Silence is Arsenic

Yesterday, someone commented on my webcomic. This guy, a fellow Smack-Jeeves comic artist, wrote, "Heh heh."

Those words meant a lot to me.

When you're publishing funny comics, you're testing the waters carefully. After all, I don't find golf humor that funny, and you may not find medical jokes as hilarious as my older brother does. But the comic strip artist has to go with what works best, whether it's timing, a ridiculous image, or even the right words for a punchline.

Most of the comics that I read on SmackJeeves get comments. Few don't. But so far, I have received exactly three comments on certain strips. That, as well as email from one great fan, a negative review on the forums, and an anonymous 1-star rating comprised of the reaction I got.

The answerd may be that I'm only a beginner, that there are only a few thousand comics on Smack Jeeves, and that maybe my comic simply can't live up to what Internet viewers want. I hand-paint watercolors; everyone else uses Photoshop. I scan wherever I can find the appropriate machine; most people even have scanner-printers.

So, if one person laughed at Friday's comic, then I am thankful. Thankful that someone has taken the time to not only read my humble strip, but also to tell me what they thought. In this day and age where comic book companies exploit talent and millions take to the Internet, at least I know that I'm doing something right.