My Web Comics...

I've been lifelong comic reader, starting with Peanuts, Giles and Thelwell but then graduating to the delights of The Far Side, Calvin and Hobbes and Bloom County. In many ways they were as influential to me as all the conventional books I read as among their humour was much wisdom.

With such strong early influences it's little wonder that I've kept on reading cartoons though I've transferred my allegiance from the funny pages to the web comic. I think that this is because syndicated cartoons have lost their way - both as a result of lack of courage and the pressures of the modern newspaper business.

I now regularly read a number of web comics and I would recommend these whole heartedly to anyone:

• Butternutquash - Telling the tales of a group of friends that hang around a comic strip. It is far more cynical than you would expect but always funny. I love the Narcoleptic Dog.
• Ctrl+Alt+Del - A delightfully odd ball comic strip following the personal and imaginary life of a dedicated gamer.
• Diesel Sweeties - The life and loves of an assorted group of people, including a fading porn actress her sometime boyfriend - a robot, a chronic hipster, a Canadian, a very disturbing furry and the list goes on. This comic strip has resulted in some of my favourite T-Shirts.
• Girl Genius - A gloriously drawn story of an orphaned. young woman who discovers that she has inherited the 'Spark' from her parents; the ability to build amazing steam-punk devices. This is a complex and involving tale set in a richly realised world.
• Gunnerkrigg Court - I only discovered this recently - A comic that becomes more beautiful as the artist develops his skill. telling the story of a conflict between science and magic through the eyes of a young girl thrown into the middle.
• Kukuburi - By the artist of Butternutsquash. Again a fabulously beautiful comic strip set in a seemingly dream world. Now sadly on hiatus but well worth reading.
• Orneryboy - A richly humorous gothic story about a couple who live with Brian the Zombie and three cats, one of whom is a ghost.
• Penny Arcade - A pure geek gamers comic strip but highly entertaining if you get the jokes. I'm a particular fan of Catsby and Twisp who crop up from time to time.
• PvP - The Godfather of web comics. Many web cartoonists cite Scott Kurtz as their influence both artistically and professionally. He is credited with pioneering making web cartooning a viable career. The comic itself follows the adventures of a bunch of journalists working at a games magazine.
• Scary-Go-Round - A very British comic strip and all the better for it. Over the years it has mutated but always centres around ordinary people living very un-ordinary lives.
• Sluggy Freelance - For a comic strip that started as a little story about a group of house mates this has developed into one of the richest and most perpetually rewarding comic strips that I read. Dimension hopping, big guns and humour make this a firm favourite. One character in particular should always be mentioned: Bun-Bun a psychotic dwarf lop rabbit with a flick-knife.
• The Abominable Charles Christopher - Tough to describe as it follows the perambulations of a perpetually innocent hairy beast that is largely man-shaped. He says nothing but still converses freely with the animals of the forest. Just before the summer break he has found himself face to face with a human town. I love it for the art and the crazy animal characters.
• User Friendly - One of the oldest web comics. I was introduced to this many years ago by my friend Neil. Gloriously anarchic tales told of an Internet Service Provider's support team with occasional visits by characters of the Cthulhu pantheon.

I have read many more over the years but these are particular favourites. What web comics do you read and if not why not?