Cartoonist thrives on Internet

A cartoon created at home by a computer programmer has raised 1.19 million yuan ($194,000) through online donations and payments, illustrating the power of the Internet and its role in the low-budget cartoon industry.

100,000 Bad Jokes, a series that includes 11 five-minute-long episodes, has now had more than 500 million clicks after it premiered in July 2012.

The series is adapted from the popular 1980s Chinese cartoon series The Seven Brothers of Calabash. The new cartoon consists of seven characters that try to save their fathers from snake spirits.