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Endrenesk
Apr '17

Why Webcomics?
I've been wanting to share some kind of story for a really long time now, but something's been holding me back; the uncertainty that what I want to tell might be better in another format, such as a book or a short film, a movie even, possibly a game.
What differentiates these different mediums of storytelling?
Where is one better than the other?

Webcomics often provide Visual and Textual elements, and usually need some sort of visual cue to lead the eye from one part to the next; as most comparable to movies, except that movies let you see everything with that extra bit more focus on what's happening (unless you're watching a foreign language movie.)
Books, however, rely solely on the writer's ability to do wordplay, to make their readers imagine what's happening as best as possible, to write hooks and snares, or to catch your eye with that certain style you can't quite put your finger on.

Videogames, as a last example media, requires input from the person who wishes to press on. A videogame is for stories with multiple endings or choices, different routes whether by gameplay or story.

And sure, technically, you could modify each medium to be more like one or the other, such as giving webcomic readers choice over the story, as one would do in a visual novel... But that's not what I need information on.
What makes a webcomic a more ideal choice for writing a story?

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    Apr '17

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punkarsenic
Apr '17

i think my personal motivation in choosing comics to tell a story essentially boils down to a fascination with the medium. i rarely have a story idea that i think would be perfect for comics over something else, because im a kickass writer and my art and understanding of comics and how to write for comics still needs improvement. but ill make a comic anyway, because i love comics.

advantages, though, of making a webcomic include:
- installments. you have a series of deadlines to keep you working on it, you can publish one chapter and get feedback from your audience, which is both encouraging to carry on and helps you catch ways to improve. its also great for pacing.
- probably the least pretentious medium currently. you can create comics about robots and vampires and superheroes and there doesnt need to be a deeper moral message and nobodys gonna complain or look down their nose, because thats comic. you get to have more fun.
- cartoons and films can also provide that, but webcomics are also a very diverse medium so you can have fun with vampires and robots, and have lgbt characters and disabled characters and poc who are both lgbt and disabled. its normal in the medium.

thats all i can think of wrt 'why you should make this story a comic as opposed to another medium' but theres also money, manpower, and time to consider. a webcomic is a lot cheaper and faster than making a film, and requires far less people (just you, in fact) without sacrificing the visual elements you dont get in a book. also, webcomics are very easy to self publish and be successful.

Kaykeactual fraggle
Apr '17

Most of the positives about webcomics are practical issues. Webcomics offer a lot of creative control. They are generally cheaper to make and less time consuming than films, animation, or video games. They're also something that one person can do on their own, unlike the other media listed (though there are people who take on those endeavors solo it's a lot more rare). Also, being a visual thing, it's easier to draw people in than an independently published novel might be able to so, since readers will take a chance on a comic with cool art before devoting time to a novel.

As far as story telling goes, I like it because of the visual aspect that allows you to show rather than tell. Instead of writing a paragraph about how a character is feeling, one facial expression can be enough to convey this to the reader. The lack of narration can also leave room for the reader to relate to the characters on their own terms and project their own emotions into the story and build a deep connection.
I've had cases where a character's inner thoughts and emotions are more important to the story than their actions and I'll usually write that out in prose since putting a lot of exposition in comics can be clunky.... though I also have some mini comics that are entirely exposition over images of people doing unrelated tasks... SO it really depends on the story and the story teller.

shazzbaa
Apr '17
punkarsenic

I think this is worth considering. Like, sure, there are some stories that really won't fit in a specific medium, but for a lot of stories I think they could work for several different media, they'd just need to have different focuses. If Runewriters were a book instead, it'd probably focus in on some moments that are glossed over in the comic, and present them in different ways. It would highlight a different aspect of the story.

So part of the consideration isn't just "what's the ideal medium for this story" but also "what's doable for me?" or "what kind of story will I enjoy telling?" are important questions too. I like drawing and writing dialogue better than writing prose. So it wouldn't matter if a book were my story's perfect medium -- I would still be making a comic, and adjusting that story to play to a comic's strengths.

I would have to think about this more specifically, to be honest! What makes a general story ideal for webcomic form? Uh.... visuals, I guess??? The story works with the pacing necessary for an update schedule????
But if you ask me, "what are the strengths and weaknesses of the medium for YOUR story," that's easy! A story full of sign language and charades is an odd choice for a comic -- those things take up a lot more room and have to be sort of approximated in order to feel natural. BUT, different forms of communication can be presented visually, in a way that just wouldn't work in a form that has audio, where everything that needed subtitles would become a little more alienating.

So, looking at it like that! I could also examine what parts of my specific story would be strengthened by prose, and which parts I would hate to lose. Same with an interactive experience -- how would the story need to be reworked to fit it, and would any part of the story be much more powerful if presented that way?

I think it's more useful to consider these things specific to your story, rather than creating a List Of Webcomic Strengths and then holding your story up next to them to see if it has any of them, because sometimes the strength of your story as a comic/book/game/movie/rock opera/podcast is gonna be something that's unique to your story.

bakasama25
Apr '17

For a lot of creators it's two words:

Creative Freedom

There are no editors between you and your audience. You're telling your story the way want to your the readers. Of course there's not guarantee that the story you're telling is good.

Ambat
Apr '17

Perhaps an unpopular opinion, but I'm doing a webcomic primarily because it's the easiest way to tell a story in a way that keeps it relevant with an audience while not being as time intensive as other mediums.

I've explored a lot of different types of projects in the past--when I was younger, I dabbled a lot in composing music and making semi-animated music videos for them. They were very fulfilling and fun to make, but very time consuming for relatively little payoff. I've also experimented in making games--I've made a visual novel, an RPG and a platformer game. With games, the downside to me is lack of interaction until the project is complete, more or less. Of course, I posted previews and character art and all that while working on the game, but the audience couldn't physically interact with the story until I released a finished project--even if the finished project was just a "beta."

With my comic, I can continue to move the story forward in a way that allows the audience to participate and become invested without having to wait months or even years until I create the finished animated film or game should I have chosen another medium. The drawback to webcomics is that it can be incredibly frustrating how slow the pace of a story can move, which is why in all honesty, if I had the means of moving my comic to animation as the storytelling medium instead, I would in a heartbeat.

For me, webcomics aren't the ideal storytelling method for not only my current story but most stories I want to work on in the future--but it's accessible, easy to maintain, and easy to get people involved in the project, at least for where I'm at right now as a student also working a full time job IRL.

That isn't to say I'm not enjoying my experience creating my webcomic and reading others and being a part of the webcomic community--I absolutely am without a doubt and have learned and grown so much from it! For me, however, I only chose the medium as a matter of accessibility/convenience/ease compared to my preferable storytelling choices.

9 days later
yondoloki
Apr '17

When I started wanting to tell stories I thought the only way of doing it was in writing, so I had to become and author. But I quickly found out that I see the story as pictures in my head, so writing was like taking these images and translate them into text, which tome was like taking the long route. So eliminating that link I was left with pictures that Iwrote dialogue to, and what seemed like the most obvious story media for me then? Comics, although I would love to make it into an animated film, but as one person making content in her spare time, that didn't seem very realistic. So I started making the comic, and I found out that posting each page made me more motivated to keep going to the next. So here we are smile