I can definitely agree that the web can be a viable alternative to print comics, and the Internet itself as a whole a great tool for getting your work out there.

A downside to this is that given the technological tools available, it enables anyone, as in anyone, to create professional looking work without the benefit of an artistic education. Tools like Poser, Sketchup, Photoshop etc, can enable anybody to create comics, using these tools not as an aid to skill and ability, but a tool that creates.

This, plus the ease by which comics can be made and made available, opens the door to hundreds and even thousands of crappy work to be produced and released. After all, most of these things aren’t created with any editorial scrutiny, unlike print, which ensures at least some form of quality.

On the web, there’s no such thing, at least in the beginning. The feedback only comes after.

The challenge for the reader therefore, is to wade through thousands of crap just to get to the good ones.

Perhaps something can be put in place that would guide readers to what is good out there and what is crap.

That’s the beauty of the internet, actually.

Like nature, it evolves.

I wouldn’t be surprised that once we get a lot of webcomics out there someone’s going to set up portals to guide people to the best webcomics the web has to offer or maybe blogs that review great webcomics. Besides, people will always gravitate towards the comics worth reading instead of the ones not worth crap.

It’s the very nature of the web but instead of the few deciding what goes out there (publishers, editors) it’s the majority who decides what comics survives and thrives. A true democracy or as close as we can get to it.

It’s like one great self-regulating entity (sounds like a good sci-fi story).

Wow lalo ko ng nirespeto si mr jonas diego dito. =) Agree po ako sa lahat ng sinabi niyo. Medyo tinamaan nga ako sa sinabi ni kuya gerry pero nailigtas niyo rin po ako. =) salamat

Ang totoo niyan nagsimula lang talaga ako sa pagba-blog. Pero dahil mahina ako sa pagsusulat, sinubukan kong isa-komiks ang mga ideya ko. Ngayon, kahit sabihin na nating low quality ang gawa ko, nakakagulat na parati na lang may bagong dumadaan na reader na hindi mo malaman kung saan nanggagaling (salamat sa internet). Palagay ko nga magandang panimula ang web kung gagawa ka ng komiks. Iba’t-ibang klase pa ng tao ang huhusga sa gawa mo. Hindi sadya ang pagkakagawa ko ng web komiks, pero masaya ako dito =)

Adrian: Magandang venue talaga ang web for showcasing yung comics mo especially if naghahanap ka ng interaction at immediate feedback with your audience.

Kelangan nga lang talaga matibay ang loob mo tumanggap ng constructive criticisms. Marami ang willing magbigay ng critiques at dahil immediate nga yung feedback mas mabilis yung process ng evolution mo as an artist.

Sana di ka madiscourage, Adrian. If your work is good, it will find an audience. Example lang yung “Intrepid Torpedo” in Aris Panganiban. The art needs a lot of work for it to be considered “professional looking”, but he did his comic, posted it online, and because the story is engaging, clever and funny, it gets a lot of readers… and you start to think na the art actually fits the story being told. Basahin mo, ang saya.
http://sira_sarilingmundo.blogs.friendster.com/my_blog/2007/04/post.html

Jonas, kelan ka dadaan?

Gerry, baka sa 29 na lang tayo magkita-kita. More work just arrived and I am totally swamped.