The Big Bad Book Blog

The big bad book blog is proud to present a new series by blogger Auburn Rutledge: Publishing, Avant-Garde. To explain the concept, I’ll begin with a couple of brief definitions:

From our much-beloved and oft-maligned Wikipedia: “Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available for public view.”

From my brethren at Wise Geek: “avant-garde refers to any trailblazing movement—usually artistic or social—led by a small group of people to open new doors within their realm of interest. Specifically, avant-garde refers to a moment within the art world which encompasses many schools and sub-movements.”

Publishing, Avant-Garde encompasses the many unique alternatives to what we have traditionally considered publishing—that is, the production and distribution of a book by a large, well-known house for reading by the general public, who may purchase said book in a bookstore or online. The purpose of this series is to explore how writers and artists of all types can share their work with the world through option that have been conventionally underground, unexplored, unknown or simply did not exist before contemporary times.

TOPIC ONE: WEBCOMICS.

“Let me set the stage. I read comics. And not just traditional comic books, of which I have (too) many. But comic strips.” — Greenleaf Consultant and fellow geek, Matt Donnelley

I admit, I could have started with any number of alternatives. But because I am a geek, I’m starting with webcomics. The simple definition of a webcomic is all about the semantics: a comic (or illustrated story) published on the Internet (or web, for us hipsters), usually in the form of comic strips. Unlike traditional comics, including those published in newspapers, magazines, etc., most webcomics are not-for-profit works with small followings—though there are exceptions, which I will discuss later.

Webcomics are usually rather diminuative operations, generally one or two people at most. If one, s/he may act as both writer and illustrator, while two people usually comprise a team of a writer and an illustrator. The comics vary in subject and genre, from humorous, slice-of-life segments, to fantastical worlds featuring inhuman creatures, to pop-culture-inundated diatribes on TV, movies, video games, and more. Their audiences can vary from wide to extremely niche, though most develop a small fanbase connected to their theme. In his article “Webcomics are profane, explicit, humorous—and influencing trends,” Steven Lacy of Weekly Geekly suggests that “because they’re not trying to appeal to the masses, they can appeal to a select few in a way that will resonate with them in a positive way, and keep them coming back for more.” (more…)

Why aren’t they? Easy. Because there’s no reason to laugh. The comic book industry hasn’t yet begun to languish with the same furor of the publishing industry at large, in part because of its highly unique clientele: geeks like myself, willing to forgo the niceties of modern life (eating at restaurants, fashionable clothes, oil changes) for a great trade paperback. But will this trend continue? With industry followers like Publishers Weekly holding their breaths in anticipation of the success of the New York Comic Con as a benchmark for the comic industry’s success this year, it seems that time (and trade shows) will tell. continue reading