Defining 'failure' (or 'success'!)

Before going any further with this venture, I think I should clarify what I define as 'failure' and 'success', particularly when applied to a webcomic and its creator (or creators).

Failure in webcartooning is failing to eloquently express yourself - and satisfy people - with your creation. It could be anything from being unable to grasp basic art concepts (like me), to being unable to deliver on your promised updating schedule (like me), to just plain having the wrong attitude or approach to a problem (or maybe you're just an asshole).

Success, on the other hand, is much, much harder thing to define. For instance, a person might start a webcomic just for fun. They have a hobby and they write and draw about it. They pay expenses out of pocket, perhaps putting up a donation button to defray the cost now and then. They offer a collection of the comic on homemade burnt CD's. Perhaps they pepper the comic with in jokes, as they intended it to be viewed by a private circle of friends. The other 99.9% of the Internet has no idea what's going on, and attempts to look deeper have only caused insanity. The name of this comic, by the way, is Gene Catlow.

Others might be like me, and have a story they'd like to tell, or like to make people laugh. They find telling that story or creating humor to be satisfying. As their fan base slowly grows over time, they might supplement donations with selling a mug or a t-shirt with their characters on it, or an in-joke their fans would enjoy.  They have book collections made, and they actually sell. Before they know it, they get asked to cons and have overweight men ask for sketches of favorite characters (if they're lucky, maybe its THEIR characters being asked for, instead of Supergirl having sex with She-Hulk, or worse). It might even come to a point where the income they make would allow them to quit their day jobs and have their quality of life remain above poverty level, almost. I am pretty sure that these two cartoonists are good examples of this.

And then there's those who begin a comic with commercial success in mind, hoping that they'll be earning five figured salaries by the end of the year and an apparel line featuring their wacky anthropomorphic stand-in dancing to the tune of a poorly turned catchphrase. And if you think that is how successful webcartoonists actually became successful, you might want to bookmark this blog now. Granted, there are cartoonists who have become commercially successful, but have relied on terrible artistic shortcuts such as blurred photo backgrounds, stock expressions, and misguided attempts to step outside of genre by clumsily introducing tragic events into the lives of zany characters (hypothetically speaking, of course). It's possible to be 'successful' and still be considered a failure by the most damning litmus test of them all - your audience.

My point is, is that while it does not take much for a webcomic to 'fail', 'success' is defined by how much effort and commitment a cartoonist puts forth - and how they roll with the punches. And maybe you can also define success by the number of satisfied customers you leave behind.