At what point is it ok to call it quits? The argument I hear most often is when real life intrudes or the artist no longer enjoys writing the strip. What if you made a promise to your readers on some ridiculous scale and you actually achieved it? The last one is where the first strip on the Web steps in. On September 24, 1993 David Farley started what may not have been the first strip on the internet in Doctor Fun, but does qualify as the first on the World Wide Web.
Back in 1993 Mr. Farley took a chance on this new technology called the Internet. He drew a single panel comic and posted for the world to see and soon made a promise to stand by the internet by posting every week for 10 years. Thirteen years later this Argon Zark competitor has reached that goal, albeit not all in a row. There are now 520 weeks worth of comics to pour through and unfortunately I haven’t had a chance to read any of them. What I can tell is Doctor Fun is a single panel comic with a dry sense of humor.
So why stop producing the strip? You would think after 2600 strips, surviving ups down in his willingness to create, and being passed by it descendents in the form of the 8000 web comics we have today, that he would pretty much be immune to any other obstacles. Hopefully this is only the beginning and we will see something more projects or even a Doctor Jam. At this point I think the only thing David could do wrong is to have made less noise about Doctor Fun ending then he did.
He may actually just not want to keep doing it. Nothing deep, or earth-shattering. And to be honest, I don\’t think a creator needs to justify anything like this. We\’re not slaves after all. Being able to chuck it all at anytime is one of the great freedoms of adulthood if you\’re lucky enough to get it.
I enjoyed reading Dr. Fun on and off through out the years. It was kind of tucked away, tho – the old web hands knew about it, but it got buried in the pile by the likes of its predecessors (User Friendly, PvP, et.al). It\’s sad, but I think Dave\’s announcement of discontinuing Dr. Fun may be the very first exposure people get of his single panel toon…
I think there\’s a danger in feeling an artist, once he\’s created something, is *obliged* to continue doing it, only for the fans and no longer for him or herself.
They made the choice to begin it. They retain the choice to end it.
It is a courtesy and a sign of gratitude and respect for the fan base to alert them to the change in the situation (ie: it\’s over) but as to further personal reasons as to why it\’s over, that\’s the discretion of the creators to share.
As artists we are communicators. I really have a peeve with webcomics who don\’t let their fans know a strip is over, or on an extended hiatus. They are failing to communicate. However, I\’m getting something for nothing, so I\’m not entitled to much more, am I?
The discussion continues… Later 🙂