Web comics have been around for about as long as there's been a web to have comics on. One of the blessings (curses?) of the internet is there's discrimination. You don't have to be funny, interesting, intelligent, or even literate. It's open to all.

While even traditional comics range from good to bad, there's still some degree of editorial process going on. Not so with the internet. If you have a desire to make a comic, neither poor spelling, lame ideas, nor a completely missing sense of humor can get in your way. Thus, for every Penny Arcade, there are hundreds of David Gontermans out there just hemorraging unfunny comics because there's no way to keep them from doing so. Thankfully, amid the detritus there are a handful of quality comics ranging from general interest to the highly specialized to the insanely bizarre if you know where to look for them.

Which brings us to the actual point of this entry.

My friend Emmett Plant and his merry band of rapscallions have started a comic called Lemonade Strike, and it's definitely in the 'quality' category. Issues 1 through 8 were released all at once, but the comic is still brand new, so you can get in on the ground floor by starting at the first strip.

You'll notice influences of everything from Manga to Daria with incredibly good pacing, engaging characters, and an almost fanatical obsession to detail. It's definitely General Interest, as you don't need any Linux or Harry Potter or Farscape knowledge to get the jokes. It's broad appeal doesn't make it banal, and it definitely spends a lot of its time in the 'smart humor' territory, although it's more of a storyline-driven comic than a joke-a-strip comic. The bottom line is that it's good stuff, so go check it out, already!

I've also mentioned Ron's group-comic project in the past, and it's definitely worth a look if you haven't seen it before. Anyone who has a (free!) Ronsbrain account has access to contribute to it, and as many as three different people can collaborate on a single strip, with frequently hilarious and totally nonsensical results. The more writers, the better (or at least surreal) it'll become, so get to it!