GOATS

Second compilation of Rosenberg’s popular, long-running Web comic.

Hot on the heels of Goats: Infinite Typewriters (2009), this installment covers comics posted on goats.com from January 2006 to February 2007. The Goats universe is wacky but surprisingly complicated, as the strip has been running since 1997. A short introduction by science-fiction author Charles Stross does nothing to clarify matters, though he emulates the zany tone; Rosenberg helpfully includes a summary of the story so far, to get newbies up to speed. The plot involves a computer programmer who may be the only one who can fix a bug in the universe’s programming and thus avert the apocalypse. Other significant factors include a cyborg fish, evil chickens, beer, interdimensional travel and…Woody Allen. The humor runs the gamut from a sharp satire of libertarianism to poop jokes. Some gags fall flat, but the strip is well-drawn and consistently entertaining.

Funny, though it’s worth pointing out that, at last check, this material was still available for viewing on the website—which raises the question of why this compilation exists at all.