Gunnerkrigg Court (Score 1)

First, Gunnerkrigg Court wins my vote for sparking more Wikipedia adventures to understand how deep the rabbit hole goes than anything but XKCD. Second, it is thought provoking both artistically and intellectually.

For those who have not read GK: The story (generally) follows the young Antimony through her arrival and schooling at Gunnerkrigg Court: a place that merges magic and technology. Nearby is the forest, populated by mythical creatures and gods (think Princess Mononoke). GK is a well told coming of age story between Antimony and her friends. At the same time GK is a beautifully rendered creation myth intertwining morality and the force of human belief.

Tom Siddell has masterfully crafted dozens of characters, each of which has a fully developed personality. Side characters reenter as necessary and provide a wonderful feeling of continuity and believability to the strip. The multiple storylines are distinct in tone and purpose but are never confusing, an issue many of the story based comics mentioned suffer from.

GK's tone shifts smoothly from childish fun (think the first 3 Harry Potter books) to dark examinations of natural and mystical philosophy. Its pantheon and art contains strong influences from Native American cultures and styles, such as the character of Coyote, but also others such as the Chinese Chang'e and the multicultural psychopomps. Tom manages to seamlessly integrate several art styles and mythos into a cohesive world. However, his world includes the mechanical (the heartbreaking story of the robots) and the natural, such as his crab couple inspired by eurypterids. Or this. http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/?p=688. When I wikipedia from GK, it could be to find out more about Muut or xiphosura.

For the overarching story, the intellectual challenge, and the smooth transition between art styles and tone, I put Gunnkrigg Court at the top.