LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--WEBTOON, the world’s largest digital comics platform, is celebrating Rachel Smythe’s third major comic award of the year with “Lore Olympus” winning Best Webcomic at the 2022 Ringo Awards. The win comes on the heels of Smythe’s back-to-back Eisner Award win for Best Webcomic and Harvey Award for Digital Book of the Year earlier in 2022. WEBTOON Original “Clinic of Horrors” (66 million views) from creative team Merryweather and PokuriMio also won the 2022 Ringo Award for Fan Favorite New Series. Together, the awards represent the fourth major industry wins--and 14 nominations--across the Eisner, Harvey, and Ringo Awards for WEBTOON creators and content in 2022.
Inspired by Greek mythology, “Lore Olympus” is a stylish and contemporary retelling of Greek mythological lore that has accumulated more than 1.2 billion global views on WEBTOON. Launched in 2018 on WEBTOON’s CANVAS platform, “Lore Olympus” quickly grew to be the #1 most-read series on the platform as a WEBTOON Original. The series has become a global phenomenon, with two #1 New York Times bestselling graphic novel adaptations and an animated series adaptation in development from Wattpad WEBTOON Studios and The Jim Henson Company.
Since its release, “Lore Olympus” has developed a global fandom and earned numerous accolades internationally. In addition to winning Ringo, Eisner, and Harvey awards this year, the project previously won France’s Prix Babelio - Bande Dessinée earlier this year, the 2021 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Graphic Novel, and was one of NPR’s critics’ recommendations for 2021. “Lore Olympus” is also the first title to win the Harvey’s Digital Book of the Year Award twice (2021 & 2022).
“It’s been an incredible year for Lore Olympus and I’m immensely thankful to the fans that continue to follow the series as well as the esteemed committees that have recognized the title this year,” said Smythe. “My team and I are excited to continue telling this story and watching the relationship between Hades and Persephone evolve further as Season 3 continues on the WEBTOON platform.”
“I’m thrilled to see WEBTOON creators accumulating awards, nominations, and new fans,” said Ken Kim, CEO of WEBTOON Americas. “Their creativity is bringing new energy and stories to the industry. My warmest congratulations to Rachel Smythe, Merryweather, PokuriMio, and every WEBTOON creator who received a nomination in 2022. We’re proud to be the home of so many incredible creators who are captivating readers, building global fandoms, and revolutionizing comics.”
WEBTOON’s unmatched creator and IP ecosystem has helped a new generation of comic creators build global fandoms for their work. Today, WEBTOON content and creators are the sources of some of the most exciting and successful new IP in the global entertainment market. The platform has been the source of a stream of hit Netflix adaptations, including “All of Us Are Dead,” “Hellbound,” “The Sound of Magic,” and “Sweet Home.” Earlier this year, “All of Us are Dead” spent 11 weeks in the Netflix global Top 10 (Non-English Series) on Netflix, and a second season has recently been confirmed. Netflix also recently announced an adaptation of Taejun Pak’s WEBTOON sensation “Lookism,” which has a massive 8.3 billion views online. Other notable WEBTOON adaptations include Crunchyroll hits “Tower of God,” based on SIU’s 6.2 billion-view hit webcomic; Jeho Son and Kwangsu Lee’s "Noblesse" (5 billion views); and Yongje Park’s “The God of High School” (4.8 billion views). WEBTOON and Crunchyroll recently announced an upcoming second season for “Tower of God.” In upcoming projects, Wattpad WEBTOON Studios is developing A. Rasen’s "Gremoryland" (22.3 million views) as a film with Vertigo Entertainment.
WEBTOON content and creators have also made an enormous impact on publishing. Miriam Bonastre Tur’s WEBTOON hit “Hooky” (102 million views) landed on the New York Times bestseller list in 2021 and 2022. Meanwhile, WEBTOON Unscrolled, the platform’s graphic novel imprint from Wattpad WEBTOON Studios, is set to release its first titles later this year with print editions of “Tower of God Vol. 1” and “True Beauty Vol. 1”.
Not only has WEBTOON’s storytelling technology platform established the best place in the world for creators to reach millions of comic fans and grow their IP, it has also created an innovative model to support creators. In July 2022, WEBTOON announced that it had paid out over $27 million to English-language creators since 2020, an average of more than $1 million per month.
About WEBTOON
WEBTOON is the world's largest digital comics platform, home to some of the biggest artists, IP, and fandoms in comics. As the global leader and pioneer of the mobile webcomic format, WEBTOON has revolutionized the comics industry for comic fans and creators. Today, a diverse new generation of international comic artists have found a home on WEBTOON, where the company’s storytelling technology allows anyone to become a creator and build a global audience for their stories.
With a massive catalog of incredible digital comics from rising stars on WEBTOON CANVAS, and a growing roster of superstar WEBTOON Originals creators, there’s something for every type of comic fan on WEBTOON. With an average of 89+ million monthly active users, and WEBTOON adaptations on Netflix, HBO Max, and other screens around the world, WEBTOON’s passionate fandoms are the new face of pop culture. The company has worked with DC Comics, Marvel Entertainment, HYBE, and many more of the world’s biggest entertainment brands.
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