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.

Heavenly Nostrils by Dana Simpson

Heavenly Nostrils

A strip about a girl named Phoebe and her best friend, a unicorn named Marigold Heavenly Nostrils. One day Phoebe is skipping rocks in the woods behind her house and she hits a unicorn by mistake. Phoebe's rock saved Marigold from staring forever at her own captivating reflection and in return, Marigold grants Phoebe one wish. Phoebe wishes for Marigold to become her best friend. Marigold is a magical, self-absorbed unicorn, and Phoebe is an imaginative and enthusiastic nine-year-old. Together they learn how to be friends in a world filled with candy-barfing dragons, goblins, video game-obsessed parents, and fourth-grade frenemies. Heavenly Nostrils is available online at gocomics.com.

Appeal: Magic, fantasy, sarcastic humor, unicorns, all ages.

Art: Flowing, modern

Text: Conversational, fantastical

Other: Dana Simpson also drew a webcomic called Ozy and Millie, populated by talking animals, with similar themes of elementary school philosophy and adventure. Ozy and Millie ran from 1998 to 2008, and is available online.

Simpson, Dana. "Heavenly Nostrils." gocomics.com. Universal Uclick, n. d. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.

Dilbert by Scott Adams

Dilbert

A gag-a-day strip about computer engineers at the office. Characters include the titular Dilbert, his lazy coworker Wally, his more competent coworker Alice, their a clueless boss, Dilbert's megalomaniacal dog Dogbert, and various stereotyped professions (the accounting department, for example, is staffed by trolls). Dilbert has visited Elbonia, a technologically disadvantaged country waist-deep in mud; weathered his own dog's hostile takeover of his company; and struggled to find a woman interested in dating an engineer. It is available online at Dilbert.com.

Appeal: Work humor, sarcasm, cute animals in absurd situations, working life, for adults, revenge fantasies

Art: Absolutely clear lines, static, almost copy and paste.

Textual style: Sarcasm, pointing out the obvious to the oblivious.

Other: Scott Adams worked in banking and for AT&T for many years, office experiences that inspired Dilbert. He won the National Cartoonist Society Reuben Award in 1997.

Awards: 1997 Harvey Award for best syndicated comic strip. 1998 Max & Moritz Prize for best international comic strip. 1996 and 1997 Zombie Award for best comics strip.

Adams, Scott. Casual Day Has Gone Too Far. Kansas City, Mo. : Andrews And McMeel, 1997. Print.