20 years ago, if you wanted to read a comic, you had to either head to your local comic book store or open up the newspaper. With the rise of the internet, content creators where given a new medium for which to entertain us.

Today, there are an uncountable amount of webcomics all vying for attention. While there are many we enjoy, I wanted to give some love to our favorite gamer related web comics. Below you’ll find a list of both insanely popular comics that have been around forever and relative new comers that are just now making their mark on the scene. In either case, they are all worth a read. So in no particular order:

10 Web Comics for the Gamer Geek

 

Honorable Mention: Knights of the Dinner Table

This one gets an Honorable Mention because it’s not really a webcomic. However it was one of the first few truly great gamer comics. It is printed in its own magazine by Kenzer and Co and features the exploits of a fantasy RPG group who were really over the top in love with their game. It’s worth checking out and there are volumes of back issues. While they do have a web comic, it appears to mostly be panels from old comics then new content.

 

1. Dorkly

Dorkly is a webcomic that covers all aspects of geeky fandom. They will have comics on tv shows, movies, games and pretty much everything else you can think of. Their website also branches out into other content besides their webcomic…of varying degrees of quality.

 

2. Penny Arcade

Probably the biggest name on this list, and really, the biggest webcomic out there. Penny Arcade follows the exploits of two die hard gamers and explores all kinds of topics, with a large focus on video games and tabletop games. Penny Arcade has gotten so big, they have even spawned a number of conventions called PAX (Penny Arcade Expo).

 

3. Trenches

From the creators of Penny Arcade comes a comic called Trenches, which tells the tells of video game quality assurance testers. One of the most thankless jobs in the gaming industry, QA is definitely not for everyone. While Trenches seems to have ended its run, the back issues are definitely worth a read, as are the included “tales from the trenches”.

 

4. D20 Monkey

D20 Monkey comes from the mind of Brian Patterson focuses on RPGs and the gamers that play them. His story arcs are usually pretty lengthy, but he has a lot of character development in there. He will also occasionally jump away from the fantasy RPG they are playing to bring in some Lovecraftian goodness with a Call of Cthulhu style story. The featured image for this post is even from D20 Monkey’s “Innsmouth Garden Society” story arc.

 

5. Order of the Stick

One of the very first web comics I fell in love with, Order of the Stick is drawn by Rick Burlew and is really a parody on modern RPGs. It follows the exploits of an adventuring party in a fantasy world, with plenty of gamer related jokes throw in. While the comic has been running for a long time (over 1000 pages and counting), Rich’s posting schedule could be considered erratic at best. Still, his comics are always entertaining and I eagerly look forward to each next release.

 

6. Table Titans

Scott Kurtz was the creator of PVP, a really popular comic that focused on geeky culture. Table Titans is Scott’s take on Dungeon and Dragons RPG games and is even officially endorsed by Wizards of the Coast. Much like the Trenches comic, Table Titans includes a “Tales from the Table” section.

 

7. Ctl Alt Del

Ctl Alt Del is a long running comic from Tim Buckley focuses on all aspects of geeky culture. There have been a number of long running arcs over the years, the most popular of which focused on the over the top video game fantastic Ethan and his roommate Lucas.

 

8. Up to Four Players

Up to Four Players is only a couple of years old, but is defiantly making its mark. My favorite thing about it, other than its great art, is that if features a lot of board gaming content. However Up to Four Players also will branch off into some great RPG stories as well. If features four friends that live next story to their local game store and their exploits at the table.

 

9. Dork Tower

Another classic that really needs no introduction. Dork Tower has been running for years and features the art of John Kovalic. You’ve probably seen his work on your tabletop in the past, most notably from the card game Munchkin. Dork Tower is about 5 eccentric gamers and the games they play.

 

10. Tiny Wooden Pieces

And lastly, we have Tiny Wooden Pieces, which is another board game focued web comic. A lot of their strips are definitely geared towards the board game fanatic with lots of inside jokes for them. Their first comic is about sleeving Dominion cards if that gives you any clue. 🙂