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Wednesday, December 4, 2013

What's Your Favorite RPG Cartoon / Comic Strip - Past or Present



Looking over the SnarfQuest Kickstarter got me thinking about all of the cartoon / comic strips that have appeared in various RPG magazines - a type of magazine that is obviously a dying breed these days.

While I really enjoyed SnarfQuest, I think What's New With Phil and Dixie was more memorable with me. Sure, I like the art in Wormy, but the strip made little sense to me.

Now, for a more current comic strip, I'd go with Nodwick, hands down. I'm not sure if anything even comes close - but I'm open to suggestions ;)

Oh, honorable mention to Murphy's Law from the old Space Gamer mag - that shit was spot on most of the times ;)
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32 comments:

  1. Dyson LogosDecember 4, 2013 at 9:33 PM

    Never liked Snarf, but then again, I didn't like the general feel that Elmore brought to D&D, replacing the weird art of Willingham, Dee and Otus.

    Even though it was incomplete, Trampier's "Wormy" is still the one that gave me the most creative juice to work from.

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    1. TonyDecember 4, 2013 at 10:55 PM

      Agreed. I mostly read "Snarfquest" because "Wormy" was cancelled and I needed to get my RPG comic fix somehow. The first Wormy chapter, "The Shadow of Solomoriah," was actually completed around issue #76. The next chapter was never completed and is sorely missed.

      Tenkar, you may need to dig out your Dragon Magazine CD-ROM and read through the Wormys from the beginning. The first issues are simple fun but over 10 years, Trampier really masters his craft. The compositions, the colors and the use of framing are top-notch. Subtle details reward the careful reader and story threads intertwined nicely (the ones that didn't get cut off at the end, that is). I can still read some issues and pick up on details that I've missed over 30 years.

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    2. TenkarDecember 4, 2013 at 11:00 PM

      i started my dragon reading with issue 65, and admittedly never ready my CD-Rom archive straight through

      i may have to now

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    3. DyversDecember 5, 2013 at 11:29 PM

      Wormy is pretty boss.

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  2. JamesDecember 4, 2013 at 9:49 PM

    Zogonia - Hands down!

    http://paizo.com/image/product/secondary/Zogonia/zogonia55.jpg
    http://paizo.com/image/product/secondary/Zogonia/zogonia25.jpg

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  3. Greyhawk GrognardDecember 4, 2013 at 10:15 PM

    I'm going to go with Wormy for classic stuff, and Order of the Stick for contemporary. Snarfquest just never made it with me. I still have my Fineous Fingers Treasury, though, and it still makes me chuckle.

    Of course, I still remember Pinsom, who got a whole Dragon cover on its launch, and lasted, what? Four issues?

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    1. TonyDecember 4, 2013 at 11:04 PM

      In the words of Finieous Fingers (Dragon 48), "Oh well... that's life, you PINSOM, you lose some..."

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  4. HenryDecember 4, 2013 at 10:15 PM

    I've found Order of the Stick enjoyable. It's spot on when nailing the peculiarities of 3E-isms.

    While gaming magazines are fading away, cartoons/comics of this type are thriving as webcomics. The torch has passed on to the electronic medium and the subject of those comics skews more towards video games and MMOs.

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  5. Jason PackerDecember 4, 2013 at 10:23 PM

    I, too, was down with Phil and Dixie back in the old days. For more modern stuff, YAFGC is my go-to.

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  6. Timothy S. BrannanDecember 4, 2013 at 10:27 PM

    Loved What's New with Phil and Dixie! I always went to them first when I got my new Dragon.

    These days my favorite "gamer" comic is Yet Another Fantasy Gamer Comic.
    http://www.yafgc.net/

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    1. Dyson LogosDecember 5, 2013 at 6:07 PM

      Truth... back in my teenage years, I read What's New? first. Wormy had more imagination fodder for me, but What's New? was just plain fun and awesome.

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  7. Peter DDecember 4, 2013 at 11:03 PM

    Old would be "What's New?" - we still recycle jokes and quotes from it.

    New, OOTS, no question. It's really entertaining even for someone who never played 3.x D&D and only one d20 game ever. Amusingly, it's pull quoted in at least one GURPS book. :)

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  8. AnonymousDecember 4, 2013 at 11:30 PM

    Add me to the "Order of the Stick" list.

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  9. biopunkDecember 4, 2013 at 11:48 PM

    Back then, I followed Snarf in the Dragon and "The Travellers" from White Dwarf

    It's now digitized (Yay!) and (sadly) colourized: http://www.2000ad.org/markus/travellers/

    These days, it is mostly Oglaf.

    Can anyone tell me the name of the D&D-ish web/lulu(?) comic that was called something like the 'Retronauts' or 'Dungeonauts' from a couple years back?

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    1. biopunkDecember 5, 2013 at 1:51 AM

      Found it! Tim Sievert's "Clandestinauts" http://www.timsievert.com/the-clandestinauts/ and "Intrepideers" and http://www.timsievert.com/read-some-comics-2/

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  10. Brian SailorDecember 4, 2013 at 11:50 PM

    I liked Yamara. The storyline where the elf chick changes alignment was hilarious.

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  11. Brian SailorDecember 4, 2013 at 11:51 PM

    I liked Yamara. The storyline where the elf chick changes alignment was hilarious.

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  12. Doctor FuturityDecember 5, 2013 at 2:17 AM

    For me, although I enjoyed them all it was Fineous Fingers I liked the most. For newer stuff it's Zogonia hands down.

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  13. Patrick MallahDecember 5, 2013 at 2:53 AM

    Wormy, hands down and without hesitation, is my favorite gaming comic. It's a shame Trampier refuses to return to drawing.

    The only current comic I read regularly is Oglaf.

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  14. The DaveDecember 5, 2013 at 3:34 AM

    I'm with you Erik.. I never 'got' Wormy but I loved 'Whats New', especially because they always teased us with the fact we might see Trixie naked. Hey I was teenager back then! LOL. Now I do love the Order of the Stick and Goblins, which is kind of a flip on the standard RPG fare.

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  15. 賈尼December 5, 2013 at 4:10 AM

    Wormy, of course. Some of the French strips were OK, esp. Kroc-le-Bô, the good-aligned goblin.
    I also liked Ironwood by Bill Willingham.

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  16. TedankhamenDecember 5, 2013 at 7:08 AM

    My two suggestions:

    1 Lars Brown's 'Penultimate Quest' has recently taken my no 1 spot.
    2 Oglaf is always good for a laugh
    3 OOTS is always worth reading

    Special mention goes to Yet Another Fantasy Gamer comic, which I was hooked on a few years back. Ditto with Goblins before it disappeared.

    As for scifi, Gone with the Blastwave is a must read...

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  17. TedankhamenDecember 5, 2013 at 7:15 AM

    Oops! Make that 6 suggestions...

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  18. Brett SlocumDecember 5, 2013 at 7:28 AM

    My favorite was Finieous Fingers, followed by Dork Tower.

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  19. Gothridge ManorDecember 5, 2013 at 7:43 AM

    I don't think I ever liked any of the comics. Did not like Phil & Dixie at all. I guess if I had to pick one it would have been Wormy.

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  20. UnknownDecember 5, 2013 at 7:46 AM

    Knights of the Dinner Table (Jolly Blackburn), Followed by DM of the Rings (Shamus Young), then probably Dork Tower.

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  21. MarcDecember 5, 2013 at 8:15 AM

    I'll second "The Travellers" from White Dwarf.

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  22. Matthew SchmeerDecember 5, 2013 at 11:11 AM

    Old school, I particularly enjoy Wormy.

    New school....The Intrepideers and The Clandestinauts. There are three issues of The Intrepideers, and the characters are taken up again in The Clandestinauts. All are available to read online, or you can buy the comics.

    Also, see my list of D&D-ish web comics here:

    http://rendedpress.blogspot.com/p/d-webcomics.html

    I'd love to add to the list; you can leave suggestions as a comment on the above linked comic post.

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  23. AnonymousDecember 5, 2013 at 12:28 PM

    Old-ish: Fineous Fingers

    New-ish: Knights of the Dinner Table

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  24. hdanDecember 5, 2013 at 3:09 PM

    Current favorite is http://www.goblinscomic.org. Classic style, funny and surprisingly poignant in places. Definitely start from the beginning, since it's a very involved storyline and won't make a lot of sense otherwise.

    I also like Elf Comic, but while it's beautifully drawn, it's not always going to be to everyone's liking. Also one to start from the beginning. I guess probably all are. :)

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  25. RickDecember 6, 2013 at 7:58 AM

    Old School - Fineous Fingers, because I could figure out what was going on. I spent more time with Wormy, for the great art, but arriving at Dragon in the mid 30s I never understood what was going on. Only in the past decade did I track down the full story (which is awesome)

    New School: I like Goblins and Knights of the Dinner Table, but I'd give the nod to OotS. Good story, good humor. And I've never been a 3e player!

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  26. Van NoaDecember 8, 2013 at 11:04 AM

    With regards to Webcomics:
    Goblins is quite good but it definitely started to drag on once they reached the city. It begins quite silly with a bit of OotS 4th wall breaking but delves into dark territory very quickly.
    http://www.goblinscomic.org/06252005/

    Dungeon Crawl Inc. is lighthearted fun in the Baldurs Gate universe, it's very rough around the edges at first but picks up decently after a while.
    http://dungeoncrawlinc.tumblr.com/archive

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