Yet more congratulations

A celebration image from the Daily Grind Message Board.

Well, The Daily Grind turned a year old today (or yesterday, depending on how you count your time). In that time we've seen it get huge amounts of recognition (including a link from no less than Slashdot, which is really saying something.), and really spark a lot of community, commentary, and general interest in the webcomic community. If not for the Hurricane Relief Telethon, I'd say it was the biggest event in webcomics all year.

Over the course of one year's time we've seen just a shade over half the contestants drop from the contest, leaving 27 cartoonists still in the running. There's been drama, there's been arguments over the rules and who should be out, there's been excitement as some of the early favorites have dropped and some of the dark horses have managed The Grind with ease.

But most importantly, what we've seen is a lot of cartoonists develop their craft. They've gone from sketchy, half-finished characters to full color works. We've seen a huge improvement in the actual quality of the story or the humor in practically every comic in The Grind. We've seen a lot of contestants gain a bunch of readers and really become much more successful with their comics. We've gained around 20 new cartoonists who know how to get a comic up every day, rain or shine, no matter what the circumstances, and that's the kind of dedication it takes to really drive the webcomic community to more noteriety and monetary success.

I wholeheartedly believe that The Daily Grind is going to have lasting, lingering effects that will ripple through the webcomic community for years to come, and we'll be better for it. So congratulations, webcomickers, not only for making it this far but also for making the world of webcomics a better place in general.

I tip my hat to you.