Strip Search: The Perfect Storm
In Strip Search, Jennifer M. Babcock reviews and recommends comic strips available in print and on the web.
Although this topic has been covered by many before, I would like to give my personal opinion about the dont’s and no no’s in making a web comic. More importantly, I want to share my ideas about what makes a bad webcomic (because we all know that there are tons out there on the interweb). You can take this in however you want: for your amusement or for your own edification. You, of course, can choose to disregard what I say since I’m just another random person spouting my ideas from my digital soap box but as a relatively successful creator and as someone who prides herself as knowing a thing or two about webcomics, I hope you take the time to carefully consider the points I will make.
Before I get into it though, I just want to mention that my presence on this blog will be spotty from now until January. Currently I’m studying for my PhD oral examination, which requires studying six days a week for 6-10 hours a day. I’ll try to contribute when I can but I’ll most likely need my free time to rest and draw my own comic, C’est la Vie.
Anyway, here’s a basic rundown of what I think makes a crappy webcomic and also how to prevent yourself from making one:
1) Bad web design- if the main page is completely incomprehensible, meaning you can’t even find the comic or have easy access to your feature’s archive, you’re going to have a hard time getting and maintaining readership.
2) Lack of regular updates- regular updates is absolutely key in making a successful webcomic. Even if you can only draw your comic once a week, make sure you get that comic up there like clockwork. Otherwise, you will lose the interest of your audience. You will also not come off as someone dedicated to their creation. If you don’t care, why should anyone else?
3) Ideas that are forced- just because you sense an unfilled niche in the webcomics world, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you should go fill it. Write something that means something to you and comes naturally, even if it’s “another” gaming comic or slice of life strip about friends and their crazy adventures. Forced ideas beget forced writing and it’s painful and embarrassing to read.
4) Similarly, don’t force yourself into a popular niche to try to become popular. For instance, if your only goal is to be the next Penny Arcade,your work may end up looking derivative and poserish.
5) Bad art and bad writing don’t mix- collaborate if necessary. As you probably know, two people are responsible for Penny Arcade. Gabe draws, Tycho writes. Their combined efforts have a wonderful outcome. At the same time, bad art does not necessarily kill a comic if the idea behind it does not require significant levels of artistic skill. You don’t read XKCD for its art- you read it for its clever writing. Bad writing is harder to cover up, but if your art is pretty enough you still might get a following… but bad art and bad writing together? It’s a recipe for the perfect storm.
6) Listen to critiques and don’t get defensive- it’s the only way you’ll know if your art/writing is “bad” and it’s the only way you’ll get better. Develop a thick skin and remember that most of the time, people are out to help you improve. Join a webcomics community and ask other budding creators for their opinions.
7) Read through your scripts, edit, and make sure you like what you’ve done. Basically, be critical of your own work. People can see when someone puts effort into their creation versus someone who lazily slaps something together. No one is entitled to automatic praise. Most of the time, you have to work for it.
8 ) Have a clear idea of what your comic is going to be about before you start posting them online. It’s ok if your story and characters change gradually over time- creating, after all, is a dynamic process. However, if you abruptly alter the direction of what your comic is about two months into it, it’s a bit distracting and a turn off for many readers. Embrace the developmental process: sketch out your characters and think about what kind of story you want to do beforehand.Don’t have a schizo-comic (unless of course, that’s the point of it).
Most importantly, however, do enjoy making your comic. As cliché as it may sound, if you love what you’re creating that’s the most important thing. Screw the naysayers and live the dream!
Jennifer M. Babcock holds her MA in art history and is currently pursuing her doctorate in Egyptology from NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts, where she is also known as a comics scholar. A creator herself, she is the artist and writer behind C’est La Vie, which is syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate and available at http://www.gocomics.com/cestlavie.
Your post was really thorough and helpful, but it was also a little discouraging. Say, you’re a person starting out and you know the art and writing aren’t quite there yet, but you know you want to improve and at least you’re giving it a go because the ideas are there. Eventually the skills are bound to improve, right? What if the strip doesn’t have a clear purpose because you don’t know where the characters will go? Sometimes it’s interesting to see how the characters take a story and where they go with it. It may surprise even the creator of the comic. I totally agree with you about being consistent with postings. It’s disappointing to readers when what’s expected just isn’t there, and if it’s not there, then readers are more likely to move on to something else, something that is regularly posted. Thanks for your insights and good luck with your orals.
Hi Sharon,
I don’t mean to be discouraging- what I really wanted to convey is that writing a good webcomic takes time, patience, and hard work. Too often I see people who slap stuff together, put it on the internet, and expect praise for it. I know it’s the internet, but c’mon!
If you’re a creator who is starting out and is looking to improve that will probably be evident in the work you are producing. However, what I recommend is to build maybe about a month’s worth of comics before you post them online- not only will you have something for your readers to go through when they first discover your comic (because it is hard to hook someone when you only have one or two comics to offer) but you’ll probably show improvement even in that space of 30 comics.
BTW, it’s completely ok to meander with your comic’s storyline and characters so long as it doesn’t go all over the place. For instance, if you start off with a slice of life strip it might be a little jarring for the audience if all of a sudden it turns into an espionage thriller and then 2 weeks later it turns into a fantasy comic. All I’m saying is that you should probably work some of these issues beforehand: draw some preliminary comics and character sketches… try to get a relatively good grasp on what you want to do and how you want to do it before you start publishing.
Even with all of that prep work, your comic and its characters will still change and develop and there’s definitely nothing wrong with that. Take a look at Wapsi Square- its storyline developed from slice of life to more of fantasy/sci-fi though it did so gradually and MORE importantly, logically.
Hope that helped clear up some of the points I made earlier! Thanks for reading!
Yes, that helps. Thanks for the clarification. Love your work. 🙂