Webcomic idea

[Batarang]

It's just that insulting or parodying your own webcomic is overdone at best. I mean I think every major Webcomic has done it at some point. It can still be well done, and if it is the stigma is removed, but the thought of it drives me away.

I can see your point. I guess I might not enthusiastically follow a comic that was just about parodying itself. Though in the right light I think it would work. But it couldn't just be a strip, it would have to fit (if that makes sense)

 

[PureBredGentleman]

Seems like a good idea, provided it doesn't become too cliched and self-aware.

I was just wondering the problem of becoming self-aware. I'm currently on my second webcomic (the first I stopped doing due to creative issues) but I also received that criticism. A webcomic that notices itself as a webcomic can't automatically be deemed bad, can it? Is it because too many webcomics are self-aware and it has become cliched or another reason.

Since I wasn't too good at writing four panel jokes, many of my first webcomic strips could were about the process of making a webcomic (which I would deem being too self-aware) but they brought about humor in their own right. Even the new webcomic I'm working on has a series of strips written on it that would make it self-aware (although it fits the theme more), but I still don't understand why it is a bad thing to bring up right off the bat.

I'm not arguing against the motion, I'm just confused at what you mean by it.

That could be one of my biggest problems. Nearly everything I create becomes self aware at some point. Perhaps you could lend me a hand on this. Seeing as how you have done many before.

 

[Batarang]

That could be one of my biggest problems. Nearly everything I create becomes self aware at some point. Perhaps you could lend me a hand on this. Seeing as how you have done many before.

Well, let me just clear this up. By me stating I've been on two webcomics, the first, Everyday Critics, went to 10 strips before I left. After 10 my friend took over. But I did write everything up to that point. My second webcomic, Balloons & Panels, is literally at its 3rd strip, which just went up today.

Everyday Critics: http://everydaycritics.blogspot.com/
Balloons & Panels: http://balloonsandpanels.blogspot.com/

I'm not a connoisseur so to speak, and I'm not exactly the best reference in making a webcomic but I will try to help where I can.

I write my comics in advance. When I was starting Balloons & Panels I sat down and wrote 10 strips. (Although some friends write on the spot and that works out for them, it's preference) But I like writing in advance so when it's time to start working on a comic I can notice if something was funny at the time and just isn't now and I'm able to fix it. By doing this you'd also be able to catch yourself being self-aware.

I don't think there's steps to take to avoid being self-aware, you just need to catch it when you are and make sure it works (an example, the self-aware strips set up in Balloons & Panels are centered around Deadpool, a comic book character known for being self-aware).

Your theme seems to set you up to an ongoing series, which (in my opinion is easier to avoid self-aware) because you just need to stay within the world. If you write a strip and it fits in the world, it shouldn't be self-aware and the most probable way it could be is if you hammer that point to the audience.

Though, you did say you don't think you have enough material. My thoughts are that you do, just not yet. The way your theme is you just need to keep writing interactions between your characters. Go from one strip to the next until you run out of ideas, then create a new situation. Bill Waterson would do this with Calvin & Hobbes where he would go as long as he could with a story until it ran out, then he would write singles until another came to him.

If I can lend anymore help or if this was even helpful, let me know. Also, thanks for setting me up for some linkage, which I was trying to stay away from in my first few posts. I wish you all the best and just don't expect an overnight sensation. My friend working on Everyday Critics is like that and views meant more than the comic to him. Views aren't bad but you need to make sure you're doing it because you enjoy it and not for the views or it will show and your comic could very well suffer.

EDIT: Even my most recent strip (Week 3) involves dialogue of me creating the webcomic. Though, my theme is centered around anything comics I feel it's appropriate if every now-and-then I'm in it to comment or rant about the theme I'm writing about. As long as the majority of my strips don't include me, I always regard that as making a statement within my strip and not being self-aware.

 

[Dusty Donuts]

Vengeful Koala needs some sort of evil catchphrase, like "I'll be back, Zoar City" and runs off laughing, or "Curses! Back the hidey hole!". And he says that every time a certain event happens. Oh yeah, you need to spell his laughter exactly the same way each time through.
And a flaming waffle drops on his head every time he thinks of a scheme.

 

[Marble Dragon]

Vengeful Koala needs some sort of evil catchphrase, like "I'll be back, Zoar City" and runs off laughing, or "Curses! Back the hidey hole!". And he says that every time a certain event happens. Oh yeah, you need to spell his laughter exactly the same way each time through.
And a flaming waffle drops on his head every time he thinks of a scheme.

The other things are neat enough, but the waffle, my friend, makes you a genius. Lots of supervillains have catchphrases, but who gets a flaming waffle on their head whenever they think of an evil plot? We're going to have to have a parade.

 

[Dusty Donuts]

Actually, at the start, a normal waffle should just fall on his head. And then he gets an umbrella and stops ONE waffle attack, and then the flaming waffle burns through which kills him gives him the idea to launch a flaming waffle attack on the city. (at which point ANOTHER flaming waffle falls on him because he thought up of a scheme)
Well, there's a few ideas for the first few issues.

 

[PureBredGentleman]

Vengeful Koala needs some sort of evil catchphrase, like "I'll be back, Zoar City" and runs off laughing, or "Curses! Back the hidey hole!". And he says that every time a certain event happens. Oh yeah, you need to spell his laughter exactly the same way each time through.
And a flaming waffle drops on his head every time he thinks of a scheme.

The other things are neat enough, but the waffle, my friend, makes you a genius. Lots of supervillains have catchphrases, but who gets a flaming waffle on their head whenever they think of an evil plot? We're going to have to have a parade.

Like a lightbulb idea for a normal person is a flaming waffle for Koala? Brilliant my friend brilliant. And to everyone else, I'm gonna have a full treatment up in a little while. So hang tight and keep spilling out them ideas. I've decided that the comic will follow more along the lines of the city itself rather than just the villains.

 

[Dusty Donuts]

Vengeful Koala needs some sort of evil catchphrase, like "I'll be back, Zoar City" and runs off laughing, or "Curses! Back the hidey hole!". And he says that every time a certain event happens. Oh yeah, you need to spell his laughter exactly the same way each time through.
And a flaming waffle drops on his head every time he thinks of a scheme.

The other things are neat enough, but the waffle, my friend, makes you a genius. Lots of supervillains have catchphrases, but who gets a flaming waffle on their head whenever they think of an evil plot? We're going to have to have a parade.

Like a lightbulb idea for a normal person is a flaming waffle for Koala? Brilliant my friend brilliant. And to everyone else, I'm gonna have a full treatment up in a little while. So hang tight and keep spilling out them ideas. I've decided that the comic will follow more along the lines of the city itself rather than just the villains.

Vengeful Koala also needs some sort of evil assistant, maybe some stupid name such as "General Assist" or "Helpful Hellraiser". And he has to hold the umbrella that the flaming waffle burns through, and this assistant always get blamed for every thing. He also has to make Vengeful Koala's cough lollies (eucalyptus flavour, of course) when he gets a cold in "Santa Zoars" (it's a random title that could have some potential).

[small]User was patted on the back by 'self' for this post (three times) [/small]
Sorry, I just can't resist not doing that now that I know how to do it.

 

[Marble Dragon]

Perhaps there could be a special pet as well. How about some huge, intimidating-looking dog that Vengeful Koala gets because he'll be a good minion? (The dog, of course, turns out to be a total coward who doesn't quite fit into his spike-studded collar and/or supervillian hellhound costume.)

It could be any kind of dog, really. I'm just a sucker for big dogs.

 

[rabidmidget]

it could be good but the success of a webcomic is based more on its writing than its art. so make sure you have either an intriguing story line which isn't cliche or funny/original/clever jokes

 

[Dusty Donuts]

it could be good but the success of a webcomic is based more on its writing than its art. so make sure you have either an intriguing story line which isn't cliche or funny/original/clever jokes

Although, when used correctly, a cliche can be more funny.

 

[bluepilot]

Okay, well so far, I think that you need to work on your pitching art work to create characters that are dynamic and appealing. Full body shots meant to depict actions in a single scene shot are not good tools to depict storylines in web comics and best avoided. It is best to cut out pats of the body which you do not need and frame shot each characters reaction.

A brief depiction of cliches and inside jokes can be funny but is ultimatly short lived. If you want to carry of this idea and keep it running, it needs some kind of simple base which will 1) ground the story into a route 2) allow parodies to be drawn from the situation 3) give the comic a familiar feel each time. Also, there has to be progress and victories at times, no matter how small and petty.

Next, to keep people reading, the characters need some kind of appeal. The main character himself, can be as much a pain as you want, but needs supporting characters with back stories, mysteries and love interests.

Finally, remember that this idea has been done to the death already. What new thing can you bring to this genre?


Best of luck to you

 

[Salem_Wolf]

Well I'll have to write up a sort of "webcomic pilot" But the idea is still petty rough. This thread was sort of made to recruit some writers or something. So if you know any good writers, let em know about this if ya can.

*looks down at myself* I could give it a shot. Nothing professional, mind you, but if you're curious on ideas I've done while RPing, I could link you to some threads of mine on another site, get an idea of how I write and whatnot. Totally cool either way.

Edit: Note to self: Do not use emoticons on this forum, it makes me look like an idiot.
Note to self received.

Don't worry about professionalism just yet. These are just some rough ideas I came up with since I've been wanting to do something with the Vengeful Koala for a while now. Anywho, If you need some info about the characters and how they relate to each-other, I can write up some character sheets.

Just know that if this project is by any means a hassle for you, you don't have to do it. And if the idea doesn't sit well after a few strips, then I have plenty more ideas to come.

The reason I picked a kind of "cliche" idea is just to play it safe at the beginning. The internet seems very hostile to new and exciting things, so I want to draw in a wider audience before actually getting into the actually good stuff.

That and Vengeful Koala has been my avatar for a while now and I wanted to include him as a character in something.

EDIT: Here is another cast shot, this time with Jaguarman fully created. I'm still thinking of putting some goggles or something on him though.

-snips out image, makes post too long-

We can definitely see what comes up, character sheets would be spectacular, and helpful in creating the ideas, especially if you have their personalities fleshed out to the point not even an idiot could screw up their dialogue. Anyway, yeah, definitely get some character sheets and I can see closer what I have to work with personality-wise.

I'll check back tomorrow since you mentioned you'd work on the character sheets in a later post after mine was quoted lol.

 

[Queen Michael]

Some people may tell you it's been done before. Well, me hearties, EVERYTHING has been done before. It sounds good, I'd read it.

Some basic pointers:

Make sure the characters have distinct personalities, without becoming so one-dimensional they can only work in a certain kind of joke. Good example: Charlie Brown. Bad example: Garfield.

Make sure you can joke about other things than just the super-villainy, or you'll run out of ideas REALLY quickly.

 

[PureBredGentleman]

Okay, well so far, I think that you need to work on your pitching art work to create characters that are dynamic and appealing. Full body shots meant to depict actions in a single scene shot are not good tools to depict storylines in web comics and best avoided. It is best to cut out pats of the body which you do not need and frame shot each characters reaction.

A brief depiction of cliches and inside jokes can be funny but is ultimatly short lived. If you want to carry of this idea and keep it running, it needs some kind of simple base which will 1) ground the story into a route 2) allow parodies to be drawn from the situation 3) give the comic a familiar feel each time. Also, there has to be progress and victories at times, no matter how small and petty.

Next, to keep people reading, the characters need some kind of appeal. The main character himself, can be as much a pain as you want, but needs supporting characters with back stories, mysteries and love interests.

Finally, remember that this idea has been done to the death already. What new thing can you bring to this genre?


Best of luck to you

Well it appears that my first pitch was not necessarily a very successful one. I've given the idea a lot of thought, and decided that instead of the whole premise revolving around Vengeful Koala and his League, the stories will revolve around Zoar City as a whole. How is this:

Zoar City has been corrupted. Not by evil, but by idiocy. Vengeful Koala and his gang of evil-wannabes have been causing mischief around the city. All of their evil plans have always been foiled by George, the office worker, who always just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. George is considered a hero, and is made Chief of Police. Though he doesn't want to be.

The mayor meanwhile, has always had a dream to be a superhero, and so announces to the city that he has brought an actual SUPERHERO to defend the city from evil. This superhero it turns out is actually the Mayor himself in costume. The stories revolve around the mayor, the evil league, George, as well as how all this is affecting the everyday citizens of Zoar City.

Character sheets up in a bit, I'm thinking of posting pics with them.

 

[PureBredGentleman]

Well I'll have to write up a sort of "webcomic pilot" But the idea is still petty rough. This thread was sort of made to recruit some writers or something. So if you know any good writers, let em know about this if ya can.

*looks down at myself* I could give it a shot. Nothing professional, mind you, but if you're curious on ideas I've done while RPing, I could link you to some threads of mine on another site, get an idea of how I write and whatnot. Totally cool either way.

Edit: Note to self: Do not use emoticons on this forum, it makes me look like an idiot.
Note to self received.

Don't worry about professionalism just yet. These are just some rough ideas I came up with since I've been wanting to do something with the Vengeful Koala for a while now. Anywho, If you need some info about the characters and how they relate to each-other, I can write up some character sheets.

Just know that if this project is by any means a hassle for you, you don't have to do it. And if the idea doesn't sit well after a few strips, then I have plenty more ideas to come.

The reason I picked a kind of "cliche" idea is just to play it safe at the beginning. The internet seems very hostile to new and exciting things, so I want to draw in a wider audience before actually getting into the actually good stuff.

That and Vengeful Koala has been my avatar for a while now and I wanted to include him as a character in something.

EDIT: Here is another cast shot, this time with Jaguarman fully created. I'm still thinking of putting some goggles or something on him though.

-snips out image, makes post too long-

We can definitely see what comes up, character sheets would be spectacular, and helpful in creating the ideas, especially if you have their personalities fleshed out to the point not even an idiot could screw up their dialogue. Anyway, yeah, definitely get some character sheets and I can see closer what I have to work with personality-wise.

I'll check back tomorrow since you mentioned you'd work on the character sheets in a later post after mine was quoted lol.

Here is the first character sheet. And sorry for double post but it's an update so it seems reasonable.

Vengeful Koala:

Age: Unknown

Mannerisms: Arrogant, Selfish, and a bit Insecure. He will not tolerate any insults aimed at him. Anyone who dares question his abilities as an evil super villain will be shot down by the high powered laser beam of doom. But due to budgetary problems, it's no longer a laser but a small squirtgun filled with boiling hot water.

Background:

No one is exactly sure what his childhood was like, because no one really cares. He moved into Zoar City when he was 17, as his parents booted him out of the house after he had "accidentally" held the neighbor children hostage to get a date out of the woman who lived next door.

Zoar City at the time was a surprisingly quiet city. There weren't many robberies, hostage situations, or even the simple serial killer. The child had loved horror movies in his younger years, and had always admired the deep thought of process and planning that went into all those murders in movies such as the CAPE FEARE or HANNIBAL series. So he brought it upon himself to bring back crime to a dead city.

Things started out slow for the league. Seeing as how he was the only member and that the secret lab was actually just a cardboard box. So he called up his childhood chum, Randy, to join him and his league of evil. Soon he assumed an identity for both himself and his chum. He had picked the name of Vengeful Koala because he believed it would fool the ?enemy? into believing he was harmless. But this Koala has CLAWS..

So he and Jaguarman eventually convinced the manager of a local pizza restaurant to use his basement as a hideout, in return they would both work for him and also assign him as their secret ?spy?. Which pleased him very much. Jump to modern day, and the first heist plan begins...

 

[godsmagnum]

Hey guys, i'm a friend of alalge and have been given the assignment to create the characterization for Jaguarman. Jaguarman was originally created around me so I do feel it's fitting. I may also be helping with other characterizations.

 

[godsmagnum]

That could be one of my biggest problems. Nearly everything I create becomes self aware at some point. Perhaps you could lend me a hand on this. Seeing as how you have done many before.

Well, let me just clear this up. By me stating I've been on two webcomics, the first, Everyday Critics, went to 10 strips before I left. After 10 my friend took over. But I did write everything up to that point. My second webcomic, Balloons & Panels, is literally at its 3rd strip, which just went up today.

Everyday Critics: http://everydaycritics.blogspot.com/
Balloons & Panels: http://balloonsandpanels.blogspot.com/

I'm not a connoisseur so to speak, and I'm not exactly the best reference in making a webcomic but I will try to help where I can.

I write my comics in advance. When I was starting Balloons & Panels I sat down and wrote 10 strips. (Although some friends write on the spot and that works out for them, it's preference) But I like writing in advance so when it's time to start working on a comic I can notice if something was funny at the time and just isn't now and I'm able to fix it. By doing this you'd also be able to catch yourself being self-aware.

I don't think there's steps to take to avoid being self-aware, you just need to catch it when you are and make sure it works (an example, the self-aware strips set up in Balloons & Panels are centered around Deadpool, a comic book character known for being self-aware).

Your theme seems to set you up to an ongoing series, which (in my opinion is easier to avoid self-aware) because you just need to stay within the world. If you write a strip and it fits in the world, it shouldn't be self-aware and the most probable way it could be is if you hammer that point to the audience.

Though, you did say you don't think you have enough material. My thoughts are that you do, just not yet. The way your theme is you just need to keep writing interactions between your characters. Go from one strip to the next until you run out of ideas, then create a new situation. Bill Waterson would do this with Calvin & Hobbes where he would go as long as he could with a story until it ran out, then he would write singles until another came to him.

If I can lend anymore help or if this was even helpful, let me know. Also, thanks for setting me up for some linkage, which I was trying to stay away from in my first few posts. I wish you all the best and just don't expect an overnight sensation. My friend working on Everyday Critics is like that and views meant more than the comic to him. Views aren't bad but you need to make sure you're doing it because you enjoy it and not for the views or it will show and your comic could very well suffer.

EDIT: Even my most recent strip (Week 3) involves dialogue of me creating the webcomic. Though, my theme is centered around anything comics I feel it's appropriate if every now-and-then I'm in it to comment or rant about the theme I'm writing about. As long as the majority of my strips don't include me, I always regard that as making a statement within my strip and not being self-aware.

I liked week 3's strip. It made me laugh.

 

[PureBredGentleman]

Here are some of the newer characters.

(From left to right) Peli-Beacon, George the Accountant, Mayor(before superhero).

I'm still working on what Pizarro should look like as well as a few civilians and whatnot. For those of you who didn't know, none of the super villains or superheros have any actual powers, they are just regular guys in costume. Trying to either create or destroy evil in the world. Both are usually unsuccessful.

 

[godsmagnum]

Jaguarman Characterization

Written by Ryan Farr

Age: Mid 30?s

Character's Name: In costume: Jaguarman. Out of costume: Tom Mcgoogly.

Time Period: Current.

Physical Description: A bit short. Out of costume he only wears a business suit, yes, even swimming. He has medium long blonde hair. In costume he wears a purple jaguar suit, yellow goggles, and puts a small bag full of air on his nose so that his nose appears to be larger. He wears glasses out of costume; however in costume he doesn?t wear them. He thinks they don?t fit his costume (Though the glasses are purple). He has a bit of a high pitched voice that many would find to be annoying.

Mannerisms: Clumsy, because he doesn?t wear his needed prescription glasses. He?s quite cautious and realistic. He believes he is sneakier than he truly is. On occasion you may find him meowing at the moon, commonly mistaking him self for perhaps a cat?. Or a wolf? Or maybe a mixture of the two. He often mistakes his life for someone else?s most commonly from movies.

Personality Description: Once again, cautious. He?s not very out going and doesn?t like most ?Evil? ideas suggested by The Vengeful Koala.

Background (fun part): He originally grew up in the small town of Banana Ville. As you may have guessed they?re main export is People Eating Badgers. Jaguarman had an interesting family. His father was a jar of peanut butter and his mother was a pair of left shoes, and as we all know, when you mix a jar of peanut butter and a pair of left shoes it makes a human. Jaguarman got a job as a teenager at the nearby science lab. His job was to get bitten by rabies infected beavers, and inform the scientists of the side effects. The town?s folk grew envious of his new job and wanted it for themselves. They kicked him out of the town of Banana Ville with a large suit case which he thought was filled with his clothes and other various goods, however when he got to the nearest hotel he opened it up and quite quickly realized that it was NOT filled with his goods. It was instead filled with 30 or so People Eating Badgers. After the badgers had quenched they?re thirst for flesh they inevitably exploded into a large pile of blood and gore. Jaguarman, now half eaten, crawled to the large place called Zoar City. As he crawled to the middle of the city he looked up and around with a new hope and glee to his eyes. This was immediately interrupted by a man accidentally bumping into him, the man did not realize that he had bumped into him and did not say sorry. Over time Jaguarman became very angry and wanted vengeance for this mishap, he wanted to take it out on today?s society. He found a new friend with interests similar to his. His friend gave them both nicknames. His new friend?s nickname became The Vengeful Koala, and Tom?s nickname was Dr. Magoogly, Which was changed to Jaguarman soon after.


EDIT: Discard this.