The Ongoing History of New Comics
by Stuart Robertson on June 3rd, 2005 | Uncategorized
Adventures into Digital Comics is a documentary film about the “reinvention” of comics on the web. The film hasn’t been released yet but has already received some criticism from cartoonists currently publishing online.
Scott Kurtz and the creators of Penny Arcade were not mentioned in the film, despite having very popular online comics. They’ve posted articles and comics critical of the film’s pretension on their sites.
Adding his criticism for the film’s overblown talk of “revolution”, DJ Coffman also questions the timing and objectivity of a book about the History of Webcomics, scheduled for release later this year. The follow up discussion at Yirmumah.net includes some interesting comments from T Cambell, the book’s author.
From my experiences last year, I think what makes “Digital Comics” or “webcomics” distinctive from traditional comics is mainly just a change in the distribution channel. Instead of photocopied minicomics at the local shop, an independent creator can setup a website instead. Sometimes people try and charge for their content, or sell related merchandise like toys and t-shirts, but more often than not its a hobby or portfolio for finding other work – including print comics.
Certainly there are people who have implemented McCloud’s Infinite Canvas to create comics that can only be experienced in a digital format – but these people are vastly outnumbered by the amateur creators who could easily move their artwork between the web and print.
In fact, I’m not sure I buy into the idea that “webcomics” are all that different from “comics” in general – at least not in an artistic way. There may be some changes in layout to better suit viewing on a screen, but this is a fairly minor issue.
The business side may be different, but that’s all up in the air right now. I don’t think there are ANY viable business models for online comics at the moment. My personal feeling is that there isn’t enough “history” of the business side of “webcomics” to really talk about yet. At least not business successes, at any rate.
News and reviews of comics published online have some value, and on occasion have helped me find some interesting new material. However, trying to create books or films about the “history” of something that’s still unfolding seems a bit premature. I also think there is a tendency for people to focus on what they would LIKE history to be, rather than what it will turn out to be on its own.
All the same time, I’m happy to see people making films and writing books about the things that interest them. I might disagree with the timing or objectivity, but still think it’s great they’re creating these works.
Stuart Robertson
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