Gatekeeping print comics and the Webcomic community

Yesterday I logged onto Twitter and saw this tweet trending.





And ohohoho I knew there was spicy drama afoot.

This origin story of this tweet was an column by Rob Salkowitz titled Who's a creative professional in the comics world? The answer is getting more complicated. He makes a point that, technically, a professional is anyone who gets paid for the work they do, be that $50 to all the monies in the world. However, it is clear from his article that he believes there is a clear line in the sand between those that can be deemed “professional” vs an amatuer who gets paid by strangers on the internet. Ultimately it comes down to this. If you’re not being paid by a recognised printed comic studio you are not a legit comic artist.

What seems to have sparked this debate is the recent deal done between Webtoons and DC. Soon, the platform will be publishing webcomics created by DC. In the article, Rob remarks that,

”Yes, showcasing DC material on an app that gets the vast majority of its clicks from young women under age 25 could bring some new fans into the market by filling the gaps between DC’s kid-oriented animation, middle grade graphic novels, and the skews-older mainstream DC line, but some saw it as just trading down the DC brand by mingling the material with a lot of substandard fan-created content that’s prevalent on mobile subscription-based comics platforms.”

This demarcation with regards to a webcomic’s legitimacy has been long argued since its invention in spite of successful webcomics being made into books, anime, TV shows and movies. However, it also serves to highlight the belief that comics created by and for women or people from marginalised groups who self-publish their work online go on to be considered as creating “lower art”. Therefore, it is not the masses who deem the art worthy, rather it is those in a position of societal power, the brands, the corporations, the studios, who have the right to bestow the sought after “legitimate” label.

We see a similar trend in movies, TV series and even Broadway shows. To be able to see a Broadway show of Hamilton you either have to be able to afford the large ticket price or win it in a lottery. Therefore the access to this media is controlled by those wealthy enough to see, lending it credibility.

Webcomics are, for the most part, uncontrolled. A creator can create their own webcomic site if they don’t find a platform that suits their needs/values. This Us and Them mentality with regards to webcomics is indicative of the ideological battle between new and old media. And yet, when unshackled from the pressures of corporate structures and the pursuit of profit, we are gifted with creative stories from voices who would otherwise have been silenced. That is the beauty of our medium. And no amount of “legitimacy” can take that away from us.

What are your thoughts on webcomics vs print comics? Don’t forget! You can join us on Sunday evening for our Quackchat at 5:30PM(EST)!

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