As publishing companies strive to grow with new generations of readers, one is in danger of changing the game’s name forever. What started out as a small website for publishing manwh has since exploded into a worldwide phenomenon, hosting all kinds of manga on the web from western-style cartoons to Japanese manga. And the platform is unlikely to slow down any time soon.
While WEBTOONSAt its core has always been digital comics, which have already begun to expand into new territories. Some titles have made their way into physical form in print and become almost as popular as their originals, some titles like The God of High School even got their own anime adaptations. me. At this rate, WEBTOON is rapidly becoming the world’s leading comic book publishing company.
WEBTOON is leading the future of publishing
Like a hero in their own story, WEBTOON has humble beginnings. Founder JunKoo Kim founded the company in 2004 in response to the collapse of the manwha industry. This site gained attention in Korea thanks to its tall, scrollable format and the introduction of the Profit Share program. In July 2014, the WEBTOON app launched worldwide, opening its doors to creators and audiences worldwide. The move proved extremely successful as the app’s popularity rapidly increased. This overwhelming approval paved the way for WEBTOON’s first projects to enter the world of traditional printed comics.
While this may seem like a step backwards in innovation, these physical copies are just as popular as the originals. While prints were initially published by third parties, Webtoon Unscrolled was announced in 2021, allowing WEBTOON to begin printing its titles independently. The list of upcoming publications they announced includes the hugely popular The God of High School, which has proven so successful that it even has its own anime adaptation. Even with these new IP iterations of WEBTOON, the app’s accessibility continues to attract new readers. At this point, the possibility that WEBTOON will become the next source for manga seems more likely.
Arguments can be made as to whether physical or digital copies of books are better, but there’s no denying that the adaptability, affordability, and accessibility of web comics help. They have an advantage over their competitors. WEBTOONS was born from the idea of embracing new technologies. Their foray into traditional print media shows why those media are “traditional”, but really, the biggest benefit from their prints is the attention they get. they bring to the company as a whole. As time goes on, their success will lead other companies to adopt the online platform for their titles, changing the future of manga as we know it.
