Sly Coup

I'm a very casual consumer of comics. "Dilbert" has been the bulk of my comic diet since "Calvin and Hobbes" left production.

That's not, of course, a reflection of my real interest, of course. In fact, if there's a great unrequited wish in my life, I'd love to be able to draw cartoons. If I could do editorial cartoons, or a long-form graphic story, I could probably drop blogging with a clear conscience.

But I can barely draw a decent stick figure. All my artistic talent went into music. So the blog is safe.

Of course, Chris Muir's "Day By Day has become "Doonsbury" of the conservative blogosphere (and Chris, I mean that in a good way).

But via Joel, I encountered Wapsi Square, a supremely quirky and ultimately fascinating web strip produced in Minneapolis by Paul Taylor. It's one of those rare, fascinating bits of Web art that, like Odin Soli's Mexican Year, I felt compelled to down at and read from beginning (in 2001) to the present in, basically, one sitting.

Downside: It's a post-college coming-of-age strip.
Upside: Unlike most such stories, once it gets into its groove (a few dozen panels into the strip, probably in early '02), it gets very interesting.
Downside: Although the strip's been going for four years, there's just not enough of it yet. It seems to have been published a few times a week.
Upside: The character arcs, which start very light, go through some fascinating turns; dark, funny, wierd, sexy, dumb, poignant.
Downside: Lots of brassiere-related humor.
Upside: Is that really so bad?
Downside: Even after four years, the output is not so prolific that we've gotten more than skin-deep into anyone's character or any story arc. I feel after spending a few hours reading last night that I still barely know the characters.
Upside: It bugs me that I still barely know them.

Suggestion: DO NOT start at the end and work your way toward earlier strips; there's too much backstory by the time you get to the latest strips. It makes more sense, and is much more enjoyable, if you start at the beginning and just keep reading. Take my word for it. (And no, the fact that one of its characters has a carry permit and knows how to use it isn't why I'm raving; it only drew me to the strip).

Note to Paul; excellent effort. Now, do more. And faster.