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disqette
Jul '20

I love when art gets better in a comic over time, but what about storytelling skills?

If a comic starts out with weak writing, but over time the writing improves drastically, is it worth it to suffer through the first few chapters?

Should an author work on improving writing through the course of the comic or is the author's energy best spent on starting over?

  • created

    Jul '20

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    Jul '20
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Penni
Jul '20

Personally, I care more about the story than the art. If it has great art, but terrible writing that doesn't improve, I would more than likely drop the series.

Writing is part of making a comic so I think the creator should aim to improve on all aspects of their work.

Samuraiflame
Jul '20

Depending on the genre of comic, I would say readers definitely do care about the storytelling skills.

Just think of it in the reverse. There have been plenty of official works with strong starts, but their stories regress overtime and people complain when later seasons/chapters/arcs aren't as good as the beginning. People do notice these things.

Likewise, something with a weak beginning can get better along the way. I've had old readers go back to my earlier episodes or other uploads of my comic and leave a comment telling new readers that it's worth the ride. Unless you intend to change a story's plot or premise entirely, I would usually suggest continuing your comic instead of starting over.

elisabeth_ist
Jul '20

I'll do it if I know there's going to be significant payoff, but weak writing will almost always turn me off unless there's a lot of buzz about something and I've got a guarantee from someone I trust that the writing solidifies later. I do think it's a little more forgivable in comics than in novels.

foxnflames
Jul '20

If I can feel the heart of the story then I'll stick with it. I'd actually rather the storytelling improve. That lets me know that the author took the time to get better at their craft. And in any subsequent work they do, I know the new level to expect.

And there's nothing wrong with going back and updating chapters because you'll always get new readers and your old readers can see the improvement

elyss
Jul '20

For me the story has to be there first. idc how beautiful the art is, if it's only a meh story then I'm just looking at a bunch of illustrations which isn't very fun imo.