Dai-Kon? Die-Kon? The convention to die for!

[MahouPoint]

Hey everyone, I've been a lurker for a while now and have been posting here and there about my comic occasionally on other social networking sites. So I was surprised that there was a platform within Tapastic that allows people to talk to each other!

Me and my friend, Teto, have been working on our manga parody "Dai-Kon" for about 4 years now. Our first attempt was unsucessful but we got the commentary we needed to develop it a lot more.

Also keep in mind me and Teto had a fight about reading direction, so it's RIGHT-TO-LEFT.
(I wanted it Left-to-right,but after listening to him, I gave in. He's got a good reason for doing so, but basically we're trying to prove that as long as a comic's good people will read it no matter what)
Anyways, basically this:

evolved into this:

It was originally conceived as a "game of death" type series until there was a huge focus on the trope in recent years, so we're focusing more on the comedy of the series to differentiate ourselves! Basically it's the world's biggest con. A whole bunch of fans throughout the world get invited to this con for free, then all hell breaks loose when the curtains open to reveal it was all just a ruse.

I want the series to focus on different fanatics, from anime, celebrity, and gaming, to sports and maybe even religion. However in order to not sound to preachy or like we're attacking anything in particular, we're attempting to fictionalize real series and such. The goal is to make fun of fans but not in the same way Big Bang Theory does. We want the characters to grow in a logical way too, but I don't want to give away HOW that'll play out.

So far we've put in product parodies of Strawberry 100%, Digimon, Mega Man, and One Piece!

Now I know this sounds a bit impatient, but I've had my comic up for about 9 months now, and the popularity nor views don't seem to be going anywhere in particular. I'm wondering if it's worth it? Are people looking for a comic like this? Or are we doing this all wrong?

So I'm kinda coming here looking for guidance or comments more than anything else. The series seemed to be gaining popularity when Inkblazers was still around, obviously due to its manga roots, but doesn't seem to be getting the same following here. I guess I can also blame my habit of very slowly bulk updating the comic as soon as I get done with a certain page. I only get to do so many pages every couple of weeks, and this year has been killer on the schedule to the point I kind of don't talk about it to subscribers, It's a lot of personal stuff that just decided to hit in the span of 12 months.

So I guess that things that worry me a bit are the jokes funny? Is the quality okay? are the characters likeable? There's are things I worry about because even though I think we're hilarious, having no feed back or telling jokes at the comedy club to just hear coughing is kinda painful. Even a boo would suffice at this point.

And maybe I am just being really impatient. It could be because no "Action" in the series has happened just yet. Chapter 3 is our clencher. We're kinda banking on it to bring the series the tone that we want.

So can any of you as creators or readers give me any feedback on my series? My series may also have a few conventions typical to manga styled comics, maybe even manga in general, and my art may be a bit bad at the beginning 34 some pages, (it was before my kickstarted series "Dragging~Fly!" Money gives a lot of quality confidence!) but believe me when I say "We're aware of it and there's a reason for it."

[Luminosophy]

I think one of the biggest things holding you guys back may in fact be the right to left format. I know it's how "authentic manga" is produced but the right to left structure has less to do with authenticity and everything to do with practicality. If your comic is written in Japanese and given to Japanese readers, they will automatically assume it's right to left because that's how books have been written in their culture for as long as they can remember. Conversely, a comic written in English but in the Japanese format of right to left is going to be difficult and confusing for an English audience to read.

I'm someone who might've gotten used to reading right to left when I read translated Japanese comics, but if I'm reading a manga on the web by an English author, my brain will auto assume left to right. Then it makes for an awkward reading experience while I try to adjust again. For example, I got stuck on page 1 on the panel with the text "Everyone is going to Dai-Kon". I kept reading it as "Is going to... Everyone... Dai-Kon.."

Now I'm not much a writer but something that stands out to me art wise: If your comic is black and white, you need really master your ink. There's a lot of gaps left open (for example, the lines aren't fully closed on a lot of fingers) which especially on panels that aren't toned, can make the image confusing as to what is what and where. Be more confident with your line art. Even if you think there's mistakes, at least complete all strokes to show what the lines are describing. If you're not going to use any toning in a panel, consider using thicker strokes.

Lastly, do your comic because you're passionate about it. Not because of the readership or lackthereof. Worst case scenario if your readership doesn't expand: You still gain experience and have the ability to re-make it better later. Also don't worry about the action, as a reader I personally like comics that are slower paced. Comics that are pure action come off as over the top and unbelievable. A good story should have balance and action especially needs a legitimate reason to be there, not just cheap thrills for the audience.

[MahouPoint]

thank you for the feedback. I'm not sure this first problem is something I can correct so fast at this point, but if I hear enough complaints from people who end up reading it or wanting to like it, I may reconsider it. Teto's a bit of a hardhead on this part. But I am very aware of this being a problem.

Ink mastery was a long and tedious process. Between redoing chapter 1 and finishing it up I had done another series on the side that helped me master ink a lot more. I want to believe that Chapter 2 has less of this problem, but I could work more on it. I don't want my lines too thick, though. Though looking back a few lines are too thin. And looking back a few hands do look confusing.

I'm more of a color illustrator. I try to work a bit linelessly. so doing it with ink is just something I really need to practice with. Weight replaces gradients, tone replaces technique, and such. It's all still a bit new even after 200+ pages in black and white comics. ;u; Thank you for pointing it out, though! Maybe i should work on ink still lifes or something.

I think it goes without saying that I'm going to incorporate critiques into future chapters and worry about fixing the others later on.

I guess I'm worried about readership because "oh I'm getting popular!" went to "aw, I'm not so popular anymore...". It's a bit jarring, especially when you don't get any feedback, you know? Even just a "boo, you suck!" I'm just hoping I'm not boring potential readers to tears.