Last year, with absolutely nothing better to do, I read my first webcomic. I had put off reading one that had been recommended to me because I thought they just seemed too lame but I am really glad I got over it. That first webcomic, Girl Genius, has lead me to read several others and they have become one of my favorite ways to read a story.

There are several great things about webcomics as a medium for telling a story. One of my favorites is that they’re free. All you need to have is the Internet and you have access to more webcomics than can be counted. Another is that because anyone can write a webcomic there is a huge amount of really good ones to choose from in every genre; whether you want to read fantasy, science fiction, slice-of-life, romance, or horror. Writing a webcomic is easy compared to getting a book published so many authors who may not have gotten their story published otherwise can write in the form of a webcomic. This doesn’t mean there is a loss of quality; good webcomics have engrossing stories, intriguing characters, and stunning art and writing. In the end, by not being willing to read a webcomic I was missing out some great free stories.

There are many great webcomics but some good ones to start with are Gunnerkrigg Court by Tom Siddell, Girl Genius by Phil and Kaja Foglio, and Ava’s Demon by Michelle Czajkowsk.

I think Gunnerkrigg Court is the best for someone who has never read a webcomic before. It follows the story of Annie and her best friend Kat at their school Gunnerkrigg Court. The story is a wonderful combination of science fiction and fantasy with amazing creatures and creations. The story is a perfect balance of text to art so that there isn’t too many words on a page or too few.

Girl Genius is on the wordier side but the story is extremely well written and the art is great. The girl genius this steampunk webcomic is about is Agatha Heterodyne, a powerful “spark” who discovers the truth about her powers and her past. She has great companions as she fights to reclaim her lofty heritage including, my favorite, Zeetha the lost princess of a lost kingdom, Gil the Wulfenbach heir, Tarvek the rightful Storm King, three Jagers, and Higgs a somewhat mysterious airman. The webcomic is perfectly described on the website with four words: “adventure, romance, mad science!”

Ava’s Demon is an absolutely beautiful webcomic following Ava as she deals with her demon and its demands. The art is absolutely stunning in this webcomic and because it has relatively little text it is a very fast and easy read. If you’re unsure you want to dedicate yourself to days of getting caught up on a webcomic, Ava’s Demon is the perfect webcomic to start with.

These are only a few webcomics and if you don’t like any of these webcomics please try another. Just google “best webcomics” and there are plenty of sources with long lists of webcomics suggestions. Also if after you read these webcomics and you want more I would suggest Warrior U by Aisha Thani and Monsterkind by Taylor C. Warrior U which is a very funny and lovable  completed webcomic about Finn and his best friend Harv as they struggle through warrior class. Monsterkind is a relatively new webcomic about inequality and prejudice. It isn’t very long compared to the other webcomics I have suggested but I think its character and theme have a lot of potential and are already really great. The only reason I wouldn’t recommend these two webcomics for people who are new to webcomics is because Monsterkind is so short and though Warrior-U is completed it ends rather abruptly so neither of these really represents the majority of webcomics.

All five of the webcomics are amazing and I really hope you try reading them. They are overall fun, entertaining, and addictive and I think any of them is a great story to read.