Posts tagged comic recommendation

Time for some Bad Machinery

Time for some Bad Machinery published on 2 Comments on Time for some Bad Machinery

Got a hankering to see schoolgirls and schoolboys solving mysteries that involve curses, football, supernatural creatures and mothballs?
If those things ring your bells, then you will love….

Bad Machinery
Bad Machinery
Bad Machinery is a webcomic set in the fictional town of Tackleford, England, written and drawn by John Allison.
The story involves two groups of schoolchildren that attend fictional “Griswalds Grammar School” who spend their time solving mysteries.
The groups interact, but each is unaware of that the other group is out solving mysteries, just like they are.
Rest assured thouhg, the whole thing is far less “Fantastic Five” than it sounds.
This strip has humour, action and mystery all with a very British sensibility to it.

Visually, Allison’s artwork  is a joy to look at. There is detail (such as in the background scenery) but the overall feeling is simplified and not too over-drawn.

(By the way, I have no idea why this comic is called Bad Machinery. If you do, please let me know in the comments below).

Got a strip you think I should know about? Then leave me a comment below.

The Dilbert redux

The Dilbert redux published on 1 Comment on The Dilbert redux

This week, my comic recommendation is a bit different to what you might expect.
It involves taking an already existing strip, then changing the text to give it a whole different outcome and punchline.
Altering other strips to give a different result is not exactly a new idea, as it has been successfully done already in strips such as Garfield Minus Garfield.

However, the reason I am recommending strip below is that it takes the extremely popular strip ‘Dilbert‘, created by Scott Adams, and it gives it a brand new lease of life. I often enjoy these redux strips better than the original.

Dilbertte
Dilbertte reflects office life better than Dilbert
Dilbertte takes the popular Dilbert comic strip and replaces the dialog, in an attempt to accentuate blandness and change the entire tone of the strip. This is by no means a bad thing. In fact, the end result can often end up being far funnier that the original strip.
For example, compare the strip above with the original one here.
Dilbertte purposely attempts to make some strips extremely bland and nonsensical, often leaving many readers scratching their heads. It really is the type of thing you have to just “get” and you must be able to revel in the stupidity of it all.
It is reduxed by Tom, who can be found lurking on twitter and posting things he should not, as @FiveThumbsDown. And just in case Scott Adams asks, we have no idea where Tom is….

Got a strip you think I should know about? Then leave me a comment below.

Try these comics about comics

Try these comics about comics published on

This week, my two recommendations of what to check out are comics that are about comics.
Yeah, it’s a weird idea, ain’t it? Anyway, have a look and you may just find something new to enjoy.

Now get clicking, so you can check out:

Let’s be friends again
Lets be friends again is a comic about comics. That’s pretty much it. It’s not very complicated.
The strip is an irreverent gag-a-day style bucket of fun, with lots of inside jokes to keep the comic books nerds very happy.
It is written by Curt Franklin (who writes the words and can mostly spell alright) and drawn by the talented Chris Haley (who I suspect would like to be drawing more boobs)

Sam Zabel & The Magic Pen

Sam Zabel & The Magic Pen is a webcomic by Hickvile creator Dylan Horrocks. It tells the tale of Sam Zabel, who is a cartoonist struggling with anhedonia  (the absence of pleasure & joy) This has him greatly troubled and searching for the joy he once new.
The story shows great promise, so I suggest you read it from the start and I am sure you will want to stick with it and find out the fate of Sam.

Got a strip you think I should know about? Then leave me a comment below.

New strips to try

New strips to try published on

As I promised, I am once again going to point you in the direction of some online strips that I like.
I hope you like them too. Give them a chance and also let the creators know you like ’em by leaving them a comment. (only if you actually do, of course).

Now get clicking, so you can check out:

Mocktopus is a fantastic little strip that I am glad I found. Max Huffman is the creator of the strip, but is also a regular fifteen year old high school student. Or is he??
Max describes the strip as “an interspace comicbomb designed to delight and terrify”. It is a gag-a-day style strip, but with a few recurring characters from time to time.
Partly autobiographical and mostly just plain odd but hilarious. Personally, I really enjoy max’s art style as well.

Kiwi Blitz is a webcomic which chronicles the adventures of a couple of teenagers’ attempts to fight crime in the not-too-distant future. It’s a mix of anime, superheros, teen angsty stuff and it even has a giant robot Kiwi bird. Yes, you read that correctly.
The strip is created by Mary Cagle, and it has a clean, colourful and  expressive manga style. Although it is a fairly young strip, the story shows great promise, so read it from the start and I am sure you will want to stick with it.

Got a strip you think I should know about? Then leave me a comment below.

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