These are comic strips published on the web, which I visit every day. Better than buying a newspaper! They aren't all updated every day (it varies from strip to strip), but you'll soon get a feel for the routine. Some of these have also been collected in book form, but you may need to go to the source for the lesser known strips, i.e. buy the book from their website rather than at your local high street bookshop.
This is a strip that was published inside issues of Marvel comics for a couple of years, although they've stopped running it now. The strips are all loosely based on characters and stories from the comics, so it helps to be familiar with them, but it's not essential. I particularly liked #4, where Cyclops (from the X-Men) tries to arrange an appointment with the optometrist. The writer/artist also has his own website, which includes some similar work, including a full-length comic featuring the "Mini Marvels"
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This has an archive going back to the first strip.
The adventures of a six-year old boy, and his toy tiger who may or may not be alive. This is quite a charming view of childhood, with idyllic summer holidays. It also offers some interesting insights into adult life (e.g. pollution) through a child's eyes.
This has an archive going back to the first strip (November 18, 1985), and each new strip is exactly eleven years old.
This is a slightly bizarre strip. The settings aren't exactly gritty realism - of the three guys who share a flat, Mike has a tentacle instead of his left arm, Dave can shoot laser beams out of his eyes, and Roger is a were-coyote with an extra eye in the palm of his left hand. However, every so often you get strips that are very true to life. A couple that address unrequited love are here and here.
It does read better when you can go through it all in one go, rather than an installment each day, but it's not too slow-paced.
This has an archive going back to the first strip (January 1, 1999). There is also a drop-down menu to hop you to the beginning of each storyline (covering about 2 months each), which makes it faster to navigate the archive.
An engineer who has to deal with poor management at his company. This is mainly aimed at anyone who works for large companies, i.e. business humour.
This has a 30-day archive, and the website has strips a week after they're published in the daily papers in America. I'm not sure how that equates to England (if any papers carry the strip); PC Pro has one Sunday strip per month, which are quite old.
A strip about gamers - although the characters mainly play RPGs (Role Playing Games), they also play computer games, and card games (such as Magic). I think you need to either be a gamer, or know one, to appreciate the humour, but I like it. One good sample strip is here, comparing "The Sims" to theology, which doesn't require you to know anything about the characters.
These strips have been published in comics, together with longer stories, and I've bought all the paperback collections so far.
This has an archive going back a couple of years (January 1, 2001), although not every new strip is published on the website.
One of the first strips I read (along with Peanuts), in paper form. It allegedly chronicles a cat, although as someone else commented he is really a person in a cat-suit, in that he doesn't behave like an ordinary cat. This tends towards slapstick humour, with quite a few custard pies.
This has an archive that goes back at least a month, and each new strip is up to date.
A rather odd strip. While it can be very funny, it has a definite long-term storyline, so you get some strips that are very plot-oriented. It breaks the fourth wall on occasion, which I'd expect to cause problems for the serious storylines, but doesn't. And nobody knows why it's called "Sluggy Freelance"
... As a new reader, you should definitely follow the link on the front page to view the introductory guide.
This has an archive going back to the first strip (August 25, 1997). Be warned that you could lose sleep by staying up late once you get hooked!
By contrast, this is very much techie humour. Set at an ISP (if you don't know what that stands for, then don't bother reading it), it deals with the various staff, the Dust Puppy, and an AI.
This has an archive going back to day 1 (November 17, 1997), so be warned that you could get sucked in and spend hours going through it! The strips are published directly onto the web, so the site is always up to date.
This page was last updated on 2003-12-29 by John C. Kirk