To Webcomic Artists Part 2

Soon after this site was created its original admin wrote a short little segment explaining his position regarding what we do. His successor never got around to doing something like this, but having taken over the reins recently I felt the need to do the same.

If you are on this site because your comic has been reviewed then you are doing something very, VERY wrong.
Stop now. Stop now or improve or delete what you have made or set it on fire. We do not care. All that is important is that it does not continue being the way it is now.

Your comic is bad. Maybe not all of it. Maybe not even most of it. But something about is seriously wrong. Even one thing is enough to turn a mediocre comic into an abomination of nature. In the words of Shakespeare in Hamlet:

Oft it chances in particular men,

That for some vicious mole of nature in them,
As, in their birth--wherein they are not guilty,
Since nature cannot choose his origin--
By the o'ergrowth of some complexion,
Oft breaking down the pales and forts of reason,
Or by some habit that too much o'er-leavens
The form of plausive manners, that these men,
Carrying, I say, the stamp of one defect,
Being nature's livery, or fortune's star,--
Their virtues else--be they as pure as grace,
As infinite as man may undergo--

Shall in the general censure take corruption.

And as true as that is for people it is as true for the things people make.

Regarding criticism I follow a vary simple set of guidelines:

1. No comic is perfect and nothing is without flaws.
2. If an artist admits his comic is not perfect you have a right to criticize its flaws.
3. If an artist does not then you have the obligation to.

But even among those who realize their comic is shit there are those who ask: "Who am I hurting?". They ask us what gives us the right to criticize them and what good is there in hurting someone's feelings by insulting their hard work.
Let me tell you who you are hurting:
The medium.

Besides the people who are hurt when they pluck out their eyes at the sight of something like Sarah Zero, the artistic medium of webcomics is what is been damaged in the process of producing crap. Webcomics are a new, unique and exciting form of artistic expression that has the potential of one day producing real art (if it isn't already). But as long as there are people like the creators of The Wotch who make almost a living wage off elementary-school level drawings, there will never be a future for webcomics. The optimal situation will be when the entire community polices itself to the point that, despite the lack of quality control, untalented morons will not be left with even the slightest illusion that their monstrosity of a comic will hail some kind of profit or gain a following in a competitive field of webcomics alongside countless talented individuals. This is obviously a utopical vision that can never come true. There will always been some cross-eyed dumbass making money from awfully drawn stick figures because his comic appeals to some niche audience of fetishists. But that does not mean we should not strive for it regardless. This can be done in many ways. It can be done by pulling the medium up from the top, lifting it up to new highest by creating beautiful and spectacular webcomics. It can be done by standing shoulder to shoulder with those artists who chose to make webcomics for the entertainment of others by providing money and support to those who deserve it. Us? We choose to help from the bottom. We choose the trot through the gutters, knocking down cretins that would latch on to the field of webcomics and pull it down with their terrible comics and crappy behavior.

So let me say this to you again: If you are on this site because your comic has been reviewed then you are doing something very, VERY wrong. You can do whatever you like about it, but if you don't like our review you can go cry somewhere else.