In an effort to post more blogs, I’m gonna write about some things in webcomics that have really been irking me lately. I realize that everyone does a webcomic for different reasons, and whatever reason you choose, I can appreciate. I would like to monetize my webcomic a bit more, and it’s not like I haven’t tried, but at this point in time it is still more of a hobby. By that I mean, I just don’t have the time to update enough to get a steady stream of visitors a day.

I never started my webcomic to make a big pile of cash though, I’m thrilled that so many of you have found it. I create my webcomic solely for myself. I write and draw a webcomic that I would want to read, and that is all. I know you guys have your favorite characters, and I have mine too. But this story is pretty well fleshed out in my head, so I can’t just keep everyone’s favorite character around just because it would be bad for “business” so to speak.

And that’s what is really been bothering me about webcomics in general the past week. Everyone is so focused on making their webcomic a viable business. Every once in awhile I will see a webcomic being promoted like it is the next big summer movie blockbuster, and I”ll occasionally click on it to find a whopping archive of 3 pages. If you’re advertising the hell out of your webcomic and you only have 3 pages in your archive… those had better be the best 3 damn webcomic pages to ever grace a computer screen, or else don’t waste my time.

There was a discussion over at the new Webcomics.com this past week about putting the cart before the horse so to speak, and I firmly believe that. I also believe in making comics awesome! Webcomics should be fun and crazy and outrageous! They should tell stories that you wouldn’t find in a newspaper or your local comic store. However, don’t NOT make a webcomic just because you think that the niche’ for your comic is covered. It was mentioned by someone that we don’t need anymore zombie comics because Robert Kirkman already has it covered with The Walking Dead. What? That is the dumbest statement I have ever heard (well, I’m exaggerating but still). Trying to come up with a story just for the sake of coming up with something that hasn’t been done before is also dumb. If your passion is a zombie story, do a zombie story. If your passion is a story about woodland dwarves battling with heroin addiction, well create it! But please don’t create or NOT create a story just because you think there may or may not be a market for it!

There was also some debate about WHEN to start monetizing your webcomic. Some people felt it was wrong to print books or T-Shirts if you didn’t have the readership to support it. My take is this, if you wanna make T-Shirts with your characters, and print up books, or go to cons… do it! As long as it isn’t cutting into providing food shelter or other needs for your family, what difference does it make? I printed Tees and Books and went to my first con all while my comic was less than a year old. I still have unsold merch, but I certainly wasn’t discouraged. I had those items made up because I like my webcomic, and I had the extra money to do so.

I guess what I’m trying to say is this, stop focusing on the business of webcomics so much. I know that some people think that is some crazy notion. Like, why would you ever want to do a webcomic for fun? Don’t expect anybody to make your webcomic a success but you. I know there are few successful webcomickers out there that can you give you the fundamentals of creating and growing your webcomic, but even if you follow that advice to the letter, it still may not happen for you. So what then? Well, you”ll either give up, or continue on. But would you rather continue creating boring mediocre comics just because they are more marketable? Or would you rather be continuing to create comics that are 100% pure awesome?!