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Comics/Graphic Novels

15 Short Instagram Webcomics To Make You Smile Right Now

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Rachel Brittain

Contributing Editor

Rachel is a writer from Arkansas, most at home surrounded by forests and animals much like a Disney Princess. She spends most of her time writing stories and playing around in imaginary worlds. You can follow her writing at rachelbrittain.com. Twitter and Instagram: @rachelsbrittain

Reading is weird right now. The world is weird right now. Fortunately, Instagram webcomics are there to help! Well, okay, all they’re really there to do is make us smile, but right now that’s a feat in its own right. For book snobs out there, it may seem like these—much like audiobooks *eye roll*—don’t “count” as reading. But sequential art is sequential art, storytelling is storytelling, and reading webcomics is reading. End of story.

In times of extreme stress, it can be hard to find enough focus to devote to something that requires as much singular attention as reading. It’s definitely true for me, at least. One thing that really helps me during reading funks, though, is picking up a comic. Something short and sweet that I can get through in one sitting often helps kick start my brain back into reading mode. But even if it doesn’t, I’m still left with the satisfaction of having read something again. Maybe these Instagram comics will lead you to comic collections or other works by the artists. Maybe they’ll just make you smile. Either way, they’re well worth your time. So if your usual bookish habits have taken a hit lately, follow these Instagram webcomics to bring a little dash of reading back into your daily routine.

Great Instagram Webcomics

Grickenfish by Jess

Jess coming in strong with some truly relatable humor and great punchlines.

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Can you shovel the soil back in? Thanks.

A post shared by Jess (@grickenfish) on

Hunghang Flashbacks by Drew Borja

Many of the comics are in Tagalog, but some are in English and they’re all absolutely adorable.

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😩 #hhfb #webcomics #relatable #lol #chubs #life

A post shared by HungHang Flashbacks (@hunghangflashbacks) on

Yeah It’s Chill by Christine Rai

Highly relatable, highly funny. You can also get the super cool coloring book she made full of bad words: Bad Words From Around the World.

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I AM MADE OF ESPRESSO 🐝☕️

A post shared by Christine Rai (@yeahitschill) on

Lollibeepop

Adorable comics—what more can I say?

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Plant Parenting

A post shared by Bee (@lollibeepop) on

Cassandra Calin

I love Cassandra Calin’s art style, and her sometimes-joking, sometimes-just-real-life panels are right up my alley. And she drawn a lot of highly relatable quarantine comics recently.

Her next collection is coming out later this year: I Left the House Today!

Poorly Drawn Lines by Reza

Always here for woodland animals humor, and Reza does it so well. You can get a book version, too, if you like: Poorly Drawn Lines: Good Ideas and Amazing Stories

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where is everyone

A post shared by Poorly Drawn Lines (@poorlydrawnlines) on

Valley Ghouls by Kate Leth

Who doesn’t want to read about the fantabulous adventures of Kate Leth and partner as ghoulish iterations of themselves? It’s adorable and relatable with just a hint of spooky—my favorite.

If her artwork looks familiar, it might be because she’s worked on a number of comics as a writer and/or artist, including Fresh Romance, Patsy Walker A.K.A. Hellcat!, and Spells on Wheels.

Sarah Anderson

Sarah Anderson’s comics are always so spot on. They make me laugh every time. I mean, come on—the punch line here is a TikTok dance! You can also read her new comic FANGS online, or peruse her hilarious collections like Herding Cats and Adulthood is a Myth.

Strange Planet by Nathan Pyle

Just some aliens aliening. But seriously I love the word play in this clever comic, and I think you will too. Strange Planet is also collected in book form where you can read about those little aliens being “unprepared for the day” all day long!

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u n p r e p a r e d

A post shared by Strange Planet (@nathanwpylestrangeplanet) on

Liz Climo

If you’re remotely into Instagram comics, this name is probably familiar. And the comics themselves—so pure and adorable! The good news is when you inevitable fall head over heels with her style and humor, you can get even more of her work in book form, like You’re Mom, Please Don’t Eat Me, Lobster is the Best Medicine, and The Little World of Liz Climo.

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#tbt #nope

A post shared by 𝙻𝚒𝚣 𝙲𝚕𝚒𝚖𝚘 (@lizclimo) on

My Life As A Background Slytherin by Emily McGovern

My Life as a Background Slytherin is one of the first webcomics I found and continues to be one of my favorites. I mean, I could watch Snape *jazz-handsing* his way around Hogwarts all day long.

But if brooding over vampires in the highlands if more your thing, McGovern has you covered there, too, with her recent graphic novel, Bloodlust and Bonnets.

Jake Likes Onions by Jake Thompson

These comics lean into that Millennial gallows humor we all know and love. Lots of dark, witty humor, which, frankly, feels appropriate right about now. The tagline to his collection seems to sum it up pretty nicely: The Book of Onions: Comics to Make You Cry Laughing and Cry Crying

Webcomic Name by Alex Norris

Oh no? Oh No.

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my only memory is that I have read it

A post shared by Alex Norris (@webcomic_name) on

Squires by James Squires

Hilariously dark and ironic comics.

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Ya, I dunno. A comic . . . #acomic

A post shared by Squires (@squireseses) on

Lucy Knisley

Look, I’m just a sucker for good cat humor, y’all, and Lucy Knisley has peak cat humor. Peak, I tell you! She’s also written a number of graphic novels, including French Milk, Relish, and Kid Gloves.


Did you think that was all the webcomics we could recommend? Oh ho ho no. Here have some more Instagram comics to follow, 6 more comics to read on Instagram, comics chronicling COVID-19, 50 webcomics to check out, the 10 best webcomics for newcomers, and 3 webcomics you can read straight through.