the shirts are wonderfully soft and I wear mine all the time.

One Reason It's Awesome: The artwork, animals, and the one exception to the no "cursing/drugs/sex" disclaimer.



4) Tails by Ethan Young

A semi-autobiographical comic about a cartoonist named Ethan living in New York trying to make ends meet working at an animal shelter and as a cartoonist all while living in his parents house, fostering a multitude of cats, dealing with a shaky relationship with his girlfriend, his self-absorption and anger and his seemingly out of reach dream of being a full time cartoonist. Ethan's life begins to change when his comic, Crusader Cat, begins cross the line from just a  fictional comic to real life.
Ethan Young is not only an exceptional artist, but also an exceptional story teller; his ability to blend  autobiographical, fanasty, drama and action genres into one glorious comic is worthy of applause. His ability to also create a character with so many faults makes the fantastical side of this comic more realistic. Ethan's mistakes, anger and selfishness are all things we can relate to, and even though sometimes I despise Ethan (because I'll be reading it and all of the sudden Ethan does or says something stupid and I'm just like "YOU'RE SUCH A BUTT HEAD!"), I want to keep on reading, I want Ethan to grow up a little, I want him to recognize his faults, I want his more sympathetic and kind-hearted person side to dominate his anger. It's refreshing to see a character with real human faults, needs and personality; it's something you don't always get, not just in online comics, but in graphic novels and other literature as well. Classically drawn, wonderfully told, this comic is a gem.

In Short: A semi-autobiographical, fantasy-action comic about a starving cartoonist in New York.

Things to note: Young updates once a week on Monday (give or take a day) and right now it on a hiatus. SADNESS. Also, Young will respond to your comments, how cool is that?!

One Reason It's Awesome: It's classically drawn and Ethan (the character) is a jerk.



5) Octopus Pie by Meredith Gran

This comic just cracks me up. It gets so darn ridiculous, but it's so dang good! The comic's heroine Eve, is a cranky, pessimistic person living in brooklyn with her exact personality opposite housemate (that her mom found on craig's list) named Hannah. Eve works full time at an organic grocery store and consistently has to deal with cranky customers and her controlling, stressed out boss, which is probably why by the time she gets home, she doesn't want to deal with her happy-go-lucky baker and stoner roomie, Hannah. While the comic is mostly based on realistic events, some scenarios fall out of that category, and they should, it's a comic, it's supposed to be entertaining and a little silly. This comic is also drawn in black and white greyscale (guess I'm a sucker for black and white) and while the art isn't necessarily a main selling point (it's not bad! It's just not the focal point), the story is where it's at. I'm never entirely sure which direction this comic is going in, but I like that. I enjoy the fact that it's surprising. For someone who seems so jaded as Eve, it's fun to suddenly see her vulnerable, or her hidden talent. Same goes for Hannah, normally optimistic and child-like, turn sad or act more like the adult society expects people at the age of 18 to act. Cute, quirky, and a classic example of an indie comic, this is one of my favorite reads. I might just have to get an Olly's Organic tote bag.

In Short: Slice-of life comic with a cranky, but sweet, heroine.

Things to note: If you don't know much about indie or stoner culture, you'll still enjoy it, just maybe not as much.

One Reason It's Awesome: Besides the awesome story, the extra bonus character guide!


Now dear reader, I would like to know what kind of comics or graphic novels you enjoy and I would just be tickled pink if you shared your favorite comic with me!
And...
That's it.
Don't expect much from me next week or this weekend, I have two midterms.
EW GROSS.
(But I'm serious about the comic sharing part. Sharing is caring.)

Love,

          Neffie

Spring Break Scones! (+ Cedar's gone and I climbed a waterfall with Mary)

Annnnnnndddd we're back!
And by back, I mean, I am back, writing this, for your entertainment.
That's all I have to say about that subject anyways.
Spring quarter already has me swamped with school work and work work and Cloud 9 still won't give me back my social time with non-a'cappella people, but hey, life is pretty darn good.
EXCEPT...
that Apartment 402's very wonderful Cedar has ABANDONED Courtney and I for the Sierra Institute, which is basically backpacking and getting school credits for 10 weeks, or all of Spring quarter. Gone are the days of long nights almost catching the house on fire and nakie photoshoots and talks of best lesbian tourist destinations.

Courtney and I miss Cedar :(

Don't worry though,
you haven't seen the last of Cedar.
Also I want to apologize for the last posts because, let's face it,
the last few posts have not exactly been DIY, they have actually been rather boring or annoying to read, and I apologize.
Please accept my apology in the form of this scone recipe from The Village Baker's Wife Cookbook.
They're delicious and while at home for Easter, my father and I made some.
My parents don't understand the importance of pictures with my recipes and DIY projects, so please excuse the sub-sub-par quality, which is normally just sub-par.

SCONES

Ingredients for Scones:

2 cups of flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 large egg

1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract

1.5 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1/2 cup chilled, unsalted butter

Egg Glaze (optional):

1 large egg

1 tsp water

Actually making scones:

Preheat that oven to 350 degrees F, home skillz!

Using a food processor fitted with a metal blade if you're lacking arm strength or your finely toned arm muscles and hands if you want to flaunt your mixing strength, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together and pulse/stir to combine ingredients. 

Mix that creamy cream cream, egg, vanilla and winning lemon zest in a different bowl and set that sucker aside.

Cut up dat butter into little 1/2 cubey cubes and sprinkle them over the flour mixture. Pulse or stir until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Then, add the cream mix and pulse/stir to combine. If you'd like to add currants or nuts or some healthy dope shiz, now is the time. Don't over mix though, homie. You'll get tough biscuits instead of moist scones.

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface, such as a lightly floured cutting board, which I recommend. Oh, and allso, flour your dainty lil' hands. With your flourly hands, gently pat that ball of tasty scone dough into an 8 inch circle. Then, grab your favorite knife, and cut that sucker up into 8 equal pieces. One for each day of the week. The last one can be given to the person in your life who bothers you the least, or your closest friend, assuming you even have friends. 

If you'd like to make the egg glaze, do it now. Whisk the egg and water together in an elf sized bowl and using a pastry brush or your really clean new watercolor brush, coat them scones. 

Place your soon to be masterpieces on an ungreased baking sheet and bake them on the center rack for 19-22 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned and if you insert a toothpick or very thin chopstick into the center, it should come out clean.

Let those tasty suckers cool on the baking sheet or a wire rack for about 5 minutes. Then proceed to hork them down before you have to share them with everyone you know.

That's how you makes scones.

Get creative and use this recipe as a basis, try blueberry or orange or whatever the heck you'd like, I'm not your mother. Do what you want, just don't burn down the house.

Love, 

         Neffie

Oh, and I went to Yosemite for spring break and climbed Upper Yosemite Falls with this kid named Mary who I've known for a very long time. I would even consider her a real life friend.  It was awesome and I wanted to share that with all of you. 

Base of the waterfall.

Top of the waterfall.

That is all for realz until next time.

If you even read next time (which should be sometime between Saturday-Monday).

Whatever.

You do you, home skillz.