Ok, Just for fun (and for education) What is the number one thing that gets you to start reading a new comic.
(were looking for things in the comic that you like, such as clean artwork, a decent amount of comedy, blood guts and gore, any story as long as it makes sense and is not boring as hell)
I'll go first.
I usually decide I will read a comic after the first page. If the panels are really clean and flow in a way that make sense then I will usually read page 2.
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Comic Talk and General Discussion *
Number one thing you look for in a comic your are reading
MONSTERS.
Okay actually, personality! To me, that can save amateur art or writing. When something about it is so charming and engaging that you just don't care that it isn't the cleanest line art or best layout or hell, isn't even in your wheelhouse regarding interests! Genuine personality, where you can tell someone is doing this because they love it, and they want to share what they love with the world. It's a little hard to quantify, but that's my personal thing I look for.
Amy_Of_Darkness wrote:
MONSTERS.
Okay actually, personality! To me, that can save amateur art or writing. When something about it is so charming and engaging that you just don't care that it isn't the cleanest line art or best layout or hell, isn't even in your wheelhouse regarding interests! Genuine personality, where you can tell someone is doing this because they love it, and they want to share what they love with the world. It's a little hard to quantify, but that's my personal thing I look for.
Good answer. Anything that will hold attention usually has a special charm.
I was going to say something about caring about what's happening and wanting to know what happens next, but that's not always the case (say, in a comedic gag comic or something).
'Personality' makes a lot of sense!
Art matters, too - to me, it doesn't have to be great art; it can sometimes be kind of bad! As long as I like looking at it.
Amy_Of_Darkness put it in words really well! Agreed! I'll try anyway.
#1 - Interesting/fun/relateable characters. I will follow a story set nowhere where nothing happens with the worst art if the characters are entertaining (and I can tell what is going on and who is speaking).
#2 - Unique or appealing art style. It can get me started reading a story, catch my eye, but it generally won't keep me around by itself. Unique catches my eye more than well-executed mainstream.
#3 - Any special something about the work can gain/keep my interest. A unique setting/premise. An exciting story. Innovative story-telling techniques. An unusual collaboration.
#4 - I know the creator, enjoy their work or their personality, or they have connected to me in some way. I will check out any new ventures of my online friends/acquaintances.
Of course, the last three things are initially attention-grabbing. The first, most important, is what ultimately makes me decide to continue reading, invest, or even obsess. It takes several pages. I'll follow a comic a few weeks to decide. Saddest thing is when a comic stops dead, abandoned, just after I have gotten invested. -_-
usedbooks wrote:
Amy_Of_Darkness put it in words really well! Agreed! I'll try anyway.
#1 - Interesting/fun/relateable characters. I will follow a story set nowhere where nothing happens with the worst art if the characters are entertaining (and I can tell what is going on and who is speaking).
#2 - Unique or appealing art style. It can get me started reading a story, catch my eye, but it generally won't keep me around by itself. Unique catches my eye more than well-executed mainstream.
#3 - Any special something about the work can gain/keep my interest. A unique setting/premise. An exciting story. Innovative story-telling techniques. An unusual collaboration.
#4 - I know the creator, enjoy their work or their personality, or they have connected to me in some way. I will check out any new ventures of my online friends/acquaintances.
Of course, the last three things are initially attention-grabbing. The first, most important, is what ultimately makes me decide to continue reading, invest, or even obsess. It takes several pages. I'll follow a comic a few weeks to decide. Saddest thing is when a comic stops dead, abandoned, just after I have gotten invested. -_-
yeah when a story just stops being made right when you start to care…. that is the worst :(
Wow, this is tougher than I thought it'd be… I certainly don't have a favorite style - I've got every style imaginable in my faves, and every genre and rating too… I think the term 'personality' just applies much more than I ever would've thought (I never would've thought to even use the term to describe a work until UB brought it up…). Like so many nebulous things, I don't know that personality can be described sufficiently - we just know a good one when we see one…
Even so, for a comic to grab me to begin with, having pretty good art helps, or if I can grab the essence of the story in a few pages.
You guys all bring up good points in a comic. I think for me I tend to read the first chapter or two of something that catches my attention. I don't stay with one genre I like many different things. However for me one thing I do need is some path to follow. Basically if I can't follow the story or understand how to read be it which way to read it, I have a hard time following the story.
One thing I do love though is story put a good story and I'll read it above art. I love that people out there put passion into their works and it really shows through. And this may sound lame but I love when the author replies to comments it just makes it feel welcoming ( not to sure how to explain it)
I will say this if the story goes off on a tangent, starts making no sense anymore or to many things going in at once I may stop reading not all the time but I do get confused and it makes me hard to figure out what happen.
Oh, and I like to start longer-running projects on the latest chapter. (I don't usually pick up archives until after I'm "hooked.") If a comic has several hundred pages, I look for character bios or other ways to orient myself. Without them, it can be overwhelming/daunting and I might pass it by or return only with sufficient time to put in if it seems really really worth it. Organization (chapter headings and navigation) is pretty important too.
I rarely look at comics at their advent unless it's a new project of someone whose other comics I've read. There's something of a "sweet spot" for comic length between a dozen and a hundred pages. After that, I like a way to get my bearings before jumping in.
Boobs and bums. Tits and ass. Sex sells. The comics with the most likes on this site are all adult rated.
As Larry Flynt used to say in Hustler magazine "show us the pink!"
Somebody had to say it, someone always does in threads like this. Seriously though, for me it's pretty pictures. That's the attention getter. A great and intriguing avatar for the comic works wonders. Grabs the eye and makes you want to click.
Then pretty pictures and coherent design. Something that makes it look like the creator cares about total presentation as opposed to just a busy page. And then there's vision. The creator wants to do something special beyond the usual. Remember the 85% rule. Eighty-five percent of everything is crap, I look for that 15%. But just because everyone else is on the bandwagon don't expect me to blow sunshine up your ass. Some of the worst travesties in the history of art were wildly popular. And some of the greatest stuff around, nobody reads.
bravo1102 wrote:
The comics with the most likes on this site are all adult rated.
Nnnnnot true, the second highest "liked" comic here is rated T, and so is the third.
While there is a high amount of A-rated comics with high "like" count, you'd have to disregard other high-liked comics that don't have adult content like Modest Medusa, Life and Death and a few others in the over-200 in the Mature and below rating.
Amelius wrote:bravo1102 wrote:
The comics with the most likes on this site are all adult rated.
Nnnnnot true, the second highest "liked" comic here is rated T, and so is the third.
While there is a high amount of A-rated comics with high "like" count, you'd have to disregard other high-liked comics that don't have adult content like Modest Medusa, Life and Death and a few others in the over-200 in the Mature and below rating.
They're the exceptions that prove the rule. Weeeeelllll, noooot always.
I was being facetious with the whole "sex sells" argument. Though there are some creators who purposely rate their comics "A" in the belief that they'll get more readership and likes faster than otherwise.
And there are many more "T" rated comics that endlessly tease so that I really wish they would drop the pretense of being teen rated and just show it already. As a cynic it inclines me to believe the creator is being less than honest about their intended content. As a salesman will tell you, the endless tease strings the mark along because the mark is vainly anticipating that one day what is teased WILL happen.
Even though intellectually they know it NEVER will, they still stick around waiting for the creator or salesman to deliver.
But then, what do I know? I create worthless drek that is not worth the time and effort I put into it, let alone the few minutes it would take for someone to actually read it. The stats do not lie.
Worry not, facetiousness was not undetected! I just get a little riled when it feels I'm getting tossed in the porn-pile by association.
Heyyyy and don't be so down on your work all the time! That sort of thing is self sabotage, if you're constantly putting your efforts down people won't value them either no matter the quality. What you do is absolutely worth the effort you put into it!
Lemme tell ya though stats are suffering a lot for everyone lately, so don't blame yourself for that.
Amelius
Heyyyy and don't be so down on your work all the time! That sort of thing is self sabotage, if you're constantly putting your efforts down people won't value them either no matter the quality. What you do is absolutely worth the effort you put into…
Obviously you haven't read any of my stuff. ;-D
I really can't assess my own stats since I haven't updated anything in a year. One person reads one of my archived works and that's a spike of over 100 views so I can't tell anything from my stats.
Actually I did read GAVTSOK, it's in my recs! You may not have noticed but I've mentioned reading your stuff in the past!
Having tried a hand at making a photo comic (the fact that I've never posted it will tell you all you need to know about how well that worked out!) I realize it's actually very difficult work, so credit where it's due I thought yours looked pretty dang good! Haha, but I'm not really the audience for your "newer" ones since I flinch when a boob appears.(━∀◕)(even if there's some in the older comic haha) I have looked at your work before though, I never say something if I don't actually mean it! BSing people never helps them, at any rate!
bravo1102 wrote:
…And there are many more "T" rated comics that endlessly tease so that I really wish they would drop the pretense of being teen rated and just show it already. As a cynic it inclines me to believe the creator is being less than honest about their intended content. As a salesman will tell you, the endless tease strings the mark along because the mark is vainly anticipating that one day what is teased WILL happen…
I agree with this! The Godstrain started out T-Rated, but with the story I wanted to tell, it became more and more a burden… Dealing with so much much 'mature' themes and stuff, constantly having to figure how to present it in a way 'children' could handle it (knowing the whole time they see worse on TV and the Webz daily…), getting pissed that I could show people getting shot and bleeding but couldn't dare let a nipple slip… I finally just threw in the towel and went mature - and haven't regretted it one bit!
Amelius wrote:
…Heyyyy and don't be so down on your work all the time! That sort of thing is self sabotage…
Hey, Self-deprecation is part of Bravo's charm! ;)
Therapy has taught me that noone can make you feel bad if you don't want them to. You usually do it to yourself by letting their words shape your own perceptions and or projecting your own negative self worth onto the words and actions of others.
To forestall the process, I make myself feel so awful that there is no way anything could make me feel worse. I find it ironic that the creators of two of the most acclaimed and read comics should somehow think I am being anything but totally honest in putting myself down. You're both very kind, but I know better.
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