Alternative syndicated comics and the webcomics business model
 

Anyway apparently due to lean economic times (or anyway, lean economic times and being hella-ass dumb) the Village Voice has canceled all of its comics.

That led this guy who writes one such comic to write a blog post about his and similar comics moving to online business models in which he makes clear that he can't be having with any existing online business model.

This led Questionable Content author Jeph "Does Not Know How To Spell the Name Jeff" Jacques to write a response.

So there you are, if that's the kind of thing that blows your skirt up.

Saw all that and read JJ's response. Liked it especially since he's the guy who's doing all that mystical magical webcomic self-sustaining so lots of the stuff that Swaab said made him look like an idiot, which then prompted an apology and article deletion.

Not much left to say on the issue except "Yeah, and don't do that again."

Sounds to me like the original post was just a whiner who didn't want to compromise his art to turn a profit. In other words, an idiot. Just about the only people who can afford to not compromise an artwork are the people who have been compromising their art for years already.

Tycho put it best - "Those who call others sellout simply have nothing that is worth buying. I submit to you that these are two different things."

shortpacked has an interesting take on the subject

I get the feeling the original man wants to be a modern-day Bohemian but without all the starving and depression and lack of bathing.

It's not a novel thing to say, but at least Tycho found an incoherent way to say it!

Yeah, I'm gonna go with Archbio on this one. Don't quite get what Tycho's trying to say here.

What does he think are two different things? Being a sellout and not having things to sell?

Yeah it does seem that way. The thing is he doesn't exactly have that luxury anymore. I mean the current economic status of the world has been tough on everyone. As the Joker said "If you're good at something never do it for free" and JJ is very good at making people laugh so I don't blame him for trying to make a little money. Just because someone sells something doesn't mean that person has to buy it. I've never found any web comic I've read that sells something to be pushy about it I buy what I want and don't buy what I don't want.
It's all personal I think. It's the personal choice of the artist/writer to sell merchandise and it's the personal choice of their readers to buy.

DBS

I wrote a thing that has nothing to do with this specific situation, but it's a little similar.

It is one thing to "sellout". It is quite another thing to make money from your art.

Those are two separate things.

The implication is that merely making money from your art does not make one a "sellout".