An Attractive Comic

[Lady_T_Musings]

Characters will snag me first. If they stand out with how they look racially, how they are shaped bodily, and how they are dressed I'll definitely start going hmmm yes color me curious plus-sized lady and the big old green person with shark teeth ahaha.

After that, which pretty much means art, I'll give the first few pages a read and if I like the dynamics of characters portrayed or the main themselves I'm hooked. I'll figure out story as I go :D.

[kingkotheartiz]

Yeah, I would agree about the color as well but I have seen some impressive projects such as Jason Brubaker's Phobos or "The Bekkoning" by Deft Beck. Those are two pretty descent comics that are only in "black in white" well drawn and good storyline.

[kingkotheartiz]

I admire you for looking for things outside of your taste. I wish I had the same motivation but as far as my comics go, I have to stick with the sci fi, action, adventure stuff. I might consider looking at something different for the style, but kudos to you tho!!!

[gabriellabalagna]

Yeah, I've enjoyed some black and white movies before. So maybe I just haven't found a black and white comic I like yet.

[Mallory]

Honestly...

Ehem...

How hot/cute the protagonists are...? Now before I sound completely vapid, it's actually not so much what they look like, but rather how they act, their dialogue and writing, etc - and how well the art captures that.

[FafasMcMelt]

The art attracts me, and I tend to keep reading it, unless the story is either something I don't enjoy at all, or is riddled with a whole bunch of little things that rub me the wrong way (admittedly, I am fickle).

[kingkotheartiz]

Interesting characters and good art are a drawing card for me as well. I am also the same as far as supporting comics that are overlooked. Their is so many projects out there that never get the attention that is deserved! It sort of frustrates me but I guess that's the world we live in....

[kingkotheartiz]

You are sooooo right!!!

[kingkotheartiz]

You pointed out this which I don't think artist pay attention too

If the visual storytelling is hard to follow, I'm just like "NOPE."

I think that is a big thing for me as well..... I believe that's what make a comic easier to digest!

[kingkotheartiz]

So is the "superhero type" a turn off ???

[vvodbow]

Is the lettering competent? [...] fonts that look like they go in a powerpoint presentation or an essay rather than a comic, will all put me off wanting to read something. I don't expect it to be top-tier pro lettering, but I want the lettering to at least show the person made some effort to learn and attempt to do solid comic lettering that's easy to read as best they could.

Just curious, but do you think the font choice alone is enough for a comic to be deter readers, even if the other lettering elements are done decently and the comic is readable?

Most of the time, I think of stuffs like Tahoma/Times New Roman when I see comments about bad fonts. But lately I realized that many seem to find any non-custom download font (e.g. stuffs avail by default from Photoshop) unattractive, as opposed to comic-specific fonts from, say, Blambot. Just wondering if those "default" fonts are really that bad.

[BitterBadgerZ]

Art style is a big part of it, but fleshed out characters with interesting personalities can get me through even the most cliche of storylines.

[MermaWisdo]

Ikr? Partially it's because some of these sites hype up the big popular comics they put money towards so the audience only see's those instead of the smaller comics.

[Kura]

For me it's the comic summery, not to be confused with the short 1-liner story pitches. I hate those. This is generally the biggest thing that will make me read a comic, having a summery that sounds interesting or has themes I like.

When it comes to art I'm afraid it's more character design than artist ability. If the characters don't look interesting it's hard to be invested in them, I don't care how well or attractive they are drawn if they're too generic or boring.

Story, generally I'm pretty welcoming to a lot of story concepts and willing to give most a try. If the summery sounds like a fetish or kink though I'll move on to another comic, as I really not looking for those kinds of stories. I do find I love reading a lot more stories with queer characters and poc. You can likely blame the lack of it in mainstream media for that.

After those first impressions and I start reading it very much depends on the readability of the comic. Even if I like the story I can't enjoy if I can't read it, and it just becomes frustrating. Poor font choices, no font choices with everything sloppy written in, and constant use of sound affects that are not sound affects but actions are huge turn offs. Panel and world balloon flow should also be easy to follow and not frustrating. It doesn't have to be perfect or amazing, it just needs to do it's damn job and be easy to read (something I'm discovering a shockingly high number of webcomics can't seem to do...)

The following are now more pet peeve stupid reasons things then legitimate ones that will make me quickly stop reading a comic even if I am enjoying it.

Bad colouring. I know this is a dumb one and it's more of a pet peeve, but I can't take it. It's the absolute worst. I trying to read and my eyes will just constantly focus one the 'corners the fill / paint bucket tool' didn't fill in and the artist never bothered to clean up. It drives me crazy for no reason at all and shows up in even some of tapas premium comics. I f****ing hate it so f****ing much it's stupid how much it pisses me absolutely the f*** off with how f***ing distracting it is.

Poorly integrated 3D backgrounds. Now certainly, these can be done very well and I'm not against the use of 3D models for background, but when no attempt is made to blend the 3D models with the art, or even match the characters to the 3D models (a common one is character will be too tall so it looks like they're be kneeling behind things all the time because they're not matching the size of the object or background they are by or in) then I can't keep reading. It's again, too distracting and extremely frustrating to the point I can't read it.

After that if I read maybe 1 - 3 chapters and it manages to keep my interest, then I will be reading it.

[Massiel_Solis]

I'm on the same wavelength with you on these points... except.... No black and white !?
;_; noooooo, no love for those poor uncolored comics...

But no shame, I get it, I prefer to read colored comics as well XD

[darthmongoose]

Just curious, but do you think the font choice alone is enough for a comic to be deter readers, even if the other lettering elements are done decently and the comic is readable?

Most of the time, I think of stuffs like Tahoma/Times New Roman when I see comments about bad fonts. But lately I realized that many seem to find any non-custom download font (e.g. stuffs avail by default from Photoshop) unattractive, as opposed to comic-specific fonts from, say, Blambot. Just wondering if those "default" fonts are really that bad.

That is a good question.
In my case, I've never bailed on a comic purely because it uses a default Microsoft font. In fact, the only times I've literally put down a comic where the font was the sole deciding factor, it was because they were written in a hard to read novelty font like a fiddly gothic blackletter or a super-scribbly horror font or similar. From a purely technical perspective, so long as the font is clearly legible, there's no reason a comic couldn't be written in Times New Roman, so this leads into this complicated discussion of "why are comics written in hand-lettered styles? Is it purely tradition or is there method to it?"

Part of comics being lettered in handwritten style fonts with a low X-height is purely tradition. It's how we expect a comic to look. and when somebody does their comic in a non-comics font it just feels "odd", but I don't think that's the only reason to do it. Comics are a really unique medium because the letters live in the world with the illustrations inside these round bubbles which we've universally decided symbolise words coming from a person's mouth. There are therefore two main concerns for a comic font:
1. Does it fit nicely in a round space? This tends to be a good argument against fonts like Times New Roman or Futura, because they have a big "x-height" (tall t-s and long droppy g-s) which makes them look awkward and spikey and use space inefficiently in a round space because they need a lot more padding than a font with more even height like block capitals.
2. Does it look nice nestled amongst the specific art of this comic? It's true that any font that is fairly legible will do the job, just like any cheap loaf of bread will do the job of going either side of cheese to make a sandwich, but going the extra mile to pick a font that really just fits, just like putting in a bit of extra effort or money to buy or make a delicious fresh loaf of a type of bread that goes perfectly with that kind of cheese makes a difference. It might be a subtle difference, but it's such an easy way to add polish to a comic because there are loads of good free fonts.

So to me, a microsoft font alone won't singlehandedly put me off a comic, but it is a red flag that will make me think "the person making this really couldn't even take a few minutes to pick out, download and install a comics font that complements their art. They're either very new to making comics or they just don't care". Usually when somebody is careless about their font, they're also careless about other polish elements too, like their colouring, shading, speech bubbles or spelling. It's very rare to see a comic with really beautiful art that's cleanly finished even on backgrounds, good panelling, well-shaped bubbles placed with good flow but then Times New Roman, because if somebody has put in all the effort on these things that take way more work, knowledge and setup, getting the right font is a trivial, easy polish element there's no reason to skip by comparison.

[gabriellabalagna]

I mean, thinking about it, even my own first comic was black and white. (I did this b/c I was trying to focus on improving my lineart.)

However, I think my comic would of looked better in color. I did color a concept piece for it and the colors just brought it to life so much more.

So yeah, like you said, no hate for B&W, I just prefer color.

[Kirieslawa]

When I'm looking on a comic, first of all I look at art if it's good I give a try for a story, but when lore is crap I leave it.

[liaroger]

Hmm, there are several things that attract me to a comic ...
An interesting, cool art style will make me click on a thumbnail. I've found many great stories because I liked the art style. That is, of course, entirely subjective. Quality, which is somewhat objective, does matter to a degree, but the art definitely doesn't have to be perfect. As an artist, I really enjoy watching other artists grow and learn (and tbh my own comic chronicles my own growth and learning process even though the story isn't about that at all XD). For the most part it's about whether I like the style, which is a matter of taste. Personally, I prefer either realistic (not too prettified) or just unusual styles that stand out, but that's not a hard rule. There are always exceptions. Sometimes my brain just goes "I wanna read that!".
It's similar for the content, I enjoy a wide variety of genres. There are some things that will definitely keep me interested (positive polyamorous, aspec and arospec representation, unique/unusual relationship structures, subversion and deconstruction of certain tropes, but also angels and demons - at least if the demons are people and not soulless monsters -, mythology, historical settings and, yes, gay witches. Sorry not sorry, I love me some good old wlw witches) and some things that make me click away (pretty much every toxic romance trope, sexualisation of childlike characters, uncomfortable age and power imbalances, stories that are literally just about characters being toxic and 99% bitching and gossiping and deceit and everyone being shitty to each other because no thanks, I've been out of school for a while and I still don't miss that shit) and things that make me care about a story less (mononormativity, demonisation of all non-monogamy because no thanks, society already does that and I don't need my identity demonised in what I read in my free time), but besides that, pretty much any story can get me interested if I'm in the right mood for it.
Lastly, and I know that might seem unfair or controversial but I'm just being honest, yeah, if I had a nice interaction with a creator or we're even internet acquaintances or friends I'm more likely to give their comic a chance and read and enjoy it. Positive associations and all. I won't force myself to read something that's not for me, but I can't deny that there's a bit of a halo effect going on and I enjoy the stories of people I like more. That doesn't mean I only read my friends' comics though, I've never spoken to the vast majority of creators whose comics I'm subscribed to.

[vvodbow]

Wow, thanks for the detailed reply!

Yes, I've never dropped a comic when the contents are intriguing (to me) and other things done well but the font looks too standard, but will likely do so when it doesn't fit the comic's world or is illegible.

Comics are a really unique medium because the letters live in the world with the illustrations inside these round bubbles which we've universally decided symbolise words coming from a person's mouth. There are therefore two main concerns for a comic font:
1. Does it fit nicely in a round space? [...]
2. Does it look nice nestled amongst the specific art of this comic? [...]

Really good point, especially on the X-height. Fonts like Times New Roman do look too spikey and inefficient for round/oval speech bubbles, and therefore would look off in most cases.
But maybe it's still a useful choice if in rare cases, one's comic doesn't use bubbles much. A few years ago, I've come across a sci-fi one that barely had any dialogue; any thoughts & narration was in rectangles or have no border. "Conversations" were quotes with no border and split across panels. Almost no SFX either, cuz it's about "floating" alone through space. They used Times New Roman (I think) for all text (except engravings on weapons & equipment), which seemed strangely fitting for the MC's machine-like nature and post-apocalyptic landscapes. Not sure if they used it cuz they didn't look for more fonts or it was a stylistic choice, but as a reader, I felt the font's rigidity worked for your point #2. Too bad I can't scan it give as an example now, so hopefully my vague description didn't diminish it, lettering-wise.

But yes, in most cases, default text document fonts do seem like red flags and make the series unattractive, especially if other elements are not well done.

Which means I'd better study my butts off on how to do lettering decently, cuz after testing 200-ish Microsoft fonts & downloading other comic fonts, my partner and I decided to stick with good ol' Comic Sans for dialogue and other default (but more handwritten-like) fonts for SFX. Nothing else felt right for our story and workflow, considering having to hop through multiple (public) PCs at times and potential licensing issues if we either make it or part ways