Storylark PH brings local indie comics straight to your computer

 

 

Awake at midnight with a craving for local independent comics? Getting your fix has just gotten easier with the spiffy new-ish publication platform Storylark.ph.

 

The brainchild of the comics-loving team of By Implication, the independent software development studio responsible for the games Wildfire and Scram, Storylark.ph aims to help local comics creators get their comics into as many hands as possible with minimal cost by distributing their material and lowering the hurdles of publishing and distribution costs.

 

As a platform, Storylark.ph is dedicated to comics: from reading it, to selling it, and to sharing it. Says Philip Cheang, one of By Implication's co-founders, focusing on the comics experience instead of being a general retailer is better for both creators and readers. "This lets us provide a product that is much better and focused overall when it comes to comics."

 

For creators

 

Storylark.ph's setup means creators get to focus on their comics and let Storylark.ph worry about the rest.

 

The submission process is straightforward: creators only need to sign up, upload their work, and wait for Storylark.ph's editors to approve their work after checking for possible copyright infringement and/or illegality (i.e. child pornography). The approval process only takes two hours on average to a maximum of 24 hours. Aside from taking care of the logistics of hosting their work, the site is also equipped to accept payment for purchased comics on their behalf. In return for these services, creators keep 60% of the net sale price while Storylark.ph retains 40% to cover costs such as server maintenance, transaction costs, and the like. 

 

At present, the site hosts 20 different titles made by 8 teams of creators, with 1-3 issues per title. While Cheang denies having a favorite title because he likes them all, the ones readers might be most familiar with are the various Mythspace titles, Bakemono High, and Alphario. "We're always talking to creators and helping them put stuff up, so expect to see more and more titles as we go along," says Cheang.

 

For readers

 

Storylark.ph makes things easy for readers too. Readers can browse, purchase, and read their comics straight from their web browsers - no standalone apps needed. A search function and various filtering options serve up the comics you want. It's also tempting to mass-purchase comics because payment is simple: Storylark.ph accepts credit card, debit card, Paypal, electronic funds transfers, over-the-counter payments at banks and other payment centers, Globe GCash, and Smart Money. 

 

Readers currently access their comics stash through any computer and web browser with an active internet connection. However, Android and iOS reader apps are on the way that will allow readers to save their comics to their devices for offline reading. Storylark.ph is also working with creators who wish to give their readers the option of downloading PDF versions of their comics.

 

Storylark.ph is also not just a store: it's a community as well. Readers can follow their favorite comics creators and other fans to get updates on what they've uploaded, bought, or left reviews on. They can also update people on what they're reading via sharing on Facebook and Twitter.

 

Storylark.ph was officially launched last November 15, 2014 during Komikon and Cheang says that the partners behind it are happy with the responses so far. "A lot of people have been logging on, asking questions, and reading comics. Most encouragingly, we've been getting a lot of new comic creators signing on and putting up new material!" — TJD, GMA News