Achewood – Chris Onstad

A hilarious and surprisingly complex gag strip surrounding a group of animals. One of those works that defies classification, or even explanation, Achewood needs to be read to fully grasp all that’s at work.

In spite of its simplistic visual style, Achewood is well-regarded for its originality, setting standards for deep artistic new work that is also funny as hell (albeit in a slightly different way than many may be used to).

Here is a PDF of the booklet from Thursday night: classsix-slideshow.pdf

I’ve left the file size large so that you can actually read the comics in there

Here is a PDF of the booklet from Thursday night: classfive-slideshow.pdf

I’ve left the file size large so that you can actually read the comics in there

Here is a PDF of the booklet from Thursday night: classfour-slideshow.pdf

I’ve left the file size large so that you can actually read the comics in there

Hark! A Vagrant – Kate Beaton

Kate Beaton is a young Canadian artist who has quickly become well known in comics circles for her historical comics. Some of the funniest things on the internet, Beaton’s cartoons typically re-enact obscure political events, removing all the pomp and dignity time has given them.

Also really worth checking out is Beaton’s livejournal which she updates regularly with little strips, usually before making their way to the main site. Enjoy.

Here is a PDF of the booklet from Thursday night: classthree-slideshow.pdf

I’ve left the file size large so that you can actually read the comics in there

Meanwhile – Jason Shiga

A choose-your-own adventure style comic from one of the form’s lesser known young visionaries.

Here is a PDF of the booklet from Thursday night: classtwo-slideshow.pdf

I’ve left the file size large so that you can actually read the comics in there

The GCD is an amazing research tool, cataloging thousands of comic book issues.

Although it’s becoming rarer and rarer these days, comic books used to come out as single periodicals every month or so. The GCD lets you search through all those mountains of pamphlets to find information like the artists responsible, the original date of publication, what the cover looked like, and sometimes a little description of what actually happened in the issue.