Webcomics Wednesday: 5/16/12

Today’s Webcomics Wednesday focuses on webcomics that offer digital issues of their comic. I like reading comics on my tablet, and for webcomics it is: 1) faster to read many pages in a PDF than it is clicking page-to-page on my monitor, 2) more portable, and 3) a great way to support the creator. In case you’re curious, I have a 10″ Toshiba Thrive tablet and I use an app called Perfect Viewer for reading PDFs.

Valkyrie Squadron

Valkyrie Squadron by Jules Rivera is a science-fiction action-adventure webcomic set in a universe where humanity is at war with machines. Yes, a familiar concept, but a fun one. The year is 2495 and the humans fighting the machines are broken up into female and male squadrons. The story focuses on the all-female 4th Valkyrie Squadron, but the bros from Odin Squad 4 also play a role. The story has humor, action (both close-combat and space dogfights), and intrigue, and I won’t say much else for fear of giving anything away. I can say that by the time I finished Book One, there were multiple hooks to keep me reading, so I purchased Book Two right away. Books One and Two are available at the Valkyrie Squadron store for $2 and $3 respectively. Book Three is currently being serialized at valkyriesquadron.com.

Jackie Rose: The Treasure of Captain Read

The  Treasure of Captain Read, by Josh Ulrich, takes place before the first Jackie Rose story (Legend of the Sixth Seal) but after The Amazing Eddie Ripcord, and finds Jackie and Eddie in High School. In issue #1, Eddie faces his most dangerous mission yet: asking Jackie to the Prom. Well, okay, there’s a bit about air pirates, too. Specifically, the titular Captain Elizabeth Read. She is a not-very-nice thief with a bounty on her head. Will high-school-aged Jackie Rose be the one to bring her in?

I actually snagged a copy of  issue #1 for free through a contest on Josh Ulrich’s Twitter feed, but at $1.50 it is a good deal and I’ll be picking up the rest of the issues as they come out. Josh is releasing pages from issue #1 for free during the run-up to the release of issue #2, so now would be a great time to catch up.

Lilith Dark

Lilith Dark, by Charles Dowd, is a fun look into the imagination of one fierce little girl (or is it more than that…? Time will tell.) Lilith is a sort of Calvin without a Hobbes to be her moral compass, so she gets into all sorts of trouble as she fights devil-dogs, mysterious beasties, and in a laugh-out-loud scene in issue #1, a uni-horn. Both issue #1 and #2 are available in the Lilith Dark shop for 99 cents each. Charles is also releasing pages each week for free, but as issue #2 has just started being shared in that format, it is well worth it to buy the issue to read the story in one go. Plus, you will get to see the special moment at the end of the ninth page that much sooner. I dare say no more.

So there you have it, three webcomics I was able to enjoy on my tablet. Are there any more you can recommend? Creators, what are your thoughts on releasing digital compilations of your webcomics? For me, it seems like a great idea, but I get the sense that not many people want to go this route.

Quick Hits

Modest Medusa page 200: An epic panel of Medusa-osity to end the chapter!

Little Guardians: Check out this monster splash page. Awesome.

LeyLines: Whereas this monster is as suave as he is scary.

Xander: Oh no, Xander has fallen into my least favorite type of anxiety dream. (Speaking of anxiety, I just read that Xander is ending in 20 pages or so. Bummer.)

Ellie on Planet X: Such a beautiful splash panel.

Aedre’s Firefly: It’s Aedre vs. the outhouse. I can feel the stench rising off the page.

Up Next on Lithicbee

Sunday: Part 14 of The Only City Left, my SF/F serial about Allin Arcady’s adventures through a planet-sized city called Earth! In this episode, we return to Allin’s past to find out what happened when he fled back to Glin’s Rising.  How did his parents die? Did he really kill them? Was it all that teen angst that did them in? Be here on Sunday to find out!