It's Ada Lovelace Day - read Steampunk Webcomics!

In honor of Ada Lovelace, mathematician and steampunk programmer, today I am reading steampunk webcomics put out by some very smart women (and men).

Hark, A Vagrant, the fabulous and funny musings of Kate Beaton, shows the absurdity of historical and literary figures, Ada Lovelace among them. I always learn something new about history or literature when I visit her site.

Lovelace and Babbage. Ada has her own comic! Where she solves crime with Charles Babbage! By Sydney Padua, there are several episodes on her website, and a new, free ipad application with historical references.

Girl Genius, the Hugo-award winning comic from Phil and Kaja Foglio, has Agatha Heterodyne as the genius in question. She's a whiz at making clockwork robots and doesn't let the men in her life stand in her way.

Virtuoso is steampunk Africa! With a matriarchal society! and Dinosaurs! Jon Munger and Krista Brennan have a fabulous story I just discovered.

Freak Angels by Warren Ellis and Paul Duffield is more post-apocalyptic, but it has a steampunk flair and strong women characters. For mature audiences


I'm looking to add some some more great webcomics to my pile. What are your favorites?

More on webcomics: 5 Webcomics That Make Me Smile

Thanks to The Mad Hatter's Bookshelf and Book Review for the Virtuoso recommendation. He's got a lot of good paper-version graphic novels to recommend, too.

Five webcomics that make me smile

I love the world of graphic novels on the web. With a page coming out every day or two, they're a lot of fun. My favorites are long stories updated at least weekly. Here are some of the ones I'm following now.

Tune by Derek Kirk Kim with art by Les McClaine is the most recent addition to my faves, and it keeps me laughing. An art school drop-out finally gets a job, but it's not what he expected. Very funny.

Trying Human by Emy Bitner is about an alien abductee falling in love with her captor. That's the nutshell, but it's so much more. I love the colors in the flashback scenes.

Gunnerkrigg Court by Tom Siddell is where my love of webcomics started. I first read it in book form, then found out it's easier to read on the web. And I don't have to wait years for the next one to come out.

My Sister, the Freak by Dani Jones just came out in paper form, congratulations Dani! The story is on a bit of a break, but there's great guest art posted each week.

Gronk by Katie Cook isn't a seralized drama like the other comic mentioned. It's the misadventures of monster Gronk and her family. She's just so cute, I had to add her in.