The First Post

Currently it seems blogs about comic strips are all the rage. While perhaps it was the likes of The Comics Curmudgeon that kicked off the fun by reading the comics so we don't have to, many others have come to life to focus on specific strips. Things like This Week in Milford (for your boring sports needs), Permanent Monday, and Stuck Funky. There's even a blog for that really crappy newspaper Spider-Man.

What all these blogs have in common is that they mainly stick to highlighting the shortcomings of the newspaper comics. Which is normally fine, because its no secret that most people absolutely hate newspaper comic strips.

And it was with great joy to find out that not only was I not a lone, a comic writer agreed with me and was willing to express it on the comics page. As shown on The Comics Curmudgeon with an attack on the dreaded FOOBiverse and later the morbid pleasure of many comics characters being devoured by giant ants.

That man is Mark Tatulli. And that delightful comic that he draws (he draws two of them, ya know!) is Liō.

Liō is one of two comics that do not exist solely on the Internet that consistantly make me laugh (the other is Pearls Before Swine). Liō is the tale of a bright, imaginative young boy that lives in and perpetuates a surreal, almost gothicly twisted world. Or as the press blurb puts it:

"LIO is an unusual kind of comic strip and we think you’ll love it.

First LIO has no dialog. It tells stories only with images -- a "pantomine strip" says Mark Tatulli, the creator. Next, LIO’s main character is a curious young boy with an imagination that’s unleashed by bumps in the night and things hiding under the bed. And LIO offers various shades of dark humor along with straightforward laughs.

This strip offers a fresh outlook and appeals to everyone, especially young readers..and readers who remember being young..and those who wish they were young. LIO is a comic strip that’s edgy, funny, visually stunning and truly different."

But that doesn't really summon the perverse pleasure of a Liō strip. In Liō, you are usually guaranteed a truly perverse spin on something seemingly innocuous. And when its surrounded by the tired humor of the Family Circus or B.C., it stands out as a really well-written funny.

This blog came about as my attempt to spread the dark joy that is Liō. As it is just barely a year old, many newspapers don't carry it. And as Liō is a genuinely funny strip most of the time, few comics blogs speak of it because it's a lot more fun to rip on Funky Cancercancer. Here at The Dark Child, I'll be talking about the daily Liō strip, what I enjoy about it, and possibly give some kind of witty insight.

Outside of your newspaper, Liō is most easily read at gomics.com, which gives you a full month of previous strips for free.

Here begins - the chronicles of The Dark Child.