Growing Up
Now, admittedly, I’ve been playing Mr. Recluse for the last year – I hardly lurk on boards anymore, I may rummage through my blog lists every moon or two, and my e-mail engine is getting a severe case of cobwebitis.
So it’s possible that I may just be out of the loop, and thus very much wrong in what I’m about to say… but here goes anyway.
I think that webcartoonists and enthusiasts are starting to grow up.
Remember that last column of mine – the one where I spoke about politics and the posturing? Well, despite the fact that I still owe you that second part, I’ve noticed something recently. The drama queens have screamed off the scene, and people are actually starting to talk sense. There’s less hoopla going on (and for that matter, less discussion, but that’s for another column), and I think that this is a GOOD THING.
[Now please note: this does NOT necessarily include fan boards. I’ve been to a number of fan boards recently, usually to compliment an artist on their work or to ask a question about the plot or direction. Just like the days of yore, most rabid posters on said boards end up either hazing, all-out insulting, or derailing the thread as part of their daily exercise in overcompensation for other “short”-comings… but I digress]
Why is it a GOOD THING, you may ask? It couldn’t be simpler, really. It’s a GOOD THING because less drama means less distraction, less wasted energy. It means that cartoonists have more time to spend cartooning and improving themselves. For enthusiasts, it means that rather than sit there and settle for less-than-satisfying entertainment (or sit there and whine about said mediocrity while still reading it day after day), they actually are moving on and finding stuff that they enjoy enough to not whine about it.
The interesting thing to note about this trend is that when I say our community is growing up, I certainly don’t mean that they are getting older. On the contrary, I’m noticing a LOT of young and fresh voices out there; some of the cartoonists whose work I’m enjoying are only 12 years old, and I’ve been getting more and more fan letters from people who are just entering their teens.
But it’s not just the new folks, either. For some reason or other, even people who were once major shit-disturbers are cleaning up their act (no, I’m not going to point fingers – most of you know who they are, and those who don’t have no need to know, because they’ve reformed).
For once, Mr. Acadian Know-it-all has no clue as to why it’s happening or how (perhaps it has something to do with that recluse thing I mentioned), so I’d be curious to hear from all you folks here…
Why do YOU think the community’s growing up? Is it just a phase, or is there some sort of evolution going on? What’s causing it? Or is it me? Have I been so out of touch lately that I finally cannot be counted on to know the pulse of our community?
Yeah, I know – this ain’t by any means a typical Damonk column – it’s more of a quick observation, and then a sincere and honest question. So humor me, and tell me whether you agree or whether I’m off my rocker.
‘Cause enlightenment is a GOOD THING, too.
Damonk is off making webcomics in a cave in Canada.
It is probably a combination of the “shit disturbers” getting bored/moving on and people finding out you can make a better run of comics if you stop being an ass.
Or there is something good on TV. It’s really hard to tell.
I think it’s a phase, like any other phase that developes. It’s a phase were the new creators are tired of the drama crap we’ve seen from the older comics. If creators REALLY want to be more professional and get published they have to grow up and stop acting like 12 year olds (note that I find it terribly ironic that there are 12 year olds who are more professional then 30 year olds)