Current mood:	contemplative
Entry tags:	comics stuff

Why Are There Hardly Any Superhero Webcomics?
     Hmm. I've been wondering about this for a long time. I grew up reading superhero comics. My favorite comics were X-Men, Batman, TMNT, and anything written by Stan Lee. I never even picked up a fantasy comic until at least my late teens. Now when you go online, the only comics you will find are mostly Fantasy or Action/Adventure.
     Even the few superhero comics that I have been able to find have mostly involved some sort of humorous take on superheroes, or are set in some alternate world or something. To illustrate my point, I went to OnlineComics.net and browsed to the different categories; and here's what I came up with:

---Action/Adventure Comics › Page 1 of 124
---Fantasy Comics › Page 1 of 119
---Horror Comics › Page 1 of 27
---Manga Comics › Page 1 of 157 (!)
---Science Fiction Comics › Page 1 of 64
---Super Hero Comics › Page 1 of 31

     I myself do an online webcomic, and though my main influences in comics have always been of the superhero genre, my comics don't contain superheroes, per se. I don't think the crowds reading comics digitally these days are from a completely different generation, I just think a certain set of standards have been set by creators who have ventured to put their works online over the past few years.
     Superheroes have historically been big sellers, and that still hasn't changed today, with Marvel, DC, and Image still being the "big 3" in mainstream comics. You can find comics from the big 3 online at their respective websites, but overall, Fantasy, Manga, and Action/Adventure webcomics far outweigh superhero webcomics in sheer number. Obviously, quality is more important than quantity, but I believe webcomics creators have done what the pioneers did in the Golden Age of comics books; they have built a solid basis for a new and important part of our culture. And, until some other form of new media comes along, the stories presented by the many creators who have been brave enough to present their comics to the online community have set the ongoing standard for creators to come.