100th Street. The Hundredth Page!!!

It’s a tradition; a very informal one if I may add, for webcomics to celebrate their One Hundredth Page. Comics don’t do that and certainly not mangas (for each volume has nearly 230 pages or more). Why then is the hundredth page so important? To understand its importance one will first need to understand the nature of webcomics and Internet content as a whole. Time carries a whole different meaning in the Internet world; people hate spending too much time on one particular site, unless of course the content is entertaining enough for them to forget the time spent on viewing the site.

People generally has very little patience when it comes to Internet content. Four seconds is the limit one gives to convince oneself if the site is worth reading or viewing. Four seconds is also the same amount of time people take to read ONE page of a webcomic. Time becomes a extremely precious commodity in the virtual world precisely because there is so much to look or explore. In preference for other sites, people often completely ignore sites that don’t interest them enough. As a result, the creator eventually loses interest in maintaining the site, especially when no one’s looking anyway, and the site disappears, without a trace.

When books get thrown, scattered pages remain, when toys get thrown, plastic part get left behind. What does a webcomic leave behind? Nothing but free bytes for the web-host. You see, where do webcomics go when they die? As a virtual product, they leave nothing behind, except traces of memory for those who have seen it. The perishable quality of a site necessarily points at its own unworthiness, but it also points at the “unreal-ness” of it. It exists like it was never here. Hence the quest of each site, is not only to leave a notable impression on people, but also really to last as long as possible in the virtual world; a world that has no tangible importance.

For a webcomic, to reach 100 pages, is itself a kind of achievement; moving from 2-digits to 3-digits. Numbers attest to the longevity of the work, and demonstrates not only the will of creator, but ALSO the readers who made this progression possible. Everything in the Internet world is based on the concept of interactivity – both the creator and the reader share a mutually important relationship in keeping the site alive and running.

It is not easy for SKOOKUM! to reach its 100th page, and I know it got there through the efforts of not only the support from readers but more importantly and primarily, the support I got from my pal w’Note. I would NEVER be able to reach the 100th page this soon without his help, support and sacrifice he gave through the run of SKOOKUM! Yes, in fact he is the one who colored the page, and it gives me honor to dedicate the page to him. Thanks a million!

Merci beaucoup pour ton aimable aide, je l'apprecie reellement