Tapas Closure Leaves Comics Creators and Fans in Shock

Tapas, a well-known platform for comics and web novels in North America, is set to close its doors. Reports indicate that Tapas has become a financial burden for its parent company, Kakao Entertainment, which acquired the site in 2021 for around $800 million. The platform boasted over 100,000 titles from 75,000 creators and had attracted more than 10 million registered users, many of whom are understandably upset by this news.

On social media, both readers and creators are expressing their distress, especially since Tapas has not made an official announcement regarding the shutdown. The closure will leave numerous comics and writers without a venue to showcase their work or earn revenue. Like other comic platforms, Tapas generates income through advertisements and selling currency for unlocking premium content, with creators receiving a share of that revenue.

In the Tapas Discord server, users are actively discussing alternative platforms for their work, while many on social media are highlighting the importance of self-hosting and sharing resources to help creators transition. However, the convenience of Tapas as a centralized hub for accessing favorite stories will be hard to replicate. Many readers may not follow individual creators to their new locations.

“I have 7k subscribers and over a half million views on Tapas,” shared PerfectSerenad3, the author of the Lucifer’s Ace comic. “Just gonna go ‘poof’.”