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Notable events ofthe late 1990s inwebcomics.
As theWorld Wide Web was proliferating in the second half of the 1990s, various creators of webcomics (a term that was not yet popularized at the time) started to communicate with one another and link to each other's work. Cartoonist Reinder Dijkhuis (Rogues of Clwyd-Rhan) remembered that in mid-1995, there were hundreds of comics made available online; many of which were based oncollege newspaper comic strips and many were short-lived. From this point on, the World Wide Web gained attention from syndicated cartoonists such asScott Adams (Dilbert) and cartoonists who saw the internet as a potential path to eventual syndication. Author T Campbell called 1996 the end of the "Stone Age" of webcomics,[1] and cartoonistShaenon Garrity described the period from 1996 to 2000 as "theSingularity" of webcomics as the medium "exploded" in popularity.[2]Joe Zabel said of Charley Parker's 1995 webcomicArgon Zark! that "the web could hardly have picked a more outstanding premiere series," and celebrated the tenth anniversary of its release with around table on the "artistic history of webcomics."[3]
In France, interactivedigital comics were spread oncompact disks during this period, while the introduction of the internet in French homes spurred the creation of the first webcomic blogs.[4]
In the United States, various major webcomic genres were established and popularized between 1995 and 1999. Thevideo game webcomic came into being in 1995 with the release ofPolymer City Chronicles and was popularized in the following years byPvP andPenny Arcade. The firstsprite comic – Jay Resop'sNeglected Mario Characters – was released in 1998, though the genre wouldn't be popularized untilBob and George came out in 2000.[5] InReinventing Comics (2000),Scott McCloud pointed out that some webcomic creators had been experimenting with the capabilities of the Web, such as through an interactivehypertext interface,GIF animations, and sound.[6] The first major webcomic portal, Big Panda, started in 1997. Big Panda hosted over 770 webcomics, includingSluggy Freelance andUser Friendly. Big Panda's discontinuation eventually resulted in the formation ofKeenspot in 2000.[7]
Several notable webcomics that started in this period include:
