Carl Jung called it the Shadow, though it's most commonly referred to as the Alter-Ego these days – a way of understanding how the different, and occasionally disparate parts of our personality relate to one another. The alter ego is that reflection of our inner-selves that we project into the outer world.

As arguably one of the most well-known and oldest anthropomorphic animal (or "furry") comics on the Internet (indeed, having gone online in 1996, it may be among the oldest webcomics, period), Sabrina Online, created by Eric W. Schwartz, has been cited as inspiration for many Internet artists. Like Helen of Troy, the title character may be the face that launched a thousand strips.

Depending on who you ask, he's either the guru behind the webcomics revolution, bringing thousands online with ideas of infinite canvases and micropayments dancing in their heads, or some guy who wrote some books about comics and had nothing to do with those first webcomics pioneers.

Well, either's true.

Scott McCloud answered some questions put out by you, the Comixpedia community. And boy did he ever answer them.

I feel like a drug addict these days, searching for some good heroines.

Seriously, if you look at film, books, comics – heroines are scarce and even scarcer is a *good* heroine. I'm not looking for a Lara Croft who is a man with boobs. I'm not looking for girls who save the day with cute antics. I want a heroine who is a woman with her own skills, who is uncompromised by super powers or a need to appeal to men.

Stickler and Hat-trick, in association with Comixpedia present…

Stickler and Hat-trick at the Keyboard

RESIDENCE LIFE, created by Dana Kelly

Why are there so many badly-designed webcomic sites out there? For a community that prides itself in its creativity, you would think that the sites would show that. For the most part, it seems that your average site’s design is almost an afterthought. Unimportant.

So you draw and/or write a webcomic?

No matter how good you are, there's always something more to learn. One way to learn is to read a lot of webcomics. You can also learn a lot from countless free tutorials created by some truly talented artists.

So, here I am, a student at a liberal arts college, majoring in a liberal arts department. Part of this department's "cool" is that its logo involves an interwoven Hebrew Aleph and Greek Omega.

Yes. It's that kind of major.

After two years of this, you might think that I'm ready for some concrete, real-world learning. Yet from personal experience, I can tell you that I am gaining in something that will help me throughout my adult life. Screw employability! I'm not paying over $30,000 dollars a year to qualify myself for a paycheck, my friends! I'm paying for a lifetime supply of high-minded pet-peeves.

Vince Coleman has a unique perspective when it comes to both education and creating online comics. Here's an artist who majored in studio art and Japanese at the University of Texas in Austin before flying halfway around the world to Sapporo, Japan, for love and to learn Japanese amid the activity of creating his Web site, www.vince-coleman.com.

Free from the stranglehold of syndicate and newspaper editors, webcomics have the luxury of unfettered imagination, allowing creators to develop their characters however they wish, catering only to their own (and presumably their readers') whims. The protagonist may be a lighthearted loveable oaf, a brooding anti-hero with deep psychological scars, or a seductive vixen with dubious motives.