Buy My Book

I read webcomics like… a lot. It’s like the internet is one giant Sunday Funnie Page to me, but with worse drawings and more vulgar video game references. Every webcomic out there prompts you to buy their book. Now, growing up I had quite the collection of Garfield, Calvin & Hobbes and Peanuts on my bookshelves. Some of them were hand-me-down from my sister and brother, and unlike other books I would re-read them constantly and even take them on extended road trips. This isn’t the 80’s anymore, and webcomics are a special breed. First off: they’re on the web. They’re free. You can read them, and re-read them any time you like. Doing so will drive up their web traffic and make the authors more profit. The book aspect seems so retro to me. It’s like they’re desperate to make a buck, which they are. I can’t count the number of webcomics I’ve followed that have gone on hiatus so the authors can work real jobs, much like Onstad and Achewood. The authors of Penny-Arcade are goddamn millionaires, but that’s because they’ve done such an excellent job selling advertising and with their conventions. Coincidentally, I’ve purchased one of their books and had it signed at the Emerald City Comic-Con, and it’s the only webcomic collection I think I’d ever buy.

Other webcomics have gone another route and gotten into publishing monthly comic book titles, like PvP, Axe Cop, and Dr.McNinja. 

In all seriousness, doesn’t it seem odd they would go that route after skipping the proverbial middle-man. Few webcomic authors starting out would ever likely land a steady gig writing for a paper, comic, or other periodical. Now, with the print industry capsizing, they’re self-publishing their own works or finding publishers just so they’ll have something other than T-shirts and buttons to sell in the web stores? The ones who self-publish and self-distribute only end up getting deeper into financial trouble. I’ve read blogs and comments about how these authors have had to stare down tornadoes to make deadlines or have to deal with losing their jobs and moving while still distributing their books. Still, the webcomic industry is expanding.