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Webcomic

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Web comics are comics that are published on the web.

Medium

Many web comics are little different from traditional paper comics, but a few web comics artists have taken advantage of the web's unique abilities. Scott McCloud has pioneered the idea of the infinite canvas, the idea that web comics should be free to spread out in every direction indefinitely, rather than confining themselves to dimensions that would fit on a piece of paper. A prime example of this principle would be the latter-day installments of T. Campbell's Fans, or Cayetano Garza's Cuentos De La Frontera. Other artists have experimented with the incorporation of animation into their comics (although purists may believe animation has no place in comics). Critical analysis of this medium can be found at Comixpedia, an online magazine covering webcomics.

The web has, at least potentially, several advantages over the conventional form of publishing. It has removed many of the traditional barriers that prevent an independent comics artist from having his work published (in this sense, web comics are a continuation of the independent comics movement that began with underground comics, and later alternative comics). As stated above, the restrictions of the usual comic format are lifted, though for functional reasons most still follow it. While newspaper comic strips have to be comprehensible to the average reader, the huge potential audience provided by the Internet allows much more specialization, as can be seen in the rise of video game-oriented comics and the Transsexual Biographies. Much deeper plotlines and characterization are also made possible. And, of course, some (such as Eric Millikin's Fetus-X) delight in the fact that very few things short of blatant breaching of international law will lead to censorship.

To the criticism of many (especially established cartoonists) computer technology has made it no longer necessary for a webcomic artist to actually be a skilled artist. This has allowed for many rather crudely-drawn comics to be successful, "on the writing alone" as the authors would likely state. One popular form of webcomics for the untalented artist are sprite comics, in which existing images of video game characters are pasted into panels and dialogue is added in the form of speech balloons. Some, however, make use of original sprites and backgrounds. This is known as Sprite Art.

Themes

Web comics differ from published comic strips, in that anyone can start his own comic strip and publish it on the Web; there is no longer any need to for a creator to meet the approval of a publisher or syndicate. Currently there are hundreds of web comics, most of which are low-quality and sporadically updated. However, a number of web comics have endured, and the best web comics rival their newspaper and magazine counterparts in quality and quantity.

Currently, some of the most popular webcomics include PvP, Sluggy Freelance, Penny Arcade, User Friendly, and Megatokyo. It is interesting to note that all of these comics deal with video game / technology sub culture in some form. The biggest audience for webcomics at the moment appears to still be young, single, white males.

Some successful web comics have subsequently been reprinted in book-length collections, just as a successful print comic might be.

Primary sites for web comics are Modern Tales, Serializer, PV Comics, Keenspot and KeenSpace.

See also: List of web comics

Notable artists


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