The advent of the Internet threw a lot of subcultures into chaos, and maybe none so much as comics and comic books. For those of us who read and follow them, the effects are still spreading out like ripples on a pond. For those of you who don't read them, you're missing out on a huge chunk of entertainment and culture.
Before the Internet, the chances of having graphic work -- comics, graphic novels and so forth -- seen by large numbers of people were fairly limited. Your best chance was either to get published in a newspaper -- for serial comic strips -- or to be published by a comic company, such as Marvel or DC. The late 1960s brought about the rise of independent comics, with artists like R. Crumb being widely recognized. Even today, publishing independently is like shouting into the dark and hoping someone is listening.
The Internet came about, and suddenly ANYONE could publish and maintain a comic for very little cost. All it took was an Internet connection, Web space and a scanner. Beyond that, publishing a comic cost almost nothing, AND it would appear in a venue that allowed it to be seen by, theoretically, millions of people. Independent artists rejoiced.
Of course, all of this comes with a down side, too.
The good thing about Web comics is that it allows for just about anyone to write, draw and publish their own work. The bad thing about Web comics is that it allows just about anyone to write, draw and publish their work. After the success of Penny Arcade, about ten million video game comics appeared online, and, of course, most of them were crap. It was the same with the seemingly endless number of Japanese Manga (a type of comic book) clones with cheap anime-copy drawing and, I swear, EXACTLY the same storyline.
The upside is that talented artists and storytellers have a chance to be seen and recognized, as well as share ideas with each other. There are a few phenomenal artists working in Web comics today, and for the most part, they've received due attention and praise. A few, like Gabe and Tycho of Penny Arcade (www.penny-arcade.com) and Randy Milholland of Something Positive (www.somethingpositive.net) have actually made a living doing Web comics. And that's pretty impressive.
In recent years, there have even emerged Web comic hosts, that provide free space for Web comics to be posted and viewed. The largest and most successful of these is Keenspace (www.keenspace.com), a giant repository of literally thousands of Web comics, some of which have gone on to be very successful. With Keenspace, artists need only to provide the art and page design, which means your twelve year old brother could publish online, if he wanted to.
For those interested in reading Web comics, I recommend Something Positive (www.somethingpositive.net), Sabrina Online (www.sabrina-online.com), The Devil's Panties (thedevilspanties.keenspace.com), and Angst Technology (www.inktank.com) to start. From there: look around. Search through "The Guide," Keenspace's catalog of comics, and find what you like. There's something for everyone, and I do mean EVERYONE.
For those interested in making their own Web comics, Keenspace (www.keenspace.com) is a good host Web site, and has plenty of tutorials to help you along. Other free host sites include Drunk Duck (www.drunkduck.com) and Jelly Creations (www.jellycreations.com), though neither has the truly massive size and scope of Keenspace.
Write to Jonathan at
tenement_cellar@msn.com
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
