XKCD

[51gunner]

I love XKCD. I get a lot of the programming ones (as long as you can work in one language you can extrapolate the meanings of the others), the math ones (go Engineering major...), and the love ones I think we can all get.

It's a lot of observational humour, but I really like that humour style. It's a toss-up between XKCD and Penny Arcade, but I love the story behind the name XKCD.

 

[Alex_P]

Anyone that doesn't 'get' xkcd, or doesn't find it funny, is likely very stupid.

xkcd is the best comic on the internet, bar none. Everyone else can go back to reading AltCtrlDel or that kind of monotonous bullshit.

Comics on the Internet that I would consider better:
Perry Bible Fellowship (1 [http://www.pbfcomics.com/?cid=PBF024-Puppy_Wish.gif] 2 [http://www.pbfcomics.com/?cid=PBF186-Guntron_Alliance_Force.jpg] 3 [http://www.pbfcomics.com/?cid=PBF181-Woolves.jpg] 4 [http://www.pbfcomics.com/?cid=PBF052-Kitty_Heaven.gif] 5 [http://www.pbfcomics.com/?cid=PBF154-Zuthulus_Resurrection.jpg])
Toothpaste for Dinner (1 [http://www.toothpastefordinner.com/083005/basic-electronics-symbols.gif] 2 [http://www.toothpastefordinner.com/032608/perpetual-motion-machine.gif] 3 [http://www.toothpastefordinner.com/011508/apostrophes-for-sale.gif] 4 [http://www.toothpastefordinner.com/010908/climate-change-a-libertarian-view.gif] 5 [http://www.toothpastefordinner.com/032508/motorcycle-chase.gif])
Monkey Fluids (1 [http://monkeyfluids.blogspot.com/2006/05/i-dont-believe-in-organised-religion.html] 2 [http://monkeyfluids.blogspot.com/2007/07/knock-knock.html] 3 [http://monkeyfluids.blogspot.com/2008/04/choke.html] 4 [http://monkeyfluids.blogspot.com/2006/03/gratutious-pop-culture-reference.html] 5 [http://monkeyfluids.blogspot.com/2006/03/oh-uncle-terry.html])

Examples are selected semi-randomly with an eye for accessibility; I didn't do an exhaustive search for strips I considered best. Note that these are an art-heavy comic, an art-light comic like XKCD, and a caption comic (mock the past!). Also, I'm avoiding comparisons to Penny Arcade since we've all seen it already.

-- Alex

 

[Kevvers]

I especially like the maths jokes.

 

[DeadpanLunatic]

I have removed my words from this site.

 

[rottenbutter]

I really like XKCD. It's one of my favorite webcomics. Not to mention the single most intelligent webcomic I have ever read.

But it really doesn't compare to some the of the better ones, like say, Adventurs in Ninja Cookery [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.77525]!

(There, I shamelessly plugged your webcomic Fe. Do I get my cameo now?)

 

[nekolux]

The earlier comics are rather random but later on they're more focused on nerdiness and geekiness. I actually really like xkcd, you see it's not only about going OH ME ME ME I GET THE JOKE when it's funny. But it's kind interesting just googling what you dont know, then getting the joke and then going " Hmm well there you go i just got another point in intelligence. " Because most xkcd stuff are really smart.

And no definitely not. This site is not run by average americans. Average americans have an IQ of 97 or 98( If im not wrong the standard deviation's rather high so there are a lot of smart people around just not as many as some other parts of the world sorry)it really depends on the ), I think it's safe to say that most people on sites such as these are way pass that by 20 - 30 points. And no IQ does not = intelligence but there's a certain degree of correlation. Not saying anyone with an average IQ's a complete dumbass but you're no stephen hawking, no matter how hard you try to be.

Edit : Linkage : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IQ_and_the_Wealth_of_Nations

 

[Marbas]

Most people don't get it, but that doesn't mean its not good if you do!

I "get" XKCD. I know what a genetic algorithm is. I'm not a physicist but I understand the physics jokes. I know who Stallman and Doctorow are. I've seen Firefly. I'm familiar with raptors and "your mom" jokes and all that pop-culture stuff. So, on the basis of all that, I can say...

Meh. It's honestly not that good.

Now, it's not bad, mind you.

But, as I read it, I find it constantly coming up short against deeper, edgier work. Between the romance and the free-software geekery, the comic has got this self-congratulatory tone that I find absolutely irritating. XKCD spends more time being cute than it does actually being funny. And it spends far, far more time reassuring you than it does challenging you -- if you're a geek who likes Stephen Hawking books and Skynet jokes and campaigning against DRM, XKCD is just going to constantly pat you on the head and remind you how much of a fun, witty, clever person you really are. Pablum makes for weak humor.

(Still, one could do much worse. For example: VGCats, Dresden Codak, Sluggy Freelance.)

-- Alex

I love you.

And the forums are much much better than the comic at this point. They have a lot of extremely intelligent people there.

 

[Aries_Split]

I used to have an IQ in the 140s

iq does not equal intelligence\

THANK YOU! You have no idea how many people get that mixed up.

 

[xXGeckoXx]

I really like XKCD. I can't say that my limited brain gets all the jokes, but good 50-70% of them work out for me, haha.

And what's even funnier, I learned about this webcomic from an "elusive" girl gamer.

I told a elusive girl gamer about this comic so spawning the situation again.

 

[nekolux]

http://www.isxkcdshittytoday.com/

Unfair, if this does get updated properly then it's rather stupid. Today's ( or rather yesterday's ) comic wasnt about humor it was just one of those " Holiday event " ones for valentines and i thought it was rather good. Did the use of the name sierpinski confuse mr i-hate-xkcd? D'awwww

 

[mike1921]

...Though still smarter than the average American.

p.s. rocks are smarter than the average american just saying

You do realize that this is an American site, staffed by "average" Americans. In fact most of our fantastic content is contributed by Americans. Try and be a just a little more sensitive, and smarter, on THIS American site. That is all.

No, they aren't average. They're above average. Way above average. Unless you mean you picked random people to staff this site.

 

[Alex_P]

I love you.

Aw, just in time for Valentine's Day!

I love you, too. But you already know that.

-- Alex

 

[sirsolo]

I don't really find them funny.. but I never really was a web-comic kind of guy.

 

[Bulletinmybrain]

Intelligence can't be measured,

I used to have an IQ in the 140s

iq does not equal intelligence\

THANK YOU! You have no idea how many people get that mixed up.

And intelligence can't be measured, because there is no standardized measurement of ones intelligence. >.>

 

[theklng]

xkcd is good, but achewood [http://www.achewood.com] takes the cake as far as funny comics go. if webcomics had a highschool, xkcd would be the nerdy guy. (achewood would be the weird money spending guy (wait, highschools don't have those)).

 

[RichardEdwards]

I love webcomics. There's something about them that makes me just want to click "oldest," and read all the way up to the most recent ones.

XKCD was the best one I've ever read in this way, save for maybe Yahtzee Takes On The World, (http://yahtzee.comicgenesis.com/d/20001220.html)Pretty sure a load of you will have read this, but not sure. Worth a read, but as it's over now I'll have to say that as XKCD is still going it's given/ing me the more laughs.

 

[searanox]

xkcd was pretty good for the first few hundred, but for the last four to six months it has been complete shit, with Randall recycling the same tired jokes, resorting to really bad running gags, and expecting readers to laugh because he puts references to technology/science/pop culture/etc. into his comics, not because they're actually funny. Not coincidentally, the downfall of the comic's quality coincided with developments in his personal life. Maybe good humour requires one to be a self-loathing, perpetually lonely nerd, but now his Internet Fame has got him a female and it's been all downhill since.

See here: http://xkcdsucks.blogspot.com/

You all need some Dinosaur Comics; however, it requires a sense of meta-humour and reading from the beginning to really appreciate its absurdity.

http://www.qwantz.com/

 

[mikecoulter]

Pretty rubbish tbh



Explosm kicks ass

 

[Novajam]

I don't like XKCD so much. It's got an awfully strong elitist vibe to it. I agree with him on a few things, but I like stuff like Overcompensating [http://www.overcompensating.com/posts/20090202.html] a lot more for the satirical kind of comic.

 

[Alex_P]

You're right about the Perry Bible Fellowship, as that is definitely one of the very best webcomics around. I'm inclined to think, though, that webcomics in general aren't that clever or amusing. xkcd is one of my more favoured ones, but that's not really saying much, because frankly, there aren't that many truly great ones out there.

True.

The guy from Your Webcomic is Bad and You Should Feel Bad [http://badwebcomics.blogspot.com/] agrees.

-- Alex