Comics

Most of these comics have pretty decent art, as that is important to me. Some, like XKCD, don't even try to be particularly artistic, but make up for it in other ways.

One-shots (and short arcs)

These can be read in any order, as none of the comics really have any relation to each other. They may occasionally have short story arcs, but generally not more than 4-5 strips long. They may also have recurring characters, but no real character development. There is no need to read the archives to get what is going on.

Bizarro (Daily)
Odd-ball one-shot comics. Often involving puns.
Buttersafe (Tu,Th)
Odd-ball one-shot comics, but in a very different style to Bizarro.
channelATE (M,W,F)
One-shots, pretty much all involving the "unexpected reveal" as the punchline.
Cynaide & Happiness (Daily)
One-shots, often offensive. Various artists, so quality (of jokes) is variable.
Dilbert (Daily)
Long-running comic about a software engineer's work life, but with few story arcs.
Non Sequituer (Daily)
A mixture of one-shots and story-lines, with recurring charactes for the storylines. Often makes fun of (US) politicians and the media.
Partially Clips (Tu)
Clip-art is mocked by adding speech bubbles.
PHD Comics (M,W,F)
Hilarious if you are a graduate student or have engaged in research. Otherwise you probably won't get it.
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal (Daily)
Geeky one-shots.
XKCD (M,W,F)
"A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math and language". Exceptionally geeky one-shots.

Character-based

These generally have short to medium story arcs, but the characters involved can change over time. Reading the archives isn't generally necessary, but can give useful context.

Boy Meets Boy (Finished)
An early comic by K. Sandra Fuhr. A gay couple live in an apartment owned by the devil's daughter. This comic has come to an end, and is superceded by Friendly Hostility.
Doctor Cat (Weekly)
A cat who is a doctor. How much more adorable could you get?
Dresden Codak (Occasionally)
A mixture of stories (mostly not that long, although Hob is a major exception) and one-shots. Very surreal, with absolutely amazing artwork, and the source of the wonderful Dungeons and Discourse ([part 2](http://dresdencodak.com/2009/01/27/advanced-dungeons-and-discourse/)).
Friendly Hostility (Finished)
Set in the same world as Boy Meets Boy, following two incidental characters that appeared towards the end of that strip. Wonderful characters, variable artwork, very little plot. This comic has come to and end, and is superceded by Other People's Business.
Girls with Slingshots (Week days)
The lives of best friends Jamie and Hazel, and Hazel's talking cactus.
Questionable Content (Week days)
Excellent comic that started off mocking the "indie" crowd in a good-natured way, but developed beyond that.
Real Life (Week days)
Semi-autobiographical comic about the cartoonist and his geeky friends, but with some whacky stuff in there as well.
Scandinavia and the World
The countries of the world personified, with a focus on the Scandinavian ones. Very funny. The artist's comments at the bottom of each comic are generally worth reading.
Sinfest (Daily)
Short story arcs with recurring characters, including the cartoonist's pets, the God of Abraham (who mocks people with sock puppets), the devil (who is mocked with sock puppets), a chinese dragon, Bhudda and a variety of mortals.
Shortpacked! (Week days)
The life and times of an action-figure obsessed man who works in a toystore, and his friends and co-workers.
Something Positive (Roughly daily)
Follows the lives of a cynical, sarcastic man and his friends. Not everyone's cup of tea. Large archive, although it isn't really necessary to read it.

Story-based

These have long-running stories (or may even be one long story), and should be read from start to finish.

Atland (Th)
Adventure story (actually just starting a second story, with most of the same characters). Gory and violent.
Cuanta Vida
A Team Fortress 2 fancomic. A little bit slashy.
Dominic Deegan, Oracle for Hire (Weekdays)
Epic storylines, dastardly plans and puns. Lots of puns.
Go Get a Roomie
"Roomie" has no home of her own, instead she shares the beds of other women.
Gunnerkrigg Court (M,W,F)
Odd and wonderful, with fantastic artwork. Revolves around a girl who goes to school in a place (Gunnerkrigg Court) where technology and magic sometimes clash and sometimes combine.
Incubus Tales - definitely NSFW
The tales of a male succubus.
I Was Kidnapped By Lesbian Pirates From Outer Space (M,W,F)
Does what it says on the tin, basically. Drawn in the style of comics from the mid-twentieth century.
Khaos Komix (About twice a week)
Six stories (five of them complete) about a group of friends at 6th form college, and the beginnings of relationships. Two involve gay men, two lesbian women and two transgender people.
MegaTokyo (Erratic)
Two Americans go to Japan and cause havoc.
Ménage à 3 - NSFW
A guy's flatmates hook up and move out, and the replaements make his life far from dull. Contains a lot of casual sex (between all genders).
Order of the Stick (M,W,F)
A must-read if you like tabletop RPGs, but funny and engaging even if (like me) you've never played in your life.
Other People's Business (M,W,F)
Corporate corruption and the supernatural. An unemployed alcoholic women tries to get to the bottom of the death of the father of a theif, and finds more than she bargained for. Also has commentry for each comic which is worth reading. Set in the same world (with some of the same characters) as Friendly Hostility.
Paradox (M,W,F) - occasionally NSFW
Set in a world where different humanoid races at war, mainly with the aggressive "normal" humans. Gods and demons are involved.
Richard's Comix Blog (Highly erratic)
Several Doctor Who fancomics.
Sanda and Woo (M,Th)
The tale of a girl and her talking racoon. Witty and very well drawn.
Schlock Mercenary (Daily)
A space opera about a band of mercenaries. There is a large archive, but it is well worth reading it. Howard Taylor tells good stories.
Search for the Truth (Erratic)
An amusing (and well-drawn) Doctor Who fancomic.
Shounen Fight! (Tu,F/Erratic)
A magical girl comic, but with boys. Really nice art.
Sluggy Freelance (Daily)
Funny but not too silly. Involves magic and technology in a modern-day setting.
Teahouse - definitely NSFW
Life in a brothel. Good artwork.
The Abominable Charles Christopher (W)
The story of Charles Christopher, a... creature. Interspersed with amusing one-shots of other anthropomorphic wildlife.
The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal (Tu) - occasionally NSFW
Two guys take a road trip and fall in love. Lots of music references.
Two Keys
A "comic noir". A retired investigaor, now a coffee-shop proprieter, gets dragged into occult investigations he wants nothing to do with.
Ubersoft Helpdesk (Erratic)
Poor artwork, but amsuing if you have much to do with computers. A mixture of long and short story lines and one-shots.
Uitspan Era
Comic about magic (based on will rather than words). Really good artwork, and a promising story so far.
YU+ME: dream
Surreal story about lesbian girls who find each other in a dream world. Contains several unexpected twists.

Possibly dead

These haven't updated in quite a while.

Artifact
Epic story, set in space, about a mysterious artifact.
Hanna Is Not A Boy's Name
Excellent comic about a hyperactive supernatural investigator called Hanna and his associate, a zombie who can't remember his life.