| URL | www.keenspot.com |
|---|---|
| Owner | Chris Crosby, Teri Crosby, Darren Bleuel, Nathan Stone |
| Launched | March 2000 |
| Alexa rank | 11,483 |
Keenspot is a webcomics portal founded in March 2000[1][2] by cartoonist Chris Crosby (author of Superosity), Crosby's mother Teri,[3] cartoonist Darren Bleuel (author of Nukees),[1][2] and Nathan Stone.[4]
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Keenspot was preceded by the webcomic portal, Big Panda. The collapse of Big Panda led directly to the formation of Keenspot.[5]
Following the portal's creation in March 2000, Keenspot was serving over 23 million page views monthly by February 2001 and had 47 cartoonists[6] and by July of that year they had launched the free comics web hosting service Keenspace (now[update] Comic Genesis). In 2001 Keenspot launched its own printed comic book line and launched graphic novel collections in 2002 both at Comic-Con International. By August 2002 Keenspot had opened a retail store selling brandname toys and comics, had 50 million pageviews monthly and 600 paying members - who can read the comics without ads - and had published 26 titles.[7]
Keenspot gross revenues grew from $103,976 in 2002 to $188,475 in 2003 with the number of pageviews largely unchanged from mid 2001.[8] As of October 2007[update] it claimed to be home to more than 50 comics covering several genres and artistic styles.[9]
In December 2009, Keenspot officially stopped accepting new webcomics into its collective. Shortly afterward, a leaked internal e-mail outlined a new objective for the website and encouraged current members of the collective to leave: "On July 1st of 2010, Keenspot goes back to being solely a publishing company... The facts are, you do not need Keenspot. For members on the 'New System' contract, everything you're doing on Keenspot can be done on your own. You should go independent." [10]
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.
The majority of titles published by Keenspot have been distributed to comic book stores worldwide by Diamond Comic Distributors and to bookstores and other returnable-based retail outlets by Client Distribution Services. Keenspot has also launched 2 podcasts, 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 and several other small newspapers.
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