Another one bites the dust. As first revealed at TCJ, Hiveworks Comics, an independent webcomics publisher, will wind down its print and publishing operations, to focus on their web hosting and ad network services for webcomics sites. Hiveworks will see through all of their existing crowdfunding projects but after that, their Hivemill webstore will be limited to print-on-demand services and sale of products purchased wholesale from artists. They will longer offer warehouse services for cartoonists and will shut down their crowdfunding efforts. All rights will revert to creators.
The news is sad because at one point Hiveworks was a thriving business that helped scores of cartoonists publish on the web and monetize their work via online ads and merchandise. They also printed physical versions of webcomics, and through it all maintained the idea of supporting creators in a fair and equitable way.
Before going on, full disclosure: The Beat was partnered with Hiveworks for hosting and ad services from 2016-2017, so I had a lot of talks with the executive team – Xelette Stillwell and Isa Melançon – over the years. It wasn’t always a perfect team up – a tech person who detested WordPress caused some exasperated mirth – but we shared the same kind of DIY spirit, so I definitely appreciated where they were coming from.
Hiveworks had some ambitious plans over the years and published some excellent books in print. In 2015 they boasted of over 12 million users in a month. In 2020 they teamed up with Seven Seas. I hadn’t followed all their activities of late, but a month ago Zack Weinersmith’s excellent Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal (SMBC, and the biggest webcomic on Hiveworks) moved to self-hosting and running their own webstore. Whether this was a cause or symptom of the reasons behind Hiveworks shutting down, I have no idea.
I will hazard a guess that a major part of the Hiveworks system – ad supported webcomics publishing – could not cut it as Google has shut down search in favor of AI-driven results cannibalized from the work of humans. Meta and Google have scooped up almost all the ad revenue on the web, and the few of us fighting for the leftover chicken bones know how hard it is. How much big platforms like Webtoon and Tapas took away from their content I also don’t know. Also more people are taking control of their own crowdfunding.
I’m sure there is more to the Hiveworks story, but for now I’m going to say I’m sad they are sunsetting. We need more independent publishers, not fewer.
Hiveworks will be running a clearance sale starting in mid-April through May 31 – any remaining products will be returned to the artists.
According to the statement, “Hiveworks remains committed to helping artists share original, creator-owned webcomics with audiences across the world in the way they want and will continue operating its web services.”
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