Webcomic platforms
The descriptions below reflect personal impressions, as well as summaries based on other people's impressions, none of which is to be taken as absolute.
Originally known as Drunk Duck, it was founded in 2002, making this one of the oldest and longest-running indie communities in the webcomic scene. After experiencing a server crash and a complete data loss in 2005, it came back even stronger in 2006, and since then it has gone through several changes in ownership, but for the last over ten years now it has been entirely creator-driven, community-financed, and run by dedicated volunteers, such as Ozoneocean or Tantz Aerine, who (along with Banes) also happen to run a weekly webcomic-centric podcast called the Quackcast.One of the main reasons people often prefer other alternatives is that the Duck lacks the appeal of its competitors: the website looks outdated, it has a few buttons without functionality, it’s not mobile-friendly, and does not offer the scrolling experience many of those familiar with Webtoon are looking for. It’s also not very suitable for monetization, meaning if you want to make profits with your work, you’ll need another leg to stand on. But despite the low amount of feedback creators usually receive for their works, it’s still one of the best choices for those relentless indie creators who are just way too stubborn and passionate to stop drawing and writing simply because they’re yet to be approached by a book deal or a Netflix series (the movie: Cowboys & Aliens was based on a comic that got published here, but now professional artists, such as Ashley Witter, Amelia Woo and Noelle Criminova were also active creators within the Duck's online community at one point or another, not to mention John Celestri, who's been in the 2D animation business for the past 50 years).And that’s because not only doest the staff work tirelessly to support their community, but several active members of said community also volunteer their time to make fun projects together (there's an annual award ceremony, secret Santas, weekly front page features, creator interviews, and Gunwallace makes theme songs for some of the comics published on the site). It’s because the site expects no exclusivity from creators, and it has a strict no-AI stance, but other than that, anything that’s not illegal or not a glorification of hateful ideologies, like fascism, is free to be published, including extremely violent or explicitly sexual materials, given that they are marked appropriately. The active part of the user base is known to be chill and accepting, with slight drama between members only taking place maybe once a year. Those who leave comments under the works of others tend to be supportive, and the archives are estimated to hold over 25,000 creative works (although some with zero to a few pages) from the past 20 years, making the Duck our very own Library of Alexandria when it comes to Webcomics.
One of (if not the) biggest and most popular sites for indie webcomic creators to host their works on. It was founded in 2008. A more active user base means more confrontation between people with differing takes on the forum; that led to a few bans in the past, but the growing, diverse community that remains welcomes the relatively safe space and is known to be vocal about their support for both ComicFury and the hard work of its dedicated admin, Kyo.Like the Duck, CF is one of the least restrictive platforms around regarding the types of content allowed, and it set an example for oher webcomic hosts in banning AI. It’s not a great choice for monetization, but it is generally mobile-friendly with some comics having scroll view and responsible layouts, and the biggest upside of hosting your work there is the high customizability when it comes to presenting your work to your readers. If other sites offer the practical, easy-going Windows experience of hosting, ComicFury offers the full-on Linux approach that might take a little practice to get right, but complete control over your content sounds pretty damn worth it.
The platform has its roots in South Korea for over twenty years now, but the English version only rolled out in 2014. It is extremely popular among artists skilled at a particular drawing style, especially if they have a good nose for following trends. Also among the ones who are eager to earn money or build a fanbase with their work, accepting that in order to do so, they have to stand out in a highly competitive field, often by investing a lot of time and energy and sometimes under increasingly unfavorable conditions.Platforms like Webtoon are often criticized for not prioritizing the interests of creators and for the lack of counterweight to their profit-oriented business model that imposes strict expectations by participating in the promotion of AI-generated works, prohibiting nudity and sexual content, and hiding many chapters of works behind paywalls. Webtoon is still perhaps the #1 choice among readers and creators alike, due to its easy-to-use, mobile-friendly design and a publishing format essentially optimized for scrolling, as well as due to the prestige associated with the service: Rachel Smythe, the creator of Lore Olympus, became famous here; her work has since exploded onto the printed book market, while Carnby Kim's Sweet Home was adapted into a live-action Netflix series in 2020.For those young Marty Mausers who are convinced that a single spark stands between them and fame, that their work is worthy to get in front of the curious gaze of millions, it might be worth giving Webtoon a chance, as it can be fairly suitable for building relationships. But still, many believe that the scrolling format, which lacks the traditional panel layouts, takes away a lot from the value of the work, and as is usually the case with private publishing: no quality of service guarantees to generate interest, the vast majority of creators (especially if they do not write and draw following popular tropes and trends) are forced to draw in their readers from all kinds of social media sites and through paid advertisements. Under such conditions, it's best not to limit yourself to a single platform, because this leads to guaranteed burnout and disillusionment on the long run.
Next to Webtoon, it is another giant in the webcomic scene. It allows for web novels to get published, of which those translated from Korean are very popular. It also supports traditional page layouts, although not optimized for them, and fans can tip creators directly. In addition, the forum encourages writer-reader interactions, and they are perhaps somewhat more open about including certain works in the premium program. At the same time, it doesn't hurt to have the readers' wallets ready, because it has more paid content than Webtoon, and many people believe comics that just can't become popular quickly enough are fated to get buried by those that do.