Broken Frontier

Something Barb Jacobs said in our last interview on Talismen: Return of the Exile (pictured below) struck a chord with me – especially in the way that one person has been, according to the webcomic artist, encouraging boycotting Jacobs work because she is a “quitter.” Time and time again, webcomic creators have said in the Daily Read that one of the best features webcomics offer is the possibility of instant feedback from their fan-base, but as this shows, it’s not a one-way street.

Unfortunately, as the above examples shows, fans can be unreasonable. It’s easy for us to make fun of Joe Q and Dan D at the Big Two when they drop the crossover ball because, well, with multi-million dollar companies, they should know better! But it’s less easy, or called for, when the creator is working out of his or her own garage and his or her own pocket! By the way, to whoever is calling Barb Jacobs a quitter, Steve Jones said Jacobs continued to draw the webcomic for as long as she could “without financial support.”

Now, I have personal experience in this matter. I was blessed to run “Hector!” with long-suffering, better-business-minded partner Luke Perks, who was able to front the project with financial support while I bumbled my job search in between scripts. But paying for web space, artist costs, advertising space and printing runs is enough to drive any webcomicker from the red line to the white-padded room! Even if you’re giving frequently to a webcomic’s donation bar, don’t expect a tax payer’s return – most webcomics are lucky if they break even, much less make a living!

So fans can be unreasonable, but unfortunately, so can webcomic creators. When fan choice character Lord Siegfried was reduced to a demonic leather-bound Hellraiser reject, fans were pretty vocal on the message boards of Dominic Deegan. Though creator Michael Terracciano himself wisely stayed out of the debate for the most part, his supporters took the full blunt far beyond the edge of reason, arguing fans should be happy they even get a webcomic as good as DD to spend time bashing Mookie’s creative decisions. This illustrates the thin line webcomickers on both sides of the divide must walk – the customer isn’t always right, but neither is the creator.

Obviously, taking criticism is crucial to the development of a professional in any creative field, but doing so without cherry picking or straying can present a Herculean task at times. The other great thing about webcomics is their rough cuts nature – achieving innovation and ingenuity over time instead of all at once. Though it sets webcomics apart from almost every other medium, it’s also the most easily forgotten. In webcomics alone, growth trumps every goal, even those personal, professional and seemingly perfect.