Sluggy Freelance is without a doubt, the best comic strip that Ive ever read. This means something, because I read many, many comics. If you never, ever listen to anything I say, please dont read Sluggy. If you hang on my every word, please send me money. After that, read Sluggy. Its available at . You have to start from the start, though, and finish with the ending. Its weird like that.
One day, when I was reading Sluggy, I noticed a rather cool banner ad. I dont ever click on banner ads (except for the one that you shoot the monkey . . . thats different, of course). I ignored it. Then I noticed a different one the next time I went there. And so on. Eventually, curiosity got the better of me, and I made a click. A very fateful one, it turns out, as I discovered the world of Shadowmarch.
Shadowmarch is an online story written by Tad Williams (a rather excellent writer of both speculative and fantastic fiction). Many online stories turn out rather below expectations. This one is quite different - its not just an online story, its an online community. On the page are some pretty extensive message boards for different readers to interact with each other as well as the author.
The story itself is a bit different. Its a flowing present tense story about a kingdom in trouble on the brink of war. While condensing the plot that much does little to show his originality, it is a very original story. Tad Williams is gifted with the ability to create very distinct characters and weave them in and out of complex, multi-threaded plots. While the storys plot seems vaguely similar to his Green Angel Tower series, it varies dramatically in the characters involved and they way the story moves.
Its written in serial form, the first few episodes free as a hook. After that, its a yearly fee, with each new episode coming on the first and fifteenth of each month. As far as Ive seen, hes always been on time (which is more than I can say for myself, and I only put stuff out once a month).
Sound interesting? You can point your browser to and check it out, but the best way to go there is through the Sluggy page, of course.