We're Experiencing some Turbulence

I really hate this, as it seems like every week the comic doesn't happen on time. However, as of 8pm Sunday, I'm feeling like the dead. No kidding. I fear zombification. I don't know where my energy went or why I'm so damn cold, but I just can't bring myself to finish the comic tonight. So it'll go up TUESDAY, rather than the Monday I claim it should go up on.

Also, check out this week's sponsors: The Amazing Super Zeros.

You know, I've been pondering something for a little while: Why do so many webcomics show up at Anime Cons? Honestly, when you want to see a webcomic at a convention, where do you expect to find them? You might think, "well, at a comic convention, right?" Well, actually it seems to me that webcomic people's are actually more likely to show up at anime cons. So, I asked myself, why is this? What association do webcomics have with anime? Well, I suppose that there's an awful lot of webcomics, some better known than others, that have a very obvious manga-like style to them. Ok, but not all webcomic look or even sound like any manga story. So what is it? It's got to be something basic. And then it came to me. Webcomics and Manga/Anime are both non-comics, in the wester sense of the word. Comics, as the majority of western, more specifically american, culture knows them are broken up into two basic categories: comic books, and the daily funnies. And neither webcomics nor manga fit well into either category. Manga could be related to 'comic books' in the sense that they both are bound pages of art with word balloons on them. But they're not the same. And it doesn't take a genius to notice this. And it's not just the very different art styles. They don't read the same. And I don't think there's much disagreement on that point. So I won't go further into it. Webcomics, on the other hand, could be compared to the daily funnies, in that they show up strip by strip on some time incriment and you get them "free." Paper funnies are free with your paper, and webcomics are free with your internet connection. The obvious difference being your internet provider doesn't pay the webcartoonist for putting his/her comics up on the web. The Internet, I believe, is the one medium that doesn't "pay" it's content providers for bringing in viewers. I think Marx would approve of the internet, at least in theory. But that's another discussion. Anyway, webcomics could be compared to newspaper comics, but I don't think there are many who would say they're the same. Webcomics are easily more diverse in nature than newspaper comics, even though some webcomics have become syndicated strips in various newspapers. So, how are manga and webcomics different from COMICS, and how is that difference what makes them similar? Well, the obvious answer, that I should have gotten to much earlier is simply: they're not mainstream. Not in the US anyway. Manga's mainstream in japan, sure, even to rediculous extents, but I'm talking the world I know best: the US. Manga is, in fact, becomming more mainstream. Just go down to Borders and check out how big their Manga section is. It's almost as big as the Sci-Fi/Fantasy section. But it's still not "mainstream" comics. How much manga can you find in your local comic shop? If they're like mine, the answer is "none." Hell, I can find more D&D books at my comic shop than I can manga. Similarly, webcomics don't have a mainstream presence. Webcomics are more obscure than "indie" comics. Granted I did see an issue of PvP in the comic shop the other day, but still... So, I guess the summation of this whole rambling is that you find anime/manga and webcomics at the same conventions because they're both fringe comic forms. And because anime is more popular, webcomics show up at anime cons rather than manga artists showing up at webcomic conventions.

I've found that comic conventions are a way different crowd than that at anime cons. This should be, again, obvious yes? Comic book conventions are full of collectors where as anime cons are full of fans. Also, it seems that if you don't have something published, something on paper that can be taken home and flipped through, people at comic book conventions don't seem to care. They're quite people who are perfectly connent to flip through back issues looking for the one they're missing, or getting signatures from their favorite artist, but they tend to be rather quiet. Anime con go-ers are rediculously loud and boisterous in comparison. It's just two different worlds. Odd isn't it?

Welcome to the Comedity. Don't step on the Penguin.
Garth (Sunday - April 30th, 2006) -21:07:49