Audience Expectations of Webcomics

Webcomics, since they made their breakthrough into the public awareness, bear many distinctions between them and print comics. There are comics, then there are webcomics. Even the name itself shows this perception of being two different types of media. We generally don't have different names for things like internet newspapers, they are still newspapers, and still by the same companies we put our trust in yet webcomics were given a different name then their print counterparts. By the same analogy, webcomics could be viewed as the newsblogs of comics. Like newsblogs webcomics are generally considered be less professional then newspapers, while published print comics are on-par with the more prestigious and reliable print publications, because the author clearly had to have some sort of qualification to get printed.

This is indeed a double-edged sword. On the one hand, anyone can create a webcomic on a whim. On the other hand, the medium is flooded by comics created on a whim. This is tolerable because the internet has theoretically infinite space, and web users only need to view the websites and other materials that they want. This is in stark contrast to the medium of print, where only so much can fit, causing some things to be excluded. While this ubiquity may seem overwhelming and the almost infinite titles make it so there is a webcomic about almost everything, the problem is more complicated then just the internet being flooded. Every niche and subculture can have its own webcomics that are devoted just to that culture. The author can fine tune and specify a webcomic to his or her audience much more than a print comic ever could.

Artistic merit has little to no bearing on the existence of webcomics. If one Googled "worst webcomic ever," the search comes up with exactly that. This webcomic is apparently aware of its own status as "the worst webcomic ever," and it is reflected in the artwork. Basic and repetitive images on MS Paint are completely acceptable for webcomics. Stick figures and copies of sprites are a common sight, even in very popular webcomics, such as Cyanide and Happiness and 8-bit Theater. This is acceptable because the audience doesn't seem to demand the same level of artistic talent normally desired in print comics, due to webcomics being free. Great art is just a small bonus if the comic has funny gags and situations. Readers who buy print comics seem to want something more visually stimulating, since they can't just navigate their browser away to something new while reading something that has been printed the old-fashioned way.

This "artistic deficiency" in webcomics is due to the lack of any real funding from outside sources. Webcomics are more fluid and energetic than the majority of print comics. In print comics quality prevails, because in order to survive or move up to being funded by one's artwork, one has to attract more people. There's no company funding webcomic authors, it’s fully freelance. The biosphere in webcomics is complex and forums force together a sense of community that in not seen in print. (for more go to this section) The webcomic creator talks to his or her audience via message board, and they talk back.

The lack of funding is more freeing than it is inhibiting, due to the tools people have on personal computers closing the gap between an expensive comic and a penniless one. Webcomics will take the media further, because the audience has control over what it reads and authors can be 100% creative without the limitations of making something profitable for a company.