Comics That Read Top to Bottom Are Bringing in New Readers

Fans who have supported the manga industry for decades have made weekly pilgrimages to local manga stores to buy the latest issue of their favorite hat-clad adventurer. These Wednesday warriors were named after the day the new installments usually land on the shelves, but they are still. The greedy readers of printed comics are old — and mostly men.

But now, the world of comics is being reshaped by the digital turmoil that has transformed journalism, music, movies, and television, so all you need is a smartphone. The popularity of web comics has exploded in recent years. This is partly due to the use of Gen Z and Millennial women, which the industry has long overlooked.The story they offer — the story of a young woman fighting sexism The world of esports Or a romance-focused re-story of Greek mythology — mostly free and scrolls vertically on smartphones with readers under the age of 25.

And they made stars from a new generation of creators.

“I didn’t do this even ten years ago,” said Caitlin Narvaza, 28, of San Diego. Instant miso Her series “Siren mourningHas attracted more than 430 million views. “We have these opportunities to share these romance stories as American women writers and cartoonists, and American creators. We never had such an opportunity before.”

Webtoon, the world’s largest digital comics platform, started in South Korea in 2004, said more than half of its 82 million monthly users are women.

The platform captivated readers with hits that deviated from the traditional story of good and evil. of “Lookism, ”A young, unfriendly man wakes up with a tall, handsome body. “”Remarried EmpressWell, it features a remarried protagonist. “”AbnormalIs centered around teenagers with a secret past that could disrupt the high school social class. (There is “every corner” of “frenemy” that the explanation warns.)

“Let’s Play” is a story about a young woman who wants to design a video game. “It’s a game comic with romance or a romance comic with a game,” said Lee Anklechitch, its creator who quit his IT job a few years ago to focus on the comic. She believes the reader is involved in the struggle between the protagonist’s career and her dating.

“Most of the comics were hero stories. That’s great, but that’s nothing wrong,” she said. But, “In Korea and Japan, they tell the story of romance, the story of high school.”

Traditional publishers have been aware of the success of these digital platforms. Marvel When DC When Archie Comics Signed a deal with Webtoon to create an original digital story featuring some of their biggest characters.

Webtoon alone recorded on-platform sales of $ 656 million in 2020 to $ 900 million in 2021, the company said. Reading comics is free, so most of the revenue comes from promoting and selling early access to your favorite series to enthusiastic readers.

But printed comics are not dead. In fact, their sales exploded during the pandemic, and so many people were bored and stuck at home.Experts say the total sales of North American comics and graphic novels are about $ 2.08 billion In 2021, this is a figure that includes the combined revenue of multiple legacy publishers and a combined digital revenue of only $ 170 million.

New adventures have been accepted by many, but some fans are dissatisfied with the “awakening” of the cartoon world. It didn’t stop traditional publishers, even some of their most famous characters, trying to capture a larger part of the new readership with a more modern storyline.

Last year, DC Comics began a romantic relationship with new Superman Clark Kent and Lois Lane’s son Jonathan Kent with a male friend, and Batman’s buddy Robin recently acknowledged his own bisexuality. ..

Older brands are also trying online services. Marvel has developed its own “digital first” story, including Infinity comics that use vertical scrolling. A recent cartoon about the gay mutant Iceman focused on his romantic life as much as his heroic life. Marvel executives said they plan to expand Infinity Comics with a focus on creators and characters from a variety of backgrounds, hoping to help the company reach new readers.

DC Comics has also produced “Digital First” comics and collaborated with Webtoon in the “Batman: Wayne Family Adventure” series last year. This series has provided a quieter story than the fight against crime. It’s about dating, family dynamics, physical condition at school, and post-traumatic stress for the protagonist.

Ken Kim, Webtoon’s CEO for North America, understands that successful digital creators tend to want young readers, who are the target audience of the platform, to have stories that reflect their lifestyles and dreams. I said that I am doing it.

According to another major webcomic platform, Tapas Media, more than 80% of readers are between the ages of 17 and 25, and about two-thirds are women.

Some of its most popular series revolve around topics that young readers of the current generation can directly relate to. Michael Son, vice president of content for Tapas, pointed out the series “Magical Boy” featuring transgender teenagers. It’s been found Descendants of the goddess. “Sailor Moon meets Buffy,” he said.

“We wanted to get rid of the gatekeeper,” he said. “The readers actually pointed the direction of the content we’re taking. What emerged organically was a very young, very female-centric readership, reflected in the creator base. I did. “

Digital comics companies have expanded their presence at Comic-Con International in San Diego, one of the industry’s oldest and most important conventions on Sunday. Webtoon, which has been showing a big presence since 2018, has won the Best Webcomic Eisner Award of the year for Mr. Smyth’s “Lower Olympus”, and Tapas has appeared for the first time this year.

Vincent Kao, 30 years old.Kao“Tapas” is the author of “Magical Boy”. He read growing Japanese manga and graphic novels, drew his own manga in college, and earned a degree in illustration, but he always thought that drawing his manga would continue to be his hobby.

He then posted a Slice of Life comic on Tapas, where he got a lot of attention. He pitched the “Magical Boy” after seeing the call for submission.

“Whenever I look at the comics, I always like,’Gay’s not enough. Where’s my expression?'” He said. However, artists are often warned that it’s difficult to make money with comics, and publishing LGBTQ content can be even more difficult, he added.

“I was surprised that it was company-backed and funded,” he said when he pitched a “magical boy” about trans-gender men.

Before Ohio transgender Elliott Basil, 22, discovered the “magical boy,” he said he felt that he was only “in a roundabout way” related to comic characters.

However, at Max, the main character of “Magical Boy,” Basil finally found a character that struck near his house. He saw Max and said, “It was what I wanted when I was young to establish my position and try to find someone to stand in his position.”

The digital platform provides authors with a new path to publish. At times, you own most, if not all, intellectual property. (The battle between cartoon authors and traditional publishers dates back to Superman’s arrival from Crypton: Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Sold their rights He was sent to Man of Steel for $ 130 in 1938 and fought for compensation for decades thereafter. )

The money that creators make today is often modest — Webtoon said it paid more than $ 13.5 million to about 1,500 English creators in 2021. In short, most creators are not in a position to quit their day-to-day work. But the most successful ones can work. Webtoon said top Korean creators can make as much as $ 250,000 a year.

Still, industry veterans warn young up-and-coming people to be careful. The contract should be carefully scrutinized before it can be signed. Also, the weekly public schedule can be a penalty for creators.

Webtoon It became a fire For an advertising campaign that we boasted in June: “Comics are a side hustle of literature.” The creators were furious. The company apologized.

Also, some creators don’t think digital platforms are right for them. Veteran cartoonist Dean Haspiel, 55, published his cartoon.Red hookAbout Brooklyn’s superhero, on Webtoon in 2016. The series lasted for more than four seasons, but “we didn’t get the reaction we wanted,” he said.

“Finally, I started to realize that the audience reading Webtoon was a very different audience than the kind of comics I produce,” he said.

But many new creators are happy to have a way to reach their audience.

“I’ve always been like,’Money is there, readers are there, we’re just using it,'” said Krecic, creator of Let’s Play. Told. “We found a gold mine.”