Comments on: Why Do Webcomics: Quote of the Day

By: Prestwick

Prestwick — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 14:42:42 +0000

I’m a webcomic creator/writer/whatever and I work with a couple of superb artists from various parts of the world. I pay them a decent amount for the work that they do and the quality of the work they turn over is absolutely fantastic.

But this is a wholly personal labour of love for me. I am realistic in saying that the chances of me making money from my comic where it would pay for itself are slim. I may make money from the release of books, wallpapers, premium content, etc but that will pale in scale of the cost of getting it created in the first place.

So I do this as something I love. I wake up, check my stats and realise that hundreds of people a day read what I put there. Its an amazing feeling and something which makes the entire experience worthwhile.

By: New comic, new contest, and lots of commentary | Paperless Comics

New comic, new contest, and lots of commentary | Paperless Comics — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:02:01 +0000

[...] Draper Carlson quotes Dan Goldman at Comics Worth Reading and sparks a discussion on why creators choose to do [...]

By: Johanna

Johanna — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 19:55:02 +0000

Several of the webcomics I’ve tried to start don’t have clearly marked arcs, unfortunately. So then I have to guess at how far back to go, and as you’ve already mentioned, hope that they have a reasonably chaptered navigation system. (When someone suggests a manga at V16 to me, I usually ignore them, because I already have plenty to read and I’m not looking for any longer series. I’m more likely to try a webcomic. But I rarely see people recommending them, which I guess is the same problem we’re talking about.)

And no, I wasn’t implying that reviewers are marketing services. But I think “you should avoid this $40 hardcover for this reason” is more of a service to a reader, who doesn’t have an easy, immediate way to sample the book, than “I didn’t like this webcomic, but go see for yourself what you think”.

But you make a good point about webcomics needing more coverage, especially once you consider how many of them there are and thus how much chaff vs. wheat.

By: Alex de Campi

Alex de Campi — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 19:05:29 +0000

“Webcomics do provide unique problems in reviewing, though, for someone used to other formats”

When someone suggests a new manga to you, which is already on volume 16, say, do you jump in at Volume 16? Or do you review it based on Volume 1? If a webcomic is an ongoing narrative with arcs, there is no reason you cannot treat it like a longer-form narrative series. Except, of course, it’s on the internet, and that seems to scare reviewers unduly.

“thereâ€™s the question of whether webcomics, available for free, need reviewers as much as items for sale do”

That implies that reviewing is purely a marketing service for sellers of goods eg publishers, rather than a way of helping readers discover materiel they might enjoy. I hope that is not the case!

In some ways, webcomics have greater need of reviews as they do not have a publisher marketing them, just a hardworking cartoonist probably too tired at the end of the day to send out query emails.

By: Johanna

Johanna — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 00:06:42 +0000

Alex: Webcomics do provide unique problems in reviewing, though, for someone used to other formats. For instance: How much do you “need” to have read to comment on it, for instance? If the webcomic updates daily, how do you keep your review timely? I can see why someone might be unsure about jumping into the format when they’re more used to issues.

Plus, there’s the question of whether webcomics, available for free, need reviewers as much as items for sale do.

By: Scott Bieser

Scott Bieser — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 00:00:49 +0000

Well, the cat’s out of the bag now. I suppose pretty soon everyone and his kid sister will be doing webcomics.

By: Steve Curcuru

Steve Curcuru — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 22:44:28 +0000

I loved the per-panel method, it’s something new that can’t really be done on paper and opens up possibilities of new storytelling techniques. As web devices becom cheaper and more pervasive, it will just make more sense to transmit stories rather than printing them. Looking forward to it!

By: Alex de Campi

Alex de Campi — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 22:24:57 +0000

I had the same problem with RLP’s interface – I was able to read Chapter 1, but missed 2 due to being on a shoot. Came back, tried to go to P 17 (another annoying factor: no chapter markers/anchors) on three separate computers, crashes/hangs EVERY time.

But yes, webcomics. The irony is the comics press (except for CBR) almost entirely refuses to review webcomics because they aren’t “actual comics”.