In a new monthly Comixpedia column, Kristofer Straub brings us a behind-the-scenes look at the denizens of that other webcomics magazine.

In the third installment of "Essence Of...", contributor Ping Teo distills the essence of action in, what else, an action comic.

One of causes of head-scratching among newer webcomics creators is the question of quality as it relates to popularity. Why are there popular comics that suck? Why are there great comics without much readership? (There are plenty, if you look.) If your comic's readership isn't growing much after a year (or two, or three), does it mean it isn't good enough to "make it?"

When I was your age our webcomics didn't have pictures That's right -- they were made out of words. Words! And we liked it that way. You don't know how it is, with your 'webs' and your 'graphical user interfaces' and your 'more than 1200 baud modems.' You don't know how good you have it. We had mainframes and LISTSERV and BITNET.

BITNET.

When I was first asked to write an article for Comixpedia, I was a bit surprised. While I have been working on Just Call Me Freedom for a number of years, it had never achieved more then a small cult following. Regardless of that, I decided to take this opportunity to introduce new readers to my work while also giving current readers a glimpse into the history and creation of the series.

In February, there were some interesting developments in the business of webcomics. 360ep (Bill Jemas' new "content licensing" company) signed the creators of two webcomics (Danielle Corsetto, Takeshi Miyazawa and Arthur Dela Cruz) to contracts, although no one, including Corsetto, seems to know just what exactly 360ep is supposed to do. Another webcomic creator, Rich Burlew of The Order Of The Stick, quit his day job to make comics his career. Also Scott Kurtz's PvP returned to the pages of PC Gamer.

In March, Comixpedia is looking at action-oriented webcomics. Graphic Smash, a subscription site featuring action-oriented webcomics, recently announced the addition of three more webcomics to its lineup. Are creators better off publishing their work at a subscription site? What's the action like working for Graphic Smash?