This isn’t just about noticing/critiquing little known comics, it’s about general reviews of what I see. Thus, I’ve no issue taking on better known strips, because everyone has their flaws, be it issues with regularity, artist-fan attitudes, or general lulls in their genius. As a regular fan, I can still shred Megatokyo, CloneManga, Chugworth, and especially Dueling Analogs for the popcorn-semi-enjoyable piece of shit it is. And as popular as those are, I’m sure there’s people still unfamiliar with any one of them. Scary-go-round and 8-bit Theater never gets enough props, so they’ll be in the future as well.

This isn’t an ego trip to beat down the little guy or the big guy. This is honest opinions.

Here we go: Natalie Dee.

We go back two years or so–not personally, but as reader/artist. She and her hubby live about 30 miles away. Go Ohio.

Natalie Dee is a single panel MS-Paintish goddess. She’s a daily-strip (not just mon-fri) goddess. I’m not sure what else they do, but it seems she makes a living off this shit. She is a catchphrase machine, quickly turning comics into t-shirts when she makes something that resonates (and it might only be ‘let’s make sandwiches’ featuring a loaf of bread and can of tuna.

For years and years it’s been nothing but daily observations and oddities that capture not just her own point of view on the world and internet, but her readers’ as well. She regularly rips on blogs (while having a blog), Myspace (while having a Myspace), her doggies, her artistic and musical interests, and the other modern fallacies of youth-culture. Parody/satire at it’s most simple, and it’s best. Instantly relatable for anyone being around the interwebs for 6 months+.

A lot of people make it look like work, hiding sarcasm and disdain within long strings of text. Natalie can do it in a sentence and stick-figure image.

Her blog–linked to the main site–is a bi-weekly commentary on the absurdity of her e-fame, her city, and the paradoxal-hypocrisy of having a blog in the first place. I was put-off by the fan-hate initially, until I recognized the retardation she puts up with from those rare individuals stupid enough to be quote-worthy. It’s really all about having an even keel and not kissing ass to the people who like you, while not insulting your regular fans in the process. Tough balance.

Sure, there may be panda-ghosts, fruit-racism, and snakes-in-tiger-costumes, but it’s not so much random as clever. Often, the strip titles are the punchlines. The site is quick-loading and simple, needing no back-up other than it’s own content.

FAQ? Unnecessary (though entertaining). Bio? Fuck it. It’s all there to see and enjoy.