There was an interesting article the other week in The Economist magazine (which we get at our home through some free subscription that some kid was selling as a fundraiser) that talked about the growth of Webcomics. It was pretty fascinating, as it showed another example of how the flexibility and individuality of the web as a publishing platform is chipping away, quickly, at newspapers and magazines (irony that I read it in a magazine but can share it online? yeah).
The article – entitled “Triumph of the Nerds” — notes that as the comic sections in many newspapers have remained predictable and stale, the quality of webcomics has pushed new limits. In my view, sometimes those webcomics work; sometimes, they don’t. What the article points out is how successful webcomic artists are using social media to nurture an audience, without the restraints of a publisher breathing down their neck, and to try new ideas, new approaches that might not otherwise work in a traditional format.
The article gives a nice historical overview of comics, too.
“Cartoons go way back before newspapers. They have their origins in the caricatures and illustrations of early modern Europe. In Renaissance Germany and Italy, woodcuts and mezzotint prints were used to add pictures to books. By the 18th century simple cartoons, or caricatures, circulated in London coffee shops, lampooning royalty, society and politicians. Popular engravers such as William Hogarth and James Gillray came up with tricks we now take for granted: speech bubbles to show dialogue and sequential panels to show time passing.” — Triumph of the Nerds, The Economist
And it reminds us of the present circumstances.
“The decline of newspapers and the rise of the internet have broken that system. Newspapers no longer have the money to pay big bucks to cartoonists, and the web means anybody can get published. Cartoonists who want to make their name no longer send sketches to syndicates or approach newspapers: they simply set up websites and spread the word on Twitter and Facebook. ” — Triumph of the Nerds, The Economist
And there is the warning note, too. Making a living as a webcomic artist is difficult and making a living off it … fraught with unknowns.
“This new world, in which humour spreads instantly and globally, threatens webcomic artists at the same time as it liberates them. Cartoons can spread around the web without crediting their creators; copyright thieves can sell unlicensed merchandise. Cartoonists need to be entrepreneurs, as well as artists. Online cartoons can be lucrative, but unlike working for a syndicate, they hardly provide stable work.” — Triumph of the Nerds
Peace (in the comics),
Kevin