Meme Monday

"Wait, what day is it?" Edition

This is the unregulated, lawless period between Christmas and the New Year. Nobody knows what goes on in these days. Even the Creator himself casts his gaze aside, unwilling to look on what transpires. Behold the lawlessness!

OK, OK. “Lawlessness” mostly means cheese and leftovers, to be honest. In my defense, it’s good cheese.

Oh! And there’s memes, too! This week, I’m breaking out of my usual selection of writer-related memes to show off some others. These are a few of my favorites from various webcomics I’ve enjoyed over the years. Yes, I got you the cheapest gift I could this holiday season: links to someone else’s websites! Happy new year!

It’s never a good plan if you loose your hat. You can read more about the frequently terrifying and always entertaining Jägermonsters at Girl Genius. Yes, it’s been going for over 20 years now. You might want to set aside a few moments if you dive in.

Schlock Mercenary has been running for more than 20 years as well. That’s a theme here. What can I say? I like big stories and I cannot lie. As this meme hints, there are a number of additional maxims in that “horrible little book”, many just as entertaining (and life-changing) as this one.

XKCD is a perennial favorite. It’s a single-day comic rather than a long-running storyline, though there are some recurring characters. I love this one in particular because on days when I feel down, I will sometimes look at the flappy planes in the stick towers and feel better knowing that things are all right.

A very small snippet from The Order of the Stick, often referred to as OOTS. This is a surprisingly complex webcomic that started out life as a simple “let’s make fun of D&D rules”. It follows a full-page format, so many of the punchlines are the result of a longer setup, and are thus more satisfying. It’s also not all sunshine and roses, either. There’s bad things happening, and Roy Greenhilt (above) and his companions are deep in the middle of it all.

Aaron Williams does a number of gaming-related comics. You might recognize his style if you’ve ever read Nodwick. You can read that strip and Full Frontal Nerdity on his site for free, and you should, because they’re both fantastic.

Shoulder angels! Death! Zombification! Killer interns! Resurrection! Demons. Love! Mad Science! Secret societies! Ur-gerbils! Time travel! Flying islands! Gonzo reporters! FOOT! The horror of family showing up on your doorstep uninvited! Narbonic has all that, and more. Go, read it now, then read Shaenon Garrity’s follow up strip, Skin Horse.

Digger by Ursula Vernon. Wombats, dead gods, and killer vegetables. That’s just a sample of the weirdness. This one is more introspective than funny, though it does have it’s humorous moments. Like all the best webcomics, though, this one embraces some serious themes: love, duty, pain. There’s a reason it’s won awards. Definitely worth reading through.

All right! There you go. Memes from comics, and comics from memes. What more can you ask for? Now go on, scoot. Enjoy the months of irresistible distractions I’ve dumped on you. You can thank me later.