Don't forget the alt text

April 21, 2009 11:50 AM

It's a simple story about a responsible owl, trying to raise a curious (human) son and a geeky (human) daughter in their giant treehouse while dealing with his longtime bear buddy (and honey researcher), Steve. Though it debuted, humbly enough, in the Cracked.com forums, Benjamin Driscoll's drolly sweet comic Daisy Owl soon gained a loyal following, earning a regular feature there (courtesy of David Wong) and routinely making the front pages of sites like Digg and Reddit. In March 2009, Driscoll went pro, quitting his job to work on the comic full-time and making Daisy Owl one of the few self-sufficient webcomics on the net. Its quirky, character-driven humor, focused mainly on children, friendship, and families, has earned more than a few comparisons to Calvin and Hobbes, as well as plenty of fan art. Highlights: Basement - Honey - Parenting - Shampoo - Skittle on the Moon - Nightmare - Movie Night - Thrift Store - Classic Dad - Wallpapers
posted by Rhaomi (24 comments total)

Daisy Owl is a great webcomic. I wish he would do prints in 8x10 instead of 8.5x11, although, I've ordered several anyway.
posted by yeoz at 11:54 AM on April 21, 2009

I found Daisy Owl through the Something Awful webcomics thread but I don't see the Calvin and Hobbes relation. The humor is very dry and the art isn't nearly as vivid as C&H. I do think it's comparable to Achewood though and I am a fan of Daisy Owl. How is Driscoll making a living with Daisy Owl?
posted by clockworkjoe at 11:57 AM on April 21, 2009 [1 favorite]

This one is for you, MetaFilter, in honor of the great plane-on-a-treadmill kerfluffle of 2007.
posted by Mister_A at 12:02 PM on April 21, 2009 [1 favorite]

In a similar vein: Nedroid is pretty great.
posted by boo_radley at 12:17 PM on April 21, 2009

clockworkjoe: "I found Daisy Owl through the Something Awful webcomics thread but I don't see the Calvin and Hobbes relation. The humor is very dry and the art isn't nearly as vivid as C&H. I do think it's comparable to Achewood though and I am a fan of Daisy Owl. How is Driscoll making a living with Daisy Owl?"

I saw plenty of references to the idea in various blogs and forum posts I came across while I was getting the links (although none of them were fit to post). I think it's due to the fact that most of the other major comics are so steeped in shock humor, high-concept absurdity, or ironic geek in-jokes that a more traditional comic with some heart will tend to stand out for it, and get compared to other comics that were known for that quality.

FWIW, I also saw comparisons to Achewood, but I just never got into that one and decided to skip the reference since I couldn't really judge its accuracy.

As for income, the site itself says "Daisy Owl is supported by signed prints, shirts, donations and happy thoughts."
posted by Rhaomi at 12:21 PM on April 21, 2009

Goddamnit, I have work to do today.
posted by sperose at 12:31 PM on April 21, 2009

"Nightmare" is awesome... wow.
posted by odinsdream at 12:43 PM on April 21, 2009

FWIW, I also saw comparisons to Achewood, but I just never got into that one and decided to skip the reference since I couldn't really judge its accuracy.

Really? I like Daisy Owl, but to me the Achewood similarity is juuuuust short of hard to take. The art, the lettering, the grayscale, the layout, the speech patterns, even the alt-text closing zingers; it's all very, very Achewood. I don't think Driscoll's ripping Chris Onstad off-- despite the similarities, Daisy Owl is clearly its own thing-- but I get a very, very strong feeling that Driscoll was internalizing a lot of Achewood when he was developing the strip.

most of the other major comics are so steeped in shock humor, high-concept absurdity, or ironic geek in-jokes

God, yeah, and man, that's tiring.
posted by COBRA! at 12:45 PM on April 21, 2009

COBRA!: "Really? I like Daisy Owl, but to me the Achewood similarity is juuuuust short of hard to take."

To be clear, when I said I "never got into that one" I meant Achewood itself, not the similarity. That is, I don't read Achewood enough to know if the comparison is apt. But looking at some old strips the visual influence is very noticeable. Driscoll did mention it as an inspiration, though, so I guess it makes sense.

odinsdream: ""Nightmare" is awesome... wow."

It's especially fun when you read the alt text and then go on to the next one.
posted by Rhaomi at 12:56 PM on April 21, 2009

I've been a fan since Rhaomi linked to it in a comment here several months ago. And I suppose it's a matter of taste, but I think Rhaomi missed some of the best ones in the "Highlights" above, so let me suggest my own: Getting Along (early, art style still developing) - The Conveyor Belt of Infinity/Junk - The Rest Stop - Air Mattress - Expiration Dates - Repairs - Medical Science/Recovery Monkey - Dinosaur vs. Firetruck - Smooth - PSA Theater - Laundry Pile
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 12:57 PM on April 21, 2009 [2 favorites]

Some other great webcomics that do not rely on shock humor, high-concept absurdity or ironic geek in-jokes

Dawn of Time
Octopus Pie
Thingpart
Gastrophobia
Wondrella
Bellen
posted by clockworkjoe at 1:04 PM on April 21, 2009 [2 favorites]

Yeah, sort of like a PG version of Achewood. Great find, thanks.
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 1:04 PM on April 21, 2009

I never considered having an extra alt text joke Achewoody. Webcomicy yes, but Achewood is just one of many comics that do that, and I'm pretty sure they weren't the first.
posted by aspo at 1:11 PM on April 21, 2009

my fave is knife boots
posted by joelf at 1:11 PM on April 21, 2009

Who?
posted by inigo2 at 1:17 PM on April 21, 2009

For what it's worth (nothing), I thoroughly enjoyed this comic and have never particularly enjoyed Achewood.

Never disliked it, either, it just never really clicked with me.
posted by HostBryan at 1:40 PM on April 21, 2009

Your webcomic is good and you should feel good.
posted by Atom Eyes at 1:41 PM on April 21, 2009

Thanks for this... I had a hard time ripping myself away(I started at the beginning and have read to Jan 09 so far) just to post here. Lots of smiles to be had here.
posted by owtytrof at 1:55 PM on April 21, 2009

Daisy Owl is linked in my brain to the gorgeous B&W webcomic The Abominable Charles Christopher because I found them within days of each other. TACC is updated roughly weekly, so there's less of a backfile to go through than you think. Highly recommended.
posted by Decimask at 2:41 PM on April 21, 2009 [1 favorite]

Comparing things to Calvin and Hobbes is just silly.

I like this comic, but the art seems almost like an afterthought. this would work equally as well as just words.

My favorite online combination of words and pictures is We the robots.
posted by billyfleetwood at 2:58 PM on April 21, 2009

It does remind me of Achewood. Except this is funny.
posted by webmutant at 5:01 PM on April 21, 2009

I have been thinking of dinosaur atoms all week. Dinosaur atoms- everywhere.
This cartoon has heart.
posted by pointilist at 10:58 PM on April 21, 2009

Wow, yeah, I love this webcomic. Thanks!
posted by malthas at 5:22 AM on April 22, 2009

Oh wow, I've never heard of this one but I like it a lot. There goes my morning...

Also, IANAL jokes? Daisy could be one of us!
posted by Tesseractive at 8:14 AM on April 22, 2009