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So, I was reading the introduction to the newest trade paperback of Atomic Robo (which everyone should be reading because Atomic Robo is Amazing), and the intro's writer mentioned that part of Robo's relative success, especially from an indie comic, came from the fact that it's a family-friendly comic.

Now, I need to emphasize, this doesn't mean the comic is kid-oriented. It has geeky science jokes that would go over almost any kid's head, and some rather dark implications about what's going on in the world. But it doesn't have graphic violence, strong sexual themes and/or sexualization of the female characters, strong language, or anything else that a parent might be worried about their kid finding in a comic book.

We're talking, say, a "Doctor Who" level of family-friendliness.

And I got to thinking... I can think of remarkably few webcomics that fit this mold. Gunnerkrigg Court is one. I guess Minus qualified as well (but damn was that comic dark). But beyond that, I can't think of a single webcomic that fits the bill. Even the tamer ones don't qualify, save for the some of the sickeningly sweet kid-oriented ones like Count Your Sheep.

Does anyone know of other webcomics that fit the family-friendly mold? No blood/gore, sexualization, or particularly strong language?

PvP.
Evil Inc, I'd say, though perhaps it 's already too violent and/or you don't want kids to think of the bad guys as the good guys.
dilbert.com (more new content than newspapers!)
The book of Biff
Maximumble
Minimumble
The Trenches
Pebble Version (sprite comic)

That's just from my daily webcomic list...I could go look further but eh

There's a guy named Wes Molebach who draws comics like this. They tend to have a family/religious bent to them. And yes, I like them even though I'm an atheist.

http://www.wesdraws.com/my-comics

He's starting a new comic called "[..IMG] Insert Image". It won't post right thanks to BBCode....

Hey, I liked "You'll Have That". I may have to give his others a read as well.

OOTS?
PhD
Wasted Talent
Two Lumps (usually)

Well, Kurtz pretty frequently falls into some stronger language and sexual themes, so I don't think PvP counts. But the others seem to be pretty good examples.

Manly guys doing manly things is pretty PG. Some bloodspatter but the sexual content is kissing at most.

Gunnerkrigg, Nukees, Dreamland Chronicles,.

I second Sheldon. Surprisingly smart and nerdy for a family friendly strip and some of my favourite art in the medium.

I'd have to second Order of the Stick. It might have some characters fooling around, and you've got that Lord of the Rings level of violence sometimes, it's overall a safe read. Though it helps (at least early on) to have knowledge of D&D.

PS238 is probably my pick. It's about a public school for super kids and all the wackiness that genre would indicate. It does tackle some tough topics for kids, like Captain Clarinet's parents divorcing and his inability to deal with it (which leads to him enrolling in Praetorian Academy, which is like a military school for super kids, but is secretly run by a villain) but it never really crosses the line into inappropriate stuff. No one's died (though someone almost did from illness). No one's been seriously injured.

It's also drawn by the guy who did Nodwick and also does Full Frontal Nerdity, so the art is fantastic.

My favorite moments?

- The fate of the world being decided by a dodgeball game in an alternate universe.
- A superhero career fair, where the kids learn the kind of jobs they can do as adults.
- Anything involving Tyler, the only person in school who doesn't have powers (his parents sent him there hoping he would GET SOME), who moonlights as Moonshadow, the sidekick of Nocturne (basically Batman). Currently has a clone that DOES have powers... that his parents actually spend time with instead of him. Pretty sad stuff.
- The Rainmaker Project arc, where we learn what they do with kids who aren't going to be superheros, but are otherwise powered. We also learn what they USED to do and why they don't do it anymore. This probably the darkest the series has gotten, as it involves the government experimenting on kids in the 70's, but it all works out without anyone dying.

I know you can get trades for it, as like Girl Genius, the creator used to release it as a comic book first (he might still do it, but I haven't seen an issue in a few months). You'll have to look on Amazon for them though, as he hasn't put his store up yet after switching to the new site. There are 9 so far.

There's a website for exactly this, but it's down at the moment. I found a lot of good comics I've never run into here:

http://mlatcomics.com/krc/friends

The Abominable Charles Christopher

Terrik said:

The Abominable Charles Christopher

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I -love- Abominable Charles Christopher...Though, it is suitable for everyone, I don't think children will understand everything. On the flip side, maybe they'll enjoy it on another level - god knows that comic is beautiful and funny.

Along with Sheldon, I'd say The Dreamland Chronicles. It's neat, it's fantasy-minded, but it's not inappropriate.

Kevin and Kell?
El Goonish Shive?
EDIT: Sequential Art?
Both All have mature themes, but they are surprisingly kid-friendly.

--Patrick

AshburnerX said:

PS238 is probably my pick.

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Damn it, I could have used that night.

PatrThom said:

Kevin and Kell?
El Goonish Shive?
EDIT: Sequential Art?
Both All have mature themes, but they are surprisingly kid-friendly.

--Patrick

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I wouldn't recommende EGS unless you want your kids to get a special preference for girls with fluffy tails, though

scary go round, and its sucessor bad machinery. though I've heard that the humour is a little weird if you're not from the UK. I still highly recommend it, and John Allison has been doing the webcomic thing all the way since 1998.

twitchmoss said:

scary go round, and its sucessor bad machinery. though I've heard that the humour is a little weird if you're not from the UK. I still highly recommend it, and John Allison has been doing the webcomic thing all the way since 1998.

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Scary Go Round is moooostly family-friendly but suffers from the occasional grizzly death and/or sexytime.

Bubble181 said:

I wouldn't recommende EGS unless you want your kids to get a special preference for girls with fluffy tails, though

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I admit that the characters in K&K and EGS both seem to cater to the Anthro community*, but the stories are still high-quality and well worth the read, and most kids won't draw any distinction between animal people and non-animal people, especially if they are raised on Sesame Street, Arthur, Disney, Spongebob, Dragonball, etc. Youthful innocence, and all that.

--Patrick
*Apparently unlike the rest of the Internet, I got nothin' against Furries (as a group), so I don't find the Anthro stuff "disgusting" or whatever.

PatrThom said:

I admit that the characters in K&K and EGS both seem to cater to the Anthro community*, but the stories are still high-quality and well worth the read, and most kids won't draw any distinction between animal people and non-animal people, especially if they are raised on Sesame Street, Arthur, Disney, Spongebob, Dragonball, etc. Youthful innocence, and all that.

--Patrick
*Apparently unlike the rest of the Internet, I got nothin' against Furries (as a group), so I don't find the Anthro stuff "disgusting" or whatever.

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I'm aware, and I was joking ;-) I've got nothing against furries, as long as they stick to fantasies or role playing and don't bang their horse/cow/dog/dolphin