Abandoning a Webcomic before the end of the Story?

[claiborneart]

How do you feel about creators who stop updating a story comic mid-way? Do you feel better or worse about it if they abandon a story to draw another comic?

Okay, so I currently have three webcomics that I'm working on rn: my main gag comic which I update once a week, enjoy drawing, and enjoying reading the comments from readers even more; a second story-focused comic that I update very sporadically and want to spend more time on than I do; and a third comic that I update a page a month.
This is the one I'm considering ending:

Journey of the Soon Forgotten | Tapas

I started this comic back in high school; it's the first comic I tried drawing seriously, and it's the first webcomic I posted online (over on smackjeeves, back when that was one the more popular hosting sites). This is the comic that got me interested in comics as a thing I could do, and I'm probably too attached to the characters and story as a result.

On the other hand: it's a real mess. The art starts rough and grows by shifting wildly between workflows and methods, there's some real sloppy dialogue and paneling throughout, and worst of all I rewrote both the main characters' backstories and the entire ending halfway through without going back to edit the inconsistencies and awkwardness that resulted. It's fun seeing how much I've improved over the years, but it's also awkward that anyone who sees this comic freshly updated is going to start with seeing the oldest comic pages I posted online.

I do have the rest of the story written out; it's going to be five chapters total to get to the end of the story I've written. It took me seven years to complete the first three chapters, and if I keep going at my current rate of a page a month, it'll take another three years to draw the last two. Three years is a long time, and I have other comics I want to draw.

So my question is: do I keep updating at my current pace, or end my oldest, messiest comic to be able to spend more time drawing my other webcomics? If I keep going, should I switch to a much simpler art style to draw pages as quickly as possible? If I end my comic, do I just stop with an announcement, do a Q+A - type thing, some sketches/vigniettes of scenes in the last two chapters, or something else?

TL;DR:

....Let my mistakes be a warning to younger creators: start as small as possible with your first comics.

[teasidesketches]

I used to be really disappointed when a creator would end one comic to start another because I was invested in the abandoned comic (it's happened to a few comics I was reading), but seeing creators talk about how they have no passion for the old project but do for the new project makes me think that it's better to let go of an old project if you're really just not interested in creating it anymore.
It makes me feel a bit bad as a reader to see someone forcing themselves to invest so much of their time and energy into a story even if they don't actually want to make it anymore.

So, I'd say if you want to create other things and not continue with this comic, it would be best to make an announcement and explain why you're stopping; on the other hand, if you're really determined to bring the comic to its end, then simplifying it might work? It really depends what you want to do from here, but I'm sure readers who support you and care for you will understand no matter what you decide.

[claiborneart]

Thanks, I'll probably make some kind of announcement no matter what - as a reader I always hated when a comic would just...stop updating one day and I'd never know why, or whether it was abandoned or just on hiatus.

Most of the people who read my comic actually came over from one of my other two comics, so the main reason I'm considering this now is I'd hate to get an influx of new readers and then turn around like 'good timing! you're just in time to find out you'll never read the end of this!"

[yansusu]

I have the very weird 'talent' to always pick up the comics and novels that will later get dropped by their creators so I can't help but feel a bit more like a reader on this one than as a creator. This whole issue of almost anything I'm picking up being dropped led to me not picking up much to read anymore in the end, especially from creators that just started out and only have one project because I really don't trust anymore that they'll be able to finish it.
I still understand that life gets in the way sometimes or that the creator might not be inspired to continue any longer or just wants to do something else (I mean I've been there too). Creators aren't obligated to finish anything either even if that will make their readers sad.

What I do appreciate is when the creators at least give an announcement. Just stopping and not telling the readers that they won't continue the story anymore is something I severely dislike because it leaves the readers hanging and if the creator knows that they won't (or at least aren't likely to) continue in the future, then I think the readers should be told. No obligation there either but I'd just appreciate that as a reader and it would help me with trusting in their other projects.

As for finishing or not and how to finish if you do that ... I'm not an artist so I don't think I can really say anything in regard to style but maybe simplifying the content might work? Like cut down on some scenes that aren't absolutely necessary maybe or throw out characters or something along those lines?

[Rhonder]

Eh, if I'm a reader of the dropped comic it does feel a little bad, because of the investment in the dropped story and etc., but it's never been something that I like "hold against the author" or anything xD And often if they are working on other projects, they usually have a similar style or "flavor" so it can still be fun to explore their other works too.

In short, yeah, I absolutely feel the pain of holding onto old stories past their prime- I never got far into drawing it, but I put like 12 years of planning and character design into a story that I concocted in middle school only to finally drop it before really getting started- simply because it simply wasn't putting my best foot forward anymore, and the completion time would be way way too long. I'm sure I have some disappointed folks from back on DA where I had been posting the pages years ago (even though it was just like the first 5 pages over and over again...) but it's still not in my best interest to finish, I think.

In your case in particular, where you're a fair chunk into the story as is, I almost wonder if you can somehow break off and start steering the story from where it is right now to some sort of decent earlier conclusion? Similar to when a TV series gets cancelled and so they break off and try to figure out how best to end in the next 4 episodes or whatever xD Depending on where you are at the moment though, that may or may not be worth... if it'll take like a whole extra chapter to reach that point, it's probably too long? at that point I'd just do the original chapter 4 and power through 5 as well xD

Either way, I'd make an announcement to the readers of the comic explaining the situation and not stress about it too much, whichever route you take! Definitely looking out for your best interests as a creator is #1 imo

[teasidesketches]

I can totally relate to you and yansusu; it gets a bit frustrating going back to a comic every week and looking for updates, but they never... say anything. I'll check their social media, I'll check the comic itself, the website, and nowhere do they say anything. It's a very frustrating position to be in, and I'd never want to put anyone in that position as a reader. : (

I don't get bitter about people ending things, but I do think it leaves a bit of a bad taste in my mouth when they end it without saying anything at all, so it's nice that you're definitely going to make an annoucement no matter what.

[yansusu]

Yes, yes, exactly that. People can end stuff all they want to but please just tell us when you do

[arcojawa]

I........... try to be understanding. It can be a big bummer with some of the stories I've really liked. I guess, in a weird way, I kind of....... get angry at the story, but not at the author? Does that sound strange?

[claiborneart]

In your case in particular, where you're a fair chunk into the story as is, I almost wonder if you can somehow break off and start steering the story from where it is right now to some sort of decent earlier conclusion?

Yeah, I'm almost wondering if there's a way I can tack on some kind of endcard to the end of chapter 3, leaving it off as the perpetual start of the classic 'grand adventure' type vibe. If anyone who's read/would be willing to read my comic, I'd love any critique you could give on what kind of ending would make you as a reader feel like it's reached a conclusion, even if it still feels like there's more going on after the 'end'.

[ble]

This post was flagged by the community and is temporarily hidden.

[Rhonder]

If anyone who's read/would be willing to read my comic, I'd love any critique you could give on what kind of ending would make you as a reader feel like it's reached a conclusion, even if it still feels like there's more going on after the 'end'.

It doesn't seem terribly long, so I'll give it a quick read and offer some feedback to that end a little later

[punkarsenic]

HEY FAM I FEEL YOU BIG TIME

i started my comic at 16 (over 3 years ago now), and last year i had to toss up between quitting it and doing Something Else and carrying on, but with a GREATLY REDUCED plot. it was gonna be a literal epic, but is now gonna be finished by the end of the year.

so what i have to say is

A: if you can find a nearby place in the story to blag as an ending, if this will take you less than 3 months to reach, do that. its nice to tie things up.

B: if you cant, drop it like its hot and focus on the good one.

because you have these two comics on the go, your readers will be very understanding and it wont illicit doubt. whatd be problematic is if you quit the good comic before the end a while later - you dont wanna develop a reputation as a quitter, but nobody will fault you for cutting ties with something you started as a teenager.

[Totes_NOT_a_Stranger]

Working on a single project is enough to keep one's hands full, believe you me. But three? Now that's just a bit excessive, don't you think? Not to mention detrimental. By juggling three projects simultaneously, you're not only hurting yourself, but your readers as well by overextending yourself, and not putting nearly enough time and consideration as you should be into making your works the best they could possibly be. My advice to you is to drop it; not terminate, but put it on hold (hiatus), until you're confident enough to return to it.

[vothnthorvaldson]

So.. I'm reading your story, so obviously I'm going to have mixed feelings, but at the end, what I want most is that you enjoy doing what you do; and anyway, if you don't enjoy drawing this comic at all anymore, it will probably show.

I actually liked your comic because I had little idea of what was going on, but in an intriguing 'how is all of that going to make sense' way. I really wanted to read more and understand! So yep, I'm a bit disappointed if you stop, but I'd say I'm already a bit disappointed to understand the confusion may not have been done entirely on purpose, hehe!

What I would prefer as a reader: one last update with a summary of the whole story. I would be content enough with this, and could focus on your other stories more easily.

What I would prefer as an artist: that you do as you feel like, draw what you want to draw without worrying too much about the readers' opinion (for eg. Mine posted just above ).

[claiborneart]

Hey, thanks for weighing in @vothnthorvaldson! Since you're one of the people who's been reading Journey, I was actually really hoping to hear your thoughts on this. Yeah, the rewrite was between Chapter 1 and 2; one of the reasons I'm hesitant to drop Journey is because I've had a lot of fun with the self-inflicted challenge or making a cohesive overall story without redrawing that first chapter. (The original ending was very straightforward and boring, so I'm glad to know it's working overall with the rewrite.)

My concern with doing a plot write-up would be that there's a reveal/plot twist in the middle of chapter 4 (plus an even bigger one in chapter 5), that I'm worried wouldn't land well in a brief summary. I guess to mitigate it I could write it out as prose (maybe with some key scenes illustrated ala Poppy O'Possum)? It'd certainly be faster than drawing it out even with a simplified art style, but would take significantly longer than a simple endcard/announcement. The story's mystery being left completed unresolved to the readers is something I'd hadn't given enough thought about, so thank you again.

@Totes_NOT_a_Stranger possibly, but I'm personally happier having a couple projects to bounce around between; if I get stuck on one I can work on the others instead. I do tend to put most of my work into a main comic at any given time though.

[vothnthorvaldson]

An illustrated short novel would be an excellent idea! Actually, not a disappointment at all compared to a comic.

However, that would be a huge task, so not really time-saving! But that's a different type of work, so I could see how it would be still better than drawing the whole comic.

Maybe at this point, the best is to announce a hiatus and take some time to decide what you'd rather do?

[bear1]

As a reader, I don’t like it when a story just stops midway.
However, since there is no big bucks in the Webcomics business (at least not for many) the emotional well-being of the artist is a bigger priority than the demand of the reader.
Do you still like your comic and have fun making it....or are you burning out and rather do something else?
If there is no joy or financial benefits (I mean, if your comic earn you six figures per year, you might wanna consider continuing it ), stop it and move on.
However, if you do wanna stop, make a proper announcement, maybe even post a sketch or short vignette how you intended to end the story (like a happily after ever send off or so

[JRHoch]

When you are doing something that is given away for free, I think you can make whatever decision would make you the most happy.

[nostalgicroxas]

I have no patience for it and it makes me think the comic creator has very little invested in their work as a whole, and move on to a different artist.

THAT SAID It's hard for me to just lump people together. Lack of passion, injuries, just not sure where the story's going -bunch of reasons- can all play into ending a comic. Ending a novel short, for me since I do it a lot, is similar since "you don't write like you did back then" syndrome comes into play, the writing version of the "can't go back in art".
As a reader of the comics, I say if you still have passion to do the story, there's no problem with releasing the updates as slowly as you want. Don't choke yourself to make stuff for something you do not like anymore.

Now with that out of the way. Imma introduce people to the Teahouse comic. http://www.teahousecomic.com/comic/ This is the definition of bad stuff done by the artists. Whatever happened behind the scenes to cause them to end it the way they did, it just looks like they did a lot of marketing, PR, and such for a comic that they did not care too much about, purely to "hook, line, sinker" sales. For those who don't know the history of the odd series of events, that not many question as far as I'm aware: updates became slower and slower, then almost not at all (less than 1 every 2 months), and finally a physical book of one of the recent chapters was released, just around the same time of this release, they released few copies, and had a large Black-Friday blowout sale to get rid of extra stock to accompany their "end" of the series. The outrage from fans prompted them to turn off comments on their site, and release summaries of each couple's story as it'd play out in the comic. They've since washed their hands free of it, and any PR relating to the comic and such is gone. They've made the firm story that it was dropped 100% due to medical reasons, and decided that there was no possible way to continue. Me, as a fellow creator, seeing this believe it's far too stinky to not be fishy - something else happened that they did not tell fans. It reeks of "let's make a BL comic with some sex scenes that are juicy, promote it at cons like Sakura Con (largest one in the Northwest of the USA), make a killing off it, and then axe it when it gets to be too much to do." Keep in mind, the stagnation of releases were not accompanied by any statements regarding deteriorating mental health, and from the "in the moment" viewpoint any hiatus they took appeared to just be "vacation time".

My point is, transparency is key to keep your fans. If you won't be upfront with them about what's happening, why, or that you just don't want to work on a story anymore for whatever reason - then tell them. Lack of transparency, lack of honesty, and looking like you're just milking it for all it's worth, leaves a really sour taste in my mouth. If you need a hiatus, take it. But inform your fans.

[xabelmind]

You solved me a mystery from a long time ago