Web comics are comic strips that are published only on the web. Many web comics are little different from traditional paper comics, but a few web comics artists have taken advantage of the web's unique abilities. Scott McCloud has pioneered the idea of the infinite canvas, the idea that web comics should be free to spread out in every direction indefinetly, rather than confining themselves to dimensions that would fit on a piece of paper. Other artists have experimented with the incorporation of animation into their comics (although purists may believe animation has no place in comics).
The web has, at least potentially, several advantages over the conventional form of publishing. It has removed many of the traditional barriers that prevent an independent comics artist from having his work published (in this sense, web comics are a continuation of the independent comics movement that began with underground comics). As stated above, the restrictions of the usual comic format are lifted, though for functional reasons most still follow it. While newspaper comic strips have to be comprehensible to the average reader, the huge potential audience provided by the Internet allows much more specialization, as can be seen in the rise of video game-oriented comics and the Transsexual Webcomic Alliance ("Laughing At Our Pain Since 2000"). Much deeper plotlines and characterization are also made possible. And, of course, some (for example, the aptly-named comic "What The Hell Is Wrong With Us?!") delight in the fact that very few things short of blatant breaching of international law will lead to censorship.
Some successful web comics have subsequently been reprinted in book-length collections, just as a successful print comic might be.
One popular form of web comic is the sprite comic.
Primary sites for web comics are Modern Tales and KeenSpace.
See also: List of web comics
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