Comic Delays: When are they acceptable? When are they not acceptable?

[Aspie_Gamer]

It happens everyday and to a lot of us creators too.

You are creeping on Tapastic waiting for your favorite series to upload....and then it doesn't upload because something is going on in the authors life that's holding them back from uploading. Fair enough. They either update not long afterwards either with a new page or something to pacify their fans in the mean time. Sometimes, they completely forget to update seemingly abandoning their series and then come back months later like nothing happened. I've taken my fair share of hiatuses, but in my case, its mostly to draw/practice drawing or just take a break from drawing for a while so I can come back to it with a fresh set of eyes.

Another example. You just got into a new comic book series and you are really digging the series in question. A few issues in, you learn that said series is going on hiatus for a while. it sucks eggs, but hey, that's life right? You patiently wait at first for the company (i.e Marvel for example) to make an update on the comic in question or if its independent, you wait on the creator him/herself to make an announcement on why its taking so long for the next issue to come out. Eventually you find out that for example, the artist has been too busy playing video games to do their damn job that they do for a living. If you can't get away with playing angry birds at work, why should the artist of your new favorite comic book series get a pass?

My question to my fellow tappies is this. When are comic delays acceptable and when are they not acceptable?

Personally, I think they are fine when the artist has real life business they need to handle before they can draw at maximum efficiency i.e death of a family member.

Comic delays however aren't acceptable in my book when its clear the artist doesn't care about when they update at all i.e some of the more popular long running webcomics like VG Cats or Mega Tokyo were terrible about abusing the word delay for years moreso MT than VGC. Or they have some bogus excuse like being addicted to video games. Hunter x Hunter mangaka anyone? (Professionally speaking, that reflects very poorly on you as an artist being paid adequate wages to draw for a living.)

[letitridecomics]

In my opinion as a producer, any delay for any reason whatsoever that damages the relationship with the audience is not acceptable.

From a reader's standpoint, if I lose interest then it's not acceptable. If I don't, then it's cool.

[AnnaLandin]

Honestly? I think they're pretty much always acceptable, even if it's obviously disappointing.

I mean yeah, I'll be disappointed if a comic I like doesn't update - but at the same time, I read all of these webcomics for free. The artist isn't taking my money and giving me nothing in return - they're doing this for free, and all I'm losing is a moment of distraction. It would be different if they held their pages "hostage" - saying they won't update at all until they got x-number of supporters on Patreon, or whatever - but most people don't do that. They just delay updates for any NUMBER of reasons - and if one of those reasons is "I didn't feel like drawing", then, well, that sucks for me as a reader, but it's not like I've been scammed out of money.

Do I like it better when updates are consistent? Of course I do! But I'm not going to whine and be entitled if this thing I'm getting entirely for free suddenly starts getting delayed, regardless of the reason. If it goes on hiatus for too long, I'll probably stop waiting for it, but I'm not going to feel any resentment towards the creator.

With that said, a webcomic is a commitment to your readers, regardless of whether you're doing it for free or not, and creators should be aware of what they are committing to when they start one. Just be clear and honest with your readers if anything changes that hinders your production of the comic, regardless of what that reason it.

[Kura]

I can't say I have ever found them to be not acceptable for both paid and none paid creators. Sure it can really suck a lot and can be really frustrating, heck even in the case of Hunter x Hunter, I find the hiatus annoying as hell, cause I friggen love that series to death, but I don't see it as unacceptable. These creators do not ow me anything.

Webcomics creators don't get much from me reading their work (at least finance wise), and my appreciation for their work is not enough to make them owe me anything. Again even in the case of Hunter x Hunter, Togashi is not going to get money from me until the volumes come out, so he's not ripping me off by not making stuff because he's not getting my money until the product is out.

Comic creators are allowed to NOT have their world revolve around the creation of their comic, even when it is their job. Let them spend time with their family or just play games. Why the hell make a comic/manga if your not allowed to take breaks to live your life? (no mater how trivial those points in life may be to their readers, like videogames)

[kkitty]

I actually had to put my first webcomic back because I was busy playing videogames.

Yep, people got mad.

I personally have the patience of a 5 year old so if it's not up, sucks for me, but I can understand because I'm also a creator.

[noctuidae]

there would be more of an obligation to meet deadlines if the creator was getting paid/getting their money from the audience. other than that, though, someone doing a webcomic for free is likely just doing it out of hobby and because they have free time. like a lady who bakes cookies for her neighbors each week. it can be disappointing to not get cookies when you were expecting cookies, but it depends on her whims.

while i try to stick to the commitment of updating my comic, i don't beat myself up or feel particularly guilty over missing a page. my readers will be, at worst, mildly inconvenienced; my little hobby isn't the center of their world.

[shazzbaa]

The word "acceptable" might be what's throwing this off. Skipping updates without communicating is perhaps unprofessional, but not all webcomics are professional endeavours -- even the ones that are making money. But I agree with the others, the only time it's "unacceptable" is if I paid money for something I'm not getting -- like if I helped kickstart a book and never get it, or pledge for a patreon reward I never see.

But for anything other than a direct "I paid for this specific good or service that I did not receive," I feel like it's sorta tricky to judge a creator's reasons as "acceptable" or "unacceptable." I don't know them, not really, and I don't know what's going on with them. I didn't tell my readers that my mom was dying until months after her death, because I really couldn't handle talking about it to strangers yet..... so all my readers could see was my schedule slipping more and more while I got quieter and quieter about why it was happening. I know another creator who was never able to tell the internet she was dealing with the death of her father.

I've known another webcomic artist with anxiety and panic attacks so overwhelming they'd become physically unable to work if they didn't take very careful care of themselves. So they might be posting goofy fanart or playing video games instead of working, but they're doing what they HAVE to do to de-stress and be able to continue to work, even if it's slower than they'd like. The ability to ask readers for support when they can't update at a professional rate might be a godsend to some artists.

I think it's okay to say "I resent this comic being put off over and over and I'm gonna stop reading it/supporting it because this is unprofessional." And it's totally fair that clear communication, with reasons you understand, make it easier to wait.
But there's so much we can't see. We can't know who's saying "haha I guess I'm addicted to video games!!" while secretly trying desperately to get a handle on crippling depression, or life, or whatever. I'm not really in a position to make the call of whether or not it's acceptable -- that's the creator's call. For me, there's only a question of, what am I willing to support, and what am I willing to wait for?

[R.n.P]

Comic delays are one of the most painful things in life to me n that's why its good for artists to set up a deadline for their comics like mine THE LAST SAMURAI I upload weekly on Mondays according to my geographical area timeline since mine is long n I study alot cuz of my course.

[Sanz]

when it comes to delay's on commissions, I usually let the buyer know whats going on, the same goes for my web comics i know i will have delays, and that i work slower... so i don't charge that much and i let them know that. I think keeping a open line of communication with clients and audience is very important, usually people understand when they can relate. To me it's not the end of the world when it comes to delays unless i'm given a specific deadline, I guess i think that way because I'm one of those people who end up having a delay, because of life work school, etc. but i also understand not everyone is as patient as i am and not everyone understanding.

[Jabbage]

I think I agree that any kind of delay is acceptable. The impact its likely to have on reader numbers is a different question, but one that has to come secondary to self-care and keeping happy and healthy.

I'm going to be optimistic and say that if you inform your readers what's going on (doesn't need to be specific - "dealing with a family emergency/need to take some time off for myself/have a lot of other things requiring my time right now" they're going to be understanding. Its particularly good if you can set a date for returning, even if it is a distant one.

As far as I'm concerned, the two weeks surrounding Christmas should be an automatic comic break! I did that this year and found it so refreshing, I'm definitely going to make it a permanent feature of my comics.

[DuneDeca]

I personally think it depends on the circumstance. For example, I work super hard to update on time, so when I was hit by a car new year's eve, it was acceptable for me to not update for two months because of my previous track record.

If an artist makes a habit of it, and constantly misses update days and never seems to hit the deadlines, that's when it becomes a bit of a problem, especially if there is no clear communication between the readers and author. Updating on time is extremely important, so it's not something you can toss out with "I didn't feel like it this week" on a regular basis.

Another thing to consider is if the artist is trying to make comics professionally? They can do anything they want if they are simply making a hobby of it. They do what they are doing purely for themselves. If it's professional, it comes with a whole other set of cards.

[KSlinger]

Honesty is the best policy but generally speaking I don't mind delays at all. Just like I wouldn't mind if someone I knew stopped posting pictures of their pets on facebook. Yeah I like to see them, yeah they've always done it before, but it's no big deal if there's a break or it stops altogether.

Don't know about most other people but I'm not actually aware of what days/times the comics I enjoy update. I just check on here and if there's
something new, great!

It would be different if I were paying for a service. With commissions or pre-paid prints and things like that I'd just ask to be informed of the artist is behind, but as everything on this site is free I really feel I have no right to complain- and I wouldn't even if I did.

I moved, started a new job, lost a close family member, had a break up, and dealt with a whole load of other crap when my comic was starting out. Because of that my update schedule went out the window. It wasn't a choice, I simply couldn't keep all those plates spinning, and my readers never complained once. I still am so touched by that.

[DeadAccount]

Webcomics, for the most part, are free entertainment done in creator's spare time, so artists really have no obligations to anyone. I've had a few people get concerned when my updates were a bit late, and it is nice that they care, but at the same time, if I'm late, it's probably for a good reason.

I mean, we all know that successful webcomics need to update on time as much as possible, and I think most of us know that flakey update schedule and dropping off the grid will cost you readers and promotion (unless you're huge..like Homestuck) So I'm sure no comic creator is happy about missing updates. But blaming the artist or worse, harassing them about updates is the worst thing one could do.

I'd say the only time when it's not acceptable is when money is involved. If you promised rewards or comics through patreon and kickstarter then, well, you've got to deliver and have a good reason for things to be going wrong. (hence I still haven't sorted my patreon out...)

[Tanisha]

Acceptable is a strong word here since I don't feel like it's up to me to say to a creator when it's acceptable for them to live their life and not be consistent with their schedule. Completely agree with @shazzbaa though! For me personally, I don't mind waiting on things. Especially if I'm getting it for free. I could totally relate since I usually delay my comics in favor of other comics I'm making or due to some other issues I'm having in life and I rather delay myself rather than risk the quality of the pages since I'm proud at how clean I've been keeping it.

[Kamikaze]

Comic delays happen, in fact, my comic is the middle of a hiatus so we can play catch up on buffer (again). It's really embarrassing honestly, but it's something we just have to do.

I think taking breaks, or delaying work is inevitable in whatever art you're in. Stuff like this happens all the time in the professional world, however, that doesn't mean you stop producing all together if you can help it.

One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was from the lady whose behind Devils Panties. It's a little gag-a-day comic that she posts every day. There was a point when she was so burnt out, had no buffer, sick, and it was midnight before she realized she didn't have anything to post. So she threw together a black box with the bubble "uh-oh," and captioned it "what you don't want to hear in a dark room." It was done in less then five minutes, took minimal effort and it is to this DAY one of her most popular comics.

She basically drilled into my head, "Don't leave your audience hanging, post SOMETHING, ANYTHING. It doesn't even have to be good."

So even on our hiatus breaks we're still posting work to the page. These are things that like less than 2 hours to throw together, and we can still give our readers something to look at. For example, right now during our hiatus we're posting world buidling work based on the 'homework' a character was assigned the story. So we've got a map, and two dossier's while we work. Our first dossier has had a LOT of activity, way more than any of us expected. People know we're on hiatus, giving them a heads up is a great thing, but keeping them engaged with content that takes minimal effort also helps. Keep something going, even if it's just a text post.

[Aspie_Gamer]

Great answers everybody. Posting something is indeed better than nothing. I've been doing that a bit here recently with my comic Life of an Aspie's new sister series Susan's Secret Stash where I post concept art, fan art, doodles, etc. One comic I follow that has its own site will often post the "rough draft" version of a new strip of one of their comics first because they have both other comics to draw and have quite a few cons that they attend per year. Sometimes, they'll simply post a "we're sorry theres no update today, but here, have a free sketch" in the place of a strip.

If you are doing it for free, (as in not making enough to make it your full time job), then yes, most delays you run into are acceptable. The fanbase isn't owed a thing from you. The same logic applies if you do have enough money in your pockets to live off of comfortably for the rest of your days. However, when you are paid handsomely, yet it becomes a running joke or common piece of snark bait on how little you update per year if even that and in worst case scenario, it becomes common knowledge that you'd rather for example be playing Skyrim than doing your job you get paid hundreds to do, I think we can all agree that it leaves a bad taste in the mouths of fans and critics alike.

[UzukiCheverie]

When it comes to webcomics, most people here aren't working for companies or making thousands of dollars with it. Most of us are working for free. So most readers are understandable when life has to tear them away from their work for a bit or if the creator needs a break. I think the only time it would be deemed "unacceptable" is between the creator and say, a contractor - someone who's paying them to deliver their work on time and on par with their quality expectations - and that would be if the creator was just NEVER delivering content on time; they wouldn't last long with that employer. But that is not the case for most people here.

If you can post at least a wall post telling people what's up - even better, a comic update explaining why - then that at least delivers the news a lot softer than just up and disappearing. Is it completely unacceptable to do the latter? No, but it's not recommended, and readers probably won't be coming back, even after you update.

So for most people here, do what you can do, try and come up with a schedule that works for you (don't bite off my than you can chew) and aside from a few exceptions that life throws at you (school gets busier due to midterms, you end up under the weather or with an injury, you get a new job that pays better so you need to adjust your schedule, whatever it is...) and readers are usually pretty understanding, especially here on Tapastic (now LINE Webtoon? Not so understanding from what I've seen from readers' comments lol you could update once every 5 minutes and they'd still be dissatisfied lol)

[demthorshie]

I think comic delays at any given time for any given reason is totally acceptable. Many of us are doing this out of the kindness of our hearts or just to get our story out there, absolutely free of charge! It's okay to go on hiatus if you've got other things that need to be taken care of outside of your comic schedule. I personally like to be as consistent with my comic as possible, no matter what my schedule looks like. I never like to miss an update and I usually don't unless something really life changing happens to me.

[camillabluejay]

I think delays are perfectly fine. Life comes up. And like @AnnaLandin perfectly worded, they don't really owe you anything as a creator (in most cases)
HOWEVER, even though there is not a money exchange, there is an investment of emotions, a weird sort of relationship that grows between reader and creator. As a creator, if you invest more, then you'll receive more in terms of closeness with your readers. As a reader, I can get very invested with someone's story and characters, but it's only possible if I know to expect and look forward to updates. Some comics have great ideas and art, but if they don't update, I forget what happened last, and I'm not nearly as invested anymore.
So, as a creator, it's up to you want you want to get out of your creation. If someone's just doing it to get better at art, and really doesn't care who reads it, then it doesn't matter as much to them if they update or not. But if a creator is trying to open up and share their stories with the world means putting in the time and consideration that they want to receive from their readers.
TL;DR? You get what you put in.

[kambreapratt]

I think delays are acceptable. Stuff happens and I think as long as you communicate that it's fine.

We have had to pause our comic for long stretches. My husband had to commute 2.5 hours away for a job for awhile. We have been sick. Family member have passed away. Paying comic work came up and so on. We try our best, but at the end of the day we love our comic, but things happen.

Plus, if you are doing your comic for free, people can wait if you have life issues.