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This week, I review Randym Thoughts, by Randy Tayler.

Randy Tayler may draw the most unjustifiably unknown comic on the web. People familiar with Schlock Mercenary will certainly recognize the unusual spelling of his last name; Randy is Howard's younger brother. Comparing their comics, however, is a matter of apples to oranges.

While Howard's strip is a serial character-and-plot driven story, Randy draws single-panel comics reminiscent of "The Far Side" and "Rhymes With Orange" -- except his laugh-to-comic ratio is higher (at least for me). Whereas Larson (Gary. You know. Of "The Far Side," you uneducated lout) had a moderately narrow base of ideas -- another elephant joke, another scientist joke, another cow joke -- Randy seldom relies on repeat business for his humor. I don't know of any other comic artist who could have come up with the Baldness Fairy, pirates at a 3-D movie, or a man rubbing a genie's lamp with a magical monkey's paw. Everyone needs to read Randy's comics. I won't guarantee you'll get all of them -- his wife apparently doesn't get or doesn't appreciate most of them, and one or two have slipped by me -- but I would pay good money for a Randym Thoughts daily calendar.

Randy's drawing style is simple and unrefined, but in my opinion the artwork enhances the comedy. Every day I look forward to reading this comic, and I am very, very rarely disappointed. The only real complaint I can generate is that Randy is possibly a bit too hard on himself, having apologized on occasion for a joke that fell flat. Even the greatest comedians and artists have laid an egg or two. I would not be at all surprised if someday Randy Tayler was counted among them; he is certainly one of the most inventive comic artists online today.

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