Earlier I wrote about Wapsi Square by Paul Taylor; today I’d like to share another webcomic which has long delighted me, to wit, Doc Rat by Jenner.

Jenner (a pseudonym) is a real-live physician from down under, and he works his professional experience into a long-running – 7 years now – story about Doctor Rat and his practice. Recently he tossed out a contest in which he asked his fans to write him about why they enjoyed the strip; today in the mail I received a wonderful bit of treasure, one of his original strips, having been selected as one of his five winners.

For me, this is a Big Deal. I love supporting the artists whose work I enjoy, directly or indirectly, and to have a bit of their handiwork on my wall is like icing on the cake. I’m very grateful to Doc Jenner for his kindness, which included a warm and personal letter.

The strip fluctuates between gag-a-day format (often involving some horrid pun or other):

Groan…

“Four black skulls” – I love that…

I concur

Every time

Drug marketing is given no quarter

and extended arcs dealing with the life and challenges of Doctor Rat, his friends, associates, and patients:

Many of these stories are out-and-out tearjerkers; well-written, current, and relevant to events and issues of the day. I even used one to communicate my feelings to my then-intended and now-wife:

With seven years of daily strips behind him, there are over 1800 Doc Rat strips to enjoy; the link I provided above is to the start of the series. Jenner’s website is undergoing an upgrade, and his developer has run into a few difficulties, so the site is a bit slow at the moment; fortunately for devotees, there are 10 Books available for purchase, with both Australian and USA prices.

There are thousands of webcomics available, but given time restrictions one has to be selective. This is one of a handful that I look forward to on a daily basis, and I recommend it without hesitation.

The Old Wolf has spoken.