Last month I wrote about the developing potential of the webcomic medium, and the some of the way in which the inherited conventions of print have made some creators reluctant to experiment. Conventions (and I’m not talking about the one in San Diego) are immensely important to any language, as they communicate important information and offer an identifiable standard to help facilitate understanding.
Jim Zubkavich — Traitor To The Web?
I was originally going to use this latest column to discuss Hollywood’s current fascination with comics and the inevitable backlash that it will create. However, an e-mail I received asked me some questions that surprised me, and I decided that the explanation would work well here as a new topic.
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In the first part of her feature on Webcomics Communities, writer Kelly Cooper revealed to us the fascinating buildup of history that set the online world up for the next step in reader-creator interaction and reaction.
In this second installment, we get to hear from Kelly as to what’s going on out there as a result. So sit tight, and start scrolling!
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A few quick definitions:
The costs and troubles that come through actively maintaining an Internet server have never been easy things to deal with, but come June of 2000, Keenspace was created despite the risks. In those days, the ad market was enough to support such an endeavour without killing the people behind it. Of course, a FREE hosting service for webcomics with a plethora of perks proved irresistible to cartoonist wannabes.
I once wrote a (very short-lived) column for an alternative paper. My first piece was about high-heeled shoes – mostly because I was supposed to be writing about pop culture from a female perspective. The column was good – still one of my favorite pieces of writing, actually – and the second one was all right – about how my neighborhood was like the one in the X-Files where the monster comes out to eat you if your mailbox is wrong (there’s no monster – just the "Neighborhood Commitee" -eep!). Continue Reading
When I was younger, I had a friend whose family was crazy about games. They had a linen closet filled to the brim with board games, bookshelf games, and role playing games, and had the obligatory Atari 2600 hooked up to their television. We’d play these games a lot, and we’d have an alright time. I’m not sure when this started exactly, but one time…
Making it Up As We Go.
Sit down. I have something to tell you, and I want you sitting down. Are you ready?
Webcomic creators don’t update as reliably as their print counterparts.
The True Test of Mettle
Sit down. I have something to tell you, and I want you sitting down. Are you ready?
There’s something about comics that make people want to talk.
Comics are accessible. Cheap or free, buried in a newspaper or posted on a web page, racked at the 7-11 or stacked in a comic shop, they lure us in with lots of pictures and not so many words. We think quick and easy and that’s how they hook us.
Eventually we begin to feel weird, personal connections to these characters, these sketchbook creations and their complex lives. We start to care deeply about them and what they say, sometimes to praise, sometimes to condemn.
Let me tell you a story:
Once upon a 1993, a sequential sonic boom hit the comics industry, as some fellah put out a book devoted to reaching an Understanding. It wasn't the first attempt at offering up an academic-like take on the Mystery of Sequential Art, but it definitely made waves. In one trademarked lightning bolt of a moment, an entire industry screamed out praise, and word of mouth quickly transformed a young semi-successful comic artist into an overnight messiah.
In my column this month, I waxed philosophical and talked about an idealistic comic industry based on strong stories and diversity throughout the marketplace in the stores and online. It’s a beautiful concept and although it warms my heart, it’s definitely not the reality at this stage. So beyond the sequential paradise that I’ve envisioned, let’s start down the road that can lead us to that brighter place, shall we?
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