Fanon.co - A Comic Platform for Fandom
I finally got around to following up Fanon.co's invitation to try them out. So far not a bad platform, the premise of it alone is pretty great - a comic site suited specifically for fandom work (which makes it pretty clear why I was invited to try them haha)
Of course, this also means I got to create the Lore Olympus fandom category on the site so that's pretty cool LOL so if you're someone who has an LO fancomic, or a Greek mythology comic (there's a category for that too wildly enough) then this site might be up your alley.
One thing I like about it is it tailors its front page banners to your tastes. When you make a new account, you're prompted to select some of your favorite fandoms, and from there it suggests works that are from that fandom. That feels like such a bare minimum thing but so many platforms fail when it comes to creator visibility and personal match-making so this feels like an obvious but smart choice.
Obviously the pickings are kind of slim atm what with it being such a small site with such a niche focus on fandom (and I will add, some categories are very interesting in how specific they are, in the sense that they were clearly made by one person who's very dedicated to one niche thing, like how the Lore Olympus category is right now with me being the sole occupant haha) but that's just the way of it with new platforms like this, I'm hoping it'll grow with time! (and honestly goes to show that no matter the quality of a piece of media, it's always SOMEONE'S favorite).
I think the only major downside I've experience so far is you need to sign in to read, but signing in is actually pretty straightforward as it solely utilizes one-time passwords, so all you need is a secure email. The platform also requires transparency regarding AI comics, which isn't quite as nice as just banning them altogether (seriously, fuck genAI) but I'm hoping that at least helps them draw a line in the sand between genuine work and genAI stuff to help ensure they aren't being mixed (that way, if you're like me and wanna avoid AI comics like the plague, at least now they're all stuffed into the corner where you don't have to worry about seeing them smh) As always when it comes to this sort of thing, try out the platform at your own discretion and risk.
The first five episodes of LORE | REKINDLED are available to read there now, let me know how the reading experience is, if it gets good enough reception (and if I enjoy using the site) then I'll consider posting the rest. It just takes a lot of time to do that what with how many episodes are currently available so I don't wanna go mass-uploading every episode at once until I know for sure if it's worth it haha
Thanks to Fanon.co for inviting me to check this out (and for putting up with the wait when it took me forever to actually follow-up oop-) I'm hoping this at least offers another great space for creators who want options when it comes to posting their work, especially creators who tailor to fandoms and don't want to worry about their work competing for attention with original works. More platforms may not be the outright solution to the current monopoly that companies like Webtoons has over the medium of webcomics but it's great to have another option for fandom-obsessed creators like myself :>
