To start I want to say that while I am a completely independent creator, my webcomic absolutely makes for a good “test” on different comic websites because I 100% know for a fact that my content works. I launched the webcomic on my own site in 2019 and (without marketing) it has gained 25+ million views, a Patreon that allowed me to quit my job, and thousands of emails from readers. Don't take my word for it though, either google “Joe vs Elan School” and see what's been written about the webcomic, or jump right in and see for yourself: https://elan.school. The entire thing is free to read. Be careful though, it's not what you expect and WILL consume you.
But that is NOT the only reason for this post, I GENUINELY think my experience will help other creators. Because all webcomic sites are NOT equal.
Also, this is obviously my limited experience in a short amount of time, so I am sure other people have their own tales to tell. Feel free because I would love to hear your stories confirming or disputing what I am about to write. I could have simply had bad/good luck on some of these sites. But here is what I have personally found in the last month of experimentation. Also, none of this writing is AI, I don't do that shit.
WEBTOONS: https://www.webtoons.com/en/
Pros:
One of the biggest sites so the audience is DEFINITELY there.
Super easy to upload new chapters, the system will slice them for you.
Great analytic tools, you can see even how specific chapters get viewed.
Cons:
The competition is OUTRAGEOUS. I assume the site is big is China/Korea/Japan as they seem to favor an Asian style of art/storytelling over anything more Western or experimental.
No forum or any way to network/communicate with the users as a whole.
The popularity of the site naturally leads to a lot of external manipulation from huge brands and marketing companies. You can go on FIVERR and see how many users are dedicated just to getting you more views (from bots) on Webtoons.
Summary:
I think everyone should at least TRY to put their stuff on Webtoons. It is easy to use and you really have nothing to lose. When I originally started my comic, after a little while I began crossposting the chapters to Webtoons (about half my story ended up there) and since 2019 that's gotten about 250,000 views with almost 3000 followers there.
COMICFURY: https://comicfury.com/
Pros:
Much smaller so you immediately feel like you might have a real chance!
Forum isn't CRAZY active but still active enough that you will experience good interactions and responses from real people.
Every kind of webcomic art and storytelling style gets its fair chance, the popular page isn't flooded with one specific archetype.
Cons:
Much smaller so you kind of wonder if you should just be hitting the big two harder instead.
The homepage of the site is much less polished and the creator controls can be a bit confusing and not as user-friendly.
You can only drop 12 images per chapter and this forced me into extra work for my longer chapters.
Summary:
I just recently found Comicfury and pretty much every other site I will list from here on. So I don't have that much experience with them, but will still post my totals for reference. In a month I've put up 25 of my chapters and gotten 724 visitors, 2192 views, 12 subs. A lot of that movement came from the AMA I did there. All-in-all I like Comicfury because (like The Duck) it seems like a site full of REAL people who care about webcomics and support each other.
THE DUCK: https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/
Pros:
Feels like a real place run by real humans who genuinely love the art-form
Every style and type of comic can get featured!
Nice site and forum that doesn't feel manipulated by marketing experts
Cons:
Feels like the peak and heyday of the site has passed
The backend of the site in general seems to have stuff all over the place, I still don't understand what subpages are
Maybe I am doing something wrong but it sucks needing to Photoshop my chapters into ONE long image just to post a vertical chapter
Summary:
All-in-all, the site has heart… I can feel it coming through in waves. And that is important enough to me that I will deal with the extra steps and learning curve. I think The Duck is actually a great example of a site doing all the right things. Because despite there being GIANTS competing against it, a core group of REAL and active creators keep the place alive. That being said, I still have no idea where my comic stats page is, hahaha.
GLOBALCOMIX: https://globalcomix.com/
Pros:
Huge amount of comics to browse through, including DC/MARVEL etc…
A forum does exist
More polished homepage and overall look than the smaller sites
Pretty okay and user-friendly system to add chapters (once you get used to it)
Cons:
Huge amount of comics to browse through, including DC/MARVEL etc… so you kind of feel like you cannot compete AT ALL. Against Batman? C'mon!!!
A forum does exist but it sucks. I posted the same AMA headline to GC and Comicfury at the same time and the latter got crazy engagement while the GC sat there with ZERO interaction for DAYS.
Very basic analytics
Summary:
Globalcomix kind of rubs me the wrong way honestly. I am not sure if it is really site for independent creators, mostly because of how dead the forum is. I may honestly give up on this one, but as of today I've dropped 20 chapters there and gotten 80 unique readers, 126 visits, 729 total clicks, and 0 subs.
MANGADRAFT: https://www.mangadraft.com/
Pros:
Polished homepage that pops with good design and while it looks like Asian style is favored you can definitely see other stuff breaking through
No forum but it does have a kind of Facebook-style “feed” posting that you can do to add your art/publicity/thoughts into the overall mix
Basic advertising available for cheap price: for .99 cents you can be on the homepage for 6 hours (in a “sponsored” section)
Cons:
I haven't found the Faceboook-style feed to be of any use
I decided to use this site as my marketing test (I've never paid on any site before) and I paid $50 to get my comic into the sponsored box for a couple weeks and it's done absolutely nothing
Like Tapas, it seems the site favors a very specific size for content and I've needed to take the extra step of resizing JUST for MD.
Summary:
I am still on the fence about this site. Between the pain of resizing my content (just for this ONE site) and the complete waste of $50, I may give up on this one too. Not sure the effort is worth it. As of today I've dropped 25 chapters there and gotten 59 views and 0 subs.
NAMICOMI: https://namicomi.com/en
Pros:
Like MD, it has a polished homepage and Asian style is dominant but you can see other stuff breaking through
No forum but it does has a “feed” like MD
They have an automatic payment system to pay all creators who do well on the site
Cons:
Their site is confusing (for creators) somehow. It just doesn't feel very user-friendly when you start digging around. Like I cannot find basic functions because things are worded weirdly and there are too many options.
To find my comic I need to click on my username page (I had to make one) then click on my organization page (I had to make one) THEN click on my comic.
There are emotes and stickers and avatar frames and a lot of just fluff nonsense that muddies up my brain when I try to figure out what is going on.
Summary:
Yeah, I am gonna drop this one. It's just too much somehow or maybe it's just not made for my type of brain. I posted 20 chapters and my comic has gotten 109 views and 2 hearts.
AMILOVA: https://www.amilova.com/en/
Pros:
Kind of a middle-ground homepage that looks halfway modern and halfway like a site from 1998.
Has a forum and I've been on the top of it for weeks now
Apparently I am doing VERY well there
Cons:
I've been on the top of the forum for weeks because it seems nobody else exist, ECHOOOOOOOO!!!
Like The Duck, I am forced to Photoshop multiple images into ONE ridiculously long chapter, just to present a vertical-scrolling comic
I don't think I am ACTUALLY doing well on the site
Summary:
I joined Amilova strictly because I've been working with a friend on a French version of my webcomic, and this was suggested by the AI as a place that French-speakers go. So I started posting some French chapters as a test. But it's been weird… like at one point (after just a few chapters) the stats went crazy and said 500 readers were visiting daily. But there was 0 comments. It currently says I have 10372 total readers, but still not a single comment has been left… fishy. Based on that and the fact that one of the forum posts I made has been on the front page for weeks now, I think this site is full of bots.
VOYCE.ME: https://www.voyce.me/
Pros:
Cons:
- Their site won't even send me the email confirmation. So I can't even start and I've been trying for a week, messaging their staff and everything. Crickets.
Summary:
I'll let you know one day… I hope.
I hope people find this write-up helpful. I'd be completely down to hear other people's experience on ANY of these sites, or to suggest other webcomic sites that I missed so I can go test those out too and maybe keep making this list longer.
Not all sites are created equal so I think its important for us to have each others back and crowdsource the places that deserve our time and effort. Anyways, thanks for attending my TED talk, hahahaha.
Peace and Love,
Joe
