‘Webcomic’ Might Make it Into the Merriam-Webster Dictionary

While the term "Webcomic" has been a part of the comic book crowd's lexicon for some time, few of the more "official" gatekeepers of honest-to-goodness English languagery have taken the time to acknowledge its definition. Thankfully the Merriam-Webster Dictionary has finally taken a step to transition Webcomics from slangified to sanctioned by including it in an online listing of user-submitted words for canonical consideration.

The term "Webcomic" is considered moot by some. Why should a product be defined by its delivery system, after all? After checking out the working definition for "Webcomic," however, I don't think many creators or fans will take issue with it:

Definition: a comic published primarily on the Internet

Even if it's a bit terse, the definition seems to sum up the fact that a Webcomic is really just any given comic. It's not a genre, it's not an art style, just a way to consume sequential art via the Internet.I'll leave it to the folks who pour their electronic blood, sweat and tears into creating and distributing comics to define their own work (such as Kaja and Phil Foglio of the pictured "Girl Genius" Webcomic), but from a fan perspective I think the Merriam-Webster Dictionary could do a whole lot worse than this tentative definition.

[Via Fleen]