More of them need to be like Howard Taylor, who posts a strip 7 days a week and hasn't missed an update in TWELVE FREAKING YEARS. Now that's dedication.
Dear webcomic artists...
- Thread starter Johnny Novgorod
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I remember seeing banners for a long time about some geek related gag-comic that went by their characters "The Ringleader", "the sidekick", "the girl" (seriously) and "the fat guy" (again, seriously), I can't remember the name though, must be a surpressed thought.Binnsyboy said:
also, I don't think I'd need to introduce you to Ethan McManus from ctrl-alt-del, he's pretty much the trendsetter and prime example of the poorly written "quirky" character.
Wait shit, that's my webcomic...
OT: I agree with the VGcats rants, I really liked reading that back when it updated once every few months. Now I've just stopped going to the site altogether to avoid the disappointment. =[
Now I'm gonna go try and get mine up and running again...
I don't know about Dan Shive, but Rich Burlew has had severe health issues for the last few years (and I'm not even talking about his thumb). He doesn't even go to conventions anymore because he can't handle the exhaustion. Matthew Taranto (the BiTF guy) went to the hospital last year and is still in recovery. You are underestimated how much illness can suck the life out of someone.Toxinthegreat said:
That is why I never get annoyed with them when they have a poor record of updating, but it is enough to stop me from visiting the sites eventually, and this has happened to at least 9/10 of the ones I have followed.Queen Michael said:
I also only know of one comic that had a cat in it, and it was probably in less than 1% of their comics, so it never bothered me.
And this is why I run a shitty fan-art comic and not a web comic...
The critical spectrum in that field would tear my tender asshole of self esteem asunder.
I also have a regular job/lessons to get on with while I do these things because sadly can't make a living off my art yet. The level of amateur awareness in the UK for comics is way quieter than the US.
If the authors don't update then it's their own viewership they loose, they're punishing themselves by not doing it, believe me I've done it to myself at points. I had to re-generate the hits on my pages by just pumping them out at a regular time again.
Also your tastes are not necessarily others tastes. There are plenty of popular web comics that I just haven't taken to, that so many others have pitched to me as a total riot. Some people find cats hilarious in any incarnation, just deal with it. TBH I'm a dog person myself.
Other than that I've tasted a small bit of the strain of what managing a comic is like and it can be grueling, if they're not producing content then they're only hurting themselves, being a sassy entitled douche about it is just an unnecessary addition unless the comic artist themselves are being douchey about it. Then it's best just to leave them to destroy their own rep and revenue systematically, you don't need to add to anything there.
The critical spectrum in that field would tear my tender asshole of self esteem asunder.
I also have a regular job/lessons to get on with while I do these things because sadly can't make a living off my art yet. The level of amateur awareness in the UK for comics is way quieter than the US.
If the authors don't update then it's their own viewership they loose, they're punishing themselves by not doing it, believe me I've done it to myself at points. I had to re-generate the hits on my pages by just pumping them out at a regular time again.
Also your tastes are not necessarily others tastes. There are plenty of popular web comics that I just haven't taken to, that so many others have pitched to me as a total riot. Some people find cats hilarious in any incarnation, just deal with it. TBH I'm a dog person myself.
Other than that I've tasted a small bit of the strain of what managing a comic is like and it can be grueling, if they're not producing content then they're only hurting themselves, being a sassy entitled douche about it is just an unnecessary addition unless the comic artist themselves are being douchey about it. Then it's best just to leave them to destroy their own rep and revenue systematically, you don't need to add to anything there.
To be fair to Dan Shive, he does at least tell you ahead of time when he is changing the schedule, instead of just leaving you wondering when the next strip will be. *cough*VG Cats*cough*.Toxinthegreat said:
Although if you want a really consistent webcomic, check out Last Res0rt. It's updated every Sunday since it began on April 1, 2007, although there were periods of guest comics due to the artist being off at conventions/working on her senior project for college.
But... I LOVE cat jokes @.@...
That's like half the reason I read Johnny Wander...
On the topic of the "update schedule" rants, it's very interesting seeing some of the inner workings of Webcomics that actually make money and they do not fuck around when it comes to treating their webcomic as a job, it's a FUN job a lot of the time, but it's still a job. Keeping an update schedule, promoting at conventions, advertising, merchandising... that's all part of it and it can be a pretty real business worth a very solid living wage to multiple people if you do it right.
That's like half the reason I read Johnny Wander...
On the topic of the "update schedule" rants, it's very interesting seeing some of the inner workings of Webcomics that actually make money and they do not fuck around when it comes to treating their webcomic as a job, it's a FUN job a lot of the time, but it's still a job. Keeping an update schedule, promoting at conventions, advertising, merchandising... that's all part of it and it can be a pretty real business worth a very solid living wage to multiple people if you do it right.
People...people do this? Like, for real? That's the kind of stupidity you only hear about in legend.Combustion Kevin said:
OT: If you can't handle the schedule you've set for yourself in a healthy way, change it. Chill out. Don't get drunk and stab your hand with a broken bottle.
Also, less general, but pleeeeeeease, don't turn your comic into a humorless soap box. Most egregious example I've come across as of late is Sinfest.
Additionally, gag-a-day comics trying to grow a plot. Seriously, guys, that tends to fucking never work out.
Furthermore, having to have a punchline everyday can really make strips feel incredibly unnatural and stilted. Stop it.
Oh, and pet characters. You know what I'm talking about.
On a similar topic, Mary Sues, Gary Stus and the colors red and black. Also, katanas and trenchcoats do not equal instant cool, and rarely if ever make sense. Please stop that.
Related to the last two points, power creep. Yeah, okay, I get that as your characters progress in power/skill, it's harder to find matching opponents that aren't fucking ridiculous, but fuck's sake people, exercise some common sense, will ya. Hell, if you don't reign in your character's power progression, you're gonna end up with a clusterfuck. Looking at you, Dominic Deegan, in which the title character goes from a small-time fortuneteller sorta to THE EMBODIMENT OF LAWFULNESS ON A COSMIC SCALE.
I'll be honest: The only real knowledge I have of ctrl-alt-del is the often lampooned miscarriage strip.Combustion Kevin said:
I was writing the OP with Johnny Wander in mind (though there're a LOT of other webcomics that do the my-cat-is-so-funny-gag). I love those guys and check them up every Tuesday and Thursday, but honest to God they abuse their cats' lovability. I'm not mad by any means, it's a bloody comic, but it pisses me whenever I go to their site and find a cat comic. Those guys are sooooo above doing that, it feels like filler. Still, kudos to Ananth and Yuko, and compliments on your current Lucky Penny arc.PedroSteckecilo said:
Heh that ones fun when it used to update... though I think said cat has passed on... still, I got a sketch of "the cat" dressed as the 4th Doctor from Kathleen last time I saw the LRR crew at a Convention.CriticalMiss said:
but real awfulness to the comic is it's bad jokes, which, granted, have improved somewhat since he moved away from his regular cast of characters.Binnsyboy said:
the miscarriege strip is mostly awful because it features actual tragedy and drama in a series that has the subtlety of a Big Daddy and about as much emotional depth, it just doesn't work.
Gaming webcomics that start involving their real life dramas. Protip: No one cares. Exceptions: Cory's butt wiggling is acceptable.
Instead of ranting at those that don't keep a steady update schedule, how about praising the artists who do?
Tom Siddell over at Gunnerkrigg Court [http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/] updates consistently every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The guy actually quit his job so he could work on his free web comic instead.
Tom Siddell over at Gunnerkrigg Court [http://www.gunnerkrigg.com/] updates consistently every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The guy actually quit his job so he could work on his free web comic instead.
Combustion Kevin said:Ctrl-Alt-Del has just been totally rebooted, tossing out almost all of the poorly written characters, especially Ethan, leaving only Players 1-4, which are about as well rounded as they sound.Binnsyboy said:
It's still the same art-style, and possibly less bad than it was, but still done by Tim Buckley (try finding someone in the Webcomics industry with a good word for him or his work)