Comments on: Fleen Guest Column: David Malki ! In, “Comics Is Killing Webcomics”

By: Wondermark » Archive » #276; A Chance Encounter

Wondermark » Archive » #276; A Chance Encounter — Sat, 24 May 2008 08:49:30 +0000

[...] have a guest column up at Fleen, the webcomic news and reviews site, entitled “Comics is Killing [...]

By: wade

wade — Fri, 04 May 2007 16:58:35 +0000

So it comes to my attention that some people out there might have a strong bias against “short stories”, but I have written this story that took up about 12 pages in MS word. I’m putting it online, so would it be okay if we could all agree to call it a “story” instead of a short story? I think more people might be into it if that were the case, and we could avoid some of those negative stereotypes people might have from being forced to read “A Rose For Emily”, “The Gift of the Magi,” or some other short story in English class.

By: Eva

Eva — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 12:38:14 +0000

Very good site, thank you!
Bookmarked

By: justinpie

justinpie — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 21:20:33 +0000

malki ! are those your sonic the hedgehog comics.

By: Fleen: Written by bitter, haggard wordbeasts » Fleen Guest Column: Anne Thalheimer In, “Closer Than You Might Think”

Thu, 01 Mar 2007 20:02:51 +0000

[...] In preparing to table at the Boston Zine Fair next month and in trying to more closely consider my current webcomics reading as part of this ongoing series, I’ve spent some time thinking about the relationships between minicomics and webcomics. This is also kind of tied in with continuing to think about David Malki !’s recent article (we disagree; I don’t think an association with comics or comix is the death knell of webcomics, by any means. I’m still parsing through the particulars of what and why, though, so some of this piece is going to feel like thinking-out-loud). So I thought it might be worth considering minicomics and webcomics, which feel a little more closely related, maybe, than “comic books�? or “comic book culture�? with all their negative connotations (even though considering “comic strips�? and “webcomics�? might also be an interesting parallel). [...]

By: David McGuire

David McGuire — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 02:09:58 +0000

To clarify, I’m saying webcomics are more like the music that an ipod plays than the ipod itself.

By: David McGuire

David McGuire — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 02:01:05 +0000

Since when are word balloons and drawings requirements for something to be counted as a comic?
Fumetti, wordless comics, and experimental poetry comics all existed in print long before the first webcomic came along.

Even audience participation, like in Time Friends, existed in print before webcomics came along. Newspapers and magazines printed articles accompanied with a comic or cartoon long before Penny Arcade existed.

Webcomics aren’t really different from print comics content-wise, and the ways you list that they are different are rather gimmicky and could be duplicated in print with some creativity.

It’s true that webcomics are nerdy, but don’t HAVE to be nerdy… but you can say the same thing about print comics.

The only real difference between webcomics and print comics is the method of delivery.

An ipod’s not the same as a radio, but it will still be a “music player” no matter what label you slap on it.

By: Crun

Crun — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 18:58:50 +0000

What a crock. Webcomics are comics. Mainstream people don’t read webcomics because they’re too stupid to understand them. That’s why they read Rose Is Rose and Haggar the Horrible. Webcomics are like indy flicks, they’re not as popular as blockbusters because they’re fuckin’ GOOD.

By: David Brunell-Brutman

David Brunell-Brutman — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 08:57:28 +0000

I too, have messed up my html. Thank you, that is all.

By: David Brunell-Brutman

David Brunell-Brutman — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 08:55:59 +0000

I’m inclined to agree with most of the points presented here, because this is a problem I struggle with all the time. When is a webcomic a comic, and when is it something else? And when it’s something else, what do we call it? The word ‘Comics’ does have a social stigma, without a doubt. And the portmanteau we’ve developed to express (generally) serial combinations of art and writing - ‘webcomic’ - is stuck with that word.

But at the root of it, a webcomic is not always a comic strip, and it’s not always a comic book. ‘Webcomic’, in my mind, suggests interface rather than content. In essence, ‘webcomic’ refers more to the “four-button navigation system” and associated blog than it does to any actual website content. Some of you may have seen Tyler Martin’s template, which modifies blogging software to display a date-linked image of any kind above a blog post. In Tyler’s words “people are familiar with navigating blogs.”

So is that what a webcomic is? A visual blog? At it’s roots, I’d say yes. What we’ve got here is a culture based around form rather than content. This is not a negative thing - I like my webcomics. I write and draw something akin to a webcomic, and I’ve got a list of webcomics that I check every day. But it is important to understand that, as David Malki ! points out very well, a webcomic isn’t a newspaper comic strip, and isn’t a print comic book. And, by that token, it need not be bound up in the cultural expectations of these media.

Consider what, precisely, we’re basing this chunk of internet ‘comic’ culture around. I believe it’s something very different from the content-based cultures of print comics.

Time for a new word?