Daku asked me to write an essay either about Joey Manley’s “Webhead” or webcomics nation. I’ve been mulling this over for about two weeks, I think, and I frankly wish he’d given me a broader topic to work with because I can’t think of too much to say about Webhead or webcomics nation that hasn’t been said and isn’t readily available other places on the web. I do have an observation, however.

As has been discussed on this very podcast, some of us webcomics creators come at this from the perspective that the goal is success. We’d like to make a living doing webcomics, doing art. We want to be the next Penny Arcade or PVP. Strangely, no one seems to want to be the next CAD, but it’s been very successful itself. In thinking this way, in taking this perspective, we forget that it isn’t the only one available. Not everyone doing webcomics wants to make a living doing webcomics. Frankly, most people who want to make a living this way have their own websites. This is where webcomics nation comes in, I think.

Webcomics Nation is a phenominal resource for people who just sort of do webcomics. Just for fun. I have an account. It’s cheaper than a hosting plan, any script you may need is already there plus other features, and Joey is fairly accessible himself should one have a problem. I’m a big fan. Any WCN member also gets free advertising on the Modern Tales network which is fairly extensive.

Sometimes, you say to yourself, “All this HTML, RSS, MYSQL… it’s so confusing. I’ll never figure out this cursed computron! There’s got to be a better way to get my c0mixx0rz onto the webernets!” Now there is. It’s Webcomics Nation… or keenspotspaceland. I forget what it’s called now.

There’s plenty more to be said for Joey and all his endeavors, but, they speak for themselves better than I could, even if I sometimes use words like “tatterdemalion” or “sui generis.”