The thing about comics is they’re written in a universal language. The panels of images and words can be used in any combination and setting to convey universal truths, humor, pathos, education and more. Which is probably why they play such an important part in our collective culture.

The web has spawned a huge comic industry, but the part we’re most fascinated with is the ability of anyone to use their browser to create a comic of their own. Which is why we’re loving the Pixton service, which delivers that and more.

There’s nothing new about online comic creators, we’ve covered them before, but Pixton goes one stage further than typical sites by offering a really nice and easy interface, along with some cool social community stuff which makes everything a bit of a game.

Creating your own free comic is an easy 1,2,3 process. Just select the type of comic, and a template (or build your own), and you can then either completely craft your own characters or select from a large and massively customizable set available in the library.

It’s so fast you can be up and running in minutes, and have a full comic out of the door in less time than it takes to make a cup of coffee. Which is probably a lot quicker than Dilbert takes!

The basic free version of the service lets you create unlimited free comics with posable characters and share them etc, but the fee based version gives you the ability to do animated stuff, super long ones and upload photos. All in all this is a great package, not just for comic hobbyists but for educators and people with a message. Cool.