Reading Refinement: Sluggy Freelance & Shortpacked

My two favorite webcomics are Dr. McNinja and Dinosaur Comics. The two that I sometimes question why I still read are Sluggy Freelance and Shortpacked. They used to be good at one time. I think.

Sluggy Freelance is interesting simply because it has been around for more than a decade now. It's really quite ridiculous. Despite this almost all the same characters remain, and almost completely unchanged. Even when they die they are usually somehow not really dead or in some convoluted fashion later reborn. So much so that much of the drama that the author tries to create -- as Sluggy's storylines are as detailed -- and unintelligible -- as you'll get in the webcomic world -- usually falls flat. Back before everything became one big muddled plot involving demons and aliens and evil corporations and talking animals and inept government and alternate dimensions and -- well that should suffice -- the jokes tended to be simple and amusing. Now they're mostly puns. Nevertheless, despite how dreadful the comic can at times now be the stories do have enough pull and an occasional joke is good enough to keep me coming back. That and the fact that this is one of the few webcomics that updates daily. Well actually I guess it doesn't even do that now anymore.... Hmm....

Shortpacked is the That 70's Show of the webcomic world in a "It's not terribly funny and most the characters annoy me, but sometimes it's on when nothing else is, and, seeing as I don't have anything else to do, I guess I'll watch it" sort of way. The plot and characters are pretty straightforward. Ethan, the main character, is a gay toy collector working at a toy shop. His coworkers who's names I generally cannot recall vary from a plain girl with father issues, a neurotic girl for whatever reason madly in love with Ethan, another dude who seems to do nothing but verbally and physically abuse people, and so on and so forth. The most recent addition is an asinine talking car whose only purpose seems to be to fulfill the talking animal requirement common to all webcomics. Much like Sluggy Freelance the jokes and story lines are ok but it updates regularly so, well, I don't have anything else to do; I guess I'll keep reading it.