The Comics Review has brought me on to write a column about the wily world of webcomics. It's about the webcomics world, my experiences inside it, and it'll showcase another webcomic artist/writer every other week.

Check it: http://www.thecomicsreview.com/plog/index.php?blogId=20

Main site: http://www.thecomicsreview.com

Will you...mention us?

Thanks, Spook. :-)

I've mentioned Duck, plan to do a bigger column on it and believe me that a lot of my featured comics will be from Duck. This is the center of my webcomics world.

Ah Hah...

Ah Hah...

ccs1989
Ah Hah...

Ah Hah...

Um... a-ha?

Taaaaake... onnnn... meeeee...

Taaaaake... meeeee.... onnnnn...


~IJ

I like the Real Big Fish version myself... More energy.

The new column looks promising Fork! That's a really interesting start. I wish you well on it. It introduces webcomics nicely. :-D

The banner could use a teeny little bit of work though. It's a bit jaggy... Maybe something a little smoother like this?:

I dunno. Just a suggestion.

Thanks for making that, oceanozone. It looks better than what I have. I don't wanna bother the webmaster too much right now but in a couple weeks maybe I'll ask him if he can please switch them. :)

I don't know why mine came out jaggy. Maybe Paintshop Pro9 just sucks at making text.

Heeey, you don't have to use it if you don't want to man. ^^ Glad you like it anyway.

It mysteriously appeared above my column, anyway.

:-D

This week's column features an interview with Drunk Duck's own Zoe Stead!

...i have nooooo idea who that is, but OK!

...sory, i just joined a few weeks ago.

Maybe we should be posting links with the people we reference... anyway Zoe Stead draws the incredible Earthbound comic.

Oh and Zero, your sig is waaaaaaaaay too big.

In this week's column, I muse on what makes certain webcomics hugely popular. Like Penny Arcade popular. It's something I know people have varying opinions on. I gave my thoughts and I'd like to hear yours.

Forkin' Webcomics: http://www.thecomicsreview.com/plog/index.php?blogId=20

Pudding! Well, I work for pudding, don't you?

;-)

Since I posted this, a few comic creators from Smack Jeeves mentioned advertising as an important factor and that is certainly true. It depends on how much money and time you want to put into your comic. You can pay for ads on sites that potential readers frequent or you can post regular messages in the forums of other webcomic-related sites, including a link to your site in your signature. Be careful, though. Penny Arcade, for instance, doesn't like when when users utilize its forums to promote their own comics. On one hand, the moderators are trying to prevent a glut of constant free advertising. On the other hand, I think they're being stingy bastards who aren't too sympathetic to the struggling webcomic creators who are like they once were. But that's a topic for another column. ;-) In the end, you can advertise all you want but if you're content isn't the kind that keeps readers coming back, you'e s.o.l.

I think that was the most well written of your columns yet.

However I really kinda feel sorry for the people who get big on the web. They make a living off of their work, but the web is such a fickle thing. There are so many factors that could send them off the edge. I think PVP and Penny Arcade will stay around, because PVP has great characters and gaming doesn't look like it's about to die out, so Penny Arcade will survive. However Megatokyo has been digging itself into a rut for a while now. It took me 2 weeks to read their archives when I first came upon them, and that was a couple of years ago. You're not going to GET new readers like that, and it doesn't look like it's doing a great job of keeping the readers it has. It's books in print may be the only thing keeping people reading (since I can't deal with loading 300 pages to read through in one sitting on a site which takes as long as MT does to load, but I can deal with reading 300 pages of a graphic novel no problem).

Yeah, with a comic like Penny Arcade, you don't need to read through a huge archive to learn who the characters are and understand the story. A straightforward, accessible premise is the way to hook new readers. There's these two sorta geeky guys who make funny jokes about games and such. Many can quickly relate.

There's been a delay in getting this week's interview, so instead I've written about a topic dear to my heart - Breasts. Yeah, that's right - Boobies!

http://www.thecomicsreview.com/plog/index.php?blogId=20

What an disturbingly interesting topic. Er, yeah.. ;-)

This of course, the most.

@DetectiveFork
I will make zee world attracted to silverware!!!

@DetectiveFork
Fork Notes: Detective Fork has entered into a partnership with Thrilling Detective, the web's best resource for detective fiction. Starting today (Sunday, Feb. 12), Fork's adventures will be chronicled on Thrilling Detective, starting with the story "Floridian Fumes."

Congrats, dude.

.: Myxomatosis :.

DetectiveFork
There's been a delay in getting this week's interview, so instead I've written about a topic dear to my heart - Breasts. Yeah, that's right - Boobies!

http://www.thecomicsreview.com/plog/index.php?blogId=20

Was this rant possibly....chemically induced?

No, I think it was more a product of cabin fever with the snowstorm that blew over the northeast U.S. this weekend. Anyway, the interview will instead be up this coming weekend.