List of early webcomics

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Webcomics predate the World Wide Web and the commercialization of the internet by a few years, with the first webcomic being published through CompuServe in 1985. Though webcomics require a larger online community to gain widespread popularity through word-of-mouth, various webcomics pioneered the style of self-publishing in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Contents

Webcomics of the 1980s

Eric Millikin created the first known webcomic. Eric Millikin.jpg
Eric Millikin created the first known webcomic.

The earliest known online comic was Eric Millikin's Witches and Stitches, which he started uploading on CompuServe in 1985. By self-publishing on the internet, Millikin was able to share his work without having to worry over censorship and demographics. [1] [2] Witches and Stitches quickly rose to popularity, inspiring other artists to upload their works as well. [3]

Joe Ekaitis' T.H.E. Fox was a furry webcomic that started in 1986. Initially published on CompuServe, Ekaitis moved on to Q-Link and GEnie as the internet grew. Early strips consisted of one panel each and were drawn as pixel art on a Commodore 64 KoalaPad, first using KoalaPainter, then Advanced OCP Art Studio. [4] [5] T.H.E. Fox was eventually renamed Thadeus and started featuring regularly drawn strips, before Ekaitis stopped updating the comic in 1998. [6]

Webcomics of the 1990s

In the early 1990s, cartoonists produced comics through various Internet protocols. During this period, it was unclear which systems would turn out to be the most successful. Hans Bjordahl, student at the University of Colorado at the time, started posting Where the Buffalo Roam on April 15, 1992 on Usenet, in GIF and PostScript format. Sharing the comic through the Internet, its readership extended through a few states. Even in 1995, cartoonist Dominic White published his comics The Internet Explorer Kit for the Macintosh and Slugs through Gopher rather than the World Wide Web, despite the latter rapidly gaining popularity. [7]

The first strip of Stafford Huyler's NetBoy was uploaded on the World Wide Web in July 1993.[ citation needed ] Being described as an early example of nerd humor, the stick figure comic made frequent references to technical topics most people with an Internet connection at the time would have knowledge of. Huyler later started the spin-off comic U.Nox, about system administrator Uri Noxen. Despite the small size of Huyler's early NetBoy comics (10 kilobytes), the server it was hosted on would crash when the strip got over six visits per second. In response to the webcomic's increasing popularity, Huyler built a stronger server himself. Despite these limitations, Huyler was one of the pioneers of the concept of infinite canvas, uploading strips in shapes and sizes other than those used in standard printed comics. [7]

The first strip of David Farley's Doctor Fun was uploaded on September 23, 1993. Campbell described Doctor Fun as the "first regular web comic", as NetBoy did not have a regular schedule during its first year. Mike Wean's Jax & Co. was first uploaded in 1994. Using JavaScript, it was the first webcomic to implement a "page turning" interface that encourages readers to read the comic in order. Soon, this effect was recreated by simple HTML, such as with Argon Zark! , [7] which launched in June 1995 and is occasionally listed among the earliest comics to be published on the World Wide Web. [6]

Mid-1994, the Finnish Comics Society launched a collection of webcomics by various authors, initially under the label "NetComics". [8] [9] In November 1994, Reinder Dijkhuis started publishing Rogues of Clwyd-Rhan on the World Wide Web. The two of these were the first known webcomic created outside of the United States. [10] The same year, an artist going by the name Eerie created a webcomic on bulletin board systems using ANSI art, titled Inspector Dangerfuck. [7] [11]

Webcomics popular on the internet in January 1995 included NetBoy, Aaron A. Aardvark, and The Afterlife of Bob. At this point, fans of traditional comics such as Calvin and Hobbes started sharing such copyrighted comic strips on the internet. [12] By the end of 1995, there existed hundreds of webcomics, most of which were derived from college newspaper comics, and most were short-lived. [7]

Other firsts

In March 1995, artist Bebe Williams launched one of the first webcomics collectives, Art Comics Daily. [13] Newspaper comic strip syndicates also launched websites in the mid-1990s. Other webcomic collectives, like Big Panda, started in the second half of the 1990s. Big Panda hosted over 770 webcomics, including Sluggy Freelance and User Friendly , which started in 1997. Big Panda's discontinuation resulted in the formation of Keenspot in 2000. [14] In 1995, Dilbert became the first syndicated comic strip to be officially published through the Internet. [15]

Though the genre was popularized by PvP , the first video game webcomic was Chris Morisson's Polymer City Chronicles , which started being published on the World Wide Web in 1995. Three years later, in 1998, Jay Resop started the first sprite comic, Neglected Mario Characters. [16]

Timeline

Excluding traditional comic strips such as Calvin and Hobbes that were uploaded illegally, this is a timeline of cartoons that are known to have been posted on the Internet before 1995:

TitleCreatorDateServiceSources
Witches and Stitches Eric Millikin 1985 CompuServe [1] [2]
T.H.E. Fox Joe Ekaitis1986CompuServe [4] [5]
Where the Buffalo Roam Hans Bjordahl1991 Usenet [7]
Doctor Fun David FarleySeptember 1993 World Wide Web [7]
NetBoy Stafford Huyler May 1994World Wide Web [7]
VerkkoSarja (NetComics) Finnish Comics Society June 1994World Wide Web [8] [9]
Inspector DangerfuckEerieSeptember 1994 Bulletin board systems [7] [11]
The Afterlife of BobDavid WoloschukOctober 1994World Wide Web [12] [17]
CultuRe TrapChristian CosasOctober 1994World Wide Web [18] [19]
Kaleidospace collaborative art project P. Craig Russell October 1994World Wide Web [18]
Rogues of Clwyd-Rhan Reinder DijkhuisNovember 1994World Wide Web [10]
StociousTomas ChristensenNovember 1994World Wide Web [20]
Virtually RealityEric ScrogerNovember 1994World Wide Web [21] [22]
Aaron A. Aardvark1994World Wide Web [12]
Captain JimDan Sandler1994World Wide Web [23]
Dysfunctional Family Circus Various1994World Wide Web [24]
Jax & CoMike Wean1994World Wide Web [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comic strip</span> Short serialized comics

A comic strip is a sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st century, these have been published in newspapers and magazines, with daily horizontal strips printed in black-and-white in newspapers, while Sunday papers offered longer sequences in special color comics sections. With the advent of the internet, online comic strips began to appear as webcomics.

<i>User Friendly</i> Webcomic by J. D. Frazer

User Friendly was a webcomic written by J. D. Frazer, also known by his pen name Illiad. Starting in 1997, the strip was one of the earliest webcomics to make its creator a living. The comic is set in a fictional internet service provider and draws humor from dealing with clueless users and geeky subjects. The comic ran seven days a week until 2009, when updates became sporadic, and since 2010 it had been in re-runs only. The webcomic was shut down in late February 2022, after an announcement from Frazer.

Webcomics are comics published on the internet, such as on a website or a mobile app. While many webcomics are published exclusively online, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or comic books.

<i>Fetus-X</i> Alternative comic

Fetus-X was a weekly romantic horror comic written and drawn by Eric Millikin and Casey Sorrow. Millikin is an American artist and former human anatomy lab embalmer and dissectionist. Sorrow is an internationally known American illustrator and printmaker.

Serializer.net was a webcomic subscription service and artist collective published by Joey Manley and edited by Tom Hart and Eric Millikin that existed from 2002 to 2013. Designed to showcase artistic alternative webcomics using the unique nature of the medium, the works on Serializer.net were described by critics as "high art" and "avant-garde". The project became mostly inactive in 2007 and closed alongside Manley's other websites in 2013.

<i>Doctor Fun</i> Early webcomic by Dave Farley

Doctor Fun is a single-panel, gag webcomic by David Farley. It began in September 1993, making it one of the earliest webcomics, and ran until June 2006. Doctor Fun was part of United Media's website from 1995, but had parted ways by 2003. The comic was one of the longest-running webcomics before it concluded, having run for nearly thirteen years with over 2,600 strips. The webcomic has been compared to The Far Side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Infinite canvas</span> Aspect of webcomics

The infinite canvas is the feeling of available space for a webcomic on the World Wide Web relative to paper. The term was introduced by Scott McCloud in his 2000 book Reinventing Comics, which supposes a web page can grow as large as needed. This infinite canvas gives infinite storytelling features and creators more freedom in how they present their artwork.

Where the Buffalo Roam was a comic strip by Hans Bjordahl that ran from 1987 to 1995. It was published on Usenet starting in 1991, making it one of the first online comic strips. Witches and Stitches was published earlier, in 1985, on CompuServe.

Web fiction is written works of literature available primarily or solely on the Internet. A common type of web fiction is the web serial. The term comes from old serial stories that were once published regularly in newspapers and magazines.

IBox was one of the first commercially available Internet connection software packages available for sale to the public. O'Reilly & Associates created and produced the package, in collaboration with Spry, Inc. Spry, Inc. also started up a commercial Internet service provider (ISP) called InterServ.

The Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards (WCCA) were annual awards in which established webcartoonists nominated and selected outstanding webcomics. The awards were held between 2001 and 2008, were mentioned in a New York Times column on webcomics in 2005, and have been mentioned as a tool for librarians.

Art Comics Daily is a pioneering webcomic first published in March 1995 by Bebe Williams, who lives in Arlington, Virginia, United States. The webcomic was published on the Internet rather than in print in order to reserve some artistic freedom. Williams has created two other daily webcomics – Bobby Rogers and Just Ask Mr-Know-It-All – and Art Comics Daily has been on permanent hiatus since 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Millikin</span> American artist

Eric Millikin is an American artist and activist based in Detroit, Michigan, and Richmond, Virginia. He is known for his pioneering work in artificial intelligence art, augmented and virtual reality art, conceptual art, Internet art, performance art, poetry, post-Internet art, video art, and webcomics. His work is often controversial, with political, romantic, occult, horror and black comedy themes.

<i>T.H.E. Fox</i> Furry webcomic by Joe Ekaitis

T.H.E. Fox is a furry webcomic by Joe Ekaitis which ran from 1986 to 1998. It is among the earliest online comics, predating Where the Buffalo Roam by over five years. T.H.E. Fox was published on CompuServe, Q-Link and GEnie, and later on the Web as Thaddeus. Despite running weekly for several years, the comic never achieved Ekaitis' goal of print syndication. Updates became less frequent, and eventually stopped altogether.

<i>NetBoy</i>

NetBoy is a webcomic created by Stafford Huyler. Publishing began in May, 1994. Drawn as a stick figure, the comic character NetBoy is an Internet innocent with his greatest joy in life being "fast .GIFs."

The history of webcomics follows the advances of technology, art, and business of comics on the Internet. The first comics were shared through the Internet in the mid-1980s. Some early webcomics were derivatives from print comics, but when the World Wide Web became widely popular in the mid-1990s, more people started creating comics exclusively for this medium. By the year 2000, various webcomic creators were financially successful and webcomics became more artistically recognized.

The business of webcomics involves creators earning a living through their webcomic, often using a variety of revenue channels. Those channels may include selling merchandise such as t-shirts, jackets, sweatpants, hats, pins, stickers, and toys, based on their work. Some also choose to sell print versions or compilations of their webcomics. Many webcomic creators make use of online advertisements on their websites, and possibly even product placement deals with larger companies. Crowdfunding through websites such as Kickstarter and Patreon are also popular choices for sources of potential income.

Notable events of the late 1990s in webcomics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Webcomics in France</span>

Webcomics in France are usually referred to as either blog BD or BD numérique. Early webcomics in the late 1990s and early 2000s primarily took on the form of personal blogs, where amateur artists told stories through their drawings. The medium rose in popularity in economic viability in the country in the late 2000s and early 2010s. The Turbomedia format, where a webcomic is presented more alike a slideshow, was popularized in France in the early 2010s.

References

  1. 1 2 Dochak, Sarah (2011-11-29). "Pioneering the page: The decline of print comics, the growth of webcomics and the flexibility, innovation and controversy of both". Gauntlet. Archived from the original on 2015-12-22.
  2. 1 2 Smith, Alexander, K. (2011-11-19). "14 Awesome Webcomics To Distract You From Getting Things Done". Paste .{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ↑ Team Viva (2011-12-10). "Comic Relief". The Pioneer. Archived from the original on 2012-01-14.
  4. 1 2 Joe Ekaitis (1994-12-04). "Meet Joe Ekaitis — T.H.E. FOX" (Interview). Interviewed by Sherry, accompanied by Lou Schonder.
  5. 1 2 Jeff Lowenthal (July 1989). "Public Domain". .info (27). Iowa City, Iowa: Info Publications: 59. ISSN   0897-5868. OCLC   17565429.
  6. 1 2 Brendan Kachel (2007-09-10). "Better than blogs: Webcomics, the Internet's answer to the funny pages". Crusader News. Archived from the original on 2008-04-28.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Campbell, T. (2006-06-08). The History of Webcomics. Antarctic Press. ISBN   0976804395.
  8. 1 2 "What's New With NCSA Mosaic and the WWW". kitchencloset.com. 1994-06-27.
  9. 1 2 Finnish Comics Society. "VerkkoSarja". Archived from the original on 1997-01-31.
  10. 1 2 Garrity, Shaenon (2011-07-15). "The History of Webcomics". The Comics Journal .
  11. 1 2 Aspray, William; Hayas, Barbara M. (2011). Everyday Information: The Evolution of Information Seeking in America. MIT Press. p. 298. ISBN   978-0262015011.
  12. 1 2 3 "Internet shows a sense of humor". The Milwaukee Journal : D2. January 17, 1995 – via New York Times. Netboy, the leading cartoon denizen of the Internet ... also ... "Aaron A. Aardvark," "Dr. Fun," "The Afterlife of Bob" and "Where the Buffalo Roam,"
  13. ↑ Peterson, Iver (October 28, 1996). "The Search for the Next 'Doonesbury". The New York Times , Pg. D9
  14. ↑ Atchison, Lee (2008-01-07). "A Brief History of Webcomics — The Third Age of Webcomics, Part One". Sequential Tart.
  15. ↑ Gallo, Carmine (2013-10-23). "Dilbert Creator Scott Adams Reveals The Simple Formula That Will Double Your Odds Of Success". Forbes .
  16. ↑ Maragos, Nich (2005-11-07). "Will Strip for Games". 1UP . Archived from the original on 2015-12-08.
  17. ↑ National Center for Supercomputing Applications. "What's New: October, 1994".
  18. 1 2 NCSA Mosaic (1994-10-21). "Related Web Works". georgenorth.net.
  19. ↑ Cosas, Christian. "CultuRe Trap". Maneater. Archived from the original on 1997-05-17. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
  20. ↑ Christensen, Tomas. "Stocious Archive". Stocious. Archived from the original on 1996-11-15. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
  21. ↑ Scroger, Eric. "Historic Comics". Virtually Reality. Archived from the original on 1999-02-21. Retrieved 2020-03-09.
  22. ↑ "What's New! November 1994". shii.bibanon. 1994-11-16.
  23. ↑ Sandler, Dan. "Captain Jim". dsandler.org.
  24. ↑ Churbuck, David C. (1994-10-10). "Dial-a-catalog". Forbes . p. 130.
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