stic 14 (1) pp.

137–149 Intellect Limited 2023

Studies in Comics
Volume 14 Number 1
© 2023 Intellect Ltd Article. English language. https://doi.org/10.1386/stic_00101_1
Received 18 May 2023; Accepted 4 October 2023; Published Online May 2024

NICOLLE LAMERICHS
HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht

VANESSA OSSA
TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences

Fandom, algorithm, prompting:

Reconsidering webcomics

Keywords Abstract
comics In this conversation, Vanessa Ossa and Nicolle Lamerichs review developments that have shaped the
fan cultures webcomic landscape in recent years – the participatory practices they enliven, the digital culture they are
digital comics part of and new technologies that might transform them yet again.
digital cultures
platform society
artificial intelligence This conversation builds on the Special Issue: ‘Fandom and Comics’ (2020) of the journal
Participations: Journal of Audience and Reception Studies, edited by Vanessa Ossa, Sophie Einwächter,
Véronique Sina and Sven Stollfuß. The issue hosted an article on webcomics by Nicolle Lamerichs,
titled ‘Scrolling, swiping, selling: Understanding webtoons and the data-driven participatory culture

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around comics’, which is to our knowledge one of the most extensive, yet succinct, overviews of the
intersection between platform economy and comics culture. When conceiving this Special Issue, the
editors immediately thought of contacting Nicolle Lamerichs and Vanessa Ossa. We asked them to
take stock of the many changes that have occurred in such a short period of time regarding comics
in the context of digital culture and artificial intelligence – and thereby to expand on their previous
observations.
The dialogue is divided into three strands, tackling questions about digital comics in relation to
participatory and digital cultures, distribution and consumption in the context of digital infrastruc-
tures, as well as new developments in digital technology. Each section is articulated into several
questions and answers through which the conversation progresses.

1 Digital comics and participatory culture

VO: Webcomics are often discussed in connection to a wider trend in communication that
reflects a change from a one-to-many model to a many-to-many approach. How would you
situate digital comics about this? Who are the ‘many’ that are now communicating? Are there
new selection processes and gatekeepers when it comes to the production and distribution of
digital comics?

NL: Absolutely, webcomics are exemplary of many-to-many communication. They involve differ-
ent readers and fan communities, as well as different types of creators. Webcomics have existed
for a while and circulated on bulletin boards and personal sites. Yet, notably, users today can easily
upload their own comics on many different platforms, such as Instagram, Webtoon or Tapas, which
makes it easier for them to circulate their stories without hosting them on a personal site. To
support comic creators, crowdfunding has been a massive game changer, through Patreon, Ko-fi
and similar subscription and sponsoring channels. This allows readers to directly support their
favourite artists.
Nonetheless, there are absolutely new gatekeepers in this culture. The platforms themselves have
particular functionalities that may work against or in favour of certain content creators. They might
advertise a certain trending comic, which increases its popularity, while another has to be promoted
primarily through word of mouth. Fans and influencers are gatekeepers in that sense too, because
they often help in branding and circulating particular content. The selection processes depend
largely on the platform and culture. For instance, I studied Webtoon, and it has a delicate ecosystem
of content creators, editors, fans and many other stakeholders. Creators for Webtoon Originals are
hired by the company and have a different relationship with the platform than those that upload
their own user-generated content in Webtoon Canvas.

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VO: Would you say that digital comics are part of the so-called participatory culture or is this just a
different form to receive content? In other words, is there potential for a genuine, meaningful inter-
action between authors and readers?

NL: Digital comics have the potential to become meaningful participatory cultures. They allow
different creators to upload their own content and communicate to their readers directly. Not every
creator will use the full breadth of this medium, but the potential is there, which makes this medium
very different from traditional comics. For instance, entire fan cultures have flourished around digi-
tal comics such as Lore Olympus (Smythe 2018–present) and Homestuck (Hussie 2009–16). These
communities and their practices bridge the online and offline: you may see fan works inspired by
these comics both online and offline. Such fan practices can include shipping (i.e. romantically pair-
ing two or more characters), creating a cosplay of a favourite character or expanding on the universe
with one’s own comics. This type of user participation, or fanon, can become part of the narrative
ecosystem and drive new audiences to a comic.
I think that there is a lot of potential for digital comics. In a recent study in Participations
(Lamerichs 2020), I described webtoons as a data-driven participatory culture and build on
the original concept, coined by Henry Jenkins (2006). We are in a paradigm shift in fandom,
I believe. We are moving towards personalized content and automation, and away from the
larger, flat participatory cultures from the 2000s. Participatory cultures are increasingly guided
by platforms, their algorithms and content. Think of the way YouTube and Netflix steer us
towards typical content based on our behaviour and previous engagement. These mechanisms
are top-down, data-driven and potentially lead to greater inequalities by their automation of
data.
Platforms have had a massive impact on comic production, distribution and reception. They
also create new business models and forms of monetization, typically around advertisements and
engagement. Users’ data becomes in itself a valuable asset for companies. In other words, plat-
forms are not neutral and create new hierarchies within these participatory cultures. While we once
described participatory cultures as flat and democratic, it is a concept worth rethinking in the age of
Big Tech and datafication.

VO: Do you have examples of digital communities that have evolved around digital comics? In
general, what role does fandom play for digital comics?

NL: Fandom plays a vital role in digital comics. The readers keep comics alive by continuously inter-
acting with them, circulating them and promoting them. Without this ecosystem, it may become
difficult for creators to maintain a comic and the labour that goes into it. The market for digital

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comics and webtoons is, nonetheless, very large, especially in Asia. In South Korea alone, Naver
Webtoon had 85.6 million users in 2022 (Jobst 2022).
Creators put a lot of effort not just in creating their comic but in promoting their story and brand.
Many Webtoon artists have their own Discord servers to promote their work and build a community;
some use Facebook for the same purpose. In many cases, fans have a key role in these groups, acting,
for instance, as moderators.
In other words, digital comics are intimately connected to the wider creator economy that thrives
on social media. Creators depend on different platforms not just to upload their work but also to
circulate it, promote it and foster a culture of fan engagement.

VO: Are there also cases where the readers become part of the production process – in a similar way
as whole fanfiction communities would claim to be part of the collective authorship for a fan work,
due to intense feedback and discussions?

NL: Absolutely, many webcomics thrive around co-creation and interaction with the audience. Some
are even a collaboration with fans. For instance, in the digital comic Pass the Rubicon (Jean 2011),
readers were able to vote for certain choices in this boy’s love story.
Of course, fan voting is an interactive format that has a longer history in comics: in print culture,
a great example is the Batman series, where in 1988 fans voted on Jason Todd’s death in issue 427
(Cronin 2022). In any type of comic, offering fans sets of choices can be an interesting way of involv-
ing the audience in the narrative. It adds a degree of gamification and participation, which can work
very well.
In some cases, though, fandom plays a larger role in the narrative. I already mentioned
Homestuck (Hussie 2009–16), and that is a fantastic example of fan interaction. For instance,
Homestuck 2 was created by fans, and endorsed by creator Andrew Hussie. The initiative was an
independent collaboration by the writer of the Homestuck video game Hivebent, Aysha U. Farah,
and Homestuck fan creator Kate Mitchell. Homestuck fans could also donate to the creator at some
point to get their own character (fan troll) inserted into the webcomic for $10,000 to support the
comic.
Original webcomics can gain a following and fandom of their own. However, digital comics can
also be entirely created as a form of fan art or a homage to an existing source-text. For example, Sarah
Jolley from webcomic The Property of Hate also creates exciting fan comics around the Donald Duck
Universe (Duckverse). In particular, she focused on the characters of Magica DeSpell and Gladstone
Gander, a pairing referred to as ‘Magicstone’ by their fans. Jolley remediates the classic comics of
Carl Banks and Don Rosa in a new and exciting form in Duck Doodle Comics (2017–present), which
explores the relationship between these two characters. In the new DuckTales animation there is

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some Magica/Gladstone content, which also makes you wonder: is that a reference to online the
fandom that formed around these two?
Fans can fuel interest in characters and stories, both old and new. Their art keeps adding new life
to the existing content. Fandom is highly intermedial – a remix culture that is inspiring and thriving,
as I discussed in my book Productive Fandom (Lamerichs 2018). Comics are no exception to this, they
are an ecosystem of creators, readers and many other actors.

2 Comics and digital distribution

VO: How do I find digital comics? What role do digital infrastructures and platforms play for the
distribution of digital comics? Is there a trend?

NL: Finding digital comics is not that difficult. Readers can start by looking into different platforms
that are entirely dedicated to digital comics, such as Webtoon, Tapas and Hiveworks. Just like with
Netflix and streaming platforms, readers can look for their favourite types of content. The front page
of Webtoon also promotes certain popular comics. These platforms are very important stakeholders
and gatekeepers in this process. Through their interface, they determine what readers see immedi-
ately and what they have to actively look.
How readers navigate these platforms, and find certain types of content, is also dependent on
the platform. Webtoon is categorized per genre and within those categories, you search by popu-
larity, likes or date. A reader cannot look for specific tags that are of interest to them, which might
mean that a creator misses out on potential fans that would love their specific tropes, pairings or
characters. Tapas does have tags, which really helps. Of course, these different tags and preferences
also lead to filter bubbles, where a reader might be provided with specific types of content in favour
of others. The effect of these functionalities is that a reader might not always find their ideal digi-
tal comic on these platforms themselves. They often find them through recommendations on other
social networks, such as Twitter, Tumblr or Facebook, or by actively searching for their own inter-
ests on Google. If comics are hard to find, because they are primarily hosted on someone’s private
website, word of mouth is very important.
Fan groups really help promoting certain stories and content as well. The Webtoon fan group
(2023) on Facebook, for instance, is very active and a great way to find comics. Digital comics are also
increasingly promoted in vlogs or short videos. Consider TikTok, where hashtags like #booktok and
#webtoon are used to recommend and review digital comics.
I hope that the important players in the comic industry can slowly start embracing digital comics
as well. We see the first signs of this. For instance, DC recently launched the Batman: Wayne Family
Adventures Webtoon (Starbite and Payne 2022–present) which is a lovely digital comic that appeals to

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new readers as well as those already intimately familiar with the characters. More crossover projects
like this could really help promoting digital comics to new readers.

VO: Do you see a fundamental difference between comics distributed through an individual website
or blog, shared on social media, or hosted on specific platforms for digital comics?

NL: I certainly see that different platforms have sparked very different genres and ways of creating
comics. Think of how Instagram allows for short gag comics that you can scroll through from left to
right. Think of how Webtoon sparked long, episodic comics that you navigate vertically. On Webtoon
I see a heavy emphasis on romance and art styles inspired by manga, or aesthetics that are a fusion
of different Asian and western styles. On portfolio sites like DeviantArt and personal sites, I see a
much broader range of comics in terms of genre, styles and composition.
Certain platforms have built a reputation around particular types of content and that is what
draws in specific readers who know what they can expect. Platforms and their affordances effect the
types of content that we see. However, I also want to note that on DeviantArt and other sites, you
still see comics that are composed as a classic comic page with different sizes of panels and a clear
gutter, clearly inspired by traditions in print.
Mediation is key here. For example, some digital comics are also reworked for print. An example
of this is Sunstone, which has been uploaded on DeviantArt since 2011. This queer BDSM comic by
Stjepan Šejić has been, since 2014, published in a print version as well – benefitting from its format
already being very suitable to the change of support. The editing was kept to a minimum, if you
compare the print to the digital original. That is very different from reproducing in print a webt-
oon such as Lore Olympus, which was created as a scroll and had to be recomposed entirely for its
printed, graphic novel edition.

VO: How do creators of digital comics get paid for their content? Does the payment for artists clash
with the notion of limitless availability and collective authorship for digital content?

NL: This varies heavily. Generally speaking, they could be under contract by a platform (such as
Webtoon) and receive a fee. Others earn money with advertisements on their site or platform.
Others, again, collaborate with specific publishers. The before-mentioned Batman Webtoon is an
example of that.
Some platforms allow particular content to be put behind paywalls, which fans pay specific
access for or subscribe to: the Webtoon fast pass is an example of this. By buying and spending coins,
readers get early access to episodes and directly support creators. These coins however are only for
the Original comics, which are contracted by Webtoon, not for the open Canvas feature which all

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creators can use freely to self-publish their work. Artists working in the Canvas feature and meeting
certain conditions can apply for reward ads. This allows them to lock up to three episodes with an
additional advertisement viewers need to watch, thereby generating more revenue.
Many creators have turned, instead, to crowdfunding from their fans directly, since it can be diffi-
cult to earn money from larger platforms such as Instagram or Tumblr. Patreon, Kofi and Kickstarter
can be fantastic ways to receive structural support from followers.
Finally, some creators may turn to blockchain to sell specific tokens and NFTs around their
comics. An NFT itself is best understood as its history and proof of ownership, which is stored on
a blockchain, such as Ethereum. An NFT is not a literal crypto-token or valuation, but rather repre-
sents the item, assets or commodity on the blockchain. An NFT is special, authentic and perma-
nently stored on the blockchain. Compare it to a unique Pokémon card or a digital artwork that only
you have the rights to. The value comes from how this piece circulates, and if there is a demand
for it. Unlike cryptocurrency, which is similar to money, the NFT is more similar to a contract that
certifies a unique artwork. For example, the Korean webtoon series Solo Levelling released exclusive
NFTs around its finale, such as an animated episode that only a limited number of fans got access
to. Blockchain is not appreciated by all creators, since the technology is not that well-developed
or sustainable yet. However, some see NFTs as a unique opportunity to sell digital merchandise,
assets or experiences. The benefit for fans is their scarcity, which makes them not just into a piece of
content, but an asset that can be collected, saved and traded.
New business models will keep taking shape around comics. I think right now we are still in a
space where Big Tech and platforms are those that benefit the most from webcomics. That means
that creators need to find workarounds, such as opening a Patreon page or launching an NFT. In the
coming years, I hope that we can work towards more inclusive, sustainable spaces for comics and
other forms of entertainment. The different metaverses which companies are designing, integrating
different functions and types of content, perhaps offer an opportunity here. However, that stands or
falls with us designing platforms with creators, fans and other stakeholders in mind.
We need to rethink digital economy altogether, which now considers free content the default.
This shouldn’t be the norm. It is not healthy for artists, writers, editors, publishers and many other
stakeholders. Netflix, Amazon, Spotify and other companies have shown that users are more than
willing to pay for a small monthly subscription fee. I think these types of business models offer
options for comics as well. I find Marvel Unlimited a great example, for instance, and personally
hope that other comic platforms and publishers could invest more into options like this.

3 Digital Comics and AI

VO: What role do AIs play for the content generation of digital comics?

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NL: AI can play many different roles in the production of comics. Generative AI in particular is on
the rise, due to the recent popularity of tools such as DALL-E, Midjourney and Stable Diffusion.
These can be used to create new images based on existing databases. These particular GAN (short-
hand for generative adversarial networks) models have a longer history, but it’s the subsequent
Diffusion models that are now widely embraced to generate new images in diverse styles. Similarly,
the rise of generative images has resulted in new forms of art and content that has already made an
impact on different industries: think of the rise of ChatGPT by OpenAI, which generates new texts,
scripts and code from a wide range of databases.
We see a field of content currently being generated with the help of AI tools. Not all that content
is equally enjoyable, readable or good. However, some interesting comic projects are already emerg-
ing. A very consistent and well-crafted series, produced with the help of AI, is The Bestiary Chronicles
(Coulson 2022). This is an ongoing comics series by the production house Campfire Entertainment,
featuring a wide range of moving dystopian/horror stories heavily drawing from contemporary cine-
matic production. The fourth issue also exists in an annotated edition with an extensive making
of, which thoroughly explains the different iterations the author did with software and AIs (mostly
Midjourney and Keynote, although elsewhere he mentions Photoshop), and how he reached the
final result, which really is a collaboration between a human creator and a machine.
AI is here to stay. It’s slowly being built into the different tools we already use, such as Adobe
software. We will need to understand how to use these tools in the best, most creative ways and
develop a new language around them. Realistically, we will not simply use them to generate entire
comics, but rather for inspiration, to speed up the donkey work, or to help refine something we
already produced.

VO: Many fear that AI is the end of individual artistic creativity. What is your impression? How is AI
received in the artistic community?

NL: Generative fan art has led to discussion in fandom and artist communities, especially in terms
of ethics, copyright and monetization. Fans are concerned about their art being used as training
data without their permission. In a recent article (Lamerichs 2023), I analyse how artists and other
stakeholders discuss and regulate generative AI within their communities, for instance through bans
of AI-generated art at fan conventions. While AI allows for many playful interactions and inspir-
ing outcomes, users are especially critical of generative images being turned into a business model.
Although AIs can empower and inspire artistic practice, there are clear concerns around these tools
and their potential misuse.
In this sense, fandom can serve as a case to better understand how users grapple with the inno-
vative potential and challenges of generative AI. Often, they consider both its opportunities and its

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misuses. AI-generated art and comics can be inspiring, but fans have implicit and explicit values
when working with this technology. The concerns of artists are not merely about job replacement or
reskilling, as in many other sectors, but rather reflect on the unethical use of training data as well as a
monetization of their works which they never explicitly allow for. What if an AI artwork is sold in an
artist alley and is competing with other forms of art and comics? And how can artists know if their
work is being used as training data, and how much it affects the final results?
I don’t think AI will make humans obsolete, but I do agree with the artists worrying about how
some AI tools are trained and rolled out. The coming years we need to work towards a responsible,
ethical development of AI. Moreover, because AI is trained through our data, it also runs the risk of
amplifying our biases and blind spots. Meredith Broussard has described this process as ‘artificial
unintelligence’ (2019).
Thus, we need to actively work towards smart, transparent, inclusive AI; this type of algorithmic
justice is luckily increasingly discussed and much needed. For example, in the case of comics, artists
should be able to give permission for their art to be used as training data, and perhaps even get
something in return. Their art could be licensed or bought for this purpose explicitly.

VO: Do you see aesthetic potential for the integration of AI into the production of digital comics?

NL: Yes, I believe that it can be used for inspiration, editing and even to generate original content,
such as backgrounds. However, I think comics produced entirely by AI are not feasible for now – at
present, they are just a gimmick. What is more likely is that we start working with these tools in new
ways, just like artists integrated photography in their art. Another comparison would be how comic
creators may already use standard assets (e.g. predesigned text balloons, hands) in their art. Actually,
we see this a lot in digital comic production and manga, and I would not find it unlikely that such
assets are soon generated by AIs trained in our own style and images. This new generation of soft-
ware for digital creation could provide recommendations for page lay-out, content and other assets
following one’s own aesthetics and style. Besides, certain existing tools, such as beautiful.ai, already
specialize in providing quick templates and options for slide decks and other images.
I used to create amateur comics myself on SmackJeeves and DeviantArt, in print as well as
doujinshi (fan manga). While I enjoyed the storytelling and character creation, the amount of manual
labour that it took to create a comic was a reality check. I always underestimated the amount of work
that went into one page – I’m sure that I’m not the only one. It will be great to save time on the
precarious lettering in Photoshop and the repetitive clicking that goes into basic colouring. What if
AI could be a helpful assistant here? What if it could already detect characters and colour them in a
specific scheme based on a previous image, leaving time to only focus on details and shading? What
if letters are immediately scaled up or down in Photoshop, depending on what one inserted?

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The production of digital comics involves many different steps, and I have no doubt that in some
of these we’ll introduce AI soon. Will the entire comic be AI generated? I highly doubt it. We still
need the human touch for the storytelling, because AI art and text will always be formulaic. It is, after
all, trained in our history. In AIs we can only see ourselves and the data we left behind. Based on that
it can provide a pattern, but it is not at a point where it can innovate. When it does, that is seren-
dipity and coincidence, a unique bricolage of what is there, and the intervention of human agency,
rather than something truly new. AI art is the new remix and collage as it were, but it will require
human ideas for prompting, training, fine-tuning, selecting and combining it.

VO: If a recognizable drawing style or something like an ‘artistic signature’ is easily copied by AI,
what will happen to our concepts of authorship?

NL: This is a worry that we had in the time of photography as well. I think we will simply see new
genres and art forms emerge. I am not that worried about authorship, which is a recent inven-
tion in the arts and literature to begin with. Perhaps we go back to traditions of oral storytelling,
where artworks and stories were by default seen as collaborative. Art is a communal effort and
has always been connected to the technologies and media at our disposal: our concept of author-
ship will change, but it has already been changing in a time of fan fiction, collective art, and urban
creativity.
The idea of the author is connected to prestige, status and branding. I think we will see the
concept maturing into different directions, perhaps becoming altogether obsolete. I personally don’t
mind that. I think that stories, art and characters are public domain. We are in a creator economy
today, which is an ecosystem with fans, followers and brands, all are acting as stakeholders. Just as
important as a story is how users respond to it, what content they generate from it, and how they
bring those characters further to life. Think of the TikTok dances inspired by Wednesday, or the fan
art produced by Marvel fans: remix is the norm in our media culture already. Stories become a jump-
ing board for so many different new works of art, for new practices and new performances. AI art is
just the automation of that. I appreciate AI art for its transformative potential and unique combina-
tions and do not think human creatives become obsolete at all.
In terms of authorship, I am deeply curious whether an AI tool might be credited more often as a
creator, and what that will mean for our current copyright law and business models. This is an inter-
esting development that will be worth following and fighting for.

4 Conclusion
VO: What are your final thoughts about the future of digital comics?

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 Fandom, algorithm, prompting

NL: As a final thought, I think comics are increasingly blending with other media and forms of
content. The aesthetics of comics, including panels and text balloons, is already being mediated by
indie games and virtual reality, and comics imaginary has fuelled the last ten years of US cinema.
As an art form, comics will keep developing with the affordances of the media that we use: AI
is an example of this. Personally, I am excited about the new possibilities in digital comics which
hopefully help artists express themselves in new ways. Let’s experiment, and be open to change.

Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Webtoon author Marissa Delbressine from The Shadow Prophet for providing addi-
tional insights on the platform and fan culture.

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Suggested citation
Lamerichs, Nicolle and Ossa, Vanessa (2023), ‘Fandom, algorithm, prompting: Reconsidering webco-
mics’, Studies in Comics, Special Issue: ‘Comics Strike Back! Digital Forms, Digital Practices,
Digital Audiences’, 14:1, pp. 137–49, https://doi.org/10.1386/stic_00101_1

Contributor details
Dr Nicolle Lamerichs is a senior lecturer and team lead at Creative Business, HU University of
Applied Sciences, Utrecht. She is the programme coordinator of the M.Sc. sustainable business tran-
sition. She holds a Ph.D. in media studies from Maastricht University (2014). In her book Productive
Fandom (Amsterdam University Press, 2018), she explores intermediality, affect, costuming and
creativity in fan cultures. She has published peer-reviewed articles and chapters on fandom, media
culture, cosplay and game practices. Her current research focuses on participatory culture on new
media platforms, specifically in relation to identity, sustainability and play.
Contact: HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, Heidelberglaan 15, 3584 CS Utrecht,
the Netherlands.
E-mail: [email protected]

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0599-2075

148  Studies in Comics
 Fandom, algorithm, prompting

Dr Vanessa Ossa is a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Applied Science in Cologne,
Germany. She is the co-editor of the edited collection Comics and Agency (2022) as well as the special
issue Fandom and Comics (2020) in the journal Participations. Her current research interests include
participatory culture, comic book fandom and fictional characters in (digital) fan communities. She is
a member of the German Society for Comic Studies (ComFor) and currently serves as editorial staff
for their website and as part of the executive board.
Contact: TH Köln, Cologne Game Lab, Schanzenstr. 28, 51063 Cologne, Germany.
E-mail: [email protected]

https://orcid.org/0009-0006-6157-1220

Nicolle Lamerichs and Vanessa Ossa have asserted their right under the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the authors of this work in the format that was submitted to
Intellect Ltd.

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