So close yet so far. . .

My internet has been crap recently but at least I'm nearly in the house, I hope.  Living in a tin can is getting old guys.

Until next time, hopefully.

Not that it's an excuse. . .

But I'm still in an airstream in someone's backyard.  I am working on a larger project, but I haven't finished it enough to begin publishing.  So yeah, nothing this week.  Working on it.

In the mean time, Sunstone(NSFW) and Head Trip are updating again, injuries be damned.

Are Webcomics Dead?

So over on Talking Time Forums (which I still don't have an account with because I'm lazy, sorry guys) there was a thread that asked the question:  Are Webcomics Dead?

Seems a silly question since, well, they aren't.  But that wasn't the question, the questions was did webcomics fail to live up to their promise, and the answer to that is oddly simple.

The point is that back around the turn of the century, when the first great wave of comics appeared, there was this promise of greatness.  It was a new media, a new future and a new way to do things.  The phrase "infinite canvas" got tossed around, and everyone was ready to jump on the wagon to a new future.

What happened to it though?  Where did it go?  The pioneers of that age, Penny Arcade, Sluggy Freelance, Megatoyko and so many others didn't quite go anywhere, they didn't turn into the future.  So why?

Two things worked against it and amazingly it's the same thing:  Money.  I say two because money drove the webcomic community in two different directions.

Penny Arcade, Sluggy and others were the forefront of the webcomic revolution, and they became very, VERY popular.  In those days, making money off the internet came down to ads, lots of ads, and being very popular meant that the ads made a lot of money.

This resulted in some odd confluences of events.  Penny Arcade began to sell their comics as ads themselves (something they supposedly stopped doing, but whose to say for sure), and as a result the comic didn't innovate any more because, well, that wasn't an ad.  And when they did try, the result was similar to what happened with Sluggy and Oceans Unmoving:  backlash.

Being very popular meant the readers wanted one particular thing and woe to those who went against it.  I mentioned that the doldrums of Sluggy were because Pete Abrams liked to eat and I am not kidding, he backed off quickly and tried to hold on to his audience after they rebelled.  This meant stagnation for many comics, and the promise that they held back in 2000 looked weaker by the moment.

The other direction was still money, and the fact that the vast majority of comics, well, are NOT popular, at all, and in an ad based economy, they simply couldn't support the artist directly.  They like to eat too, but that meant they had to do actual work to support themselves.  The comic became less and less of a priority.  A great many comics curled up and died as the artists, who were mostly high school or college students, had to go out to earn a living.  They took short cuts to get the comic out quicker, or just stopped updating all together.  Those that bought their own domains with visions of glory in their future ended up vanishing into the ether that is the internet.

That's not to say none of what was promised with webcomics never happened, it did.  Comics like Sunstone (NSFW) and Bloodstain take full advantage of the infinite canvas to stretch their comics out to amazing sizes and directions.  City of Reality and Lizzy (sadly gone) take full advantage of flash as a medium and explored how comics could be more than just a static image on the page, often adding sound and interaction to the subject.  It's just hard to make money on ads, and the only other options, the con circuit (which the Devil's Panties does successfully) and books don't really work well with those amazing formats.  The innovation is there, it just doesn't translate to the world where money is to be made, not without a lot of work.

So from those two directions it appears webcomics failed, and instead just became another branch of the comic medium.  That's not a bad thing, and it has happened before and will likely happen again.  I mentioned about "internet reviewers" back in my Going Critical article, and they've been in a rapid decline for the last few years, especially as Blip.tv closed.  Facebook and mobile gaming have experienced the same decline, if not faster.  The "new media" that the interent was set to introduce failed because, well, there just wasn't money in it.

Then came Pateron.  The problem of money is now becoming less of an issue.  Pateron does still over feds the popular comics (see Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal's Pateron), but it means that even smaller comics can make something more than the pennies on the ad that is available today.  In the meantime, comics are backing away from the models Penny Arcade and Sluggy Freelance set up, becoming a branch of independent comics.

In my opinion, the Golden Age of webcomics is now long past, and while we still see their legacy, the current age is far more interesting.  Even now, the Pateron Age of comics is growing to the point that I'd almost have to list the comics that DON'T have a Pateron verses all the ones that do.  Through this the creativity promised back in the day might actually come to the forefront and great things are destined to follow.

Webcomics aren't dead, nor did they fail, it just took a bit longer to get there and those that sought to lead are just dragging the rest down.

Until next time kiddies, still in a trailer in Texas.  House soon, I hope.  Later.

Well, that was a week

Still in the midst of moving, but the worst of the first half is over.  I may have something up next week, but no promises.  This month kind of sucks.

Touching Base #24

By the time you read this I'll be BACK in New York, only to drive BACK to Texas next week.  I love moving.  In the meantime, let's check what's going in comicdom.

Eerie Cuties and Magick Chicks are NOT ending.  Apparently their kickstarters went through and they'll be back soon.  I think I mentioned it earlier but consider this all offical like. Well, not quite yet, but we'll see when it gets going.

Licensed Heroes is updating again as well, but only once a week for the time being.  I wonder what caused all the issues. . .

Speaking of temporary pauses, Sunstone (NSFW) and Head Trip still on hiatus due to injuries.  Both are going through physical therapy so it might be a while before either of them come back.

Related to Sunstone, Bloodstain got a fan movie based on the first chapter.  This is similar to what happened to No Rest for the Wicked.  I haven't watched it yet, been on the road with limited net access, but they're thrilled by it, so go watch.

Elsie Hooper still not updating, the comic.  Apparently, though, the MOVIE that this was the storyboard for is finished and is going to be in a film festival in the near future.  Apparently they made it with stop motion puppets, so that explains why it took too long to film.

On the other projects list, Dead Winter has a playable demo of their game, and for a weekend it was open to everyone, but afterwards, Patreon members only.  I did download it during the free weekend, but, again, no time to try it, but it's a side scrolling beat em up, so if you like that style, it'll probably be fun as hell.  I do, sadly no time to play.  Bleh.

Subhuman Sanctum and Twilight Lady getting more updates, though Twilight Lady is just wrapping up the current story.  Subhuman Sanctum is into the second book, so I expect awesome things.

Commander Kitty is also updating again, the big animation project he was working on is done, so the Pateron is open again as well.

Gone with the Blastwave had a random update late last year.  Given how often it updated before, I'm shocked there is at least one update.  Maybe there will be another, eventually. . .

Perry Bible Fellowship is now appearing on Go Comics.  It's updates are random, once a week is a bit much for it, but it does update.  Most of the strips are the small, 3 panel strips, and yes, they are all new ones.

And that's about all I have for now.  I likely won't have anything next week because holy crap will it be busy.  After that, I'll try to say something.  Until then kiddies.

Oh, hey, I'm in Texas

Long drive, not much to write comic wise at the moment.  I've got a much more solid net connection that I expected, but I also have a lot of work to do, so don't expect too much for the time being.

I will try to have something up next week, a Touching Base, there's a lot of little things I'd like to go over.  Until then kiddies.

Can't Live Without 2016 Edition

Well, this is nice, back to this once again, right as the new year begins as well, so that works out.  You know, I never did state what the concept behind this really is, even back with the original one.  Really the idea is that if I could only have 10 comics to read on a desert island, it would be these 10.  Thus why the arbitrary order, there's no particular sequence or order they could ever actually be in, just there for me to read.  So with that let's get the next one going.

1.  Sluggy Freelance - Yes, it's still on this list and will remain there until it ends.  It is and remains my Standard, and will forever and a day.

2.  Schlock Mercenary - This one I call Best Overall and every strip earns it.  It's a must read for science fiction enthusiasts, and lovers of humor as well.

3.  Gunnerkrigg Court - Hmm, the first two have whole long series dedicated to them, but not this one, that seems odd. . .  Maybe I should . . .

4.  Derelict - Remains the only comic I bought a hard copy of, and probably will be for some time.  Worth reading.

5.  Sunstone (NSFW) - Despite the delays that have plagued this year, including a physical injury that crashed nearly all of his comics, I still want to keep reading this comic.  Aside from being really great to look at, the comic is a romance of all things and it keeps me interested.

6.  Between Failures - It's nice to have a comic that isn't really that "out there" on my list.  No fantastical elements, just a comic about everyday people doing everyday things.  Even introducing a group of "furries" is done without being too crazy (well, no crazier than normal for this comic).

7.  Spinnerette - Still my favorite of the various superhero comics I've been finding.  It's funny, serious and creative.  Worth reading and enjoying.

8.  Namesake - It taps so many ideas that attract my attention that I can't help but read it.  Reading, writing, books, alternate realities ect etc.  And it's damn good too, which makes it even better.  Go forth and read it.

9.  Stand Still, Stay Silent - When I first started reading it, I thought it would just devolve into another zombie comic, but it hasn't, at all.  It's something significantly different, gorgeous and well worth reading despite it's disjointed (at least from the rest of the comic so far) introduction.

10.  The Non-Adventures of Wonderella - My dose of laughter comic is still here and likely will remain for some time to come.  Especially now that it's done with all that kickstarter nonsense and can publish regularly again.

Honerable Mentions go to Gaia, It Hurts! (sometimes), Skullkickers and The Meek, all of which are kind of the bubble of being on this list.

As I stated last week, the blog will be dark for the remainder of January as I finish my move and such.  I hope to be able to post something during the month, but I suspect I won't even have a nothing post.  It will be that crazy.  Afterwards, I should be back to a relatively regular schedule.  Hell, I'm already planning my next long series (if you missed the hint, reread this page), so I will be back.  Until then, Happy New Year.  Next time kiddies.