Giant in the Playground

http://www.giantitp.com/
I've spent the last week devoting most of my time to reading the comics and stories on this site. It is rare that I find something that is this good. Most geek stuff I find out there is complete pooh. The content on this site is awesome.

The two comics are based around a similar theme. A world that is nothing more than a D&D style role playing game. The characters actively talk about combat in the same way a person playing an RPG would. The characters discuss turns, hit points, spot checks, etc., as if it where a normal way to discuss battle.

The feel of each is very different. Order of the Sticks is drawn using stick figures. The humor is slapstick and sarcastic. The mood and tone is silly. I prefer this cartoon over the other.

Erfworld is a much more serious cartoon. It follows a character named Parson Gotti who is the author of the real life webcomic hamstard.com.

Parson views himself as a loser who is only good at one thing in life, role playing games. One day while starting a game that he has planned for the last five months he finds himself warped in to the game. He is responsible for fighting against the odds on the losing team.

This comic relies on dry humor. Many things in the RPG world are puns off of real life. The evil ruler rules with a crocket mallet. A lead character flies a peep. Many characters are given names replacing 'r's with 'w's, such as dwagons.

One cool thing about both of these comics is that the authors are not afraid to let everything just fall flat on its face. Main characters die and genius plans hashed up for several strips don't work.

There is a third story, which is not a comic, that is four chapters long. It recalls the tale of a quiet Inn keeper who finds herself going from apathetic busines woman, to radical revolutionist in a matter of hours. The story itself is good, but the story telling is what captures the reader. You can really see everything that is going on in the story.

Rock it.