I play World of Warcraft along with eleven million other people.  My particular drug of choice after playing for four years is a Draenei Enhancement Shaman on the Kirin Tor server.  I’ve raided, grinded, died… a lot.  Been through some good patches and some bad nerfs.  And I’ve grown to think of my guild, my online home for the past two years, as a pixilated family.  Shoot me now.

I’ve also been a gamer for many years.  So, I am no stranger to the rapid growing genre of web comics.  As many people in my generation, Penny Arcade is a must have! Not to mention the countless others that made us laugh harder than what the newspaper could ever give us.  Except for maybe “Boondocks.” But, that’s another story unto itself. 

Regardless of all these facts or maybe because of them, I am a fan of the World of Warcraft web comic. I have a few favorites that tend to range from glorified screenshots to true comic art.  The ones I never fail to read with each new update at Flintlocke’s Guide to Azeroth ( http://pc.gamespy.com/flintlockes-guide-to-azeroth/introduction/897826p1.html ) and Looking For Group (http://www.lfgcomic.com/ ).  The differences between the two comics are vast, but neither fails to entertain. 

In Flintlockes Guide to Azeroth we have a web comic that is built on photoshoped screenshots that are targeted with old-fashioned bubbles of text.  Each day the story seems to become more ridiculous, ridiculing the system, the game, and at times the players.  Flintlockes is hardly a role-play comic, it embraces jokes regarding 1337 speak and the fact that behind every character is a player.   As the comic continues on we see them tackling issues such as the nub, pvp, and in the latest strip… stoned players.  Who apparently are all trolls? 

Looking For Group in contrast is a role-playing comic, ignoring the players behind the characters and focusing on the journey each and every quest can possibly take us on.

With characters that are just as entertaining as they are pathetic at times.  It tackles the idea that we are forced to do battle without being able to prove ourselves to the opposing faction.  At least according the Blood Elf hero in this online saga. 

As different as these two comics are, they both maintain a laugh out loud standard that never seems to disappoint, at least for us Warcraft players.  I highly recommend both, it may not be the best thing to look at while on the job, but for those times when you just need a good laugh there is nothing better.