What Direction Are Comic Strips Going?
I grew up reading comics in the newspaper as a kid and as an adult, who couldn't forget such classics as Peanuts, Garfield, Beetle Bailey, Pickles, BC, Calvin and Hobbes, etc. These along with many other comics kept us entertained every Sunday, you can still read these comics online, but does anybody read them anymore? Where are Comic strip's place in today's Comic world? There are many resources online to get many different views, stats, and opinions on this particular subject, but for this blog, I will give my view on where it's all going. For those of you you who read Dilly, you know right off hand that it is a Comic strip that is Gag humored with some serious moments, but is for the most part, considered comedy. I was interviewed about this on a Radio program and what I told them, was that I believe Comic strips can make a comeback, the problem I'm seeing is parents not getting their kids interested or engaged to open their minds up to other genres of comics.
Let's date ourselves for just one moment and go back to the first Comic strip to ever be published in the newspaper. That was The Yellow Kid (also known as Hogan's Alley) back in 1896. Since then, comics have evolved based on the modern culture for that time period, that's 127 years worth of entertainment that costs little or nothing. So now why has this changed? In my opinion it stems from the Digital age, however Web comics like mine has, the Comic strip format and most are punchline humored with occasional 2-4 parters. Do people read Webcomics? The answer is, yes they do! Most are catered to today's culture and what the younger generations are reading today, but it isn't the money maker that Traditional Comic strips were, but the common denominator between both, they are punchline based with no ongoing story, and for some reason readers today want to read 8-12 issues to see how it ends, knowing how it's going to end.
In conclusion, Webcomics in my opinion, are the new Comic strip. They are the future of keeping this style of Comic art form alive. Support your independent creators and the Web comics.
Resources: https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/
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