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Webcomic

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Webcomics, also known as online comics and web comics, are comics that are available on the web. Many of these web comics are exclusively published online, while others are published on paper but maintain a web presence or archive, for either commercial or artistic reasons. Web comics run the gamut from traditional cartoon strip styles to an electronic emulation of manga or graphic novels and beyond, using the web's inexpensive costs and low entry barrier to begin publication, seek an audience and, in some cases, advance sequential illustration as an art form.

Medium

Many webcomics are little different from traditional print comics, but a few webcomics artists have taken advantage of the web's unique abilities. Scott McCloud has pioneered the idea of the infinite canvas, the idea that webcomics should be free to spread out in every direction indefinitely, rather than confining themselves to dimensions that would fit on a piece of paper. A prime example of this principle would be the latter-day installments of T Campbell's Fans, or Cayetano Garza's Cuentos De La Frontera, as well as several stories by Patrick Farley of e-sheep.com. Other artists have experimented with the incorporation of animation into their comics (although purists may believe animation has no place in comics). Critical analysis of this medium can be found at Comixpedia, an online magazine (ezine) covering webcomics.

The web has, at least potentially, several advantages over the conventional form of publishing. It has removed many of the traditional barriers that prevent an independent comics artist from having his work published (in this sense, web comics are a continuation of the independent comics movement that began with underground comics, and later alternative comics). As stated above, the restrictions of the usual comic format are lifted, though for functional reasons most still follow it. While newspaper comic strips have to be comprehensible to the average reader, the huge potential audience provided by the Internet allows much more specialization, as can be seen in the rise of such genres as video game-oriented comics or transsexual biographies. The fact that comprehensive archives stretching back to the very start of a webcomic are instantly available to the reader at all times can help make much deeper plotlines and characterization possible. And, of course, some comics (such as Eric Millikin's Fetus-X) delight in the fact that very few things short of blatant breaching of international law will lead to censorship.

To the criticism of many (especially established cartoonists) computer technology has made it no longer necessary for a webcomic artist to actually be a skilled artist. One popular form of webcomics that have become feasible due to the proliferation of video game sprites are sprite comics, in which existing images of video game characters are pasted into panels and dialogue is added in the form of speech balloons. These types of comics should not be confused with ones that use pixel art, an artform where the artist draws his own low resolution artwork from scratch. Other similar approaches involve using clip art, found art, or photographs.

The prevalent form that the webcomic appears in is in a strip or page form, usually humor-based. Popular examples of this gag-a-day form are Penny Arcade, PvP, Sinfest, CTRL-ALT-DEL, and others. The comic itself can be a simple three panel strip or a multiple panel page. The gag-a-day comic lends itself easily to popular consumption as they are episodic in nature and do not require much foreknowledge of the comic itself. However, on occasion, these webcomics can have various story arcs that elaborate on situations presented in the strips. Usually, these arcs are motivated by the wish of the artist to explore the boundaries of the medium or simply to carry a joke even further.

This same motivation can lead to a "Cerebus Complex"" — a term popularized by Websnark, a webcomic blogger. The Cerebus Complex (named after Dave Sim's comic Cerebus the Aardvark, which started life as a broad Conan the Barbarian parody, but wound up a dark and complicated drama) is an attempt of a humorous gag-a-day comic to morph into a character- and plot-driven comic, usually with more serious overtones. The Cerberus Complex usually points to a failed attempt although successful attempts are possible. Attempts that are deemed successful depends on one's subjective opinion but various webcomics that have attempted (and perhaps succeeded at) this transformation are Megatokyo, Sluggy Freelance and College Roomies from Hell!!! as well as many others.

Webcomics can also be presented in the same manner as traditional comic books, manga and graphic novels. This is still rather rare and at the time of this writing, the episodic humor webcomics are more common but that is subject to change. The manga and graphic novel-influenced webcomics are usually driven by plot continuity, storylines and character development. That is not to say that a humor-based comic can't have story or character development but usually, story is secondary to the humor. In these continuity-driven webcomics, panels can vary in size and shape. These comics usually come in a page form rather than a strip form and can also be posted in a multiple page format such as chapters.

Themes

Webcomics differ from published comic strips, in that almost anyone can start his own comic strip and publish it on the Web; there is no longer any need to for a creator to meet the approval of a publisher or syndicate. Currently there are hundreds of web comics, most of which are low-quality and sporadically updated. However, a number of web comics have endured, and the best web comics rival their newspaper and magazine counterparts in quality and quantity.

Currently, some of the most popular webcomics include PvP, Sluggy Freelance, Penny Arcade, User Friendly, Something Positive and Megatokyo.

Some successful webcomics have subsequently been reprinted in book-length collections, just as a successful print comic might be.

Important websites for webcomics are Modern Tales, Serializer, PV Comics, Keenspot and KeenSpace.

See also: List of web comics

Notable artists

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