Answering your questions
I put out a request for your questions about making comics, here are the answers.
I recently posted on Twitter (sorry, I refuse to call it X), that I was not only happy but eager to share what I’ve learned over the last 25 years of making comics. I encouraged you to ask me questions and promised to collect the answers here on substack. Some of you took me up on that offer, so here we go:
Q: How do webcomic practices compare now as opposed to 20 years ago? Where is the market for them now?
A: God, that’s such a great question, and a hard one to answer for a couple of reasons. From my vantage point, it seems that the webcomic audience has migrated from individual websites to dedicated apps like Webtoons, Tapas, and social media.
Younger readers access their content via their phones and want it served to them in the various feeds they frequent. When we started, our audience would sit down in front of a desktop PC and start their day hitting up all their favorite comic websites. Kids don’t do that anymore. So if you want to be noticed, your webcomics need to be in those feeds.
Monetizing your webcomic on those platforms, however, seems problematic to me. Apps like Webtoons can take months or years to develop enough of a following to earn revenue (if ever). Social media platforms don’t pay for likes or follows, and most influencers on those platforms earn money from sponsored posts, which might be difficult to get for webcomic artists.
I still think the best bet is a central website that you, the artist control, a hub for your work with links to your various revenue streams. Take advantage of platforms designed to help artists earn money from their work like Patreon and Ko-fi. I even encourage you to start a mailing list (I like Convertkit and Substack) where you maintain ownership of your list.
Once you’ve created enough comics to collect into a book you can sell them digitally or use print-on-demand services.
Then you can use social media and the free services of platforms like Webtoons to funnel people to your Patreon, ko-fi, merch page, etc.
The one thing that hasn’t changed over the last 20 years (and won’t change in the next 20) is that the best thing you can do for your comic is focus on how to be better at making comics. Prioritize that over everything. Do everything you can to improve your writing and your art. I still believe it’s the best way to get noticed.
I know that isn’t always a popular answer. Improving your work is hard and it takes time. Plus, art is subjective and as artists, we always feel unsatisfied with the quality of our work. Improving never ends, but working to improve your craft pays dividends.
I highly recommend picking up Understanding Comics and Making Comics by Scott McCloud. Both of those books were instrumental in my understanding of the craft I am still attempting to master.
One last thing: I’m not sure the term “webcomic” really has any meaning anymore. Back in the late 90’s the concept of webcomics was a novel one. They were unique to traditional printed comics. These days, everything is online and computers are in everyone’s pocket. I don’t think people make a distinction anymore between comics that are online and offline. Comics are just comics.
Which is a great thing.
Were any of the questions about the money you took for a Kickstarter project that you didn't finish? Or, about how people can get their money back?
Are there any other books you would recommend? Even if they just were a great inspiration to make a comic