What is WEBTOON?

Comics and mangas have been a cornerstone in storytelling for many years. They have revolutionized both the television and movie industry. Producing stories that get adapted into awe inspiring, onscreen visual masterpieces that become cultural moments. Just recently Amazon released a cartoon adapted from the Invincible comic series. Then there’s gut punching, heart wrenching Attack on Titan anime that was brought by Hajime Isayama’s manga. And of course, we can’t speak about comic adaptations without mentioning Marvel.

With both visual arts becoming a focal point in storytelling, there have been new platforms designed to give artists a chance to share their work with potentially millions of readers. One of those platforms is Webtoon, a webcomic app that features mangas and comics from a variety of genres. The app has proven to be very popular, amassing a large following in both readers and creators.

A big part of why Webtoons is so favored by artists is because of the Canvas section of their app. Canvas is where most of the stories seen on Webtoon come from. Here, Canvas artists release their comics and get paid through ad revenue and bonuses provided by Webtoon based off of monthly views. With Webtoon having a large audience, this gives many artists a chance to get paid for their stories while simultaneously cultivating a following. Artists still have the option to publish their comics on other platforms, a choice many exercise.

This road to success has worked for artists, as some Canvas comics have gotten picked by the company to be a featured as a Webtoon original comic. A good example of this being Junepurrr, creator of SubZero, who used to have her series on Canvas until Webtoon chose to make her comic a featured original. This meant no longer relying strictly on ad revenue, as she was put on payroll and received more advertising of her story.

Many comic series on Webtoon have had similar success. Mongie’s Let’s Play series is one, as it has gained many fans over the years it's been on the app as a featured original. Same can be said for Uru-chan’s widely popular unOrdinary comic, providing a character oriented story much like Let’s Play, but with far more action and suspense that has left fans craving for more. Both comics get a whopping amount of views and are prominently promoted by Webtoon, on the app and beyond.

Webtoon has also shown to be a platform that can propel artists to a new stratosphere of success. The God of High School, created by Yongje Park, is proof of this as it too is a well known, highly popular original featured comic of Webtoon. It attained a cult like following amongst readers and has had everlasting viewership dating all the way back to 2014. Due to its paramount achievements, the comic was picked up by anime streaming powerhouse Crunchyroll so that it would be adapted. As of now, The God of High School anime is off to a promising start, completing its first season with 13 episodes and in the process of the second.

To say every artist will end up at that level would be a farfetched, an illogical statement. But even if someone never reaches that pinnacle doesn’t mean Webtoon isn’t still a promising app for aspiring artists. Authors have caught on to the potential the app has, adapting their books into webcomics for the platform. Two adaptations, Not Even Bones and Rot & Ruin, were even picked up by Webtoon as original featured comics.

Webtoon is truly a great space for a plethora of storytellers no matter their background. It gives many paths that lead to different avenues of success, though none are guaranteed. Still, it’s an app that is ripe with opportunities and entertainment for creators and readers alike. Definitely worthy of a download.