The Asian culture is one of the cultures with the biggest influence on global digital entertainment. Anime, manga, messaging apps and even video games are all mostly Asian descendant with tremendous popularity in the U.S. The latest innovative digital form of entertainment that is soon going to be the talk of the century is the webtoon.
What Is A Webtoon?
Website + Cartoon = Webtoon
A two-dimensional illustration available online that can even be animated. They are not videos yet are more than just comics.
The Many Different Names of The Webtoon
Comics
Webcomic
Cartoon
Animated toon
Graphic narrative
Graphic novel
Illustrated magazine
Illustrated novel
So Where Did It All Start?
1765 – Cartoons in a newspaper
1868 – A flipbook was invented
1877 – The Praxinoscope
1908 – The first animation
1928 – First cartoon with sound
1937 – First animated film
1951 – Color TV in the US
1985 – First online comic
1995 – First computer animated film
2003 – The creation of Webtoon in Korea
2007 – Smartphone access to toons
2014 – Launch of live Webtoon globally
How The Smartphone Contributed To Webtoon Success
Smartphone internet access in the US
2010 = 20.2% to 2017 = 63.5%
Mobile traffic as percentage of total web traffic
North America
May 2013 = 11%
May 2014 = 19%
South America
May 2013 = 6%
May 2014 = 17%
Global
May 2013 = 14%
May 2014 = 25%
Comic Content Is On the Go and Webtoons Are Leading In Success
Evolution of Webtoon Style
Caricaturess – Graphic images that emphasize major characteristics of event or person
Comic – Illustration with humoristic appeal
Comic strip – Series of illustrations that depict a short story, scene, idea or joke
Comic book – Story that is depicted in various illustrations along with narration
Webcomic – Digital comic book that can be scrolled or paged
Moder Webcomic – Modernized version of a webcomic complete with following features:
- Touch scrolling
- Zoom feature
- Sound effects
- Daily, weekly or monthly updates
- Multimedia effects
- Optimized visuals
- Free of charge
- Easy on and offline access
- Compatible with all devices (PC, Smartphone, Tablet)
- Variety of genres for all fans
- Engagement between fans and developers
Webtoons Are Going To Be the Next Big Thing in Comic
Available in more than 200 countries and gaining popularity with each passing day.
OSMU (One Source Multi Use)
The biggest graphic development of the Webtoon
- Books
- Merchandise
- Advertising
- Games
- Online Play
- TV Drama
- Movies
Shocking Figures From NAVER Webtoon Brand
- Creators source from interesting background – Food delivery man, teacher, model, student
- Webtoonist earnings – $80 000 monthly salary earnings for full time authors
- Cumulative views – 30 Billion
- Daily average users – 6.2 million
- Books published – 142
- Videos released – 37
- Games developed – 10
A Peek At Figures Of The Most Popular Naver Webtoons
- “Tower of God” – 724 826 comments on single September 2014 episode
- “The Sound of Your Heart” – 800 episodes and 2 billion reads (Longest running webtoon)
- “Noblesse” – More than 1.3 billion reads (4 million per episode)