The Future of Comics

I think web comics are definitely the future for the medium. More and more new comics that are rising in popularity in recent years either started as a web series or is entirely online. To be honest, I think it’s only natural that it move in this direction. I mean just about every form of print media is moving to digital format. A lot of newspapers and magazines have made the switch to digital and have stopped printing hard copies all together. Many books are being transferred to different forms of digital format. It was only a matter of time before comics did so as well.

            I’m not here to debate whether this switch is good or bad. Only time will tell in the long run. But we are living in the digital age and if a medium wants to survive it has to adapt. This new, more widely accepted format also makes it easier for artists to get their work out to the public. Before an artist would either have to work for a company drawing what they were told to draw, or be able to sell their comic to a publisher. Now anyone can post online and gain a following. The same goes for music artists when iTunes became popular. It became much easier for individuals to sell their music and break into the industry. The entertainment industry as a whole is a rapidly changing business. It always has been and it always will be.

            That being said, I don’t think any of the major comic companies are going to ever make the switch to solely one form or the other. They make far to much money in collector value with hard copy comics. But I do believe we are going to see many more online comics gain just as much popularity, if not more, than the titles held by the major companies today.