Comics by Bloggers for Bloggers
Both Chris Muir’s “Day by Day” and “Cox and Forkum” editorial cartoons have become staples of the blogosphere. Increasingly, however, I’ve noticed that the strips seem aimed specifically at bloggers.
Here are today’s strips, for example:
These are both quite well done. But, aside from bloggers–who created this story and have followed it obsessively over the weekend–who would have any idea what these strips were about? Let alone find them funny?
Muir, especially, has had many bloggers actually appear in his strips. Here’s one from last week:
Aside from a handful of bloggers, who knows anything about “Rightroots”? And the lovely and talented Mary Katherine Hamm isn’t exactly a household name quite yet. Indeed, although I’ve met her several times, I wouldn’t even recognize her unless I’d seen the previous day’s strip.
I wonder whether the cartoonists hope that appealing to bloggers will get their strips out to more people so that they can eventually break out into the mainstream or if they are banking on their ability to support themselves simply from advertising on their websites? If the latter, it is surely one of the best examples of narrowcasting that I’ve seen.
I think that Day by Day has always been targeted at the blogosphere particularly as it was only carried by the blogosphere for about a year.
The Cox&Forum trend, however, is more recent.
Well I can’t imagine any of them not thinking mainstream would be nice.
But I have always had the impression that the Day by Day comics were niche/blog comics-a sort of political cartoon inside joke.
You are exactly right. DBD has always been targeted directly to the blogosphere, with print only as a secondary consideration.Which is why DBD is always free.
Online is where the action is, where advertising and growth trends are accelerating.It also allows for a richer context, as readers in many cases are assumed to look items up or be aware of them.(or be linked!)This enables one to do a more in-depth take on things, as you don’t have to’ lay it out’ in the first 2 panels.
Readers for comic strips-aging ones, at that-are not that plentiful in print. Online is a different area, however, with growth, new readers, and no PC- correct filtering process, a process common in syndicates & MSM that weeds out anything of any interest and/or new material.