Getting caught in Webcomics

I’ve posted here previously that I’ve been reading comic books and graphic novels recently. Even coming up with ideas for a sci-fi/hero series of my own. In fact, today I just finished reading Ultimates II Ultimate Collection which I found excellent—both well written and very well drawn. (By way of criticism, once the story reaches its superhero vs. supervillain fight, it more or less stays a fight for multiple issues, whereas The Ultimates: Ultimate Collection was a bit more varied in its climax. But that wasn’t enough to ruin my enjoyment of a wonderful story).

But there’s a lot of talent out there writing great stories that aren’t beginning their life as traditional comic books or graphic novels, but are starting as free webcomics. Michelle, in fact, has been getting me into Webcomics, as she loves and follows a few of them. And of course, as an artist herself, she’s keen to hone her skills enough to produce one.

If you’re not already following any webcomics, here are a few I’ve checked out recently. One of the most popular is Girl Genius by the husband and wife team of Phil and Kaja Foglio. This “Gaslamp fantasy” comic (in other words, sorta steampunky, sorta straight fantasy) has been around for years, and just won a Hugo award. I have just started reading this, and I have to admit, it’s a slow starter for me.

Famed comic writer Warren Ellis has his own webcomic called Freakangels, about a gang of telepaths in post-apocalypitic England. This is another comic with years of background information to catch up with, but I’m definitely intrigued.

Finally, I’ve gotten into a relatively recent newer Webcomic called Spacetrawler. This is a far more lighthearted sci-fi adventure Webcomic than the previous two more serious Webcomics, and the art is accordingly more serio-comic. This one I’m completely caught up with and enjoying very much. And for what it’s worth, Spacetrawler also has the most simple-to-navigate Webcomic site, in my opinion.

While the webcomics themselves are free, they do find ways to monetize them to some degree by selling merchandise, ads on the website, and for those which are around long enough, compiling the individual free comic panels into graphic novels (which are then released commercially). In fact, is the graphic novel Girl Genius Volume 9: Agatha Heterodyne and The Heirs of the Storm that won the Best Graphic Story Hugo award.

So now we’re thinking, perhaps my comic idea should start it’s life as a Webcomic? See if it gathers some steam, and after a while, compile the comics into a graphic novel? It’s certainly a free and easy way to start, and you don’t need to rely on a publisher liking your idea before you get started. And Michelle is eager to get started, we mostly have the software, although a tool like this would really help.

Perhaps my foray into comics will begin far sooner than originally anticipated…