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What Are Webcomics?
Webcomics are roughly what it says on the tin: comics, which are posted on the web!
So, are they just like comics in print, except online instead?
Kind of! There are a lot of comics online which are formatted very similarly to print comics, and the reasons for this are varied. Sometimes it’s because the creator intends to print them later, and it makes this process easier if the pages are already laid out appropriately. Sometimes it’s just because that is the type of comic they enjoy reading, and which they’re inspired by.
Varethane's Masterlist of Printers
This is a big post compiling all the printers of books, prints, and other popular comic-related merch that I (Varethane) have either worked with or heard recommended by other indie creators. It started on the SpiderForest Webcomic Collective forums and has had a few homes since then, before settling here.
There are a lot of different types of things creators may be looking to print, so I’ve organized the list in a way that made sense to me. It covers book printers (short run and long run), sticker printers, merch such as charms and pins, art prints, banners, and more.
The list is edited occasionally to add, update, and remove listings when needed. And of course, if you know more printers or have more information on any of the ones listed here, please let me know!
The How and Why of Webcomic Retcons
If you make a webcomic for a few years, you (hopefully!) improve so much that it can be impossible to look at your archives the same way again. Lineart, understanding of flow and panel layout, speech bubble placements… sometimes your archives tells a more interesting story about how far you’ve come as an artist than the actual plot of the comic. It can be beautiful… but also lead to some really awkward beginning pages that could do with an edit pass.