Comic Strips: Not Just for the Sunday Papers Anymore

More than 18,000 comic strips are available online, according to the blog Fleen, and most of them are free. And yet, cartoonists who create "webcomics" are able to make money from their art. This begs the question: how do they do it?

Four webcomic artists founded a group called Halfpixel Studios and are leading discussion on how artists and storytellers can make money from their work on the Internet. They challenge the more traditional business models for the medium.

Traditionally, an aspiring cartoonist would put together a submission package made up of several weeks' work and send it to a major print syndicate. If accepted, the company would obtain the rights to the artist's work. The syndicate would then act as the artist's agent, submitting his or her work to many newspapers for syndication. The artist would be paid according to how many newspapers published the comic strip, with a portion of the revenue taken by the syndicate.

"In terms of newspaper syndication, I have two choices. I can give it away for free ... or I can charge a rate that is kind of guided by the syndicates that has not raised in 30 or 40 years," said Brad Guigar, a member of Halfpixel and creator of three different comics run both online and in newspapers. "You have to remember that even back in the day they got a few thousand submissions a year, and the syndicates only launch one or two new strips a year,” he said.

The combination of these two realities forced many would-be syndicated cartoonists onto the Web.

"I think around '96, people started posting their comic strips on the Web, more as cartoonists that were looking for jobs with publishers, kind of like online portfolios," said Scott Kurtz, also a member of Halfpixel and creator of two webcomics, including "Player vs. Player," or "PvP." "But then more and more people started posting up strips as a means of delivery; in other words, you're not looking for a publisher. The Web is your publisher."

The artists then needed a way to monetize their new delivery method. The benefit of being with a syndicate, say the artists of Halfpixel, is that syndicates employ people to handle the business side of things, while the creator worries about the story and the art. Without the syndicate, the webcartoonists soon needed to become entrepreneurs, and slowly a business model for webcomics developed that embraced the way most Web sites make their money.

"I think there were some people early to the game that blazed some trails and established some business models that work,” said Kurtz. “It was really a bunch of experimentation and then whatever seemed to work, the rest of the group emulated."

Most creators publish their work online for free, as opposed to a pay-per-view or subscription service model. They run advertising on the Web site, and offer merchandise relating to the comic, including T-shirts and book collections.

Dave Kellett, the third member of Halfpixel and the creator of "Sheldon," wrote in his chapter of the studio's book, "How to Make Webcomics," that the goal of the webcomics entrepreneur should be to get paid for his or her comic in three different ways: by providing exposure to the advertising on the site when the strip is first viewed for free; by putting it in a collection in book format; and by selling the original art. That way, an artist can create three different revenue streams from the amount of artistic work put into one single strip.

The artists said the ability to build a community around their work on the Web became another attractive point because they could interact with their readers by accepting feedback, and by putting a name, face and personality behind their art.

The artists say that this model is better for business.

"If you really build your community, you're going to have a percentage of readers that come to your site because it helps them express to the outside world who they are,” said Guigar. “When you really put the time and energy into doing that, when it comes time to do pre-orders for a project you are going to launch, you'll find that a ton of your readers are jumping right in because this is who they are.”

This idea has a lot to do with the "1,000 True Fans" idea put forth by Kevin Kelly, who writes a blog called "The Technium," says Kris Straub, the fourth member of Halfpixel (and creator of three different webcomics). Kelly says that any artist needs only a certain number of fans to make a living, if those fans can be counted on to buy everything the artist produces, or attend the artist’s events. Because webcartoonists may get one million people visiting their site every day, the ability to turn only ten percent of those readers into "true fans" has potential for their bottom line.

"If you can come up with enough product that they are willing to buy between $75 and $100 worth per year, which is not an enormous amount of money to ask a very die-hard fan to spend, you have made $100,000 in a year, and you're in the clear," said Straub.

While all of these methods work for those who publish on the Web, they have created controversy with some newspaper cartoonists who misunderstand the new methods the webcartoonists use. A recent discussion on the blog "The Daily Cartoonist" and a subsequent conference call between Ted Rall, an editorial cartoonist who works with Universal Press Syndicate, and several other syndicated and Web-based cartoonists yielded a sometimes-heated dialogue about the business future of both newspaper and Web comics.

The issue arose about how successful webcomics could be compared economically to the standard syndicate model. Rall said that, on average, the print syndication model is still a better way to make money in comics, while the webcartoonists said that the old system is constricting and that they can make a better living running their own businesses. The discussion continues as the U.S. economy slows and people move away from reading hard-copy newspapers and go to online sources for their news. Rall argued in the conference call that comics as an art form, both in print and on the Web, are dying.

Webcomics, not surprisingly, strongly disagree.

Kurtz just celebrated the 10-year anniversary of "PvP," arguably one of the longest running and most popular comics on the Web, and the comic has expanded into an online animated series. Usually mentioned alongside "PvP" for longest-running is the comic "Penny Arcade," which was started about the same time and has grown into a successful business for its creators, Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins. Their video-game-based comic has spawned a major video gaming convention, a multi-million dollar charity (centered on providing video games for kids with serious illnesses), collaborations with video game producers, and even their own video games.

Both Guigar and Straub also said that their businesses are still doing well, even with increased travel and shipping costs, which are a substantial part of their operations.

"People tend to continue to buy the things that comfort them, especially when the economy's crappy," said Kurtz. His other colleagues agreed; they say that is the reason why their livelihoods will not suffer in a slow economy.

So if webcomics are becoming a successful industry, and the future of comics may be on the Web, why don't more people know about them? Kurtz and Straub both agree that the webcomics community is insular and hard to find, because webcomics link to each other but rarely to a source outside the set community. Additionally, Kurtz says there is no central repository for webcomics, unlike the newspaper that has an entire page devoted to several different strips.

"My strip's on my Web site, the only way to get to it is to know the Web site exists," he said.

However, the authors try to combat the insular feeling by compiling their strips into print volumes, which they sell at conventions, through comics shops or major book retailers. A local comics store in Tenleytown, Fantom Comics, had several such print volumes of strips that ran on the Web.

"We don't generally stock things if they don't sell," said Abby Lis-Perlis, an employee at the store.

Several webcomics authors have translated their online success into print success by landing contracts with companies like Image and Dark Horse, smaller comic publishing companies that are distributed through Diamond, the company comics shops also use to buy from bigger studios, such as Marvel and DC. At the same time, newspaper cartoonists, including Rall, maintain their own online presence.

One thing's for sure: whether or not they're successful, the Halfpixel guys enjoy what they do.

"Running my own business, I've never felt so alive,” said Guigar. “I work incredibly hard for myself and I am continually fascinated by all the things that come down the pipe that I get to see if I can make it work."

Links:
Fleen
Halfpixel Studios
Brad Guigar's webcomics: Evil, Inc., Phables
Scott Kurtz's webcomic: PvP
Dave Kellett's webcomic: Sheldon 
Kris Straub's Webcomics: Starslip Crisis, F-Chords, Chainsawsuit
Daily Cartoonist Discussion
Penny Arcade
Ted Rall