This isn't so much a criticism as a suggestion/request. I got spoiled with Go Comics and a few other web comics sites who have the following feature. I would love it if the comic discussion could be located either under the comic (where the blog post currently is) or at least on the same page.
The benefit to the strip would be to encourage greater involvement from the audience. Even though commenting on the forum is relatively easy, people are incredibly lazy. If it is right there where they have to do almost nothing other than a single click, they tend to participate more. And the benefit to the audience is - well ... speaking as a fan, I enjoy seeing conversation (and occasionally chiming in) about the strips I like. I believe I am typical in that.