Keenspot is a

webcomic Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on the internet, such as on a website or a mobile app. While many webcomics are published exclusively online, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or ...

webtoon Webtoons () are a type of episodic digital comics that originated in South Korea usually meant to be read on smartphones A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allo ...

s portal founded in March 2000Yim, Roger. (April 2, 2001). "DOT-COMICS: Online cartoons skip traditional syndication and draw loyal fans on the Internet". ''

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''. Pg. D1Newman, Heather. (February 2, 2001). "See You In The Funny Pixels Michigan Cartoonists Draw On Web Sites To Find Readers". ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' (commonly referred to as the ''Freep'') is a major daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest local newspaper owned by Gannett (the publisher of ''USA Today''), and is operated by the Detro ...

''. Pg. 1H by cartoonist Chris Crosby (author of ''Superosity''), Crosby's mother Teri, cartoonist Darren Bleuel (author of ''Nukees''), and Nathan Stone. , Keenspot.com was the exclusive webcomics home of ''Twokinds'', '' Brawl in the Family'', the ''Luther Strode'' saga, ''Marry Me'', ''Last Blood'', ''Fall Out Boy Presents Fall Out Toy Works'', ''Flipside'', and dozens of other features. In December 2016, Keenspot began publishing a new line of print comic book titles distributed to comic book stores by

Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. (often called Diamond Comics, DCD, or casually Diamond) is an American comic book distributor serving retailers in North America and worldwide. It transports comic books and graphic novels, as well as other popu ...

Their launch titles included monthly ongoings of ''Hunters of Salamanstra'' and ''Marry Me'' and book collections of Thomas Fischbach's ''Twokinds''. Keenspot books are now distributed by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

History

The formation of Keenspot was triggered by the collapse of an earlier webcomic portal, Big Panda. Following the portal's creation in March 2000, Keenspot was serving over 23 million page views monthly by February 2001 and had 47 cartoonists. Also in June 2000 they had launched the free comics

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Keenspace (later renamed Comic Genesis). In 2001 Keenspot launched its own printed comic book line and launched graphic novel collections in 2002 both at

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...

. By August in 2002, Keenspot opened a retail store, selling brandname toys and comics; Keenspot had 50 million views monthly and 600 paying members – who can read the comics without ads – and had published 26 titles. Keenspot gross revenues grew from $103,976 in 2002 to $188,475 in 2003 with the number of pageviews largely unchanged from mid-2001. it claimed to be home to more than 50 comics covering several

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

s and artistic styles.Keenspot
"Keenspot is the largest publisher of exclusive webcomics! Founded in February 2000, we are now the home to over 50 comics, and the list keeps growing." In 2008, Bleuel and Stone sold their 50% stake in Keenspot to Crosby Comics, leaving

Chris Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, and Christine. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name * Chris Abani (born 1966), Nigerian autho ...

and Teri Crosby as the sole owners. Daniel "Dan" Shive, writer-illustrator of the Keenspot webcomic/webtoon series ''EGS'', was named Chief Technical Officer (CTO). As of September 2017 the site hosts 57 comics, of which eight are described as "updating with new comics regularly" and the rest of which are "completed or update infrequently".

Impact and Policies

One of Keenspot's most notable traits is that it has been a starting point and steadfast supporter of many successful webcartoonists over the years. More than a dozen comics originally and currently hosted at Keenspot have branched out to become substantial full-time jobs for their creators. The company says that it keeps exclusive web publishing rights to its comics, including archives, but that other rights are left with the creators. Side projects, particularly merchandising deals, are covered separately. Keenspot Entertainment is based in

Cresbard, South Dakota Cresbard is a town in Faulk County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 96 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land. Demographics 2010 census As of the c ...

. The majority of titles published by Keenspot have been distributed to comic book stores worldwide by

Diamond Comic Distributors Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. (often called Diamond Comics, DCD, or casually Diamond) is an American comic book distributor serving retailers in North America and worldwide. It transports comic books and graphic novels, as well as other popu ...

. Keenspot has also launched two

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

s, a cartoon podcast, called Keentoons Video Podcast Network and an audio podcast called Keencast. Until 2006, Keenspot published the Keenspot Comics Page in collaboration with the

Turlock Journal The ''Turlock Journal'' is a newspaper in Turlock, California. It is owned by 209 Multimedia. ''The Journal'' was a daily newspaper until 2004, when it was reduced to twice-weekly publication. It has a paid circulation of approximately 4,000. ...

and several other small newspapers.

History

Impact and Policies

See also

References

External links