Disclaimer: I don't have the answers.
But I'll offer some of my experiences and hopefully that will help other web cartoonists find their own paths. I've been at the webcomics 'thing' for about 5 years, and I'm not sure if I can categorize it as a success or a continued experiment with no actual intended result in mind...other than getting my work out there into a larger audience, and forcing myself into a regular production schedule. In those terms, it's probably a success.
I think that the webcomics 'model' has serious flaws. A big chunk of web cartoonists are still trying to appease the comic shop crowds, the so-called 'pamphlet' collectors (I hate the term 'pamphlet comics' as it seems to demean the format into insignificance).
As a web cartoonist and print cartoonist, I'm guilty of this. I straddle the fence between 2 mediums, looking for inroads into either, and hoping that by through sheer will and workhorse-like determination, I will eventually be able to support myself 100% on my comics work. Hasn't happened yet, but I'm close. I'm looking for a niche, the group of consumers who are web savvy but nostalgic for the comics of the 1970's and 80's. Now that's a tough market, and I'm probably set myself up for a big disappointment. In any case, I'm plodding head with it, showcasing a 150 page mini-series called Champion Of A Lost Universe. It's a super-hero tale (apparently a dirty word in the vocabulary of many web publishers), set in the year 1984. Obviously I'll proclaim that it's completely different from anything you've ever seen before, but the challenge is convincing folks of that, when I've intentionally made it appear hackneyed and derivative. But that's the hook, you see. You're lured into a false sense of security, and then something extraordinary happens.
Back to the niche. There may be a rule somewhere that states that if you have an interest in something, there are at least a thousand people in the world that share it. And if you have a good story to tell, it's a sure thing that at least a thousand people have that same story rolling around in their heads. They'll either beat you to the punch, or line up to read yours. I'm searching for my niche, I know it exists online and in the physical world, as I'm starting to see it emerge. There is an audience for every web comic; it's just a matter of finding it.
Scott Reed
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Comments
Which 'model' are you talking about?
When you say "the webcomics 'model' has serious flaws," which model are you talking about? The business model? Because I don't believe there is a single model. Regardless, the fact that there are webcartoonists who ARE making a living full-time by providing original, graphical content for free on webserves is evidence that their models are not inherently flawed.
What is almost certainly flawed is the perception that "if you build it they will come." While this has worked for a number of us, it's just not going to work for everyone, nor even for a sizable fraction of everyone. It would be more accurate to say "if some of you build it, some of them will come."
My advice on "finding your niche" is as follows: Create the comic that you, yourself would like to read, and (if you want to be in the business full-time) would be willing to spend money supporting (assuming you had money.) Be passionate about it, and have fun at it.
If you're not having fun, your readers will probably not have much fun either, and that's the road down which you can almost guarantee failure.
On Howard's point: "This
But I understood Scott's point to be about a different kind of model. Maybe I misread? I dunno. I do think that the right *presentation* model for web-based comic-book-style stories (by which I mean -- the kind of comics stories where significant numbers of pages have to be digested by the reader before a satisfactory story-beat has been reached -- whether that's a Marvel-type 22-pager or a Fantagraphics-type hardcover graphic novel) has not been found yet. The closest I've seen to a successful digital presentation of this kind of comic story is an application people use mostly for viewing pirated scans of comic books, called Comic Book Reader -- but that's not web-based, and it's not widely distributed enough to base a business on, in my opinion (the guy who wrote it sort of abandoned it -- you have to go to this ancient GeoCities homepage to download it, and etc.). The functionality in that software is very interesting to me, though, and I'm studying AJAX to see what I can do to approximate, or improve upon, the way it does things, but within a web browser instead of in a standalone application.
But that is a secret!
I think the best
I think the best presentation model I've yet to see for full-page, comic-book style layouts on the web was the proprietary Flash-based interface used by CrossGen -- I had a lifetime subscription. Pity they went out of business.
Here's what it did right: you tabbed, and as you did so, individual dialog bubbles expanded to be very clearly readable. Just keep hitting the tab key, and the story keeps practically reading itself to you. Then, at the end of the page, the tab key takes you to the next page.
The real shame was that this patentable technology (or rather greed surrounding it) killed CrossGen (or at least that's the way former CrossGen letterer Dave Lamphear related the story to me.) The company got torn in two between "lets make cool comics" and "lets go into the software business selling this cool tool we've developed." Venture capital rolled in, and then rolled over the whole business.
I know I've oversimplified -- someone with more inside grape than me should come set the record straight.
Regardless, the CrossGen reader was brilliant, and something similar -- keep pushing a single button to keep reading -- would welcomed.
Joey: break out the AJAX, buddy.
See, this worries me. I'm
I was generalizing
I was generalizing 'webcomics model'. I should elaborate on that, meaning the basic delivery method of viewing a comic on a computer monitor instead of on paper, the model being typically an image representing one full page or strip, with links back and forwards to navigate the comic. There are all sorts of complaints associated with this, from so-called eye-strain of reading a comic online to the inherent 'uncollectibility' of a digital comic. I don't disagree with your other points.
Except that you can't generalize
I was generalizing 'webcomics model'. I should elaborate on that, meaning the basic delivery method of viewing a comic on a computer monitor instead of on paper, the model being typically an image representing one full page or strip, with links back and forwards to navigate the comic. There are all sorts of complaints associated with this, from so-called eye-strain of reading a comic online to the inherent 'uncollectibility' of a digital comic. I don't disagree with your other points.
Oh, OK. Well, if that's what you meant about the webcomics model being flawed, then I have to switch my opinion from sort of disagreeing with you to STRONGLY disagreeing with you.
Dozens of comic creators (myself and Howard included) have been able to format their work on the web in a way that brings in regular readers and supports their business. (I have never heard anyone complain about "eye strain" while reading any webcomic, either.) Now maybe--maybe!--I could find some common ground if you were strictly talking about comic BOOK style stories, that were primarily action or adventure based rather than comedic in nature, but to generalize that it is the "webcomics model" as you define it above that has flaws--when many creators are paying their rent with their comic strips--is kind of ludicrous.
I think you're far too focused on comic books to speak to the issue of the webcomics model in general. Something that works for many different artists over time with wildly different subject matter isn't a flawed model just because other artists can't make it work for them--it's simply a model that is applied incorrectly.
I'm with Rich on this one,
I'm with Rich on this one, except that I DO think the way we read webcomics, as well as most web-presented content, is inherently flawed.
This is because it is an evolutionary outgrowth of mouse-and-click browsing technology, as opposed to having been designed from the ground up to be a book reading system.
I'm not suggesting a replacement (although the CrossGen reader I mention in my reply to Joey would be a start). I'm just saying that systems which evolve within a set of strict parameters are almost certainly flawed when they're used to solve problems that might be better solved outside that particular box.
Sorry for the mini-rant: I used to be a software product manager, and this kind of thing was my bread and butter. It has almost NOTHING to do with audience niche.
Generalizing
Dozens of comic creators (myself and Howard included) have been able to format their work on the web in a way that brings in regular readers and supports their business.
I wasn't suggesting the model was broken, but that it was flawed. The print comic isn't perfect either, but it has had a few years to work out many of the bugs. Webcomics hasn't.
Just because you haven't heard of it doesn't mean it isn't a valid criticism, though, since obviously at least one other person online has heard complaints about it. Right?
Again, not saying the webcomics model is broken or inherently not functional. I know there are creators online claiming to make a decent living at this. Most of us are trying for the same goals here.
I don't understand why you would think I'm not qualified to speak to the issue of webcomics in general?
I agree with this.
Attack of the Quotes
Just because you haven't heard of it doesn't mean it isn't a valid criticism, though, since obviously at least one other person online has heard complaints about it. Right?
Wrong. If there are a few million people reading Penny Arcade, and 5 of them complain about eye strain, that's not really a valid criticism of Penny Arcade. It's a personal issue with those 5 people and their choice of monitor and screen resolution. It's not really worth the time and energy of any existing webcomic creator to worry about eye strain issues with their work (barring a sudden surge of feedback from readers on the subject); they'd be better off spending the time improving their comic. Citing that as a flaw in the webcomics model is disingenuous, because it only applies to a very small number of potential readers--those with eye problems or who haven't figured out how to adjust their monitors.
I took the phrase "serious flaws" to imply something inherently unworkable in the long run. If that wasn't the intent, then OK.
I don't understand why you would think I'm not qualified to speak to the issue of webcomics in general?
Well, I said why in the first half of the sentence: I think you are too focused on comic books. None of the points you made in your article or follow-up post apply to comic strips at all (especially the "collectability" fator, which is non-existent for a daily newspaper-style strip). This leads me to believe, in absence of additional data, that your experience is with comic-book-style stories and you are not familiar with the differences inherent in creating comic strips.
Therefore, I'm suggesting that when you discuss the webcomic model, you should probably note your experience bias towards comic books. Otherwise, people looking for help with their comic strip webcomic might end up taking advice that really isn't tailored to their problems to heart, which might hurt their work. As someone who is putting their words out there with the intent to help others, you have an obligation to make sure people reading them know for whom they would be useful, and for whom they would not.
I think Scott's points do
I think Scott's points do work pretty well, as has been written above, with serialized adventure strips. In other words, it is an uphill climb to build a solid audience with a one page per week long-form story. It can be done, though. Atland by Nate Piekos seems to be a good example of a very popular strip of this nature. Johnny Saturn, my strip, has a respectible audience, although I am not paying my rent based off of it, not unless I can find someplace for about 50 cents a day!
I've found there are a few ways to help circulation for an adventure strip. Posting more often helps, so I break single pages into two installments and thus run two strips a week. I also post on multiple websites: the balance of my traffic I get on Graphic Smash, but my numbers on Drunk Duck keep growing, and the Webcomicnation version remains steady.
One thing I have not done is buy advertising. Perhaps this is the next step.
http://www.graphicsmash.com/comics/johnnysaturn.php
I agree, it is very much an
I agree, it is very much an uphill battle for those of us producing online serials. And you know, Scott we really should do that crossover story we keep talking about...
It seems to me...
Succinct and to the point!
It's a fact of life and, try as we might to address it, most of us who make longform story-driven comics really have to accept that this is the way it's going to be.
Broken Voice Comics
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