As comics continue to capture our attention and imagination, the internet has allowed for a new, unique phenomenon to occur: webcomics.
A brief summary of awesomenessWebcomics began popping up around 10 years ago as people realized they could create and post their sequential art online without the need of a publisher. This began a trend of comics online and soon drew the attention of a few web developers who, though the use of Wordpress, developed a fledgling idea into what is now considered an emergent industry of online sequential art.
Webcomics give us new stories and characters without corporate or editorial changes. This can produce some great content as well as some very unusual ideas. With no boundaries, these comics can be as innocent or adult as they choose. Since most of these artists work for free and on their spare time, money is rarely an issue or motive. Webcomic artists create these pages and plots because they have a genuine love for the content.
Making waves in mainstream marketsSeveral comics that have become mainstream printed issues, such as Lora Innes'
The Dreamer, which began as a webcomic in 2007 and then began printed runs by IDW Comics in 2008. The Dreamer was picked by Felicia Day in 2012 on her
Geek & Sundry Flog as a must-read romance story, and featured in the LA Times as well.
Who makes webcomics?
These creators can range from students in high school to visual arts professionals and even Disney artists (such as Disney artist Chris Oatley's
Prehistoric Sideshow, whose image is shown above). Even the creator of Earthworm Jim, Doug TenNapel, has a webcomic called
Nnewts which updates weekly.
Sites that help you read and save webcomics without the need for bookmarkingMany websites like
InkOutbreak,
Comic Rocket,
TopWebComics and
Inkd.me (beware all links are updated every day and may show NSFW images) list the best webcomics online today. Some of these sites can be overwhelming because of visual overload, but they each allow you to choose your favorite webcomics and follow them with their online readers.
Once you choose your favorite comic or comics and read through a few pages, the reader saves your place. This is great if you are reading a comic with 200 pages, because it allows you to read at your leisure without worrying about saving your place by bookmarking. These sites will also save every webcomic you like, so that you can build your very own library of your favorite webcomics.
Web to print, mobile webcomics and the emergent future marketMany developers and artists are looking toward the future of webcomics as a viable industry, with more mainstream professionals using webcomics as a way to tell their stories without agents or middle-men.
Many of these webcomics are also going into your local comic book store on consignment or are being picked up by companies like Image and IDW Comics. Even manga indie comics are finding their way into large, overseas manga publishing outlets such as
Del Rey and
TokyoPop.
The biggest push lately for webcomics is the mobile fontier. It's a difficult venue because many comics are long-form, or are the shape of an entire page. However many webcomic websites are launching mobile readers, such as Inkd.me (for iPhone
(image shown on the right)) and Comic Rocket (for Android) which plans to release their apps soon. The plans for Ink.me will eventually lead to standardization of webcomic creation tools to encourage more webcomic publishing, and that seems to be a growing trend for all webcomic artists: the need for standard rules of quality and the ability to easily publish content.
Webcomics have already surpassed the stigma of basement-created crayon-figures and have communally grown into a lush, thriving and diverse industry, with plenty of room to grow and content to share.
Do you have a topic you would like the Prairie Nerds to address? Let us know at PrairieNerds@tulsaworld.com
