The Specialists

You may have read some of my recommendations for great webcomics. There are more comics that I intend to spotlight, but this is a busy week, and I could use a hand. Also, I’m just one guy, and the Internet is a big place, so I’m sure there are many comics that I just haven’t found yet. So here’s your chance to share your favorite webcomics in the comments below. Leave a link, and if you’d like, tell us why the comic is awesome. Also, please give a movie-like rating for the comic (G, PG, R, etc.) as a courtesy to other readers.

Webcomics rely on word of mouth to bring in new readers, so if there’s a comic you enjoy, take a moment to promote it. And if you’re a webcomic creator yourself, don’t be shy: promote yourself!

(Our comment system requires that you enter an email address, but this is just to prevent anonymous jokesters. We will never give or sell your email to anyone.)

You’ve no doubt heard that Japan was rocked by a massive earthquake on March 11th, as well as the resulting tsunami. As I write this, the death toll is approaching 2,500.

There are actually some who have claimed that these disasters are punishment for Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. And although this is a WWII-based comic, I find this line of thinking both appalling and, frankly, remarkably stupid. Yes, granted, the attack on Pearl Harbor was vicious and unwarranted. But that was seventy years ago. Most of the people who were actually responsible for it are dead now. Can’t we put it behind us? Besides, I’d say that we more than made up for it when we dropped two nuclear bombs on Japan. Why don’t we call it even and move on?

If you’d like to help, here are a few links to relief efforts:

UNICEF

American Red Cross

Japanese Red Cross (I don’t know if this is a more efficient way of getting money to those who need it, but I figured I’d include it just in case. You’ll have to enter the amount in yen, so be careful with your conversion rate. $20 is about 1,600 yen right now.)

I’ve been forwarded two different videos intended to promote games over the last couple of weeks. I consider them both failures, but for entirely different reasons.

The first is for Shadowrun, the popular tabletop roleplaying game that blends cyberpunk with traditional fantasy tropes. So, you can play an elf with a cybernetic arm and work for a corporate executive who happens to be a dragon, for instance. (If that sounds like a criticism, it’s not.) Anyway, this video was produced in 1990, when the game was published by Fasa. Al and I actually saw this video at GenCon, a giant gaming convention, when we were in college. I’d completely forgotten about it until I received a link to it the other day. Take a look, and meet me back here when you’re done.

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