May 5, 2007 is Online Comics Day.

This year's theme is "How are you spreading the word?", but I am talking about that already at my other comic, SHD-WK. So I'll use this space to write down my thoughts about what I consider the greatest reward and the greatest motivator for a webcomic creator (I can't really speak for others, but I know it's true for me): Feedback.

Yes, feedback. Think for a moment about your favourite webcomics -- you probably have a few. They may give you enjoyment for only a few minutes every day, but chances are that many more than a few minutes per day went into creating them. Without feedback, I would not know if all that work is really worth anything. OK, I would probably still do my comics if nobody would read them -- just because I have stories to tell, and I love telling stories. But to know that somebody out there reads and enjoys what I create is so much more rewarding.

Sure, I could read the traffic statistics, the website logs, to get an idea how many readers I have (at the moment, it's a couple hundred for Spiky's World, and a couple thousand for SHD-WK). But those are just numbers. I can't really tell if those people maybe just briefly (accidentally?) visited my site. Maybe I can't even be sure that they are not just indexing robots. But every once in a while, somebody steps out of this anonymous list of numbers, and takes a few minutes out of his or her day to send me a short email. "Hey, I really like your comic." Or they take the time to register at my (small, but growing) forum. Or they spend the short moment it takes to vote for one of my comics on one of the toplists. They do something to let me know that my comic is being read, is being enjoyed. They let me know that I'm not just posting this into the void.

For this, I am very thankful. It keeps me going when I can't seem to find the energy to continue. It makes me proud that I can actually create something that is of some value to somebody else. It makes me happy.


If you have a favourite webcomic, or a list of favourite webcomics, take a few minutes of your time and let them know that you enjoy their work. Break the fourth wall. Send them a short email. Give feedback on their forums. Vote for them on the toplists. And tell a friend about their comic -- they may become the next new reader. Spread the word.


(Wow, such a long text. And I'm really not good with words, especially in a language that's not my native one ^^;)