» Why Webcomics?

Really, what's the appeal of comics in general? Are comics for people who are incapable of concentrating on any sort of literature that doesn't have illustrations? Are they just glorified picture books? As a storytelling medium, are comics a lesser genre than literature? Are they not as worthy of analysis and recognition? Or are they, perhaps, more so?

What is it about comics that moves us? What magical combination of art and writing makes us laugh and send a link to all of our friends, or push the funny pages of the paper at the people we eat breakfast with? Often, just the writing itself wouldn't have this same effect. How is it that comic artists are able to combine meaning with visual communication, capturing some physical humor in a still shot?

It's amazing when the "punch line" of a comic is in a small, visual detail, rather than a word or a phrase. It's amazing when a few words and some pictures can make you cry. While describing an event in writing, without an illustration is an art unto itself, comparing written descriptions with visual descriptions is insulting to both mediums. A writer is aware that a reader will be making connections and associations in his or her mind, and pulls words and descriptions, arranging them in a specific order, to generate a certain idea. Comic authors describe concepts with pictures.

To try and describe what comic writers and authors do would be like trying to describe what a great writer does, or a film director. No matter how much you break down each medium into technical formulas, you'll still find there's a magical element to the ones that truly capture an idea or a feeling. Comics are just another way we've discovered to capture the human condition, in all its humor, tragedy, beauty and drama. No more, no less.

Are webcomics that different from print comics? The primary difference between webcomics and print comics is exactly that: one has "web" tacked in front of it, where as the other does not. There tends to be a good deal of cross over between artists who begin on the web and work to get their comics into print, and artists who begin in print only to have their syndicate put their comics online as well. In the world of webcomics, the internet is both a blessing and a curse. With sites like SmackJeeves (amongst others), it's absurdly easy to create a webcomic. Like many internet trends, webcomic-ing is catching on with people who want another way to express themselves.

What blogging did for people who never wrote more than a paragraph in their lives, webcomic sites are doing for people who don't know the first thing about the comic medium. While the internet is a blessing for those unable to otherwise create and promote a comic, it's also a magnet for people who are, more often than not, in it for the sake of being in it.

Despite the negatives, a comic author, truly interested in expressing an idea through this medium will not be disheartened by lack of virtual applause. The project is important enough to them regardless, or in spite of, feedback. An author serious about the medium, with a story and a drive to tell it, will tell it even if no one is listening... but on the internet, someone always is, and that someone tells someone else, who tell someone else...

Authors (though few), are succeeding in becoming successful without print syndication. By simply having webspace and attracting fans, they are able to make a profit off of merchandise and books. Others are able to quit their jobs and rely on reader donations to support themselves. While these authors are rare, they are noteworthy, and likely to increase.

While print comics are lovely, they do cost money, and that money goes to publishers, syndicates, etc. The beauty of webcomics is that more often than not, word of mouth is more than enough payment for the service. If the comic becomes popular, the fans who are able and interested in buying merchandise, printed comics, or donating usually will, and ultimately, the rest of the fans who can't can still enjoy the comic. Having the comics available online for free, while at times expensive, (if the author is paying for their own site and it becomes popular), will pay of in the end with a huge fan base if the comic takes off. In other words, everyone wins.

So, why webcomics? ... Why the hell not?

~CT