Do Reader Expectations/Comments Ever Influence Your Comic?

[spicy_sweets]

No, I'm more influenced by my characters tbh. My readers don't usually say ships (bc I barely have any) When I have something planned that they think shouldn't be done, I tend to improvise until we come to a consensus.

That being said, if I get criticism that points out something I never noticed, I'm all for it.

[Jenny-Toons]

I have people in the comments predicting just actually who and what Christina is for Our Universe. Some have called her Mother Earth, some have called her an alien, some even think she's a God. And only a few just straight up refer to her as {REDACTED}.

They're getting closer to what I'm trying to reveal in the story, and I don't really mind. Our Universe is very much different from My Demon Valentine -- it has a longer plot, more subtle hints, and tiny Easter eggs. So I kinda want people to figure out things and make those predictions.

Whether or not they get it right is revealed when I finish the story, but even if someone does, I just silently pat them on the back without changing the plot. I dunno -- I like the idea of someone figuring out my plot along the way but still enjoy my work; at least for me, it shows that I was able to convey what I was going for.

[JRHoch]

My readers don't say ships either, but I know that's a big thing with some comics.

[revisionstudios]

I think it depends on the situation, and I generally agree with everyone here--there are times to do it and times not to.

There have been times I overreacted to criticism though (and by criticism, I mean like one or two comments), and changed course when I probably shouldn't have. I had some people say that it was getting really slow and that there wasn't enough action. So, even though my plan was to set up the character dynamics more and let the main character settle into his role, I got scared I was losing people and decided to switch around some things and move the next conflict up.

This unfortunately caused some of the silent, happy fans to be like "I really wish we had gotten more time to see the MC in his new role" cue me over here like "OTL

And it wasn't a short conflict, so... I'm only JUST finishing it up 180 pages later. I tried to intersperse it with scenes that still were character heavy, and it's not like it's not important to the plot... but it definitely made me learn the hard way not to let the minority reader expectations get to you.

[Darkstrong]

I never had to change anything in the story because of reader feed back, yet. Definitely not because the readers expect something or want something to happen. I have a sudden urge to change something, when I see a comment of a reader seeing through an upcoming twist or correctly deducing something that was not yet explained in the story. So far, I had strength to fight off those urges =)

[StrangeVision]

Back near the start of my comic, someone commented about a certain character being their favorite. She was going to die very soon, but I let her live based on that. I was hurtin' for readers and didn't want to turn them away by killing off their favorite character so soon after them expressing so...
She died eventually anyway, but I let her stick around a good while. I think it worked out better this way, fortunately.

[Rasp]

There was one couple in azure ink I'd originally developed a romantic plot line for but scrapped it when it proved too predictable and it was boring me... however both of my editors at the time loved the pair so I brewed up a romance plot with them.... only to kill it dead pretty quickly and to illustrate how I saw their relationship. I know it seems like I took the genuine feelings of my editors and lit them on fire... but I wasn't trying to. I was trying to give them a bit of what they wanted while keeping to my current vision. I guess I'd done my original job of giving the two great chemistry too well... there are worse problems a writer could have.

[inkycharland]

I think there is a line. I wouldn't forego my own plans for the story for readers. But I'm not above taking good advice or perspectives. I think you can do both. Sometimes people won't like your decisions no matter what you do. You just have to do what you want, and hope readers trust you to continue to make a good product.

[mariusthered]

shot in the face minding her own business was so sad (but awesome)

[AceRagz]

So far no. I've had a few expectations given to me and I feel they would all be spoilers if I addressed them here. But the main one which was posted in my comment section and I feel this is pretty spoiler territory but....eeeeh... It is expected my main character's mom is going to die soon. I guess this comes down to the Disney effect that if there is a loving parent in the picture and usually the mother they always die early in the story. This is something I want to avoid since my story has a lot of elements of the effects of parents on their kids both as children and as adults.

[tchotchkeco]

I think the problem is my comic is very lore and plot heavy to where there’s a lot of suspense and mystery. It gets hard to let readers influence the comic without it messing up the plot that’s already written. I will say though if a lot of folks are like “Wow! We should get more combat scenes!” Or something similar that then...sure. I’ll add more combat. Though I won’t say I’ll make certain characters date or things along those lines. I’ll always try to make choices best for the comics development.

[Anithia]

I have never been in that situation lol, but i wouldnt change the mayor plot or story, maybe some details, but changin the entire plot... only when my editor says (i dont have a formal sditor) or my proofreaders

[LCT_m_a_d]

Personally, I always want to give readers a significant proportion of influence. I want to deliver it in a creative way but my art focus is mainly about creating stuff that readers want and deliver what they are looking for. It feels like art is all about the viewer consuming the peice, more than just crafting something cool.

[Rosso]

so far only ever so slightly.
I have these very minor black wolf characters that are hard to tell apart save for subtle fur styling. i did not expect them to gain the kind of popularity they have now among my readers, lol...
One time someone was hoping they could be a bit easier to tell apart. So eventually i went back and revised their design in all their panels. Now i made it a rule no matter how minor a character is, they should have their own unique fur markings or other unique features XP

The only downside to this is now i'm a little bit attached to those characters than i did before. Which is no bueno... XD"""

But in terms of influence over story? nothing and hopefully never.

[ryoko]

Sometimes a reader will make a comment about what's going on or about a character that I think is funny and I may illustrate it as extra content rather than make it canon to the story. Other than that, I'm not swayed by readers to change anything about my story.

I think that no matter what you do in your story, someone is going to not like where it's going or who you pair or don't pair certain characters with, so I wouldn't get too stressed when your ideas don't mesh with reader's expectations.

[joannekwan]

I won't let their opinions alter major plot points.

But I will definitely listen when they spot tiny plot threads that I may need to tie up! They're doing the work of a beta reader for me there. And it's quite helpful.

[sybaritemouse]

Sometimes. It is important to hear the feedback of your readers, but never loose your personal creative identity. Sure, you can hear recommendations and ideas, you can try give them what they want but don't loose the creators identity and personality. I think thats the most important thing in a comic

[JRHoch]

Yes, certain times I think my meaning is clear between two characters but people focus on a different aspect than I was. Or my subtlety gets in the way.

[joannekwan]

I've found that a lot of people also are expecting the worst to happen in a story.
So when they are predicting a certain event, I have to insert a scene or snippet of dialogue explaining why it won't happen lol.

[DokiDokiTsuna]

Having this come up as an issue wasn't even remotely possible for me until recently, so I'm not really sure...

On the one hand, of all the people who need to like my story, I am the most important person to please, so what I want to have happen supercedes everyone else's desires.

But on the other hand, there are a lot of things I could want. ^^ I'm a very flexible storyteller, and easily influenced to boot. I'm fully prepared for the future me to take cues from commenters to make my stories the best versions of themselves.
And if it so happens that they suggest something great that simply can't fit into the story, there are always joke comics~