Dear webcomic artists...

[The Funslinger]

never advertise your comic by listing the "roles" your characters fill in your comic.

seriously, you're either selling yourself short or not covering up the fact your comic is formulaic as hell.
also "Quirky" is not the basis for a character's personality, try again.

I'll suppress my writer's urge to vomit in my mouth long enough to dare ask what prat has actually done that? Just... listed the character's roles, like admitting they're just bloody arch-types?

And dear god, has someone actually defined their character as 'quirky'?

Calling your character quirky just... breaks it in some indefinable way. even knowing their fictional regardless, it's like an author saying 'oh, she's the quirky one, haha!' just makes it all seem forced and inorganic, because it's like "... oh, I wonder what kah-ray-zee thing she's gonna do next? ... No I don't."

 

[Ushiromiya Battler]

As for you, Mr. Shive. Don't change your schedule every fucking week. Pisses me off. And to you, guy who draws Brawl in the Family; stop going on vacation. Seriously. You don't need a holiday every two months when your job involves sitting around drawing all day.

Hey, at least MR. Shive updates with sketchbook updates when he can't make a comic!

 

[somonels]

Those guys and gals are a sad and pitiable lot but it's their comic and they can do as they please and you can do something else with your time.

 

[Voodoomancer]

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.

 

[Combustion Kevin]

I'll suppress my writer's urge to vomit in my mouth long enough to dare ask what prat has actually done that? Just... listed the character's roles, like admitting they're just bloody arch-types?

And dear god, has someone actually defined their character as 'quirky'?

Calling your character quirky just... breaks it in some indefinable way. even knowing their fictional regardless, it's like an author saying 'oh, she's the quirky one, haha!' just makes it all seem forced and inorganic, because it's like "... oh, I wonder what kah-ray-zee thing she's gonna do next? ... No I don't."

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.

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.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

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.

Spoiler

At least Tim was sensible enough to kill him after all these years.

 

[sky14kemea]

Jesus Christ, HumourFallsProne, is it so hard just to update once a fucking week? Your art isn't even that detailed

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...

 

[blalien]

For the love of god, make a fucking schedule and if you do, keep to it. Aimed at Rich Burlew (Order of the Stick) and Dan Shive (El Goonish Shive). Anyone who has read OOTS knows what I'm talking about. As for you, Mr. Shive. Don't change your schedule every fucking week. Pisses me off. And to you, guy who draws Brawl in the Family; stop going on vacation. Seriously. You don't need a holiday every two months when your job involves sitting around drawing all day.

There is alot I'd love to write to webcomic artists, writers and whatnot. It just fucks with my mind how much they can get away with; especially in terms of schedule. If you are sick or injured, fine have a few days off. But not every two fucking months.

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.

 

[Legion]

...you are aware that they give their comics to us for free, right? So they don't really have any obligation to give us anything at all.

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.

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.

 

[Charli]

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.

 

[thebobmaster_v1legacy]

For the love of god, make a fucking schedule and if you do, keep to it. Aimed at Rich Burlew (Order of the Stick) and Dan Shive (El Goonish Shive). Anyone who has read OOTS knows what I'm talking about. As for you, Mr. Shive. Don't change your schedule every fucking week. Pisses me off. And to you, guy who draws Brawl in the Family; stop going on vacation. Seriously. You don't need a holiday every two months when your job involves sitting around drawing all day.

There is alot I'd love to write to webcomic artists, writers and whatnot. It just fucks with my mind how much they can get away with; especially in terms of schedule. If you are sick or injured, fine have a few days off. But not every two fucking months.

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*.

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.

 

[PedroSteckecilo]

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.

 

[Queen Michael]

Wow there's a lot of dicks in here. You do know that these are people right? Not automatons, but people. People with emotional issues, families, jobs, lives, all trying desperately to tell a story that people will enjoy, for almost no money (by the way if you have an Ad-Blocker enabled you have no fucking right what so ever to complain in any way, shape, or form about their schedule). Yeah it would be nice to see more update on VG Cats, but the guy had a mental breakdown, had to be put on meds, (which is difficult and you will probably have to go through round about half a dozen or more before you find the right one and sometimes more) and he has an infant to deal with on top of that, so I can cut the guy some slack. Yea it is disappointing when Manly Guys, F-Grade Medic, Chimney speak , or one the other comics I read is late, or delayed, but I'm cool with it, because these people have shit to do in the real world, and I'm not an asshole. So please be patient, be kind, realize that shit happens, and disable your fucking Ad-Blocker. Seriously would it kill you to sit through a minute of commercials, or look at a banner ad these guys get borderline jack shit already. If you're not willing to be an understanding and sympathetic human being, then at least you can give them that one bit of kindness.

This... This is just...

Spoiler: Let me put it this way.

 

[Mr.Squishy]

never advertise your comic by listing the "roles" your characters fill in your comic.

seriously, you're either selling yourself short or not covering up the fact your comic is formulaic as hell.
also "Quirky" is not the basis for a character's personality, try again.

People...people do this? Like, for real? That's the kind of stupidity you only hear about in legend.
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.

 

[The Funslinger]

I'll suppress my writer's urge to vomit in my mouth long enough to dare ask what prat has actually done that? Just... listed the character's roles, like admitting they're just bloody arch-types?

And dear god, has someone actually defined their character as 'quirky'?

Calling your character quirky just... breaks it in some indefinable way. even knowing their fictional regardless, it's like an author saying 'oh, she's the quirky one, haha!' just makes it all seem forced and inorganic, because it's like "... oh, I wonder what kah-ray-zee thing she's gonna do next? ... No I don't."

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.

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.

I'll be honest: The only real knowledge I have of ctrl-alt-del is the often lampooned miscarriage strip.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

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.

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.

 

[CriticalMiss]

I take it you aren't a fan of 'Things my cat hates' by Kathleen from LRR? Lots of cat comics.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I take it you aren't a fan of 'Things my cat hates' by Kathleen from LRR? Lots of cat comics.

Never heard of it.

 

[PedroSteckecilo]

I take it you aren't a fan of 'Things my cat hates' by Kathleen from LRR? Lots of cat comics.

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.