A robot who rhymes with ‘mango’
Often the best comic strip is the one that takes reality, tweaks it just slightly, and runs with the premise (and scissors, too, probably). Diesel Sweeties is such a comic, and its subtle twist on the norm is that intelligent, sensitive robots exist and want to be loved. The site’s namesake, Clango, is a hunka-hunka-hunka metal with a porn star girlfriend, Maura. The rest of the strip’s characters include Indie Rock Pete, Maura’s vapid sister, the toaster, and Red Robot #C-63, who wants to kill all hu-mans! Scathing in its commentary, simple in its design but nuanced in its details, Diesel Sweeties is just plain cool.
A full archive can be found on the site, with around 700 different strips to input and enjoy. Creator Rich Stevens also sells the shirts, stickers and a whole raft of merchandise from the strip, so readers can share a wardrobe with their favorite characters. Truly hardcore fans can download desktop icons to compute with their pals. How about that.
