Annotations Every Day - Written by T Campbell & Flo Kahn - Illustrated by John & Jason Waltrip
Guilded Age
The Saga of the Working Class Adventurer – New comics every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday!
Fairmeadow
Kendra P. / KP
A wayward soldier finds herself in a pacifist commune deep in the wilderness of a war-weary land. Living in isolation brings her closer to those she was sworn to kill than she could ever imagine - but also threatens to tear the place apart.
Real Science Adventures
Brian Clevinger
Spin off stories and other adventures from the world of Atomic Robo!
Girl Genius
Phil Foglio, Kaja Foglio
In a time when the Industrial Revolution has become an all-out war, Mad Science rules the World...with mixed success.
Sam & Fuzzy
Sam Logan
Troubled by gangster rodents, lovesick vampire stalkers, or confused ninja assassins? Don't panic! Sam and Fuzzy are here to help. (For a reasonable fee.)
Guilded Age
T Campbell, John Waltrip, Florence Machina
Welcome to the saga of the working-class adventurer! Enjoy the complete story with new annotations daily!
Dumbing of Age
David M Willis
Joyce has been homeschooled her entire life until now, when she's suddenly a freshman in college! Things don't go well.
Drugs & Wires
Mary Safro, Io Black
Dan used to be a VR operator until his brain got fried by malware. Now he's stuck delivering packages in a post-Soviet hellhole all while trying to adjust to his new life and find some answers.
Knights Errant
J.R. Doyle
Wilfrid's humble quest for revenge becomes bigger and bloodier by the day.
Countdown to Countdown
Velinxi
Iris Black is a self-proclaimed inventor with the curious ability to bring his drawings to life, and yearns to find a space where he can use his powers freely.
Spinnerette
Krazy Krow, Rocio Zucchi, Pablo Rey
When a lab accident gives Heather Brown spider powers and six arms, she does what any midwest comic geek would do: Become Ohio's #3 superhero!
Folklore
Adam Ma, Colin Tan Wei
A superhuman horror story focused on a small band of survivors trying to navigate a war-torn world in the aftermath of the Federation’s collapse.
Awaken
Koti Saavedra/Flipfloppery
Superpowers, monsters and conspiracies. Piras, the spoiled Dameschi heir, fights to recover his identity after becoming a terrorist!
MASKLESS
kickingshoes
In a world where people can wield the magic of elemental Masks, all Ashe wants to do is help. Maskless and useless, with dreams of fire and smoke on the back of his tongue, he finds himself on a strange, dangerous path to uncovering the secrets of these incredible objects, and the source of the monsters plaguing his home.
Demon Studies
Miyuli
Four students summon and study potentially dangerous demons within the walls of the mysterious Summerland University.
2 Slices
RJ Morel
After a case of mistaken identity, will awkward Daisuke find help from excitable Mamo, or will his love life be thrown completely off track?
Cyanide & Happiness
Explosm
Satire, dark humor and surreal humor.
Demon's Mirror
Harry Bogosian
Based loosely off of "The Snow Queen", a story by Hans Christian Andersen, we see things take a different turn as the demons become central characters, and the side characters stick around. Yup, that's the only differences. Enjoy!
How to be a Werewolf
Shawn Lenore
Malaya Walters was bitten by a werewolf as a child. After being raised by her human family, she faces the chance to learn what being a werewolf is really like as an adult.
Far to the North
Allison Shaw
Kelu turns to the monsters of her remote mountain home when her family is held hostage by outsiders.
No End
Erli, Kromi
A queer romance about people attempting to build lives in a cold, post-apocalyptic world ravaged by hordes of undead.
Killjoys
Flatw00ds
When two disgraced ex-feds fall backwards into trouble with the clown mafia, getting out in one piece is gonna be no joke!
Clockwork
Chikuto
Cog Kleinschmidt is a diligent, quiet worker at the Mercia Fortress, the world power's leading stronghold. His orderly life is thrown into chaos when an enemy kingdom sends a diplomat for peace talks. This diplomat needs something from Cog - whether he agrees to their terms or not!
Paint the Town Red
Windy, Winter Jay Kiakas
Winona runs a werewolf shelter with partner in crime, Odile in the Gothic city of Merlot. One day they take in an injured vampire, and soon unravels many of the dark secrets of Merlot.
Goblins
Ellipsis
A fantasy RPG as told through the eyes of the low-level monsters.
Go Get a Roomie
Clover
Experience the queer journey of an upbeat hippie and the friendships she makes along the way! A tale of self-discovery and love of many forms.
Patrik the Vampire
Bree Paulsen
Patrik loves to knit, bake, and help his friends while dealing with his own demons... like his thirst for blood because, oh yeah--he's a vampire.
Obelisk
Ashley McCammon
In 1908 New York, a young woman struggles to put her life back together in the wake of her father's death - until she discovers a vampire in the shambles of her inheritance.
Whomp!
Ronnie
A depressed, portly, hirsute anime fan stumbles through life in the ever-pursuit of chicken nuggets and other life-shortening indulgences.
Wilde Life
Pascalle Lepas
Oscar decided to rent an old haunted house, and that's when things got weird...
KISMET
Jaki King
As interplanetary war threatens the Perseid system, a scientist ventures to the far reaches of space in her search for the truth: is humanity the master of its own fate, or is destiny truly inescapable?
Wychwood
Varethane
When Tiara's pyrokinesis is finally noticed, she is captured by a magical research organization for study. If she cooperates, she could be helping to save humanity from a dire threat - but can she trust them?
Hazy London
Scotty
A story about messy relationships. From friendly foes to crazy families. Nothing is black and white, just full of color. But, all colors can get a little hazy...
Empowered
Adam Warren
A sexy superhero comedy (except when it isn't) about the never-ending struggles of a plucky but very unlucky young superheroine.
Come Hell or High Water
Jenny/Star, Mori
Prince Gladimir was never meant to fall for a pirate. Swearing off love for duty, the threat of war propels him back into the Captain’s world of high seas and high stakes. Their relationship could be the thing to save the kingdom of Yvoire - or destroy it.
El Goonish Shive
Dan Shive
WARNING: This comic often ignores the Laws of Physics
[un]Divine
Ayme
A highschool senior thought giving up his soul for a demon was a good idea. It wasn't.
Sunshine Boy
Moosopp
New-kid Kelly is sweet but naive. Luckily, he's got his outgoing neighbor Grey in his corner.
The Lonely Vincent Bellingham
Diana Huh
Vincent is an unkind man looking to disappear, and finds himself in the care of a vampire and her two wicked children.
Tove
Severin
The end of the world is coming, and Tove doesn't want to be a hero, but SOMEONE has to look after her little brother.
Anacrine Complex
Sae Cotton
A superhuman heist involving probably too many pigeons than entirely necessary.
Lunar Blight
Studio CARTRIDGE, Laura Lee
Lunar Blight is a gothic horror story about an elite knight serving a moon cult who must choose between upholding his honoured duty or condemning everything he’s grown to know.
Between Failures
Jackie Wohlenhaus
The low stakes adventures of an assorted group of 20 somethings trapped in the declining years of American retail. They are naughty and say lots of swears.
Star Trip
Gisele Weaver
Jas is a human taken from her home planet on a trip across the galaxy she will never forget.
Solstoria
Angelica Maria
After her brother goes missing, Samantha vows to become a Knight and help those around her in the Kingdom of St. Helena.
Atomic Robo
Brian Clevinger, Scott Wegener
The robot punches monsters and bad robots and one time he was a cowboy.
Monster Pulse
Magnolia Porter Siddell
Four kids run afoul of a creepy secret organization's experiments, which turn their body parts into fighting monsters. Part sentimental coming-of-age story, part monster-training shonen manga, with just a bit of sci-fi body horror.
The Witch Door
Anni K.
Katariina Lehto discovers her neighbor is a witch called Jousia Muotka. Jousia introduces Katariina to the strange people and places beyond the witch door...
The Otherknown
Lorian Merriman
Chandra is a 12-year-old accidental time traveler with a reluctant new dad, who happens to be a member of a feared galactic crime syndicate.
Lighter Than Heir
Melissa Albino
A young Volant woman joins the military in an effort to upstage her war-hero father.
Heart of Gold
Eliot Baum, Viv Tanner
A pianist with failing eyesight seeks out a priest with a miraculous healing touch, drawing him deeper into a world of miracles and curses.
Nerf Now!!
Josué Pereira
A cute webcomic about fanservice, video games, and... love. Mostly video games, though.
Shaderunners
Alex Assan, Lin Darrow
A ragtag band of bootleggers open a speakeasy for bottled colour in the greyscale city of Ironwell.
Guilded Age is co-written by T Campbell & Flo Kahn, and illustrated by John Waltrip. Site design by Samantha Kyle. Fonts by Blambot.com.
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Privacy Policy
Guilded Age does not claim ownership of any of the corporate branding that appears in this comic, nor does it claim any affiliation, partnership, or endorsement of any kind.
They are used strictly as an artistic choice for the set dressing of the comic.
They are used strictly as an artistic choice for the set dressing of the comic.
I’m actually kind of impressed that Best can actually trade blows with Byron like this. Bards usually can’t take too many hits, although Byron is probably holding back.
Going to assume Best is doing his… Awesomest. To kill. And Byron is just trying to push him away.
Best did beat him before straight up and has always been a good fighter, he ain’t a d&d bard.
Yeah. Waaay back in one of the earlier chapters they had a few feats that he pulled off that were actually impressive. And he’s the one waving around a gigantic battle-axe.
I think fandom tends to let their distaste for Best filter their perceptions, but I can’t really recall a single instance where Best lost a fight. Hell, he’s tanked Byron once, like mentioned, and solo’d a group of landsharks. And the last time he and Byron fought, Byron was using his axes.
I can’t recall a fight between Byron and Best in which Byron was not holding back – even though his reason for doing so then is not the same as it is now – but yes, he does know how to fight.
Byron was definitely not holding back the first time unless by that you mean not going for the kill in which case Best was holding back too since he obviously didn’t kill Byron when he easily could’ve done so.
If I may-
I think Gabi’s talking about the yet-to-be-controlled berserker mode which would have manifested if Byron didn’t hold back in the last fight. He’s got it under control now, so I’m interested in how he fares when his more than apocalyptic obstacle is neatly disempowered.
For the record I don’t think most people (like me) who have a ‘distaste’ for Best would deny he’s a great fighter. I fully admit he IS quite skilled, but he is NOT a hero like the others or even a remotely decent person by any stretch of the mind.
I’d disagree. Is he an asshole? Yes. He’s totally a self-centered jerk. But let’s not pretend that there’s that much of a gap between him and the others. Yes, he’s a tad more reckless than the others, but when it comes down to it, Byron and co. get paid to fight monsters, rescue people, and oppose the Savage Races. Pre-Gastonian Betrayal, they were not doing it to make the world safer or anything like that, they did it because they’re good at fighting and they want to eat.
The only reason that the Peacekeepers played ball with the Savage Champions was because there was a clear and direct danger to EVERYONE. Good God, Braggadocio eats members of the Savage Races. Sundar was part of a scheme to sell children into slavery! These are people that the adventurer’s guild welcomes with open arms and calls heroes.
Best has, in the brief time he was active, saved as many people as the other Tubers did in the same period. He’s more openly a mercenary prick who’s spent a good bit of his time to donate to the gene pool, but Byron isn’t exactly hunting down cultists for free. When we first met him, he was charging farmers to take care of kobold infestations, and skinning the kobold corpses for cash. Now we don’t see money changing hands because he was (pre-betrayal) a salaried servant of Gastonia.
Byron and the other Tubers are heroes because they’re (mostly) likable protagonists who fight bad guys. Best fights bad guys, but is less likable and doesn’t have a fraction of the focus that minor characters get. Really, if everything were equal, Byron and the others would be more typical fantasy heroes, while Best is more of a Greco-Roman hero. Not necessarily likable, but still doing great deeds.
Best chucked CHILDREN from a goddamned airship! He toppled a powerful sacred holy basin in a toddler tantrum that ANY hero with half a brain would know will trigger a massive trap OR unleash a cataclysmic amount of bad karma. He attacked Byron and caused an avalanche out of rage because…why again? he attempted to save him and failed??
Here’s the difference between Best and the other 5: the other 5 actually CARE about saving lives and making the world better. They have all shown in different ways that they would soldier on in their cause even if NO ONE acknowledges or praises them. Best? He’s ONLY in it for the glory, the praise, the status. If he didn’t get any of that ego boosting he would NOT give a damn about helping others and he’ll still throw a fit and abandon the party when he thinks he’s not getting ENOUGH praise glory etc.
Best is not a hero, he’s a selfish arrogant man child who, in his machiavellian mindset, wants to play hero and reap in the rewards of being seen by others as a hero. This isn’t about the salary. Wanting a fair wage for doing your job is fair, going beyond the bounds of your job to risk your life and help others makes you a hero if you do so selflessly without expectation of reward. Best expects the reward of praise for his ‘heroism’ and gets VERY angry when he doesn’t get it, which makes him a douchebag seeking attention- not a hero.
Final note: WAV was a true hero, I’d even say he was a genuine and empathetic hero at that. Best literally sees him as a ‘milquetoast joke’, that’s all the proof we need of his disgusting mindset.
It’s not a real party, if you’re not spending half your time rage-killing each other. With Bandit gone and Byron in remission, Best had to come back.
Most amateur musicians like me reckon he’s a brilliant string player. Unfortunately the best musicians are also self-absorbed and socially inept from having locked themselves alone in their bedroom for six years to hone their skills. I think if he wants to improve his fighting skills, he needs to learn a heavier instrument like a piano or banjo.
Nah. He doesn’t need a blunt instrument, ’cause he is one. He’s a Liberty sized, cracked bell-end.
I’d argue, like Danzin, that no one thinks best is week. Where I differ with him, is that I believe the hate comes from Best being not just a narcissistic asshole, but also a terrible teammate. Those of us who have played multiple games of D&D and the like, know how useless a uncooperative teammate can be, even if he threw his natural 20 stat rolls into effective combat statistics for his class. It’s as Byron said, ‘Best is in it for himself’, and that is the kind of mentality that could get the rest of the team killed in the long run.
Or could just be that he’s a much higher level. Though given his lack of gear, who knows…
Everyone knows that gear power is directly proportional to how much skin it reveals. Those handwraps are probably a +9999 stamina chestguard.
I thought that only applied to females? Isn’t it the number of belts, zippers, and pouches that defines the power level of male armor?
Nah, applies to barbarian types, too.
Have you taken a good look at recent editions Mon Capitaine?
Depends which edition and/or offshoot. Combat Bards were at their height in 3.5/Pathfinder, it’s actually not hard to set one up that can go blow for blow with other martial skirmishers.
D&D rules don’t really apply to Bards in this series and Best has always been something of badass in comparison to pretty much anyone in the series, even the other Peacemakers. Honestly the only guy that could definitely beat him one on one is Harky or Penk.
i tend to think of them as prestige classes rather than stock. sure, best is bard-like, but he kicks ass in a fight. sure byron is a barbarian type, but he has a decent supply of wisdom and smarts.
In fact, don’t they use a different term? “Musical Warrior”, or something?
The cast page lists Best’s class as “Virtuoso”. Speaking of which, GA crew, it might be a good time to remove that “MIA” tag… and probably update the whole page, while you’re at it.
Frigg could totally rock his world, both in bed and out of it. I’ll forgive you since she’s not a guy and you did say guy.
Well, Byron is a real good fighter too.
Better than Best, even. Because Byron is fighter only, while Best has fighting as additionnal skill.
Best’s “Virtuoso” is a prestige class. He basically gets to use his charisma for most combat related strength and dex checks, and also a few fortitude checks on and off the field. So as long as he’s looking epic doing it he can out fight the fighters, out drink the drinkers, and all the other things that make an epic hero except actually being heroic. .
Think of him like a 1st edition Bard. Those were built like Sherman Tanks…
Well, Sherman tanks weren’t that bad. Especially the one armed with a 76 mm gun, or even the Firefly.
Not the best armour, high silhouette, and the standard gun was barely sufficient.
But fast, an engine quick to reach top speed, and very good off-road abilities.
I think tlhonmey was referencing how powerful bards were in 1st edition AD&D. To even be a bard, you had to gain several levels in other classes.
I don’t actually recall Best using much music magic, so it’s entirely possible he’s more “warrior who happens to have a guitar”
He once managed to bring Byron down from his berserker state by playing and singing. Which is significant, but more of the exception than the rule. WAV was, ironically, closer to the bard stereotype.
Best is best. Literally.
Not likeable. Not good at decisions, either.
But the motherfucker *performs*. In more ways than you want to know.
True, true. :-D
This can only be resolved with a white wedding.
Nice day to start again!
Either Byron needs to give Best a roundhouse punch or Penk needs to slide down there on a rope. I don’t see how this can be resolved swiftly without using a grappling hook.
I see many ways this can be resolved with out a grappling hook. The funniest one being a winter elf turning best into a halfling.
“We are here to parley. And I put 5 gold on the elf”
Good to see Gravedust back on his feet.
I can so see someone saying that with either of these groups.
It’s too bad that Best can’t channel all of that energy and talent into something constructive, like NOT FIGHTING HIS OWN TEAM!!!
I don’t think Best considers anyone to be on his team but Payet.
Well, he’s a shit elf. I know something about that world view…
Shitty shit elf’s. Can’t trust em.
The word ‘team’ is meaningless to Best, he always saw the others as groupies/backup dancers.
It’s also wise to refrain from treating you backup dances like expensive guitars that you can afford to smash against the floor at concerts just because they pull in enough money to replace them.
Unfortunately, the moment he will stop it will be the moment he will freeze to death.
Considering that the Savage Races champions are supposed to reflect the Peacemakers who does Best match? He’s a problem for his own team so I’d say Hammerhead, but he has all the bravado of Auraugu. Any thoughts?
I agree with Hammerhead, even though Best is a bard. Auraugu, at least, seems to have some wisdom from what we’ve seen, and doesn’t seem nearly as selfish as Best is. Then again, I also really like Auraugu.
Auraugu’s bravado is good-natured, and apparently a façade for others’ benefit rather than a reflection of his ego. If the Champions are supposed to be the Peacemakers’ foils rather than perfect analogues (e.g. Gob vs Syr), Hammerhead is probably Frigg’s counterpart rather than Best’s.
If we’re looking at them as foils, then Best would be Penk’s counterpoint. Both are musical warriors, but Best is full of himself and doesn’t play well with others, while Penk is humble and holds his team together.
While I’m at it, the other 5 pairs would be:
-Magda/Gravedust: Both use spiritual magic, but Gravedust clings to the old ways, while Magda embraces the new. Considering Gravedust has recently defied the way of the mystics, I expect Magda to do the same with Tectonicus.
-Goblaurence/Syr’nj: Analytical types, one a medic/alchemist, the other an engineer/demolitionist. A healer vs. a destroyer, in other words.
-Hammerhead/Byron: Berserkers who must keep their bloodlust in check for the good of their people; Hammerhead does so reluctantly, while Byron does so because he fears the consequences.
-Auraugu/Frigg: The brawlers of their respective groups. The strength of both lies in their admirable self-confidence and bravado. Frigg is crude and abrasive, but still cares about people underneath that facade, while Auraugu wears a mask of being constantly upbeat and gregarious.
-Rana/Bandit: Both act as scouts, and also tend to be the most distant from their groups. Bandit has trust issues, and is also not one of the Five, while Rana is simply… hard to talk to? Bandit tries to be part of the group, but has trouble fitting in, while Rana seemingly prefers to work apart from the rest.
All of these are pretty spot on. I always kinda considered Byron/Auraugu and Frigg/Hammerhead to be foils myself. Bryon and Auraugu are both fighters, but they tend to fight a little smarter than harder. Hammerhead and Frigg are there to tank and spank on the front lines. I can’t remember the exact wording he used, but back when deciding to recruit Frigg, Byron asked the other adventurers if they considered themselves meat shields. That scene felt a little mirrored to me when Harky and Penk first approached the land sharks, saw the biggest one, and were like “we need your big ol’ muscles. Reasons”.
I love best so much. He makes every page better
FRACTURED ASS
I’m sure it’s supposed to be Frigg saying that line, but the idea of Gravedust saying it amuses me too much.
Not hard to do. It was cracked to begin with.
Also has a hole in it. I wonder if there’s a Butt Store somewhere so he could buy a new one?
Hey, if your enemies can’t even stop fighting amongst themselves, why bother with parley?
Mr. Goblaurence, bomb them into dust.
I love Penk’s expression in the last panel. Like he’s just about to do a facepalm.
The last panel, where Magda smiles very smug at Penk. And Penk is very close to that one famous picture of our beloved captain.
It’s just the Best.
Ouch. That hurt. Damn that spiky hair.
It’s a fair question.
I petition for the following dialogue to be changed to “BRUH!” and “GREEEEEEEG!” respectively.
I’m just going to be honest, Best was a fucking obnoxious twit in life and .wav was a far more interesting character because he was an emotionless robot who wasn’t an irritating little twit. Everything around him is worse off for his presence.
C-can none of them tell (save Byron) that Best is the aggressor here? Instead of treating Byron like a misbehaving child they should help him stop Best form killing their teammate.
Not likely :-)
This is our foreshadowing that Byron’s player’s name is Greg. Thanks, Best.
[HAMMERHEAD’s HAMMER-shaped HEAD pops out from below deck.]
“If parley fails, we try PARSLEY!” [Holds big bunch of parsley aloft.]
[The others give him confused stares.]
“What, just because I’m a ferocious predator, you think I can’t appreciate the taste of herbs?”
let’s see how much page later Syr’Nj realize that Best is back
I’m pretty sure she already has. She would be less surprised than Byron, since she had already noted the similarity between WAV and Best, unlike Byron, who didn’t even know what WAV looked like under the helmet.
Diagnosis: fractured ass.