First of all, you might want to bookmark this and check back periodically: it’s nowhere near done, and I plan to keep updating it until it has to be replaced by the 2016 version.  In fact, it’s only being released in its current form because, basically, I ran out of time to continue working on it.

So…

What’s All This, Then?

Unlike the writer’s market, this is not a list of people who will pay you to make webcomics.  Sorry, but I don’t think those exist.

This market traffics in another kind of online currency: publicity.  In short, this is a list of writers, bloggers, vloggers, and podcasters willing to look at your creation.

One of the hardest things for webcomic artists, especially new ones who don’t have a ton of connections in the industry, is getting press.  Unlike the higher forms of art, we don’t have anyone reviewing or critically analyzing our medium.

….Or so most of us wrongly think.  In reality, there’s a decent number of people willing to devote ink, pixels, frames, and mouth-wind to webcomics.  Here the ones I’ve found so far.

What Qualifies a Blog for the List?

There are two signs of life I look for:

  1. Active within the last six months.
  2. Accepting requests.

If you’re wondering why The Such-and-Such didn’t make the list, it’s probably because it’s closed, on hiatus, or just as likely, offers no explanation one way or the other on their site and didn’t answer my attempt to contact them.  (Jerks.)

Also, a disclaimer: all email addresses and contact information published here are either publicly available on their site or posted with the blogger’s explicit permission.

So, if you’re ready to get your work looked at…

Hold Up a Minute

I didn’t do this so the people who trusted me with their contact information could be DDoSed with demands to review shitty stick figure comics.

So before you submit anything, read this.

This article from Women Write About Comics will tell you how to get your comic in front of critic eyes without making anyone hate you in the process.

Finally, be sure to read their archives first to see what they’re looking for, and if you don’t think your webcomic is up to par yet, suggest someone else’s.  That will help build the webcomics community, which was my goal in publishing this, anyway.

Now, on to the guide:

Reviewers

Dedicated Webcomic Review Blogs

  • ArtPatient
    Delos reviews according to the “Looney Tunes” rule. In other words, series primarily aimed at an all-ages demographic, with any adult topics handled in a way that’s not “vulgar.”  Reviews sporadically, but also has a Strip News feature that’s updated much more often.
    Submissions Page: http://artpatient.com/about-these-reviews/
  • No One Knows You’re a Dog
    The Comics Journal’s webcomic news and reviews column, written by Narbonic’s Shaenon Garrity. Accepts tips and requests, but since the listed email address is for the whole site, make sure to specify (preferably in the subject line) that it’s a webcomic, and you’re submitting to this column.
    Email Address: editorial@tcj.com
  • Forbidden Planet’s Webcomic Weekly
    Unbeknownst to many of us, the world’s biggest comics chain also has a webcomics review blog, updated as close to weekly as possible by Richard Bruton. Features excellent, detailed, and graphics intensive reviews of each strip.  But don’t expect every request to be fulfilled: he’s a busy guy.
    Author Comment (from his personal blog): “I’m always looking for new experiences, both writing and reading, so if you’ve a writing job you want me to take on or a comic you would like me to look at, do get in touch.”
    Email: rlmbruton@hotmail.com
    Twitter: @richardbruton

Webcomic-Inclusive Review Blogs

  • Chapter One Reviews’ Webcomic Wednesdays
    Chapter One is a book review blog, but as the title indicates, they cover webcomics on Wednesdays.
    Author Comments (from the about page):  “I am receiving a lot of requests from authors to review their work, this is great. However I ask you to remember I am one person with a lot of other commitments and I sadly cannot read everything that is requested of me. If I do not get back to you please do not be offended it is either a no or a not right now, I will contact you if and when I plan on reading your novel.”
    Contact Page: http://www.chapteronereviews.com/?page_id=21 

Youtubers and Podcasts

  • The Webcomicast
    A Youtube-based podcast run by two ComicFury users. Generally devotes upwards of an hour to each series, which can be an impressive boost to a creator who appreciates the in-depth crit.  Actively seeking suggestions.
    Email: bluestarcomics@gmail.com

Multimedia

  • The Webcomic Relief
    Youtuber Lasse “Riiser” Riishoj does some of the most in-depth and well-written webcomics reviews you’ll find anywhere.
    Author Comments: “I am indeed open for comic suggestions although I already have half a million comics on my to-do list so it might not be right away!”
    Email:  riiser@mail.com.  Or leave a comment on his YouTube channel.
  • The Webcomic Alliance
    An all-in-one blog, podcast, and tutorial site run by a collective of five webcomic artists, the Webcomic alliance is one of the biggest collections of webcomic media on the tube series. They don’t do reviews, but they do accept interview requests for the podcast, guest posts and suggestions for the Pick of the Week.  These can be submitted via the below-linked contact form.
    Contact Page: http://webcomicalliance.com/about/contactsubmit/
  • Digital Strips
    Digital Strips claims to be the second longest-running comics blog in existence, and the single longest-running podcast. They’re actively seeking contributors.  There’s no contact information anywhere on their site—maybe this is supposed to be a test of potential writers’ information-finding skills—but you can try to get in touch with them on Facebook.
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Digital-Strips-Podcast/136523399708391

Webcomic News Blogs

Don’t send review requests to these guys.  However, if you want to send tips or newsworthy items to them, feel free.  And maybe you can slip a link to your own comic in the signature or something.

  • Fleen
    A long-running webcomics news/talk blog headed up by Gary Tyrrell. In the words of their sidebar, “If you’ve got webcomics-related news, insight, rumors, gossip, or shameless press releases, let us know.”
    Contact Page: http://fleen.com/contact/

Misc. Webcomic Blogs

  • Demon Archives: Wednesday Spotlight Interviews
    As an aside, Dan also accepts guest reviews. If you’d like to contribute a column telling him why you like your favorite series, please feel free.
    Author Comments: “
    at this moment, I am actively taking interview requests, but not review requests.  My review blog is called “Why I Read”, and at the moment I’m just posting reviews for comics I read and explaining why I like them and etc.  [However], I’m totally looking for guest bloggers.  There are too many webcomics for me to review them all, or read them all.  I want it to be a fan-run review site, talking about the webcomics they read and love.”
    Send Requests to: dan [at] demonarchives [dot] com
    (Not linked by request.)
  • Madness Inc.
    Primarily used to promote the webcomic of the same name, but also runs reviews of other webcomics, interviews with creators, and news.
    Send Requests to: alicehakvaag@gmail.com
  • The Ruby Nation Blog
    Creator Neil Kapit has informed me that he’s willing to do some reviews in the blog section that appears under his webcomic on its site. Email him for more info.
    Email: nkapit@yahoo.com

No Word on These Ones

These may or may not accept submissions, but I feel they should be listed somewhere anyway.

I went out of my way to contact everyone without a submissions page and ask if they accepted tips or not, but there are still two reasons a site ends up down here:

  1. No contact information listed on their sites. I’m not willing to resort to doxxing creators, so If you own one of these blogs and want it up here, email me with your address.  Or learn how to structure a website.  Either one works.
  2. The creator didn’t answer my emails. As such, they have angered me, I’ve cast them to the bottom of the listings, and should I meet them in person, they will not be allowed to play with my ball.

Anyway…

COLLECTIVES

Getting blogged about isn’t the only way to get noticed.  One other way is to join a collective, be part of a community, and in many cases, get much better marketing opportunities than you would on your own.  Watch this section, as it’s one of the ones that’s going to expand the most in the near future.

  • Hiveworks
    Possibly the most selective and “prestigious” (in quotes because it feels weird calling a webcomics thing that) collective out there. Only accepts submissions for part of the year, and is very picky about quality.  But if you do get in, they offer some great benefits: they’ll host your site for free, build it for you if necessary, give you nlimited tech support and advertise for you, not taking a cut until you start making over $1k per month. Not to mention you get to be in the company of Girl Genius; Stand Still, Stay Silent; Paranatural; and an array of the medium’s other best and brightest.
  • SNAFU
    I know a lot of people in the webcomics community seem to have a problem with these guys, but my job is to report the news, not offer commentary on it. Their submissions guidelines aren’t on their site, but I met founder Dave Stanworth at a con a few years ago, and he just told me them in person.  So, from memory: Email him with some strips and an elevator pitch for your comic.  Then, if you don’t get a response, email them again a few weeks later.  And again a few weeks later.  And again a few weeks later.  He assured me that he doesn’t mind being pestered, since he rarely has time to answer the first few emails.  I don’t remember his actual address, but if I can find it sometime, I’ll post it here.
    Contact Page: http://www.snafu-comics.com/contact.php
  • SpiderForest
    Now entering its 11th year, SpiderForest provides both hosting and publicity. (So I should probably add them to the Hosting guide too.)  Don’t go into this one expecting massive advertisements and a big name, a la Hiveworks, but do expect your comic to become part of a small but tight-knit community of other enthusiasts like you.  In what sounds like the vestiges of some arcane ritual, they accept applications only twice a year, during the first three weeks of January and July.
    Submissions Page: http://www.spiderforest.net/apply/
  • Some of you have requested Tapastic be added to the list. However, I count them as a host, not a collective, since they don’t help creators advertise, they simply provide a platform and a community. As such, they’ve already been covered in the Hosting Guide.

COMIC LISTS AND PROMOTIONAL SITES

None of these will bring in the bulk of your views, but they’re good for getting a few to trickle in occasionally.

  • The Webcomic List
    Basically, TWL works like a miniature search engine, crawling the sites users submit to it and checking for updates several times a day. It currently contains about 23,000 titles, with new ones being added all the time.  You can get your comic featured with them for $15, but there are few benefits to doing so.
  • Comic Rocket
    Basically a webcomic library. It displays your website whole, but in a frame featuring a navbar for faster navigation and some social media sharing tools.  Also, for readers, very convenient for keeping your whole reading list in one place.
  • Top Web Comics
    Those of us who’ve been into webcomics long enough will probably remember back when everyone had a little “Vote for use on TWC” button under their page image. Personally, I don’t like this site’s “popularity contest” format, but the signup process is pretty fast, so it’s not like you have anything to lose by trying it.
  • The Belfry WebComics Index
    The Belfry, in the words of their meta description, is “A large index of online webcomics.” That’s all that needs to be said, really.  I get a few pageviews a month from them, but I assume that people who put more effort into maintaining a presence will do better.
  • Webcomics Hub
    A social webcomic site, Webcomics Hub lets you “discover, subscribe, and share” webcomics. I haven’t had a chance to use it yet, but it seems worthy of a more detailed description, so I’ll do so and get back to you.
  • WebcomicZ
    Part of the Webcast Beacon network, WebcomicZ is a “classic listing site” with social media integration. Pretty much the same deal as Webcomics Hub: I’ll be checking it out later and updating with a more detailed description.
    Submissions: http://www.webcomicz.com/webcomics/suggest.html

FINALLY…

I’m planning to start a regular webcomics column for Nerd Underground, in which I’ll be doing all the news-and-reviews stuff that doesn’t fit on Webcomicry.  So feel free to pass on your review requests and webcomic news on to me at sea.ess.jones@gmail.com.  I try to respond to all emails I get, but I’m swamped at the moment, so please don’t expect it immediately.

BTW:

If you found this post useful, why not tip me for it?
Or, if you don’t have the money, just point the next person who asks you how to promote a comic for free to this post.
Thanks.

Image by Kinixuki