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Over the past 7 or so years, we've seen this absolute shift in expectation, migration, and stagnation in the webcomics sphere which applies to style, sustainability, and the platforms grip on readers and creators

I'll be the first one to say that webcomics are not an easy way to make money and a majority of folks who make them rarely see profit. This has always been the case! But when virality, siphoning audiences from all over, and opportunity to 'get printed' presented itself, that expectation shifted.

So let's talk about what those expectations are now: 🔴Demand for Higher quality- less readers will check out beginner looking works or comics that feel too 'faulty' in style meaning less excitement to see webcomics grow over the years. Polish is expected and commented on consistently by readers

There is also an expectation for specific visual and narrative styles. This applies to other social media platforms too- in that works that take less investing in are often promoted and prioritised. That means less risks on narratives, less nuances, and shorter series running.

🔴All on one site/app- That may seem pretty fantastic for getting new readers (and is the absolute main sticking point for so many artists) but when algorithms and specific series are wanted, your works have a harder chance getting to the people they need to. The search function is trash for a reason

I'm not one to toot the competition flute, but there's a level of that at play when the spotlight for that platform is actually pretty small. What you get is a lot of readers checking out the same comics, and not spreading it all out to find yours (their subs have a cap for this reason)

🔴Sustainability (and lack thereof)- The creator of these comics are often burnt out and given little support- all while fighting to see what is allowed on the platform with its excitable censoring. I won't speak for originals (there's many testimonies you can find) but their experiences of burn out are harrowing

With the high production expectation for a person who is rarely given help (often has to hire out of pocket for that) and the readers who want Updates Now, it's a frustrating place to post your comics with no rest. It's 2026, we shouldn't be treating cartoonists this way still.

Webtoons (the company) is always going to be interested in making a profit. That's sort of where it all starts and stops here. They'll embrace the slop machines (more slop sources) for investors, they'll mistreat creators, cancel 'unprofitable' comics, censor work, and protect that bottom line. That's their MO, always!

So when I see these conversations that inevitably float around about Webtoons and how the only response is 'stop using it', I think we also need to deconstruct what it's done to creators and readers and how they engage with/create works too- because it doesn't seem that simple of a solution

Webtoons has solidified itself in webcomics as the Place to start and stop with comics. They want you to use their app of course, but they've conditioned folks to think it's the only way to share your stuff. How do we break this? How do we get people to stop using it?

We share resources 😎

Also, for webcomic creators who either make their own website or use a comic platform like Comicfury, consider using a peer-to-peer ad network like Comicad.net to advertise your webcomic and create ad space on your own website.

If something has a big fandom, publishers and studios know they can make money off it. This is why we see publishers openly acquiring and selling things that were originally posted as fanfic, like Alchemised, Heated Rivalry, etc. It’s why the horrid wizard woman considers people participating in her fandom to be supporting her political causes.

The real answer is taking Ennigaldi-Nanna to see the Smithsonian Museums. She was the high priestess of Ur, daughter of Nabonidus, King of Babylon. He is considered one of the kings most interested in archaeological history and likely passed this off to his daughter, as she ran what is considered the first museum of chronologically organized and labeled artifacts from the last 1500 years of Babylonian history.

I'm hosting a yuri comic jam with @mashazart next year! If you join the jam page on itchio, you will get an alert when the jam starts!

Love wins

Me: oh, just this couple that posts really sweet cosplay reels on Instagram. I don't even know half the characters they dress up as, but I'm hooked on their content

Sophia: cosplay is...fancy dress, isn't it?

Me: yep

Sophia: wait! She's wearing classical draperies and handing him a bow! I know that one!

Me: oh yeah, that's Penelope and Odysseus. I think a new movie version of the Odyssey just came out, so it's on everyone's minds

Sophia: couples still do fancy dress as the great lovers of literature? like they did at those masquerade balls that made the papers, when I was alive?

Me: apparently so!

Me: oh, just thinking how there aren't any lasting or celebrated stories about loves like mine. It wouldn't have been considered a good thing for a woman to show everlasting devotion to another woman exclusively, because you would be assumed to be single your whole life and everyone would constantly be trying to force you into marriage with a man

Sophia: constancy of love has always been a treasured virtue

Me: yes, but they didn't consider it love in that sense; they just considered it friendship

Sophia: it might be that sometimes they saw one and we took it for the other. Can you read those stories and pretend that the women in them feel as you feel?

Me: often, yes

Sophia: then perhaps they did, in spite of the authors' intentions

Sophia: ... also, my friend Estelle never married and frequently compared herself and her beloved Charlotte to Penelope and Odysseus regardless of gender

Me: were they separated for a very long time?

Sophia: she did this every time she had to go to the market and Charlotte stayed home

Obviously, this strategy worked very well to encourage f/f fics, and everyone was happy forever.