Risk-averse publishers shunned his work, forcing him to finance and self-publish Anema - The Age Of Robots.

Then, when he tried to sell his printed work, he was met with hostility at primary school bookstores which felt his story about robots that can think for themselves was inappropriate. Even his own university bookstore rejected his work.

In his search for a better way to reach his audience, Mr Tay turned to the Internet and joined the growing movement that now sees thousands of people making their mark with Web comics.

Like blogging, the movement took off about three or four years ago. In fact, there is a website promoting Web Comics Awareness, and the group has designated May 5 as Online Comics Day.

The basic form of Web comics or 'dot.comics' is a comic strip that is accessible via the Internet.

Some, like Anema, are illustrated stories whose narrative continues over many strips; others are self-contained daily strips covering a few panels.

Many act as substitute blogs for writers, illustrating in words and pictures their feelings and observations.

Some are hilarious, others are quirky. Some are brilliantly executed and others have rudimentary drawings or use characters from computer games.

In fact, some comic artists even provide their readers with character packs that allow budding writers and bloggers without artistic flair to try their hand at comics.

Attracting an amazing 500 hits a day, The New Adventures Of Bobbin strip by Ms Jocelyn Yik has developed quite a following.

The spunky 20-year-old Yale economics undergrad from Bishan writes and draws her witty Web comic between college classes.

Her strip about Bobbin and her friends is an insightful look at the trials and tribulations of a 20-something girl making her way through life.

'The best thing about Bobbin is having the opportunity to share what I think is funny with a considerable audience,' the self-deprecating publisher says. 'The second best thing is getting to meet all the weird and wonderful people who read my comic.'

In fact, that's one of the reasons why Web comics are appealing to both artists and readers. Each strip attracts its own community and many actually boast a community forum, where fans discuss the strip and whatever catches their fancy.

Not only do they get to know one another but also they get to interact with the comic authors who are usually active in their forums.

Another Singaporean studying overseas and publishing his own Web comic is Mr John Chua, a 23-year-old medical student in Melbourne.

Designed more for his medical friends, his strip Medical Mediocrity acts as a blog about his life and is a way to fend off boredom.

With a modest 200 hits a month, his site is low-key. He says: 'I guess being a comic about medical students, it's probably a bit hard for other people to understand.'

Regardless of its success, Mr Chua finds being able to express himself creatively the most satisfying aspect of his work. He says: 'The site is mainly for my own enjoyment, something to call my own.'

Indeed, Web comics for the most part do not bring in any money or revenue for their creators. Almost all of them do it as a hobby.

Popular strips may earn some revenue from banner advertisements but that's barely enough to defray costs for the Web service.

Mr Xie Menggeng, the creator of the popular Slackers comic, has seen some interesting results from his Ham And Slug comic experiment.

For a year now, he has been publishing strips created by his readership using characters he has generously provided on a template.

In a spin on the same theme, he has set up a 'comic round robin' where readers are asked to submit their own strips based on the characters from the Slackers strip.

The results have been interesting, with crazy plot twists and a variety of styles.

He says: 'The fun is in seeing what has happened before, and imagining how you would continue the story.'

Fully embracing the medium of the Internet, he adds: 'A key difference between print comics and Web comics is the community of readers that take part in this created world, a strong friendship between the audience and the work itself.'