Released globally in 2014, WEBTOON rose to popularity for providing accessible digital comics in a world where renting physical copies was more realistic than owning them. This platform was designed with PC, cellular devices, and any form of technology in mind. Fast forward 12 years, and it has become the largest webcomic platform today, with a consistent 155 million active users. This panel explores various webcomics from WEBTOON and demonstrates how this web platform has brought comics into the digital world. Solei Johnston (Colorado State University) and Adam Kwon (Colorado State University) explore the relationship between reader feedback and narrative development in Heartstopper, emphasizing the collaborative dimensions of meaning-making that emerge when serialized media are produced and consumed in highly networked, feedback-driven environments. Emma Fletcher (Colorado State University) conducts a thematic analysis of Scorching Romance to reveal how the comic challenges notions of gender, personality, and emotions, entering a conversation normally dominated by social media. Vance Medeiros (Colorado State University) considers the politics of innocence in Everything Is Fine and how the comic contrasts its cute art style with its horrific themes to critique domestic uniformity, the pressure to assimilate, and the ubiquity of suffering.
