(Using the search function, I did find an existing thread on this theme, however the last post in it was from 2011, so I figured it would be better to start a new thread than to necro the old one)
So, I read a lot of webcomics; there's a high turnover rate, as I frequently abandon some and add new ones, but at any given time I follow at least 60 series.
So here's a selection of the best ones according to me, and then you can post yours too!
Vattu, by Evan Dahm.
This tells the life of Vattu, a young huntress from a tribe of nomads who live along a river, until the day when the powerful and expending Sahtan Empire makes contact with their tribe, which brings about great disruption to their life, starting with Vattu being sold into slavery to the Sahtans by the priestress of the tribe…
Somewhere between epic fantasy and historical fiction, Vattu has a lot of impressive worldbuilding, and in spite of presenting a rather alien and original fantasy universe to us, strives hard to do it in a realistic (but not gritty) way, far the usual manichean clichés of high fantasy.
580+ pages, updates 3 times a week; fantasy, some blood and violence.
On the same website you can find two other completed comics by Evan Dahm, set in the same universe, but in different time periods and with rather different atmospheres than Vattu, Rice Boy (439 pages) and Order of Tales (744 pages), as well a number of short stories.
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Cucumber Quest, by Gigi D.G.
Young Cucumber is about to start his first day in magic school to become a wizard, when a sorceress takes over the kingdom and sets on to bring back the Nightmare Knight, a terrifying villain vanquished long ago; and the prophecy says it's up to Cucumber to defeat him again —much to Cucumber's displeasure, who would rather let his action-minded sister Almond to the work.
Cucumber Quest is an affectionate parody of old Nintendo-style adventure/quest and rpg games, with a reluctant hero, a lot of humor, and a really cute and pleasant graphical style.
539+ pages, updates 2 times a week; fantasy, humor, appropriate for all ages.
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Gunnerkrigg Court, by Tom Siddell.
When young Antimony 'Annie' Carver is transfered at the boarding school of Gunnerkrigg Court, she notices a number of stange occurences, starting with her acquirring a second, sentient shadow. She soons befriends the technically minded Katerina 'Kat' Donlan, and together they start to uncover the mysteries of the court and of the woods of Gillitie that face the court on the other side of a huge chasm.
While the story and drawing might at first seem simplistic, Gunnerkrigg Court quickly gets better and starts to draw an intricate plot (but cut into self contained chapters that each tell a complete story) with really good character writing, mixing urban-fantasy, science-fantasy, magic and a dash of horror. Neil Gaiman approved (around the middle of the post).
1413+ pages, updates 3 times a week; urban-fantasy and some other stuff, mild violence and scary imagery.
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Stand Still, Stay Silent, by Minna Sundberg.
After 99% of humanity has been decimated by a mysterious illness, a few pockets of survivors have managed to keep a semblance of civilization in the Nordic countries (Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland). Years after the catastrophe, they finally decided to send a team of explorers to see what has become of the rest of the world. A horribly underfunded team of idiots, but a team nonetheless.
Contrary to almost all post-apocalyptic stories outthere, SSSS' characters are not all cynical jerks or extreme survivalist perpetually at each other's throats, but rather three dimensional beings likeable with their flaws and qualities; Minna Sundberg is really good at writing character interaction; the comic is about friendship, humor, exploration, and in spite of the grim premise, is mostly light-hearted. Except during the occasional encounters with the abominations that lurk outside the civilized areas (if you're thinking "zombies", think again; this universe's background threat is much more terrifying than zombies).
188+ pages, updates five times a week; light-hearted post-apocalyptic, with humor, some fantasy and some horror; pretty scary imagery and some blood, though in spare quantities, so far.
Minna has also completed a webcomic called A Redtail's Dream (556 pages), which was done has a training sting before SSSS, and is a modern fairy tale inspired by finnish mythology.
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Poppy, by Ian Everett.
Poppy is a proud mother opossum who travels the world with her young daughter Lily, in search of a welcoming place to settle in. Unfortunately, in this world, opossums are the only species that can't practice magic, and as such, they are victims of severe prejudice, discrimination, or even outright persecution. But Poppy will not let that beat her down; she has a lot of raw enthusiasm, she bakes perfect pies, and she also has the physical strength of a dozen tyranosaurs… wait what?
In spite of dealing with heavy themes, Poppy is a mostly lighthearted and humorous fantasy story, with good writing, good drawings, and an interesting universe.
121+ pages, updates three times a week (but with a tendency to slight schedule slips); humor, light-hearted fantasy, but with mature thematics, though mostly PG, with some occasional violence.
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The Property of Hate, by Sarah Jolley.
A young girl wakes up to find a man with a tv for head in her room, proposing her to become a hero. She instantly accepts and then finds herself wandering with this man in a strange world where ideas and concepts are literal creatures, where fears, lies, griefs and doubts walk about and present a very real, physical danger; but her mysterious guide might not be all what he claims to be either…
Under a very simple and familiar premise, The Property of Hate creates not only a distinct universe of psychological fantasy, but also a distinct style of writing, where language itself becomes an instrument to the story, and where abundant puns are, for once, not completely out of place and entirely gratuitous.
144+ pages, updates once a week. Psychological fantasy with humor and some horror; not too much overt violence, but the imagery can get a little creepy or impressive, plus some mild bad language.
---
Broodhollow, by Kris Straub.
Being an encyclopedia salesman during the Great Depression and having to deal with OCD and superstition-fueled anxiety is hard enough for Wardsworth Zane, but when he gets a 6 month old letter notifying of the passing away of a family member he didn't even know he had, he finds himself travelling to the town of Broodhollow to see if there's any inheritance left to claim; on his arrival, he discovers a town with weird local traditions, including parochial holidays every single day, and finds himself inheriting an antique shop. He also discovers that the town is haunted by specters and grotesque monsters which only him sees at such, and that everyone who lives here long enough starts to get affected by amnesia.
Don't get fooled by the simple, unassuming graphic style; Broodhollow is a really well written horror webcomic that deals with various mental health issues in an informed, non-cliché way, and still manages to get some humor and interesting character interactions in the process.
276+ pages, updates three times a week; horror; disturbing imagery and blood.
So, I read a lot of webcomics; there's a high turnover rate, as I frequently abandon some and add new ones, but at any given time I follow at least 60 series.
So here's a selection of the best ones according to me, and then you can post yours too!
Vattu, by Evan Dahm.
This tells the life of Vattu, a young huntress from a tribe of nomads who live along a river, until the day when the powerful and expending Sahtan Empire makes contact with their tribe, which brings about great disruption to their life, starting with Vattu being sold into slavery to the Sahtans by the priestress of the tribe…
Somewhere between epic fantasy and historical fiction, Vattu has a lot of impressive worldbuilding, and in spite of presenting a rather alien and original fantasy universe to us, strives hard to do it in a realistic (but not gritty) way, far the usual manichean clichés of high fantasy.
580+ pages, updates 3 times a week; fantasy, some blood and violence.
On the same website you can find two other completed comics by Evan Dahm, set in the same universe, but in different time periods and with rather different atmospheres than Vattu, Rice Boy (439 pages) and Order of Tales (744 pages), as well a number of short stories.
---
Cucumber Quest, by Gigi D.G.
Young Cucumber is about to start his first day in magic school to become a wizard, when a sorceress takes over the kingdom and sets on to bring back the Nightmare Knight, a terrifying villain vanquished long ago; and the prophecy says it's up to Cucumber to defeat him again —much to Cucumber's displeasure, who would rather let his action-minded sister Almond to the work.
Cucumber Quest is an affectionate parody of old Nintendo-style adventure/quest and rpg games, with a reluctant hero, a lot of humor, and a really cute and pleasant graphical style.
539+ pages, updates 2 times a week; fantasy, humor, appropriate for all ages.
---
Gunnerkrigg Court, by Tom Siddell.
When young Antimony 'Annie' Carver is transfered at the boarding school of Gunnerkrigg Court, she notices a number of stange occurences, starting with her acquirring a second, sentient shadow. She soons befriends the technically minded Katerina 'Kat' Donlan, and together they start to uncover the mysteries of the court and of the woods of Gillitie that face the court on the other side of a huge chasm.
While the story and drawing might at first seem simplistic, Gunnerkrigg Court quickly gets better and starts to draw an intricate plot (but cut into self contained chapters that each tell a complete story) with really good character writing, mixing urban-fantasy, science-fantasy, magic and a dash of horror. Neil Gaiman approved (around the middle of the post).
1413+ pages, updates 3 times a week; urban-fantasy and some other stuff, mild violence and scary imagery.
---
Stand Still, Stay Silent, by Minna Sundberg.
After 99% of humanity has been decimated by a mysterious illness, a few pockets of survivors have managed to keep a semblance of civilization in the Nordic countries (Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland). Years after the catastrophe, they finally decided to send a team of explorers to see what has become of the rest of the world. A horribly underfunded team of idiots, but a team nonetheless.
Contrary to almost all post-apocalyptic stories outthere, SSSS' characters are not all cynical jerks or extreme survivalist perpetually at each other's throats, but rather three dimensional beings likeable with their flaws and qualities; Minna Sundberg is really good at writing character interaction; the comic is about friendship, humor, exploration, and in spite of the grim premise, is mostly light-hearted. Except during the occasional encounters with the abominations that lurk outside the civilized areas (if you're thinking "zombies", think again; this universe's background threat is much more terrifying than zombies).
188+ pages, updates five times a week; light-hearted post-apocalyptic, with humor, some fantasy and some horror; pretty scary imagery and some blood, though in spare quantities, so far.
Minna has also completed a webcomic called A Redtail's Dream (556 pages), which was done has a training sting before SSSS, and is a modern fairy tale inspired by finnish mythology.
---
Poppy, by Ian Everett.
Poppy is a proud mother opossum who travels the world with her young daughter Lily, in search of a welcoming place to settle in. Unfortunately, in this world, opossums are the only species that can't practice magic, and as such, they are victims of severe prejudice, discrimination, or even outright persecution. But Poppy will not let that beat her down; she has a lot of raw enthusiasm, she bakes perfect pies, and she also has the physical strength of a dozen tyranosaurs… wait what?
In spite of dealing with heavy themes, Poppy is a mostly lighthearted and humorous fantasy story, with good writing, good drawings, and an interesting universe.
121+ pages, updates three times a week (but with a tendency to slight schedule slips); humor, light-hearted fantasy, but with mature thematics, though mostly PG, with some occasional violence.
---
The Property of Hate, by Sarah Jolley.
A young girl wakes up to find a man with a tv for head in her room, proposing her to become a hero. She instantly accepts and then finds herself wandering with this man in a strange world where ideas and concepts are literal creatures, where fears, lies, griefs and doubts walk about and present a very real, physical danger; but her mysterious guide might not be all what he claims to be either…
Under a very simple and familiar premise, The Property of Hate creates not only a distinct universe of psychological fantasy, but also a distinct style of writing, where language itself becomes an instrument to the story, and where abundant puns are, for once, not completely out of place and entirely gratuitous.
144+ pages, updates once a week. Psychological fantasy with humor and some horror; not too much overt violence, but the imagery can get a little creepy or impressive, plus some mild bad language.
---
Broodhollow, by Kris Straub.
Being an encyclopedia salesman during the Great Depression and having to deal with OCD and superstition-fueled anxiety is hard enough for Wardsworth Zane, but when he gets a 6 month old letter notifying of the passing away of a family member he didn't even know he had, he finds himself travelling to the town of Broodhollow to see if there's any inheritance left to claim; on his arrival, he discovers a town with weird local traditions, including parochial holidays every single day, and finds himself inheriting an antique shop. He also discovers that the town is haunted by specters and grotesque monsters which only him sees at such, and that everyone who lives here long enough starts to get affected by amnesia.
Don't get fooled by the simple, unassuming graphic style; Broodhollow is a really well written horror webcomic that deals with various mental health issues in an informed, non-cliché way, and still manages to get some humor and interesting character interactions in the process.
276+ pages, updates three times a week; horror; disturbing imagery and blood.