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Journalism of Courage
Written by George Gene Gustines and Matt Stevens
For decades, the fans who powered the comic book industry made weekly pilgrimages to their local comic shops to buy the latest issues about their favorite caped-and-cowled adventurers. These Wednesday Warriors, named for the day that new installments typically land on shelves, still do. Voracious readers of printed comics, they skew older — and are mostly male.
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But now all it takes is a smartphone, as the world of comics is reshaped by the kind of digital disruption that has transformed journalism, music, movies and television. Web comics have exploded in popularity in recent years, in part by tapping into an audience the industry had long overlooked: Gen Z and Millennial women. The stories they offer — of a young woman battling sexism in the world of esports or a romance-focused retelling of Greek myth — are mostly free and scroll vertically on smartphones, where readers younger than 25 live.
And they have minted stars from a new generation of creators.
“Even 10 years ago, I wouldn’t be doing this,” said Kaitlyn Narvaza, 28, of San Diego, who is known as instantmiso on Webtoon where her series “Siren’s Lament” has drawn more than 430 million views. “We have these opportunities to share these romance stories as American creators — as American women authors and comic artists. We didn’t have those opportunities before.”
Webtoon, which originated in Korea in 2004 and is the world’s largest digital comics platform, said more than half of its 82 million monthly users are women.
The platform has attracted readers with hits that are a departure from traditional tales of good versus evil.
“Let’s Play” is about a young woman who wants to design video games.
“It is a gaming comic with romance or a romance comic with gaming,” said its creator, Leeanne Krecic, who quit her job in information technology a few years ago to focus on comics.
She thinks readers relate to the main character’s struggles with career and dating.
Traditional publishers have noticed the success of these digital platforms. Marvel and DC and Archie Comics have struck deals with Webtoon to produce original digital stories featuring some of their biggest characters.
Webtoon alone grossed $900 million in on-platform sales in 2021, up from $656 million in 2020, the company said. Because reading the comics is free, most of the revenue comes from advertising and selling fanatic readers early access to their favorite series.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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