The Non-Adventures of Wonderella by Justin Pierce

The Non-Adventures of Wonderella

Wonderella is a terrible superhero. She drinks, she ignores crises, and she'll endorse anything for a buck. This send-up of superheroes sees Wonderella fighting the likes of Hitlerella and Jokerella (or not, depending on what's on tv), failing to save her sidekick Wonderita from peril, and causing more problems than she solves. Readers who enjoy Wonderella will also enjoy R.K. Milholland's Super Stupor.

The Non-Adventures of Wonderella is online at nonadventures.com. Read from the beginning here.

Appeal: Superheroes, irony, parody, science fiction, humor

Art: In the style of paper cut-out cartoons like South Park or Monty Python. Parodies superhero designs

Text: Mature, non-sequitur, allusions to current events

Pierce, Justin. "The Non-Adventures of Wonderella." nonadventures.com. Web. 4 May 2014.

Something*Positive by R.K. Milholland

Something Positive

Following the lives of three friends in Boston--Davan, PeeJee, and Aubrey-- and their assorted friends, family, and enemies, Something Positive is sarcastic, cynical, and sometimes touching. The characters age in real time from the comic's 2001 debut to today. Davan dates many unkind women before moving back home to Texas and eventually marrying a newer character, Vanessa. PeeJee holds a number of unpleasant jobs, and now lives in Texas with Davan, helping to care for his witty, Alzheimer-diagnosed dad Fred. Aubrey started a successful phone sex hotline catering to nerds and gamers, and adopted a child with another character, Jason. The characters encounter little oddities like Davan's semi-liquid cat Choo Choo as well as everyday concerns like the Christian haunted house where Fred stages an impromptu protest. 

Something Positive is available at somethingpositive.net. Read from the first comic here.

Appeal: Sarcasm, cynicism, family relationships, adult relationships, work humor

Art: Realistic, it improves over time but the style is consistent. 

Text: Dark humor, conversational, mature

Other: R.K. Milholland writes two other comics: Super Stupor, a dark parody of superheroes, and Rhymes With Witch, watercolor illustrations of very dark children's cautionary tales. Both are available from somethingpositive.net.

Awards: Something Positive won the Web Cartoonists Choice Award for Outstanding Character Writing in 2005, and for Outstanding Dramatic Comic in 2006. 

Milholland, R.K. "Something Positive." somethingpositive.net. Web. 4 May 2014.

Sylvia by Nicole Hollander

Sylvia

A sociopolitical and social gag-a-day comic whose star, Sylvia, comments on current events from the comfort of her bathtub, a restaurant booth, her typewriter, and the bar. Sylvia's friends and family join her for discussions and jokes about politics, gender issues, and mass media.

Appeal: feminism, satire, politics, adults

Art: Rough cartooning, bold lines, lots of background detail

Textual style: Ironic, satiric

Other: Sylvia started as a series of cartoons Hollander drew for a feminist magazine

Awards: In 1983 Nicole Hollander won the Wonder Woman Foundation Award for Women of Achievement Over 40.

Dykes to Watch Out For by Alison Bechdel

Dykes to Watch Out For

A continuity and political and social commentary comic about a group of friends, mostly lesbians, in an American city. The characters age in real time from their 20s to their 40s, finding new partners, break up, losing and getting jobs, having children, and participating in political activism. Mo Testa is the main character, a neurotic, paranoid lesbian trying to survive in a world of conservative politicians and the threat of World War III. Mo's paranoia is balanced by her best friend Lois, a laid-back drag king with little interest in politics. By comparison, Lois's roommates Sparrow and Ginger often argue politics with partners and moms Clarice and Toni, who split their time between work, each other, and their son Rafael. 

Appeal: lesbian and queer representation, person of color representation, realism, liberal politics, ironic humor, adults.

Art: Cartoony, expressive, consistent throughout the run.

Textual style: Debate, diatribes, simultaneous conversations among multiple parties.

Other: Alison Bechdel has written two memoirs and drawn comics for many national magazines. She won the Bill Whitehead Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2012.

Awards: The Essential Dykes to Watch Out For won a Publishing Triangle Ferro-Grumley Award for LGBT Fiction in 2008, and had a starred review in Publisher's Weekly.

Bechdel, Alison. The Essential Dykes To Watch Out For. Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008. Print.