History of webcomics

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The history of

webcomics follows the advances of technology, art, and business of comics on the Internet. The first comics were shared through the Internet in the mid-1980s. Some early webcomics were derivatives from print comics, but when the World Wide Web
became widely popular in the mid-1990s, more people started creating comics exclusively for this medium. By the year 2000, various webcomic creators were financially successful and webcomics became more artistically recognized.

In the second half of the 2000s, webcomics became less financially sustainable due to the rise of social media and consumers' disinterest in certain kinds of merchandise. However, crowdsourcing through Kickstarter and Patreon also became popular in this period, allowing readers to donate money to webcomic creators directly. The 2010s also saw the rise of webtoons in South Korea, where the form has become very prominent.

Early history (1985–1995)

See also: List of early webcomics

The earliest comic distributed on the Internet is

furry webcomic drawn on the Commodore 64.[3][4]

From the 1980s to the early 1990s, artists published using many different

hard drive directly in order to be viewed.[5][6]

In 1994 and 1995, webcomics such as Jax & Co.,

bulletin board systems.[9][10]

college newspapers and most were short-lived on the Internet.[8] In 1995, when Dilbert became the first syndicated comic strip to be published on the Internet, "[lending] a certain legitimacy to the online comic concept," it became clear the Internet could be an effective tool to reach large audiences.[11]

The second decade (1995–2005)

In 2000,

Demian5 were influenced by his ideas.[7]

In 1997, Bryan McNett started a webcomic hosting provider, calling it Big Panda. Over 770 webcomics were hosted on Big Panda, including

Chris Crosby, who ran his webcomic Superiosity on Big Panda at the time, contacted McNett in order to create a new webcomics portal, which resulted in Keenspot. This new portal became a major success.[6]

In 2002, Joey Manley started webcomic portal Modern Tales as a competitor to Keenspot, which became one of the first profitable subscription models for webcomics. According to T Campbell, webcomics seemed unsustainable at the time, with advertisement rates dropping to an all-time low. Manley's Modern Tales was a popular solution at the time, and Manley spun off websites such as Girlamatic and Webcomics Nation.[14] Modern Tales had 2,000 members by 2005, each paying US$3 per month. In the same year, Keenspot drew in around 125,000 readers per day, grossing over US$200,000 per year through advertising.[15] Established comic artists such as Carla Speed McNeil and Lea Hernandez found themselves moving towards the Internet in order to reach larger audiences and build "online portfolios".[13]

With the proliferation of webcomics,

awards began to emerge. In 2000, the Eagle Awards introduced the "Favourite Web-based Comic" category, and 2001 saw the first installment of the Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards. The Ignatz Awards also added a "Best Online Comic" accolade in 2001, but the event was canceled that year due to the September 11 attacks and the title was first awarded in 2002. The Eisner Awards, the most prestigious comics ceremony, eventually introduced a "Best Digital Comic" category in 2005.[6]

Video game webcomics

Two young men, Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins, sitting at a booth at a convention.
Creators of Penny Arcade Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins

The second half of the 1990s saw the introduction of

1UP.com described as the "most popular, the most lucrative, and the most influential" video game webcomics,[17] and by Mike Meginnis as "one of the most commonly emulated comics out there."[18]

Penny Arcade also proved to be a huge player in fields outside of webcomics in the early 2000s. In 2003, Holkins and Krahulik founded

Penny Arcade Expo (PAX), a yearly video game convention that debuted with an estimated 3,000 guests and has grown in size since.[17][19]

David Anez' Bob and George, which launched in April 2000, was the first sprite comic to reach a larger level of popularity. However, it wouldn't be until the release of Brian Clevinger's 8-Bit Theater that the genre really took off. Maragos of 1-UP.com stated that 8-Bit Theater "took the style to its fullest expression and greatest popularity."[20] Larry Cruz of Comic Book Resources pointed out that, though sprite comics are still an overwhelmingly popular style, "no other sprite comic [has] really achieve[d] the same amount of popularity" since 8-Bit Theater's discontinuation in 2010.[21]

Recent history (2005–present)

Bradly Dale from

advertisement.[22]

Though the

rapper in 2011, while the creators of Amazing Super Powers moved on to developing video games.[22]

My business is not a business in the sense of being a small and medium sized enterprise or even particularly entrepreneurial ... I make comics because I like the activity of writing and drawing. It is a self-sustaining, one-man enterprise.

Scary Go Round-creator John Allison[23]

With the rise of social media in the second half of the 2000s, webcomic artist began having a more difficult time gaining attention and views. Wondermark-creator David Malki believes traffic to webcomic websites plateaued in 2012, as visiting content-specific websites generally disappeared from people's daily routines. Sharing of comic strips on social media such as Facebook has led to more exposure of webcomics, causing some to show signs of growth, but few people access webcomic websites directly.[24]

In 2015, Gambrell stated that "webcomics are dead," as the period of webcomics only being posted for free on the internet was over and the industry had moved beyond the internet.[23] Though many successful webcomic creators in the 2010s do not envision their online craft as their "job", most do not have to worry about basic money issues.[23] However, Sarah Dorchak of Gauntlet proposed in 2011 that the free nature of webcomics may be a leading factor in the decline of economic viability of traditional comic books.[1]

Crowdsourcing

The orange logo of Patreon
Patreon marked a turning point for the webcomic industry.

In 2004, R.K. Milholland's started a

Something Positive. After fans donated enough money for Milholland to quit his job and focus exclusively on Something Positive, other webcomic creators followed his example.[25] Zack Weinersmith of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal turned to Kickstarter to fund his related project Single Use Monocles,[22] and Andrew Hussie's Hiveswap raised over US$700,000 in 2012, becoming the most successful webcomic-related Kickstarter project of all time.[26] Creators of smaller webcomics such as Cucumber Quest and The Antler Boy frequently raise over US$50,000 on Kickstarter in order to publish their material in print.[27]

Another large shift in the webcomic industry came with the 2013 introduction of

Dave McElfatrick have all pointed at the service as a turning point for the webcomic industry that allowed many artist to produce online comics full-time.[23]

Asian webcomics

The early 2010s saw the global increase in popularity of

Tapastic, a comics portal that accepts English-translated webtoons as webcomics from other cultures, was founded in 2012. Naver Corporation, South Korea's largest inventory of webtoons, began offering them in English in 2014.[29]

Around the same period,

Chinese webcomics also saw a large increase in popularity. Here, webcomics are often used as a vehicle for social or political reform.[30][31]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Dochak, Sarah (2011-11-29). "Pioneering the page: The decline of print comics, the growth of webcomics and the flexibility, innovation and controversy of both". Gauntlet. Archived from the original on 2015-12-22.
  2. ^ Smith, Alexander, K. (2011-11-19). "14 Awesome Webcomics To Distract You From Getting Things Done". Paste.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ Joe Ekaitis (1994-12-04). "Meet Joe Ekaitis — T.H.E. FOX" (Interview). Interviewed by Sherry, accompanied by Lou Schonder.
  4. OCLC 17565429
    .
  5. ^ Campbell (2006). pp. 10–13.
  6. ^ a b c Atchison (2008). part one
  7. ^ a b Garrity, Shaenon (2011-07-15). "The History of Webcomics". The Comics Journal.
  8. ^ a b Campbell (2006). pp. 18–19.
  9. ^ Campbell (2006). p. 10.
  10. ISBN 978-0262015011
    .
  11. ^ Meginnis, Mike (2005). The Artistic History of Webcomics. "Scott Adams".
  12. ^ Boxer, Sarah (2005-08-17). "Comics Escape a Paper Box, and Electronic Questions Pop Out". The New York Times.
  13. ^ a b Atchison (2008). part two
  14. ^ Melrose, Kevin (2013-11-08). "Modern Tales founder Joey Manley passes away". Comic Book Resources.
  15. ^ Walker, Leslie (2005-06-16). "Comics Looking to Spread A Little Laughter on the Web". The Washington Post.
  16. ^ Maragos (2005). p. 1.
  17. ^ a b Maragos (2005). p. 4.
  18. ^ Meginnis, Mike (2005). The Artistic History of Webcomics. "Tycho and Gabe".
  19. ^ Atchison (2008). part three
  20. ^ Maragos (2005). p. 3.
  21. ^ Cruz, Larry (2014-05-09). "Will there ever be another great sprite comic?". Comic Book Resources.
  22. ^ a b c Dale, Bradly (2015-11-16). "The Webcomics Business Is Moving on From Webcomics". The New York Observer.
  23. ^ a b c d Dale, Bradly (2015-11-19). "Lessons in Creativity From Successful Webcomic Artists". The New York Observer.
  24. ^ Dale, Bradly (2015-11-18). "The Changing Internet Through Webcomics". The New York Observer.
  25. ^ Dale, Bradly (2015-11-17). "Patreon, Webcomics and Getting By". The New York Observer.
  26. ^ McMillan, Graeme (2012-09-06). "'Homestuck' heads towards new Kickstarter record". Digital Trends. Retrieved 2013-05-29.
  27. The Huffington Post
    .
  28. ^ "South Korean 'webtoon' craze makes global waves". The Japan Times. 2015-11-26.
  29. ^ Lee, Jun-Youb (2015-04-03). "Startup Battles Naver in English Webtoons". The Wall Street Journal.
  30. ^ Verma, Tarishi (2015-04-26). "Laughing through our worries: The Indian web comics". Hindustan Times.
  31. npr.org
    .

Bibliography

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