The future of web comics as a medium got a shot in the arm today as independent publisher Oni Press announced a complete overhaul of their website at NYCC 2012. OniPress.com will re-launch in January 2013 as a content hub for brand new comics which are updated every day from Monday to Friday.
This is a huge commitment to web comics from Oni Press and it is really interesting to see such a move from an independent comics publisher. It seems they recognise that the landscape of comic book publishing is changing. Oni Press publisher Joe Nozemack stated “We saw the transformation of the music industry over the last decade and we see comics experiencing a comparable metamorphosis,” stated Publisher Joe Nozemack. “We believe there’s opportunities for new models to emerge alongside the existing ones giving both established and new readers comics that engage and entertain.”
As I have highlighted in my World of Web Comics articles the beauty of creating and distributing comics on the internet is that you have such a wide audience to appeal to. As editor-in-chief at Oni Press says, “We love comics and we want to share that love with as many people as possible. The web is the perfect tool to help us deliver great comics to a global audience.”
Initially the site will feature two brand-new series and three series drawn from Oni’s 15 year backlist.
The first of the new series that have been revealed is A Boy & A Girl by Jamie S. Rich and Natalie Nourigat. A futuristic romance tale featuring the writing talents of Rich, best known for the Madman spin-off It Girl and the rising star cartoonist Nourigat. Editor Jill Beaton says about the title, “A Boy & A Girl will draw you in and grab your heart.” I’m not about to argue with this claim and from the preview above it certainly looks great.
Buzz is a tale about high school student Webster as he is thrown into the world of spelling bees. Written by Ananth Panagariya and drawn by Tessa Stone this looks to be a hugely entertaining tale. As Panagariya says, “Seeing Tessa’s work on this book week after week has been absolutely amazing. I know readers will feel the same way during every week of our run at OniPress.com.”
These two new web comics debut in January and new titles are already scheduled for April. It really is an exciting time for web comics.
Mark Brassington 