So I’ve been thinking about doing a weekly webcomic column here, but it occurred to me that I’m not actually that up on the webcomic scene. That said, I’ve got a few thoughts on the whole concept, as well as a couple of favorites.
I wrote below that print is dying, and I’m sticking by that assertion. However, to clarify, I would like to note that newspapers will be the first to go, and that magazines and books will be sticking around far longer. It just isn’t pleasant to read long articles or books on a computer screen, and I’ve only met one person who owned a Kindle–and that guy also had three cell phones and two laptops just in his bag.
Comics, I think, will maintain a print following for quite a while. The art looks better on paper, and comics fans tend to be the type of people who like the tangible items to collect. We’re pack rats. We see nothing wrong with buying all the single issues of a book, the trades, and then the fancy reissues when those come out, too.
Still, the Web has a place in the comics community, and not just as a place for talking about comics.
Webcomics seem to come in a couple of varieties (bear in mind that, as I noted above, I’m not really up on the webcomics world, and I’d love your input). There’s the comic strip, which seems to be taking over for newspaper comic strips the way Web sites are taking over for newspapers. Most of you are probably familiar with them, and some of your favorite print comic creators do webcomic strips too–I happen to love Becky Cloonan’s Comic Attacks.
These are bite-size comics that don’t tie into a longer narrative, and can be consumed quickly, like an mp3 or a blog post. Many media critics, Warren Ellis among them, have noted that the Web is a place for short bits of information. Ellis called it “burst culture.” Webcomics like this fit perfectly into that picture.
Before you accuse me of giving Warren Ellis too much credit, I’m about to pick on him. I adore Freakangels–it’s free, it’s weekly, it’s as pretty as any print comic. But it’s still intrinsically a print comic put on the Web. It’s formatted the same way as a print comic–which is the opposite shape of your computer monitor–and its narrative lends itself to backtracking and re-reading in large chunks. I often forget it or skip it for three or four weeks and then read it in bunches about the size of a monthly print comic.
And it is being released in trade by Avatar. They have to make their money back somehow, and I will most likely buy all the trades of it eventually and read it in long form, and probably like it even better.
But I wonder if there’s a better format for webcomics than just adapting print comics to the screen. I think Ellis will probably learn a lot from this experiment, though, and I wonder what’s next for him in the world of the Web.
I haven’t played too much with Zuda, but it seems to be formatted at least a bit more specifically to the Web. It runs on Flash, which I suspect might be the way to go. Flash webcomics could quickly blur the line between print and animation, and this could lead to some interesting experiments. I also like that Zuda allows you to vote on the best comic. The Web is a much more participatory medium than print–your input is invited, immediate, and both sides benefit–the creator from the immediate fan input, and the fans from feeling involved in the process.
The panel-by-panel approach seems to be popular–I’ve read several of Dean Haspiel‘s webcomics, and I like the format. One panel per page, simple black-and-white drawings (if you’re going to lose some of the quality staring at the screen, then why do intricate detail and color work?) and fun stories that you can read in one sitting.
The more I think about webcomics, the more potential I see in the whole idea. I’m not going to stop buying monthlies (or Absolute Sandman books), but I’m planning on spending a lot more time scoping out what’s on the Web.
So, Blog@ readers, what are your fave webcomics? What are the pros and cons of the Web, and which formats do you prefer?
December 28th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
Why is Wowio always ignored in articles about webcomics? They had a rough summer, sure, but are straightening things out and there’s still a lot of potential in that business model.
December 28th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
First off, Jeremiah, I don’t think that Sarah was ignoring Wowio as part of any design. She was talking about format rather than delivery system. And, as she noted for another instance, the vast amount of material on Wowio was and is books that were either in print previously or carry a design for print medium adaptation (like the Fangoria/Scream Factory books that I worked on). I believe Sarah is talking about comics made and intended for the web.
December 28th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
I love Webcomics. You should start checking out some of the websites devoted to webcomic news for a good start, comixtalk.com , webcomics.com – Things like Wowio or even Marvels “digital” comics aren’t really “webcomics” , just reprinted print comics online. Webcomics generally means an original comic published first on the web.
While I like some of the gag-a-day type webcomics, PVP, Schlock Mercenary, and Penny Arcade I really enjoy following along with storyline comics.
Some of my favorites are
Girl Genius: girlgeniusonline.com/
Hero By Night: herobynight.com (no longer publishing but tons of stuff there)
Freak Angels (superb!)
Flobots at flobots.net
The Dreamer: thedreamercomic.com
December 28th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
I like the versatility of web comics and that there’s such a variety in the format and delivery methods.
XKCD, Backstage, Happiness & Cyanide, Qwantz, The Ten Doctors, Intergalactic Law and High Moon have replaced floppies for me.
I opt for the collected editions in print and use web comics to get my weekly (sometimes daily) fix for awesome comics.
December 28th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
No d-baggery intended if that was the impression, guys.
It’s a strange time in the industry and there’ll be a lot of growing pains before comics figures out how to expand beyond the print medium. It’s worth noting the fluidity we’re going to start seeing in print-to-web and web-to-print relations, though, if FREAKANGELS and Marvel’s recent online initiatives are to be believed. Sarah kinda pointed this out but I think we’re going to see a lot more of it in the near (if not immediate) future.
Pro: When the Big Two start testing their properties online, figuring out what to push or fishing for popularity via web avenues — what books get the most hits, what original web content gets the most attention, etc. — that’s when things will really get good. It’s another way for companies to cater to their audiences. Webcomics readers are like a giant, untapped focus group in that respect.
Con: What’s frustrating is the fact that it’s hard to find really high quality web content without first plowing through dozens if not hundreds of really terrible strips, and everybody is always shilling something else regardless of quality. The web is so expansive that the lack of organization may end up hurting the movement in the meantime.
December 28th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
You know, Shadowline is hosting *SEVERAL* great webcomics these days… mine included.
I’m just sayin’.
December 28th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
I tend to just like the comic strip style webcomics. Xkcd, questionable content, amazing superpowers, 8 bit theater. Fits well with the burst concept.
December 28th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
@ Hokey: There might not be a lot of original web material on Wowio or Marve’s DCU but it does exist. “Home Invasion” has been joined by a lot of new online content in the last few weeks and months, and I myself write web original comics on Wowio, so it happens but there’s a popular misconception about what these services offer. I don’t know much about the site but I think DriveThruComics gets a ton of original stuff, as well.
December 28th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
http://www.act-i-vate.com
Thx for the props, Sarah!
December 29th, 2008 at 12:37 am
I thought of more web comics I heart…
We the Robots, Perry Bible Fellowship, Girls with Slingshots and Doctor McNinja.
December 29th, 2008 at 1:05 am
Since we’re discussing webcomics, would it be out of line for me to ask you to check ours out and see what you think?
If you like making people feel stupid, it might be right up your alley.
http://letsbefriendsagain.com/
December 29th, 2008 at 1:47 am
Dash Shaw’s Bodyworld is pretty much the only webcomic worth reading at this point that actually does something interesting with the medium and will be worth remembering in a few years.
Achewood was good up until earlier this year, but it still hasn’t really recovered from the godawful wedding arc, and update Onstad’s schedule is extremely erratic at this point with all the publicity he’s doing.
Penny Arcade gets points with me solely based off of how far they push the boundaries of taste. What other massive commercial success in any fictional medium has a protagonist that is a clost bestiality fetishist? Their actually videogame commentary is pretty forgettable at this point, though.
XKCD isn’t a comic by the way, it’s a regularly updated case study in Asperger’s syndrome.
December 29th, 2008 at 3:59 am
questionablecontent.net
girlyyy.com
Order of the Stick @ giantitp.com
Looking for Group @ lfgcomic.com
drmcninja.com
darthsanddroids.net
misfile.com
samandfuzzy.com
Those are some of my favorites.
December 29th, 2008 at 8:50 am
Thanks for all the suggestions!
I’m going to try to feature a weekly webcomic, but as Jeremiah noted, it’s hard to find good content on the Web. The Web allows everyone to publish whatever they’d like, but it certainly doesn’t make it easy for other people to find things.
That’s why your friendly neighborhood comic shop is such a great thing, really. I’ve never met a comic shop employee who was shy about telling me what else I’d like if I bought a certain book.
December 29th, 2008 at 10:03 am
I’m not sure of it’s the economy or just my changing tastes, but I’m reading a lot more free webcomics these days than I am buying print comic books. I also like the shorter “burst culture” style ones. My favorites are:
Chris Onstad’s Achewood
http://www.achewood.com/
Eric Millikin’s Fetus-X and Eric Monster
http://www.serializer.net/comics/fetusx.php
http://www.ericmonster.com/
Dinosaur Comics
http://www.qwantz.com/
Diesel Sweeties
http://www.dieselsweeties.com/
December 29th, 2008 at 11:02 am
If you’re not looking at
http://activatecomix.com
Then you don’t know Webcomics
Also
http://www.lillymackenzie.com/
I’m told has much to recommend it…
December 29th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
I do a weekly adventure comic http://www.hauntedcomic.com
It’s formatted like a standard print comic. I have some of the issues that Freak Angels has that Sarah refers too.
Most hit webcomics seem to be the shorter gag strips that fit comfortably on screen. Though there are certainly exceptions.
December 29th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
I personally enjoy PvP (pvponline.com) along with the previously mentioned Penny Arcade and Order of the Stick.
Take care,
Filip Sablik
Publisher, Top Cow Productions
Read a free issue of Witchbade at http://www.topcow.com/witchblade
December 29th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
It’s no longer publishing new content, but my true-life graphic novel “A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge” is still up in its entirety at the SMITH magazine website — which also publishes “Next-Door Neighbor” and put out the critically acclaimed “Shooting War.”
“A.D.” and “Shooting War” are both long-form, finite stories, whereas “Next-Door Neighbor” is a series of short pieces by different cartoonists. All three of them debuted on SMITH and are all due for print publication. (In “Shooting War”‘s case, it already happened!) In addition, “A.D.” is a unique web experience (not duplicatable in print), where the reader can follow links embedded in the comic to explore audio, video, and other content related to the story of New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina.
And best of all, all these SMITH comics are free to read!
http://www.smithmag.net/afterthedeluge
http://www.shootingwar.com
http://www.smithmag.net/nextdoorneighbor
- josh
December 29th, 2008 at 10:17 pm
Like Dirk said, check out some Shadowline comics like ACTION, OHIO by Paul Salvi and myself:
http://www.shadowlinecomics.com/webcomics/#/actionohio/
Action, Ohio asks what might happen if the comic book industry as we know it today was created to hide the existence of real-life superheroes living in the heart of Ohio? Running one page per week at Image Comics/Shadowline’s festive, red webcomics hub, the story explores detective Andrea Bruce’s private dilemma and the sacrifices she must make in order to save an isolated community struggling to contain its secrets. Choosing between solving a murder and opening a Pandora’s Box of evil or putting aside her vendetta to help a group of heroes contain their existence and freedoms, Andrea unfolds the mysteries of a sleepy little town that inspired the Silver Age of comic books and races to find a killer before he forces its inhabitants to reveal themselves and destroy the world.
Chapter Two began last week and a new four-color, thrilling page goes live every Monday. For the complete ACTION holiday experience, check out and share these virtual stocking stuffers:
Newsarama interview:
http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=158374
io9 interview;
http://io9.com/389345/neil-kleid-finds-action-and-superheroes-in-ohio
Message Board:
http://www.kris-korner.com/forum/index.php?board=54.0
From all of us at Action, Ohio and Shadowline webcomics, have an action-packed holiday season and an incredible New Year.
December 29th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
David Rodriguez and Dave Reynolds do a lovely webcomic called Shadowgirls at http://www.ShadowGirlsComic.com/ I mention David’s book because his success with Shadowgirls is inspiring. David’s published books with Archaia Studios [even working with noted author Piers Anthony] as well as Arcana Studio, yet David assures me Shadowgirls gains him more notoriety than all of his print work together.
His success pushed me to launch http://ComicsByEgg.com/ and my webcomic, Global Freezing. My experience with Global Freezing is beautiful. For less than $10 a month and time invested I can produce a story about Earth-at-below-32-degrees where bumpkins who talk to themselves gorge on monsters while dogs contemplate the meaning of love. And it’s all colored white and blue save Santa, of course. I mean, it’s Santa… I couldn’t color him blue… that would have been unseemly.
Global Freezing is not something that could be built in print… it’s too eclectic and slow-paced. Webcomics are a wonderful forum where this type of work is an option.
By the by, thanks for posting this article! I read everything I can about webcomics hoping to learn how to make mine work.
Egg Embry
http://ComicsByEgg.com/
December 30th, 2008 at 12:37 am
Besides my BILLY DOGMA webcomix at ACT-I-VATE, I also do –
STREET CODE for Zuda: http://www.zudacomics.com/street_code
FRANKENSTEIN’S MONSTER VS WEREWOLF BY NIGHT for Marvel.com: http://marvel.com/digitalcomics/titles/HALLOWEEN_SPECIAL_ISSUE.2008.1
–and I recently did SNOW DOPE for the NY Times: http://proof.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/20/snow-dope/
December 30th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Sarah,
The weird thing about webcomix for me is the fact that I was so reluctant to embrace them at first… yet I can’t see a world without them now.
After years of being a member of Act-i-vate, I’ve seen the immediate and positive cause and effect of having comics online. The feedback is direct, the creative enthusiasm is infectious, and the “distribution” is limitless.
With the “do-it-yourself” ethos inherent to webcomix, anyone can post any type of comic at any time. This leads to a deluge of material, so having a column to regularly discuss and dissect webcomix can only be helpful in sorting out what is appealing to whom.
I’ve seen a lot of great stuff over at Transmission X, and Zuda had a nice variety of stuff, but I 100% champion http://activatecomix.com
I have a few comics you might like, which may be found at http://act-i-vate.com/creators?id=9
best, Michel Fiffe
December 31st, 2008 at 2:07 am
Dirk and Neil are my brothers at the Shadowline webcomics community! It’s true that there’s more to webcomics than the gag-a-day strips. As webcomics evolve, so does the content. Shadowline has been pretty good at showcasing the diversity of the format.
“Chicago:1968″ is a political drama at http://www.shadowlinecomics.com/webcomics/#/chicago1968/ and http://www.lenkody.com/chicago1968
swing by the forum, why doncha? http://www.kris-korner.com/forum/index.php?board=51.0
December 31st, 2008 at 6:37 pm
Well, I was thinking of pimping my comic in the comments section here, but after the link glut that just preceded me, there doesn’t seem to be much point!
About the article. Relegating the web to being about ‘burst culture’ is seriously underestimating the web. It’s *more* bursty, sure, but one shouldn’t confuse being better at something with being worse at the things that have gone before. Having something live and online has so many advantages to it, that the slightly less convenient available reading scenarioes compared to print is not nearly as consequential and will ultimately fade away, especially as handheld devices become better and more universally adopted. (BTW the Kindle just doesn’t cut it — without reading PDFs natively it’s like inventing the iPod without allowing it to play MP3s — in other words, woefully misguided much like the Apple TV – even Apple didn’t learn its own lessons in this regard.)
In other words, common objections to literature being ‘harder to read’ compared to older media will became obselete faster than the actual older media they are meant to protect.
Those older media will be around with us a long time, the same way that film will always exist, because it isn’t just a technology: it’s a style. Like engraving, it will always exist for at least that purpose; print will never die it will just become more and more a rarefied collector’s culture and less the ‘people’s medium’. That is natural and as it should be.
And I’ve seen people sit and stare at websites for hours on end. Trust me: the resistance to long-form art on the web is purely psychological in cases where older media is still available, and will ultimately fall away as the landscape changes and it becomes clear that the screen is our new Lingua Franca. Engraved stone tablets are easier to read than little black ink etchings laid on wood pulp. But we don’t think about that anymore; that superiority no longer matters. The same will go for whatever superiorities you currently believe are endemic to print. The technoculture will adapt to overcome those objections and besides, it will become so ubiquitous that old advantages will be drowned in the new noise.
Again: as they should be.
As for the tall format being denigrated in favour of a 4:3 computer screen aspect ratio: that’s purely a matter of fashion and style. People are quite willing to scroll web pages. If everyone starts to present in 4:3 then somebody will come along and present an infinitely scrolling 1:40 comic and break that conventional wisdom wide open. On the web the format isn’t fixed. If you want to make it more compatible with an ultimate print run, some techno-enthusiasts might take issue with that, but that objection will like the others be very short-lived.
Ultimately, there is no aspect ratio to web content. I believe that’s the most accurate way to think about it that will stand the test of time.
January 2nd, 2009 at 6:07 am
That was pretty much all really well said, Laroquod.
January 2nd, 2009 at 11:41 am
I came across this article via a link on Digital Strips (http://www.digitalstrips.com/). I’ve been doing a weekly, promotional-style web comic for a tech-related web site since May of 2004. Last year, I launched a second web comic that’s more of my style and humor. Before the launch though, I took a long, hard look at a lot of other web comics that I liked. Here are some web really high quality comic titles you should check out (do a Google search for the direct URLs):
Evil Inc.
Girls with Slingshots
You’ll Have That (YTH)
Sheldon
Commissioned Comic
HiJinks Ensue
Business Casual
PC Weenies
Canned Ham
If you’re interested in what I do, I do a little web comic called Capes & Babes. Click on my name and you can go to my web site and check out some of my strips (if you want).
-Chris
January 2nd, 2009 at 6:14 pm
Blow me own trumpet time.
“The Cattle Raid of Cooley”, adapting the ancient Irish epic Táin Bó Cúailnge, is an iron age story of war and coming of age, drawn in an Eddie Campbell-esque vein, serialised a page a week, every Wednesday. It’s currently 22 pages old and just getting started. Click my name to read it!
(There’s also a 72-page prequel, “Ness”, featuring the grandmother of the hero in her young days, which is now available as a book!)
Shameless huckstering ends. As for others, I’d second the recommendation for “Girls With Slingshots”, which is undeniably brilliant, Simon’s “Lilly Mackenzie”, and “xkcd”. Others I like include:
*”Basic Instructions” by Scott Meyer (basicinstructions.net/)
*Big Head Press (www.bigheadpress.com/) are currently running two excellent serials, “Escape from Terra” and “Odysseus the Rebel”
*Maeve Clancy’s “Flatmates” (flatmatesthecomic.com/) which scrolls as long as it takes
*Justin Pierce’s “The Non-Adventures of Wonderella” (www.graphicsmash.com/comics/wonderella.php) is made of awesome
*”Jesus and Mo” (www.jesusandmo.net/) for those who like their humous blasphemous in two directions at once
*Tommie Kelly’s “Road Crew” (roadcrewcomic.com/) about a rock band’s roadies
January 2nd, 2009 at 6:16 pm
Should also mention that following serial webcomics is a whole lot easier if you subscribe to the rss feed using something like Google Reader or Bloglines. Most webcartoonists know this, but a lot of our readers don’t.
January 6th, 2009 at 9:00 am
I’m not a hardcore reader of webcomics, although I do enjoy PvP and Schlock Mercenary on a somewhat random reading basis.
However, as a Kindle owner (another one, honest), I’d like to say that I think future Kindle’s/Sony-Ebooks/Bookeen’s, what have you are almost an IDEAL platform for comics. Unlike the kindle owner you met, I have one cell-phone, and I can’t stand it. My Kindle however, is indispensible.
Reading on the Kindle (or any digital paper book) is NOTHING like reading on an LCD or CRT. It is damn near the same as reading on paper. The resolution is very good, and I can easily see reading webcomics on a color version of e-paper. The Kindle’s e-distribution system is fantastic (from a consumer perspective), and personally I think it has a lot of potential for self publishing and micropayment based subscription services.
It must be noted however, that as a casual reader of any form of comics, I am not the best judge of what format works best. I really think however, that a color version of the Kindle, could be a fantastic way to read Schlock Mercenary. I can’t wait for the day.
Scott
January 27th, 2009 at 10:46 pm
I do a weekly webcomic called “Diary of a Catering Whore” based on my experiences as a catering waiter/bartender in San Francisco. I like the absolute freedom in deciding format: I essentially do a full page a week, more or less, with multi-paged stories, ranging from four to seven pages.
Doing a webcomic has allowed me grow as a cartoonist. While I do publish hard copies for the Alternative Press Expo and for local stores, it’s only periodic, which helps save moulah!
A friend of mine, Lyle Masaki wrote an article about the onset of gay webcomics for AfterElton.com. You can read it here:
http://www.afterelton.com/internet/2009/1/webcomics
Sean Seamus
http://www.cateringwhore.com
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