Hey all! It’s been a while. I’m back though, and this time with a new webcomic recommendation! (And no, it’s not my comic.)
The recommendation in question is actually for a series of several webcomics–Bobbins, Scary Go Round, Bad Machinery, and some other random stuff–all of which are part of the same universe and share characters.
Author: John Allison
URL: http://www.scarygoround.com/
Status: We’re in a brief hiatus, but Bobbins, Scary Go Round, Bad Machinery, and some random other stuff is complete.
Type: Humor/Mundane Fantasy
Art: Gets much better over time
The Scary Go Round comics revolve around the fictional Yorkshire town of Tackleford. Bobbins starts us off in 1998 at the offices of City Limit, a local magazine. It is here that we get introduced to many of the central characters to the Scary Go Round universe, including Tim Jones, genius inventor, Amy Chilton, struggling artist, and Shelley Winters, scatterbrained innocent.
Bobbins starts out as a fairly ordinary office comedy, but it diverges midway through, introducing genetically engineered super spies, robot ambassadors, and attempts to woo Drew Barrymore. The art also improves dramatically over the course of the comic. It starts out…rough. And it winds up…considerably less rough. That said, the universe really hits its stride with Scary Go Round.
Scary Go Round starts shortly after Bobbins ends. With City Limits having closed its doors, we no longer have any pretense of an office comedy (which, admittedly, had been largely abandoned part of the way into Bobbins). What we do have is considerably more of the delightful weirdness that characterizes the Scary Go Round universe. People die and come back to life, inventor’s fairs are had, people move to Wales, leprechauns beat up the Devil, and we get introduced to the truly disgusting Desmond Fishman who is ugly not only on the outside but also on the inside. We also get to see more of Ryan Beckwith, who was introduced in Bobbins but who becomes a much more central character in Scary Go Round. I mention him only because he is probably my favorite character. He also has a pet bat. And then another one after the first one dies of neglect (but not his neglect).
Following the adventures of Scary Go Round is Bad Machinery. By the time of Bad Machinery, the characters of Scary Go Round have largely passed from their irresponsible twenties to the stage of life known as “responsible adulthood.” As such, we largely ignore them in favor of teen detectives.
This group of detectives consists of three boys and three girls who navigate the issues of puberty and growing up. Fortunately, they also navigate issues involving ghosts, giants, and fatbergs, so it isn’t too painful. Bad Machinery is divided into different cases, each of which is supernatural in nature, and each of which is delightful.
So what is it that’s so special about the Scary Go Round series? I think it boils down to two things: the characters and the world they inhabit. Said world is similar to our own in many ways, but it’s filled with wonder and whimsy and magic and deep strangeness. The characters are much the same–real people but with all of the oddest characteristics exaggerated. Ultimately, what draws me to Scary Go Round is the delight of seeing what strange thing will happen next.
Which leaves us with just one final question: where should you start? When I first started reading, I had difficulty getting into Scary Go Round, and I didn’t even know Bobbins existed. So I started with Bad Machinery, then went back and read Scary Go Round and reread Bad Machinery, then learned Bobbins existed and started from the beginning. I think Scary Go Round is currently my favorite, but it takes a little while to get to the really good bits. Bad Machinery is great and largely self-sufficient, though you will at times wonder if you’re supposed to know who some of the characters are. That problem is probably more pronounced with Scary Go Round, though you get up to speed fairly quickly. Which makes it seem like starting with Bobbins is the best option. However, Bobbins is very rough, and it doesn’t get to that Scary Go Round goodness for some time. Overall, it may actually be best to read it the way that I did, with Bad Machinery first and everything else later. There are also a few side things that I didn’t discuss here but which are explained pretty thoroughly here. Finally, there’s also a set of print comics set in this same universe called Giant Days. I haven’t read them, so I can’t say much about them, but I’m sure they’re good too.
Go forth and read!