Faculty Advisor

Rogers, Brett

Area of Study

Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

Publication Date

Summer 2013

Abstract

Publishing comics via the Internet is a growing practice among creative individuals who desire artistic and personal autonomy, and also wish to share a diverse range of stories. These webcomics have expanded the creative boundaries of storytelling with the digital medium. Additionally, publishing on the Internet offers the possibility to engage with markets that print comic books have ignored (particularly stories about minorities, stories which contain explicit or crude content, and stories with character designs deemed 'unattractive' and therefore unmarketable). Despite these opportunities the Internet presents, webcomics have returned to print culture as webcomic creators seek to print their webcomics. Though these printed webcomics may be expensive, and the same content is available online for free, fans choose to help them print these comics through a practice called crowdfunding. Webcomics were initially considered a spinoff from traditional comic books, but I argue that webcomics’ return to the print medium has provided a new perspective on the sale of printed comics as well as the interaction between comics creators and their fans.

Publisher

University of Puget Sound

Share

COinS