Only a fool believes that a good fantasy story can be told only using fantastically detailed artwork, and Rich Burlew’s The Order of the Stick is an excellent example of one that puts the story before the artwork.

In this month's Essence of... Ping Teo pokes at DRAMA…

David Willis’ much beloved It’s Walky! was an epic science-fiction story mixed liberally with teen-angst drama and quirky, character-driven comedy. That story concluded last year (though the series is still showing signs of life) and for his next project Willis chose a more open format, free from the bonds of continuity and logic. The result was Shortpacked! a gag-a-day strip set loosely within the world of It’s Walky but with a whole new direction.

One of the most popular webcomics top lists and forum board was buzzComix (AKA bCx), which was run by Mneonix08. In mid-May it went down, and only went up again this August first. Mneonix08 talks about the perils and pleasures of running such a list, what exactly happened, and what new features are out there.

Y'know, for a guy who ran one of the most popular webcomics forums, I really know almost nothing about you. What's your background?

So here's the thing. I like porn.

I don't talk a lot about liking porn, because you're not supposed to come right out and say it. "Man, what a beautiful morning," you never say. "I think I'll have a cup of tea, and maybe go down to the market, and when I get back I'm going to enjoy the bounties of porn that are my birthright as an internet consumer." People would look at you funny if you did, and your boss would stop letting you have complimentary coffee and donuts in the morning.

But I do like it. And most of you probably do too. We might not be cheerful about it - we might not march into gas stations with our head held high, grabbing the latest magazines off the rack and marching right up to the gas station attendant to make our purchases (that might be the one situation in life where you are that concerned about what a gas station attendant thinks of you) - but we do like it.

Which leads us inexorably to porn comics, which I don't often talk about either.

Tymothi Godek has comics in a wide array of styles and techniques at his site The Yellow Light. Most notable are his WCCA-nominated infinite canvas comics, created with Markus Muller's Infinite Canvas application.

This week at Modern Humor Authority, Kristofer Straub talks about comics conventions (the kind you attend, that is).

Ever see the look on a comic fanboy's face when you show him his very first genuine shojo comic? And by comic fanboy, I don't mean a neanderthal for whom female comic characters conjure up images of a double D, bikini-clad broad striking a pose that wouldn't be out of place in Playboy. I'm talking about the well-read comic geek, who appreciates Alan Moore, Warren Ellis, Neil Gaiman, Los Hernandez Brothers, Ennis and Dillon, perhaps even some Rumiko Takahashi and Otomo Katsuhiro.

He'll start flipping the pages, looking for demons or samurai warriors or ninjas or a giant robot or some sort (any sort) of action scene. And slowly it dawns on him, he's holding in his hands the sequential art equivalent of Dawson's Creek. It's like his "Boys Only" club house has been redecorated with flowers and lace curtains in the windows.

"Column? (She said, smiling.)" read the email from the editor, sending me into a deep well of despair over the state of this month's column. These columns are notoriously late, often handed in mere hours before the issue is supposed to go live, much to the chagrin of the editors, I am sure. The reason for this is as much the result of procrastination as hope. Hope that there will be one large news event worth writing about, something meaningful that will tie together the smaller events from the month into something bigger.

In July, a lack of significant events was not the problem.