Generally speaking, I really like the narrative-driven comics with a lot of world building (which is what I hope I can accomplish) and the rest don't grab me so much.
Hrmmm.
Mansion of E is one of the first things I think of with world-building, but that is most of what it has, and the world is, perhaps, just a touch on the... uhh... flippant? side, and likely won't appeal to everyone. Also the art is not the most refined, and it is light on action anyway, with very few set-pieces, so... I doubt it will appeal, but it is worth a shot. (and the link is to the Dwarf Fortress page, rather than the first, but it gives a look at where the art gets to...)
It's first ten pages have a fourth-wall joke, the "tough woman" thing, a pragmatism joke, and inferences to an eldritch basement. Which is not wrong, but is not the best hook for a comic that spends much of its time discussing alien ecologies. And then the 11th is a reference to a Far Side comic and will likely make little sense if you don't know about the only part of the buffalo they don't use.
What Birds Know is pretty much the opposite of what you described, but if I get to inflict it upon someone, then yay!? Just don't let yourself like any of the characters and you should be fine...
The Din and
Stand Still, Stay Silent have very similar introductions, themes, and premises, but very different tones and environments. Both put some effort into their worlds and seem to have an interest in narrative. I expect that S.S.S.S. is more your style though, and seems the vastly more popular work and not without reason...
Outsider looks interesting at first, but seems to be veering into wish-fulfilment and may have a worse update-schedule than Dragon Mango...(Both of which are actually updating as near as I can tell, but you wouldn't get a reading from standard instrumentation...) Speaking of
Dragon Mango, it sort of seems to qualify for everything you said, but, ehh, mileage may vary. It has food puns...
Galaxion meanwhile is probably more like what you would hope from Outsider. Not much action, but it more-or-less conveys a story.
Sister Claire has elements of what you describe, but takes a long time to get to them. I, umm, think it is N.S.F.W.? I have a lot of difficulty keeping track of that sort of thing...
I think I'll just drop
Nextuus and
Vexxarr here undescribed. You have ten or however many pages to decide if its a trap...
Kidd Commander is sorta Lovecraftian superheroes with a dash of magical girl? Probably worth an attempt...
My Life at War, has narrative, extremely mired narrative, but that is somewhat the point. There is also a setting... And it is just fun to link it...
Can you tolerate sprite comics?Miamaska is another one that might be more setting than narrative, but in a very different way. might be worth a glance but probably isn't what you are looking for.
Posting
this because I can. Muwahahahaha! Honestly I have been having trouble getting the site to work so I'm not sure if it is what I think it it.
Back might be worth a shot...
It has been a very long time, but I think that
this is a thing that I liked? and sort-of matched your description? possibly?
Meh, Imma drop
this too. Never know... And, uhhh,
maybe? And then a
perhaps? With a
why not? And let's
take a stab...
Oh, and
Atomic Robo is worth a mention...
Then there is
this thing which doesn't "look" dead, but isn't updating either...
Well, that's my impersonation of a pinata. Hopefully you can test your "do I want to keep reading" skills on it...
For myself I am useless, my standards are way too low. I read Magical Misfits to the space arc of all things, errrgh... It is basically all the narrative flaws of Schlock Mercenary distilled to glaring obviousness, so it could ruin that for you too by pointing out the seams... So yes, I have no standards, I read until it becomes clear that it has nothing of interest for me, which is pretty quick for purely mundane works, and most extreme wish-fulfilment, but otherwise it'll need to beat me over the head repeatedly with its terribleness and also hang the cliff one to many times for me to realise that the last vestige of curiosity will not be paid off in this lifetime.