Today, we are thrilled to be announcing a major investment in comics creators. There are few industries where we feel the Substack model could be more game-changing than in comics.
Years ago Scott McCloud challenged the industry and its creators to think about comics outside of the traditional page or strip format. Webcomics paved the way and many have posted panels on social, but I believe the email newsletter (straight to your inbox!) is the perfect way to consume such an intimate medium. Edith has proven this over the past 1-2 years with her incredible Drawing Links series. It’s inspired me to start drawing my own illustrated substack. Here’s to more creators building audiences (and businesses) around their craft.
this is V EXCITING! I'm a cartoonist for The New Yorker and my debut graphic memoir Murder Book is out this fall with Andrews McMeel. I just started a weekly cartoon newsletter at cartoonsbyhilary.substack.com -- thank you substack for creating a space for comic lovers and creators! <3
This is awesome -- I have been waiting for something like this! Couple questions...
1) Will there be a comic-friendly interface option down the road? With the default newsletter interface, you see the most recent posts first, but for fiction and comics I would like an option for reading the chapters chronologically (i.e. older posts first), like what you see on Webtoon.
2) Do writers and artists using Substack retain the rights to make and sell print versions of their work?
Yes! Agree!! A comic-friendly interface, with specific dimensions and resolutions to optimize the graphics/illustrations/images would be really great 🤗
It’s about the humorous adventures of an owl who tries to be helpful, but nothing works out as planned, yet in the end everything turns out fine. It’s it’s ALL good!
This is great. I’ve experimented with comics on Substack, here’s the one I’m most proud of—a collaboration with Jason Novak (US) and Giorgos Terzakis (Greece)—it has Putin, Navalny, space prisons, John Lilly, aliens, AI, sex with dolphins… https://psychopolitica.substack.com/p/limits
What form with these comics take? Posted on paywalled websites? Emailed DRM-free PDFs or CBZs? A custom app like ComiXology? The reading experience is pretty important for digital comics, and the considerations a different from standard prose.
Awesome! So excited to see comics coming to Substack and I can't wait to see how the model works for these creators. Snyder and Tynion are going to do some big things over here, and hopefully change the way comic distribution works.
I am SO excited about this. Imagine subscribing to only your favorite comics, rather than the comics an editor thinks will reach the largest audience. And imagine supporting those comic writers directly, rather than supporting the publisher who makes those editorial decisions. This is so genius and I’m so excited to get to know and follow all of these amazing comic creators!
I mean, indie publishers are kind of the same thing. If you buy an Image book, you're pretty much supporting the writer and artist directly. There's no editorial control there, the creatives make their own decision, the creators pick and pay the editors. I don't really see much THAT much of a difference here. This is a lot like PanelSyndicate that's been around for years and I've yet to see it really catch on. Who knows though, maybe this will.
A much more interesting analogy is Korea’s comic-reading platform, WEBTOON. It hosts more than 1 million original series from over 500,000 independent content creators who retain copyright and all ownership rights per its terms of service. According to recent figures, the platform receives more than 1 billion unique visits per month and is valued at over 21 trillion Korean won ($18B USD). While Substack is very different than WEBTOON, it’s built a solid reputation as being an algorithm-free and censorship-resistant place to tell stories that might not get seen elsewhere. And the distribution method (email inbox versus needing to visit a mobile app) means creators can meet readers where they are. Big things start small so I’m excited to see how the team and community support people in comics.
It’s so fabulous to see the incredible creative expansion on this platform. I’m so grateful for you guys and for the opportunity to express myself here!
Making comics tends to be far more time consuming than churning out topical screeds. At the end of the day, I don’t think Sunstack’s sponsored artists will make back their advances.
fantastic / although i'm not a comic creator i'm happy to see your initiative / will have to check out some of these / ps having alot of fun with my substack posts and thrilled to see my audience growing
Years ago Scott McCloud challenged the industry and its creators to think about comics outside of the traditional page or strip format. Webcomics paved the way and many have posted panels on social, but I believe the email newsletter (straight to your inbox!) is the perfect way to consume such an intimate medium. Edith has proven this over the past 1-2 years with her incredible Drawing Links series. It’s inspired me to start drawing my own illustrated substack. Here’s to more creators building audiences (and businesses) around their craft.
this is V EXCITING! I'm a cartoonist for The New Yorker and my debut graphic memoir Murder Book is out this fall with Andrews McMeel. I just started a weekly cartoon newsletter at cartoonsbyhilary.substack.com -- thank you substack for creating a space for comic lovers and creators! <3
This is awesome -- I have been waiting for something like this! Couple questions...
1) Will there be a comic-friendly interface option down the road? With the default newsletter interface, you see the most recent posts first, but for fiction and comics I would like an option for reading the chapters chronologically (i.e. older posts first), like what you see on Webtoon.
2) Do writers and artists using Substack retain the rights to make and sell print versions of their work?
Thanks...
Yes! Agree!! A comic-friendly interface, with specific dimensions and resolutions to optimize the graphics/illustrations/images would be really great 🤗
And now the "gag" comic strip of "It's ALL (owl) Good Times" is up on Substack!
https://moviewise.substack.com/p/its-all-good-times
It’s about the humorous adventures of an owl who tries to be helpful, but nothing works out as planned, yet in the end everything turns out fine. It’s it’s ALL good!
This is fantastic news! Thanks for believing in comics!
This is great. I’ve experimented with comics on Substack, here’s the one I’m most proud of—a collaboration with Jason Novak (US) and Giorgos Terzakis (Greece)—it has Putin, Navalny, space prisons, John Lilly, aliens, AI, sex with dolphins… https://psychopolitica.substack.com/p/limits
Love this idea - I can see it working for one-shot comics and also huge serialized Graphic Novels. Very exciting development! Rock on, Substack!
Hey I love this! I am a comics creator, and I posted the first three parts of my comics journey which you can read here https://jhardycarroll.substack.com/p/a-life-in-comics
What form with these comics take? Posted on paywalled websites? Emailed DRM-free PDFs or CBZs? A custom app like ComiXology? The reading experience is pretty important for digital comics, and the considerations a different from standard prose.
Awesome! So excited to see comics coming to Substack and I can't wait to see how the model works for these creators. Snyder and Tynion are going to do some big things over here, and hopefully change the way comic distribution works.
This is very exciting! Coincidentally, I just finished my character design for a comic strip, "It's ALL Good Times": https://www.redbubble.com/people/l-e-wilson/shop?artistUserName=l-e-wilson&collections=2376032 Coming Soon :)
Substack is a welcome and important addition to an otherwise gloomy media landscape. Thanks!
So inspiring! You're turning the publishing industries' traditional scarecrows into beacons of hope. Brilliant.
I am SO excited about this. Imagine subscribing to only your favorite comics, rather than the comics an editor thinks will reach the largest audience. And imagine supporting those comic writers directly, rather than supporting the publisher who makes those editorial decisions. This is so genius and I’m so excited to get to know and follow all of these amazing comic creators!
I mean, indie publishers are kind of the same thing. If you buy an Image book, you're pretty much supporting the writer and artist directly. There's no editorial control there, the creatives make their own decision, the creators pick and pay the editors. I don't really see much THAT much of a difference here. This is a lot like PanelSyndicate that's been around for years and I've yet to see it really catch on. Who knows though, maybe this will.
A much more interesting analogy is Korea’s comic-reading platform, WEBTOON. It hosts more than 1 million original series from over 500,000 independent content creators who retain copyright and all ownership rights per its terms of service. According to recent figures, the platform receives more than 1 billion unique visits per month and is valued at over 21 trillion Korean won ($18B USD). While Substack is very different than WEBTOON, it’s built a solid reputation as being an algorithm-free and censorship-resistant place to tell stories that might not get seen elsewhere. And the distribution method (email inbox versus needing to visit a mobile app) means creators can meet readers where they are. Big things start small so I’m excited to see how the team and community support people in comics.
(Updated comment to link to market valuation)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-12/korean-digital-comics-firm-eyes-u-s-ipo-after-coupang-s-success
Yes! Exactly!
It’s so fabulous to see the incredible creative expansion on this platform. I’m so grateful for you guys and for the opportunity to express myself here!
I can't seem to find any Substack newsletter which is a weekly comic? Is no one (professional/paid or amateur/free) doing this yet?
Making comics tends to be far more time consuming than churning out topical screeds. At the end of the day, I don’t think Sunstack’s sponsored artists will make back their advances.
oh! So good... forwarding to someone...
fantastic / although i'm not a comic creator i'm happy to see your initiative / will have to check out some of these / ps having alot of fun with my substack posts and thrilled to see my audience growing