Webcomics
Some of my favorite places to go when there's time to be wasted, or deadlines to avoid.
Something Positive and Midnight Macabre
A current obsession, both from R. K. Milholland. Manages to be simultaneously twisted, cynical, and wise: dark, character driven, and genuinely funny. Midnight Macabre is a newer strip (and rarely updated these days), while favorite Something Positive arcs have revolved around trying to cope when a favorite writer holds reprehensible social positions and local religious politics, both of which hot pretty close to home.
Misfile and Building 12
Both by Chris Hazelton, with Misfile the more inspired of the two. A stoner angel accidentally screws up the lives of two high school students (turning a racing fanatic guy into a girl and losing two years from the life of the Harvard-bound overachieving girl) and then has to try to play guardian angel to avoid making things even worse. Makes a few of the obvious jokes, but mostly goes for character development, with an interestingly anime-driven artistic style.
Least I Can Do and Looking for Group
Both written by Ryan Sohmer and illustrated by Lar Desouza, the first revolves around a lovable sexually obsessed scoundrel and his circle of friends, while the second is a gaming cartoon about a naively noble character who finds himself on a quest with some thoroughly evil sorts. Both are twisted and very, very funny in a nothing-is-off-limits kind of way.
Goblins
A gaming comic that depicts typical RPG adventures through the eyes of typically cannon-fodder monsters, this series started out light and funny and got more serious as it went along - along with an astonishing transformation in the artwork. It's only updated once a week, though, so don't expect a fast pace
Order of the Stick
Certainly one of the best-known gaming comics, and deservedly so. There's a fair amount of RPG-related inside jokes here, so if you're not a gamer you'll miss a lot of the humor, but what Rich Burlew manages to pull off with stylized stick figures has to be seen to be believed.
Town Called Dobson
A political webcomic set in a small town in the Carolinas although it wanders widely in order to look at "blue life in red America." It's a lot funnier if you're well-informed politically. And a Democrat.
The Non-Adventures of Wonderella
A sporadically updated strip about a fashion-conscious superhero - sort of a Cosmo Girl for the Gotham City set. Shopping for dresses and getting into catfights over whose villain belongs to whom with other superheroes is all part of the normal Wonderella routine.
Sluggy Freelance
I wasn't initially a huge Pete Abrams fan, but he's a fellow Jersey guy, and after much of Lunacon a couple of years ago disappeared into a haze involving Pete and his groupies and a whole lot of tequila shots my thinking...evolved. Most of a week disappeared as I worked my way through a lot of back comics and I have a deep appreciation for anything that allows me to procrastinate that thoroughly. Besides, he has nice things to say about the RPG I wrote.
Mortal Coil Genesis
A fascinating experiment in 3-D rendered storytelling that's sumptious visually, even if the author tends to change the look of characters as he acquires new models to render from.