Outsider Versus Other Webcomics

[Cthulhu]

Honestly, Leaving the Cradle is one of my favourite comics, up there with Outsider

The technology is either hard sci-fi or where it deviates, explained reasonably. As to the plot, I'll admit it looks like the typical 'ET first contact' trope-heavy story at first, it's something of a ruse on the author's part and the story has quickly deviated away. There's also a wonderfully packed wiki somewhat similar to Outsider's 'Insider'.

That part about "rescuing" the alien was at least somewhat funny, but I mean a more recent development, somewhere around October, perhaps.

I'd really suggest giving it another read

Okay, I looked at the latest page, and it's the secret UN meeting, where they introduce the unobtanium. Oh well, I might give it a second chance.

[gaerzi]

I think the whole escape attempt was mostly there to show that despite advanced alien tech cybernetic enhancements, it's not that easy to get out of a military facility.


That said, more space webcomics.

YesterdayBound: anarchistic drifter gets into all sorts of trouble. NSFW due to frequent nudity and sexual shenanigans. Art is very good, though.
Terra: humans and "aliens" that look like they're from an excessively low-budget spinoff of Star Trek. I didn't read it very far, it seems very cliché: evil corrupt warmongers vs. plucky resistance.
Lancer: The Knights of Fenris: space furries in a galactic war against space scalies. I guess if you're a big fan of Star Fox, you may like it.
Orbit: Encounter: a naïve uplifted otter is sent as an expandable scout to a derelict spaceship. I guess if you're a big fan of Dead Space, you may like it.
Cassiopeia Quinn: a space pirate that just wants to have fun and a lot of improbable adventures. Silly and fun. Contains blue people.

[Keklas Rekobah]

I just finished a four-day binge-read of all 3486 pages (so far) of "Yet Another Fantasy Gaming Comic" by Richard Morris.

Characters and story arcs are well-developed, with backstories for most major characters. Graphics are mostly pencil drawings with the guide lines still visible; but with enough detail that the images were interesting.

Yes, there is nudity, implied "adult situations", and many depictions of decapitations and immolations; but this ain't exactly a "Ditzey" cartoon either ... not even Meeg's familiar who "does not in any way resemble an iconic character belonging to a large film and animation company. No way. No sir."

[Cthulhu]

I just finished a four-day binge-read of all 3486 pages (so far) of "Yet Another Fantasy Gaming Comic" by Richard Morris.

Whoa, I don't know whether I should feel good or bad for hooking you up on that.

I think the whole escape attempt was mostly there to show that despite advanced alien tech cybernetic enhancements, it's not that easy to get out of a military facility.


That said, more space webcomics.

YesterdayBound: anarchistic drifter gets into all sorts of trouble. NSFW due to frequent nudity and sexual shenanigans. Art is very good, though.
Terra: humans and "aliens" that look like they're from an excessively low-budget spinoff of Star Trek. I didn't read it very far, it seems very cliché: evil corrupt warmongers vs. plucky resistance.
Lancer: The Knights of Fenris: space furries in a galactic war against space scalies. I guess if you're a big fan of Star Fox, you may like it.
Orbit: Encounter: a naïve uplifted otter is sent as an expandable scout to a derelict spaceship. I guess if you're a big fan of Dead Space, you may like it.
Cassiopeia Quinn: a space pirate that just wants to have fun and a lot of improbable adventures. Silly and fun. Contains blue people.

I haven't seen Orbit:Encounter yet, but it looks nice, thanks for the link!

[Keklas Rekobah]

I just finished a four-day binge-read of all 3486 pages (so far) of "Yet Another Fantasy Gaming Comic" by Richard Morris.

Whoa, I don't know whether I should feel good or bad for hooking you up on that.

No worries, mate!  You have my gratitude.

[mwightman]

I think adding these 4 webcomics to ya'll lists will make your days better during this return to days in quarantine:
1) Girl Genius
2) The Bean
3) Cassiopeia Quinn (never mind I see it is already listed and debunked)
4) Sandra & Woo

[Jagged]

I am not sure it has any competition... does it?

I first found Outsider posted on a forums site, the same site also had postings for other webcomics, and the only one at the time that seemed to rival Outsider was one by Dave Barrack which was only because Barrack trades a worthy story for constant pin-up panels, explosions, and superhero fights.

Outsider may take a while between panels, but quality beats quantity.

At least Outsider has an ACTUAL plot, whereas with Dave? LOL no!

The second issue us that because Dave updates so rapidly, his characters all sound the same more or less. They are less characters and more avatars as the voice of the author or his amusement. I honestly think he is self-indulgent to an excess... since he just does constant pin ups and never keeps a consistent plot. Ever.

Very disappointed to come to this thread and find people trash talking Grrl Power. While you are entitled to your opinion you are wrong. There is most definitely a plot, however the plot moves forward as slowly as Outsider, with many pages between focused on humor and character vignettes.

I would definitely recommend: https://grrlpowercomic.com/archive/

[QuakeIV]

I actually like finished comics, I recommend miracle of science as a fun but somewhat obscure one (it is not a particularly serious comic but I enjoyed it).

[Bamax]

I am not sure it has any competition... does it?

I first found Outsider posted on a forums site, the same site also had postings for other webcomics, and the only one at the time that seemed to rival Outsider was one by Dave Barrack which was only because Barrack trades a worthy story for constant pin-up panels, explosions, and superhero fights.

Outsider may take a while between panels, but quality beats quantity.

At least Outsider has an ACTUAL plot, whereas with Dave? LOL no!

The second issue us that because Dave updates so rapidly, his characters all sound the same more or less. They are less characters and more avatars as the voice of the author or his amusement. I honestly think he is self-indulgent to an excess... since he just does constant pin ups and never keeps a consistent plot. Ever.

Very disappointed to come to this thread and find people trash talking Grrl Power. While you are entitled to your opinion you are wrong. There is most definitely a plot, however the plot moves forward as slowly as Outsider, with many pages between focused on humor and character vignettes.

I would definitely recommend: https://grrlpowercomic.com/archive/

As you are entited to your opinion as well.

One thing I know and have seen in life is that no one can change anyone's mind about anything.

People chooss what they are and to let others do so for you is to not be in control of one's own life... which is a miserable way to live.

People choose what they believe, like, or hate and that's that. And people absolutely hate it when anyone disbelieves, dislikes, or hates what they like or believe.

You are diplomatic so I give you personality credit for that.

IRL I wish more foks could just say 'I am very disappointed' insteas of '@#%@$$' constantly.

For one it's more honest. Two it's not vulgar unnecessarily. Three is the fact that vulgarity never truly gets across the actual meajing of what you are saying anyway. It's a roundabout way of saying thigs that honestly some have forgotten how to for lazizily relying on vulgarity mindlessly for so long.

I have seen it.

[Jagged]

And people absolutely hate it when anyone disbelieves, dislikes, or hates what they like or believe.

The word is "disappointed"

[Keklas Rekobah]

And people absolutely hate it when anyone disbelieves, dislikes, or hates what they like or believe.

The word is "disappointed".

Reactions are on a spectrum, and range from enthusiastic reception through bland indifference to open hostility.

I remember back in 1967 telling my classmates about a new TV show featuring starships that boldly go 'whoosh' in space.  Some of my classmates wanted to know everything about it; most did not care; and a few thought that anyone interested in science-fiction deserved nothing less than regular beatings.  Even though that TV show has evolved into one of the most popular entertainment franchises ever, I still hold back on expressing my esoteric interests IRL.

[Cthulhu]

Reactions are on a spectrum, and range from enthusiastic reception through bland indifference to open hostility.

I remember back in 1967 telling my classmates about a new TV show featuring starships that boldly go 'whoosh' in space.  Some of my classmates wanted to know everything about it; most did not care; and a few thought that anyone interested in science-fiction deserved nothing less than regular beatings.  Even though that TV show has evolved into one of the most popular entertainment franchises ever, I still hold back on expressing my esoteric interests IRL.

Oh yes, the universal argument, violence. Nothing beats that, except more of it.

However, this won't stop me from expressing my opinion, that "grrl" comic is trash. It combines a weird, drawn-out story with the worst tropes that the genre has to offer. Not to mention that creepy and overly detailed "father" figure, was this supposed to be a cringy self-insertion? The style is also not everyone's cup of tea.

So no, I would definitely recommend not to read that.

[Keklas Rekobah]

"Grrl Power"?  Not the only webcomic with a negative pressure coefficient; just one of the better-drawn.

[QuakeIV]

Grrl power seemed really weird to me also. I didn't get very far into it.

[Bamax]

I would add that the WEEKLY update of Grrlpower really makes the slow progress of the story alarming.

Outsider trades quantity for quality.


Barrack does quanitity over quantity. What he does is only a hop and a skip from softcore porn anyway. Within virtually every other panel he sacrifices story progression for yet another unnecessary pin up or lack of clothing.
Other times he shifts from high detail to low detail caricatures on the fly, which makes for an uneven read.

I think that that if Dave Barrack wants to do pinups and porn (he actually does porn for his suscribers) then why even keep up the farce of a comic to support it any longer?

[RockB]

...

To each their own but that was too insulting for my taste. Grrl Power is at or near Number One on the TopWebComicList since... years? There might be a reason for that.

Achilles' (the blonde guy) face alone on the latest page of now...

I'm not comparing, though. There is no comparison, the comics are very different:
Outsider is clear Science fiction / Space opera with a serious, dramatic story, at least that's what I got, and of course that's much too short to describe it.
What genre is Grrl Power even? Surely superheroes, first and foremost. Rather lighthearted most of the time, with a bit of sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and fun, let's not forget that it is (sometimes) funny.

I can understand that the readership of it and of Outsider doesn't overlap that much, well, I'm in the intersecting group, I like both for different reasons.

[Bamax]

...

To each their own but that was too insulting for my taste. Grrl Power is at or near Number One on the TopWebComicList since... years? There might be a reason for that.

Achilles' (the blonde guy) face alone on the latest page of now...

I'm not comparing, though. There is no comparison, the comics are very different:
Outsider is clear Science fiction / Space opera with a serious, dramatic story, at least that's what I got, and of course that's much too short to describe it.
What genre is Grrl Power even? Surely superheroes, first and foremost. Rather lighthearted most of the time, with a bit of sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and fun, let's not forget that it is (sometimes) funny.

I can understand that the readership of it and of Outsider doesn't overlap that much, well, I'm in the intersecting group, I like both for different reasons.

Understood.

There are times where mini-plots flow for several panels and then full-stop into ridiculous fanservice pinups. I simply do no know what the real plot is other than the misadventures of Sydney (who I dislike because she is annoying).


The plot is hardly coherent. In fact the ONLY thing you can count on consistently is pinups and battles and implied sex.

Grrlpower is also on the badwebcomics wiki.... which I do believe it earned.

[Cthulhu]

To each their own but that was too insulting for my taste. Grrl Power is at or near Number One on the TopWebComicList since... years? There might be a reason for that.

Insulting? He was rather mild with his assessment. That comic proves the old rule of "sex sells", the amount of pin-up, fan-service or borderline soft-core porn is just ridiculous. While I won't judge, this is a wholly different category of comics altogether. It does net the author a pretty penny, however, especially with the stuff that he sells with his patreon.

[RockB]

While I won't judge,

You won't?
Ahem.

this is a wholly different category of comics altogether.

So it is. That's what I said, too.
About "sex sells", indeed, but Grrl Power surely is not a porn comic. The most "porny" thing is Dabbler, being a succubus, and Deus... But the main character Sydney will keep the comic from getting too suggestive.

It does net the author a pretty penny, however, especially with the stuff that he sells with his patreon.

Well, he works for it. Two pages a week plus whatever is going on on his Patreon, I didn't look, I'm low on spare money, so I blocked all access to Patreon. Grrl Power is not a hobby project, it's how Dave Barrak makes his living.

(I hope I'm allowed to do this, one answer with two quotes.)

...
I can understand that the readership of it and of Outsider doesn't overlap that much, well, I'm in the intersecting group, I like both for different reasons.

Understood.

There are times where mini-plots flow for several panels and then full-stop into ridiculous fanservice pinups. I simply do no know what the real plot is other than the misadventures of Sydney (who I dislike because she is annoying).

If you find Sydney annoying, then the comic is very clearly NOT for you. Then there's no point in trying to explain that Dave Barrak describes a world where Supers are commonly existing, have jobs where they use their powers and are very much integrated into their society. Vampires and aliens also. If you dislike Sydney, it's pointless to explain that there is not a single plot (unlike in Outsider), there are uncounted (at least I didn't count them) sub-stories (and Sydney is not part of all of them, but most), taking place in a universe different from ours.

Oops.

Well, just don't read it, would be my suggestion. Disliking Sydney is a killer criterion.

Grrlpower is also on the badwebcomics wiki

For real? Nobody should make that a source for building one's opinion, I'm serious. You just lost some credibility points for me by stating them in a serious meaning. These guys are ridiculous. I've found several comics I ended up reading via "the badwebcomics wiki", years ago. But even when I didn't like a comic they bashed on, it was for different reasons than they mentioned in their "judgement". The worst about them: They insult comics and their authors but can't endure the answers, unless the comic authors (virtually) lick their collective asses. The only valid answer to "the badwebcomics wiki" is IMNHO: "Thank you for the commercial." Otherwise there's no point in communicating with them.

Edit, to avoid a wrong impression: I can't draw or otherwise create artwork of any kind, much less a comic, and I can't write stories. Also I'm not affiliated or acquainted with any web comic creator. But I have read (and still do) lots of web comics. Once I stumbled upon the "the badwebcomics wiki" and spent a few days reading there - until I realized that they are just a-holes and their "judgements" are plain worthless.

[Bamax]

Well... I mainly came to that site by accident, it was more for my own amusement than anything else.