I looked through all 100 of DD most read comics today(cause I was bored and looking for faves).

I went through some categories that might make a popular comic and did some percentages on the top 100 DD comics.

This is the stats for DD's top 100 comics as of 2/3/09:

Comics with fantasy/magic elements: 63%
Comics with female character fan service(Big boobs, adult and yuri comics): 27%
Comics with male character fan service(yaoi, and some manga): 12%
Comics in color(including photo, 3D and sprite): 64%
Comics with better than adverage computer coloring(not including quick photoshop color, paint ,photo, 3D or spites): 42%
Comics that are manga or anime inspired: 61%
Comics that are strip comics: 11%
Comics that have updated after December 15 2008: 89%

This is not perfect. I just used my best judgment. Are we seeing anything in the data folks?

Well, obviously the last one on your list is the most important. ;) I think DD has a pretty varied top 100, especially if you compare it to some other sites.

Huh....

The only thing I care about the top 100 is if I'm in them or not, which LWI is. Yay me!

But those numbers are interesting. It could also be used for advertisers so that they know what sort of audience they're getting.

Hyena H_ll
I think DD has a pretty varied top 100, especially if you compare it to some other sites.

I definitely agree with that. I started hosting my comic on another site before I found DD and it was hard to find any popular comics that weren't Yaoi or Sonic Sprite related. Nothing against those types of comics, but when it's page after page of them in the top comics it can be tiresome.

it seems to me that dd favors fantasy manga no surprise there.

Very interesting. I wondered what the demographics were for success here.

I would like to see a couple of other breakdowns.
1: Average # of pages/strips
2: Posting Frequencies.

I did an algorythm for how to break into the top 30 of any pyramid scaled system a few years back...but it got completely dissed due to an unfortunate comment I made about the then top comic. The comment was actually taken out of context, as I had absolutely nothing against that comic (actually like it) but everyone jumped on bashing my comment and completely missed the point of the post! C'est la Vie.

One thing I was not able to factor into my algorythm was comic typing, and just plain readers' pref. As I have proved my algorythm works (been in the top thirty) I can at least stand on that, however, staying in the top thirty and trying to get further takes way more effort than I have--especially since my own comic has a fairly narrow range of appeal (not fantasy/manga and I haven't quite figured out how to get it to appeal to girls in general--which cuts off like half the DD readership...oh well.)

By the way--read 'Twilight'as a research thing. Girls actually liked that!?!?!? Gahhhh 8P

where did you find the stats for this and where do you find the top 100 DD comics? And top as in most read or most faved? Or combination of everything?

angry_black_guy
it seems to me that dd favors fantasy manga no surprise there.

word, especially since this section hardly ever talks about actual print comics.

From what I've found the majority of people who like/read/whatever webcomics are young teens ages 14-16. They are still very interested in manga and fantasy and don't start being interested in the more mature american print comics til' they're 18 and even on to twenty.
There's also a stereotype that all print comics here are about superhereos and boring as hell male superhereos they can't relate to. This is completely true, but it may take them awhile to find the ones that are not.

threeeyeswurm
where did you find the stats for this and where do you find the top 100 DD comics? And top as in most read or most faved? Or combination of everything?

If you go to "Browse", you can view all the comics ranked in order of # of readers. I assume JillyFoo just went through 'em and did the math. If you go to your stats section, you can find your own rank in your category (strip or story) and overall.

Manga is very popular and fashionable at the moment.
Given a few years it will fade out of fashion and some new style will come along that everyone will want to draw.

Interesting statistics, but they don't really mean much since there's nothing to compare them to. Are the percentages higher or lower than they are for second 100 or the middle 100 DD comics? For DD as a whole? Are they a representative cross section of DD comics or are the numbers significantly different?

I can make a few guesses about that (like, I would guess that there is a higher percentage of excellently colored comics in the top 100 than the percentage on DD as a whole), but they would all be assumptions.


(Not meaning to be the cynic or knocking your really detailed study here. It's just the scientist in me. ;) )

Hmm, no fan service, not fantasy and not manga/anime... I guess updating regularly and having decent coloring was not enough to get anywhere close top 100 :P

I dunno. I only recently dropped out of the top 100 and all I did on that list was the updates and decent computer colouring.

Yuri doesn't necessarily mean fan service, fyi.

I see how a couple of your categories would relate to the most popular comics here, but like you said, a lot of the categories are based on your standards (like good computer coloring. What you think is good might be sub-par to someone else).

But really, all the numbers aside, I think if you work hard and present something neat and interesting, no matter the genre, it has the potential of becoming big. :D

I have an idea but I am not 100% so I will ask, what is yuri and yaoi?
Is it something to do with gay porn?
Most things on the internet with Japanese names tend to relate to gay porn.

harkovast
I have an idea but I am not 100% so I will ask, what is yuri and yaoi?
Is it something to do with gay porn?
Most things on the internet with Japanese names tend to relate to gay porn.

Technically, Yuri and yaoi only mean that there is a theme of gay/lesbian romance somewhere. They don't have to be pornographic or even have mature themes. They just need a main character who is romantically interested in the same gender

Hentai is the "porn" word. Other Japanese genres have nothing specifically to do with porn unless they are also hentai. Granted, many or even most yaoi and yuri are hentai (especially on the internet, considering it's the internet), but it isn't necessary.

You're just not up on Japanese terminology [en.wikipedia.org]. ;) Technically, we could categorize all comics with Japanese words, since Japan has an incredibly diverse range of comic and graphic novel genres aimed toward every age group and interest -- so they have a lot of words to describe them. (But when Americans describe their work with Japanese words, they usually are also drawing in a style that mimics mainstream/popular Japanese cartoons/comics.)

harkovast
Manga is very popular and fashionable at the moment.
Given a few years it will fade out of fashion and some new style will come along that everyone will want to draw.

If anything, people will get sick of it after America latches onto it too much in a struggling effort to preserve any comic form on its shores. *thumbs up*

But manga's born of such a strange and interesting culture that it has power to endure and make an impact. It's not a weaker fad like Tamagotchi or POGS, since there's literally a manga type for all tastes. Not saying it'll still be here after the world explodes and we're all radioactive mutants, but... /blab

Anyway, those stats would be even more impressive if compared with something, yes.

Well that is very interesting. I don't consider my comic manga but the art surely leans in the direction. So I am glad to see that statistically that will help me out. I guess I need to start coloring my comic though.
I also have to agree with Senshuu, I don't see Manga as a fad. Maybe, maybe, in America. But it has been around for to long to be just a fad.

Something also worth noting: 70% of the top 100 comics have over 100 pages. Obviously, the more pages you have, the more page views you get when people read your whole archive.
And the ones that don't have at least 100 pages? A lot of those (not all, but a lot) are the ones with lots of fanservice. So the formula is:
Top 100 = at least 100 pages AND/OR boobs.

I'd also kind of like to know how many in the top 100 are male/female/unknown creators... I'd find out myself, but I'm too drowsy at the moment.

Around drunk duck, I be there is a fairly even split, as drunk duck seems fairly well divided between male/female (from what I've seen at least). I think, elsewhere though, female creators tend to get latched onto... I could be wrong, but I've seen a comic start with 3 updates of mediocre content BOOM in activity as soon as the creator posted a pic of herself in a scantily clad cosplay outfit... sooo yeah.

Like I said, I could be wrong, as I've only seen it happen once or twice, but at least on DD, things seem a bit more even-handed.

Out of the comics in the top 100, the problem is that only one of them is mine. If all of them were mine it would be a better situation (for me), but I can't even keep up the one I have, so that's not happening. :(

-----------------
Seriously-
-Female characters attract readers, male and female, for different reasons. We're just socialised for those to appeal to us at this moment in history for some reason. :)

-Colour will always get attention, but good or just plain interesting art generally will grab people.

-A great story with the promise of some interesting "reveal" along the way will keep people.

-Sexy characters can also perform that function... If they LOOK as if they might do something risque or you THINK they might reveal a bit of flesh then you might just stick with the comic to see if that ever happens. -they don't ever have to actually do it.

-Lots of updates, especially if they're regular and on time will keep people coming back regularly- daily, or weekly, it doesn't matter , as long as it's regular. People like to be able to visit your comic at the appointed time and see an nice fresh update!

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That sort of thing will get you up in the top 100.
Something to remember though: some comics that are up there and many who've gotten there in the past (not there now) do so because they have specific interest groups that they apeal to specially.

Those are really good points, ozoneocean. Adding to the "interesting art" statement, I think good character design helps, too. I think most of the more popular comics have unique-looking characters that are easy to recognize and tell apart from one another.

I don't think any of the more superficial factors we've discussed here (which mostly seem to fall under the categories of "booooobs!", or a specific genre or style) are necessarily a recipe for popularity. Most "top comics"- on this site and in general- tend to be, you know, good- whether they appeal to you or not. They appeal to someone, which means the author's obviously doing stuff right. I think sometimes there tends to be a sour grapes syndrome with these kinds of discussions. I'm not saying anyone here is doing that, though- which is really quite refreshing.

bryan
I could be wrong, but I've seen a comic start with 3 updates of mediocre content BOOM in activity as soon as the creator posted a pic of herself in a scantily clad cosplay outfit... sooo yeah.

Ha. Totally cheating. And kind of... eh, I'm not gonna use them words on an "all ages" forum. But there's something to be said for having a "persona" that correlates to your art/comic. I've always felt that 90% of success is presentation/ self-promotion. :)

BOOM in activity as soon as the creator posted a pic of herself in a scantily clad cosplay outfit... sooo yeah.

God knows. She could really be some bald overweight dude posing as a hot girl, for the sole purpose of being more popular on the internet.

I did an experiment like that in a forum before.

My username was "Mara-Nina" and I posed as a girl.

kyupol
God knows. She could really be some bald overweight dude posing as a hot girl, for the sole purpose of being more popular on the internet.

Yeah, that's happened here more than once. ;)

Since Bryan suggested it and I'll do anything at the moment to avoid my english essay I'm going to try to compile the female/male/unknown ratio of the top 100 comics.
I'll assume those i don't know based on their comic style, username, profile and posting style so don't get offended if i get them wrong. I'm going in order they're listed now

charby-female
Cru-male
something like life-male
Arrkelaan-male
life and death-male
unlife is unfair-female
mob ties-male
lesbian pirates-female
after lily-female
edepth angel-female
lucky dawg-male
gemmini-female
Simply sarah-female
for your eyes only-male
dragon doctors-male(?)
demon eater- female
thog infinitron-male
acrobat-male
cwens quest-male
rainbow carosel-female
paranormal activity-female
wires-female
hero by night-male
transcerebral-male
bouncing orbs-male
nariabros-male
craving control-male
morning squirts-male
purgatory tower-female
powerup-male
gnoph-unknown
atland-male
npc- female(?)
busty solar-male
troop37-unknown
vampire phantasm-female
the 600-male
pinky TA-male
between failures-male
public humil-male
TNT-male
christian humper reloaded-male
lola-female
culture shock-male
boy thing-female
devon legacy-male
blue0-female
despotize-male
chaps of megaman-male
magical misfits-male
bearvszombies-male
plastic-female
the dreamer-female
dragon +lemure-female
pilli adventure- female
darquran-female
magition quest-female
x-up-male
deadfingers-female
poke granite-male
brymstone-female
hiro-male
tozzer-male
scorch-female
grind-male
nin super squad-male
min myo min-female
hatpire-female
peppermint saga-male
wrong hero-male
realms of aegis-male(?)
novagenisis-male
love magic-female
purgatory-male
last element-female
crowfeathers-female
get up and go-female
sfa-male
death brigade-female
pokemon comic-male
nightmistress-female
jack-female
ethos-female
kuro shouri-female

Ugh i can't go on, 82 in total guesses from me.
36 female
40 male
6 unknown

Wow, fascinating statistics and a great discussion. I've often wondered if there was a science behind a comic's success, and whether or not a pandering toward the statistics would necessarily lead to success. In the end I think you guys covered what I think. Success in a webcomic can come from either doing what others do but better, or by filling a specific niche.

But I like that most people aren't looking to stats and demographics to find their own success... they're mostly just telling the story they want to tell, and in the best way they can. That makes it more interesting.


That being said, I'd love it if DD had a stats page that would tell us these things automatically... like, how many comics there are, what percentages make up what genres, Top 100 stats, etc. Because I find stats really interesting.