All right, this post may cause me a little bit of trouble, but please take what I say with a grain of salt. Obviously I am not an expert on anything, and much of what I say is based on opinions.

Let's talk about webcomics that use a manga or anime style (for the rest of the post I will just say "anime" and use it to encompass both styles). I promise I won't make the sweeping generalization of "all anime style webcomics are crap" that gets tossed around lightly on the web. But there's no doubt that there is a saturation of these kinds of webcomics. Why?

Well, the obvious answer is that anime has a huge and loyal fanbase. Fans, especially artistic ones, want to emulate it because it reinforces their passion for it. Another answer is because it's easy. Both of these reasons are poor reasons to use it as a style, even if they are well-intended.

Emulation is a poor artistic choice. Just because you love Dragonball Z it doesn't mean you should create a comic using that exact style. Take inspiration from it. If you like the way the eyes are drawn, try that, but use your own style. You don't have a style? Then keep drawing; you'll eventually develop your style. And style is like a fingerprint - no two styles are exactly the same. Unless, of course, you are conciously emulating one. Turn off that part of your brain and up the ampage to the creative part.

As for the easy-to-draw aspect, here's something you may not have noticed: Good anime is not easy to draw. Generic, run-of-the-mill, bad anime is easy to draw. Why do you want to have a generic style? Why do you want to be lost in the sea of bad artwork? Make yourself a life raft out of good drawing skills.

And using the anime cliches - the giant sweatdrop, the frustration vein, etc. - is a total cop-out. Don't tell me it's part of the style. If you are 100% Japanese and you know the insides and outs of why they do the things they do with anime, then I'll concede and give you a free pass on the cliches. If you're just an American with an obsession for anime - do not pass Go, do not collect $200. Learn how to make your characters emote. Study facial expressions. Study hand gestures. Study body posture. All of these things add up and will express emotions better than anime cliches ever could.

And for crying out loud, don't do the "action sound effects" thing. You know, writing "falls over" if a character - you guessed it - falls over. Learn to draw action. Learn to draw body movement.

By forcing yourself to steer clear of emulation and creating your own style you will not only have a better product, you will feel better as an artist. Trust me. I tried the anime stuff and when I look back on it, I'm glad I didn't stick with it. I'm more than happy with my current style because it's mine. It can't be lumped into a generic category.

Make your artwork stand out and your comic will stand out.