From Print to Phone: How Webcomics Are Outpacing Traditional Manga

Just a decade ago, comics were associated with the rustling of pages, the smell of printing ink, and queues at bookstores. Today, they increasingly live on the phone, and manga – once a symbol of modern pop culture – is gradually giving way to webcomics. What’s going on? Why are vertical stories from South Korea, known as webtoons, taking over the world? And what role does the Honeytoon.com platform play in this?

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From paper to pixels: what is the power of webtoons

Webtoons are digital comics originally created for reading on smartphones. Unlike classic manga, they don’t need to be zoomed in, enlarged, or expanded: everything happens in one smooth vertical flow. This format was born in South Korea– a country where mobile technology has merged with everyday life faster than anywhere else in the world.

The secret to webtoons’ popularity is simple: they are maximally adapted to smartphones. The page doesn’t end at the edge of the paper – it continues down until you decide to stop. This makes the reading process almost cinematic, with a rhythm close to animation. It’s no surprise that the largest streaming platforms have already begun to screen popular titles: “Sweet Home,” “All of Us Are Dead,” “Lookism” – all of these are adaptations of webtoons.

Why manga is starting to lose

Japan, the birthplace of manga, still releases hundreds of volumes a month. But audience habits are changing. Young people don’t want to wait for a weekly release, carry around thick volumes, or figure out how to read from right to left. According to the Anime News Network, digital manga surpassed print manga in sales for the first time in 2017, and the gap has only grown since then.

Manga is still strong as a brand. It influences cinema, fashion, and game development. But in everyday consumption, it is increasingly giving way to digital content. The key reason is not only the format, but also the speed. New chapters of webtoons are released more often, and the stories are shorter and more dynamic, corresponding to the lifestyle of the TikTok generation.

Honeytoon.com – a platform that understands its readers

Against this background, Honeytoon stands out – an international platform that has collected hundreds of webtoons of different genres. If Webtoon and Tapas have long been veterans of the digital scene, Honeytoon is a new but ambitious player focused on high-quality visual style, mobile ergonomics and the global market.

Honeytoon’s interface is intuitive: vertical scrolling, responsive layout, smooth page loading. The user can quickly find the desired genre – from romantic drama to thriller, from fantasy to slice of life. The platform offers access to content in several languages, including English, Spanish, German and French in Premium Mode.

It’s also worth noting the subscription model: it grants you unlimited access to webtoons, allowing you to read without limitation. Additionally, 12-week and 24-week memberships provide extended access, allowing you more time to enjoy webtoons. This is especially convenient for those who read a lot and want to stay up to date with the latest updates.

Numbers that speak for themselves

To understand the scale of the shift, just look at the statistics. In 2022, the webtoon market was valued at $3.9 billion. The global webtoon market could reach $67.6 billion by 2032. This is not just growth – it is a reformatting of the industry.

Amid this boom, platforms like Honeytoon are not emerging by chance. Unlike traditional publishers, they are flexible, quickly scaled, and more easily adapted to local markets. Thanks to a multilingual policy and mobile optimization, Honeytoon is winning readers in North America, Europe, and Latin America. The growth is particularly strong in France and Germany, where digital comics are becoming part of youth culture.

What makes webtoons irresistible

So why are webtoons winning?

• They are convenient. Vertical scrolling makes reading smooth and natural.
• They are faster. Updates are released more frequently than manga chapters.
• They are multimedia. Some stories include animation, music, special effects.
• They are interactive. Many platforms allow readers to vote on the development of the plot or leave comments under each scene.

It is important to understand: webtoons do not destroy manga, they just occupy a different space. Manga still has a unique aesthetic and depth, and cult authors like Naoki Urasawa or Inao Asano create masterpieces that could hardly exist in the “scrolling” format.

But mass consumption is changing. People read on the subway, in line, in between tasks. In this world, the one who is faster, simpler and more accessible wins. And webtoons are just that.

What’s next?

Webcomics are not just a trend, but part of a new digital culture. They combine visual art, technology, and speed. Platforms like Honeytoon.com show what the future of visual storytelling could look like: accessible, flexible, global.

And if manga used to set the fashion on paper, today webtoons do it on smartphone screens. Listening to the audience and responding to their requests in real time, they do more than just tell stories – they shape an entire culture of a new generation.