It's a Wish

In a surprise visit to the New York Renaissance Fest (not to be confused with my yearly trip to the Maryland one which'll be next month), I picked up contact juggling. Coolest hobby involving a ball, ever. Way better than marbles, and cooler looking than basketball. Also the trip to NY necessitated the slightly later than usual update. I'm going to try something next week in an attempt to expidite the comicing process. It's just taking too bloody long. I miss the days when I could punch out a comic in a single day. Long day. But a day.

In case you hadn't heard yet, Platinum Studios bought out Drunk Duck. In addition to continuing the hosting service Drunk Duck has always done, Platinum (which has a hand in turning comics into movies and other various media) will be releasing their comics to the net before they put them in print. I'm still not entirely sure how to feel about this. On the one hand it's about time the printed comic industry wised up to the idea of putting their comics on the net. But on the other hand, I almost feel like they've invaded our territory to do so, even though I have no associations with the Drunk Duck. Instead of hosting comic on their own site, they bought up a webcomic host to use and get their name out. Business wise, it's a good move for them. They get the service they need, plus publicity to go with it. But I kind of resent them for not breaking into digital publication on their own. I interviewed with one of the Platinum editors at Comic Con San Diego earlier this year, and either they weren't impressed with me, or I wasn't impressed with them. I don't recall. Probably a little of both. And between that experience and this I am left with a less than pleasant taste in my mouth.

That is not to say that this might not be a very good move for the comic industry as a whole, both digital and printed. Publishers are starting to see the digital medium as a very viable method of publication. Certainly no news to us webcartoonists. Furthermore, publishers are starting to reckognize that webcomics themselves are practically guaranteed sales. They're starting to see, effectively, that a webcomic is a done deal, it's got the comic, it's got the readership, all it needs is to be printed and distributed and they can take a cut of what comes there after.

I'm not sure how the blending of the webcomic community and it's printed cousin will work. More webcomics are being printed, and printed comics are coming to the web. Illustrators bring their work to the web because they want people to see it and enjoy their work, and the web is the easiest medium to publish in. Publishers bring their titles to the web because it's easy and inexpensive exposure to a larger audience who will in turn buy the books they print. I'm not sure who, in the end, will be pulling the strings. The publishers who take the digital comics and make them paper and ink, or the cartoonists who provide the comics, or the readers who determine whether or not a comic is profitable. It's an interesting time to be an illustrator.

Some more sketches behind the vote icons. And October's coming up soon, so that'll mean a new wallpaper as well. And candy. Sugary, corn shaped candy!

Welcome to the Comedity. Don't step on the Penguin.
Garth (Wednesday - Steptember 27th, 2006) -0:00:30