This is something that's been a long time coming, but seeing this essay by Jeph Jacques inspired me to finally get around to talking about something I feel is very important. Basically, it's the notion that webcomics should be paid for in order to be read.

There are those who feel that webcomics should be pay-only in order to make the money necessary to keep creating comics. I've seen many variations of this theme: some people have the current comics free with the archives restricted, some people have the archives free with the current content restricted for several months before becoming free, and some have only portions or extras of their work restricted. All of these models are fine for individuals, but for webcomics as a whole? This model would kill what makes them so beautiful: wide-spread availability.

Personally, if I see a comic I find interesting and want to check out more of it, but then find I have to pay, I won't do it. Why? Because how do I really know it's worth paying for if I can't see very much of the product? It takes me many pages of strips to decide if I like something. So giving me one or two free strips is going to make me pass you over quick.

I've seen this business ploy in many different places: they offer you a "teaser," whether that be a strip of the comic or a snippet of information or whatever. Nothing turns me off from a business faster than this, because a "snippet" is NEVER ENOUGH to give me a sense of what I'm supposed to be paying for. I hate this model, and I hate that there are people who want to see it applied to lucrative webcomics. If you have a product, you can't just assume that your brand name will be enough to sell it. You have to give people a real reason to want to buy your product, and they can't get that if you won't let them know what you're selling until they pay for it.

In his essay, Jeph makes a defense for merchandise as a means of income. This is, to me, the best model for making income, because it allows readers to support the work they love and get something cool in return. After all, they buy the merchandise because they like the comic. Best of all, they don't have to buy anything.

As I said, what becomes threatened in this "pay-restricted" model is wide-spread availability. You are alienating potential readers by making your comic accessible to only those who can afford it/are willing to pay. And that's a big if. Using the merchandise model makes it so that only the people who want to pay are able to do so. This takes the pressure off of those of us who just don't have the money and would rather spend our last 20 dollars on rice and bread than a month of archives.

Most importantly: comics are meant to be read and enjoyed. Period. As a comic artist, that is all I care about. I want to speak and have my ideas and thoughts read by others. Restricting my work to those who pay would be to take away my fundamental ability to communicate through this medium. Yes, I want to make money. Yes, I want to be supported by my work. But this is not the goal of storytelling. If it is, you're in the wrong profession.