Do you avoid finished webcomics?

[keii4ii]

How do you feel about coming across a finished webcomic that you haven't read before?

Here are the pros and cons of finding a finished webcomic.

Pros:

• Webcomics are notorious for randomly dying because the creator has lost interest, or can no longer spend time on it. With a finished webcomic, you know you'll actually reach a proper ending.

• You don't have to wait for the updates to trickle in.

Cons:

• With an ongoing webcomic, there is a powerful sense of being there with the characters as the events unfold. It strengthens the immersion. A finished webcomic doesn't get that boost. While a well-written, finished story is certainly capable of achieving immersion, sometimes I feel like I arrived at a party after the fun's already over. Like this.

It feels lonely. There's no hype.

I generally avoid those unless I've been strongly recommended to read them by people with good tastes.

Because of this reason, I feel iffy about the Premium comics both as a creator and as a reader. I grew up reading monthly anthologies (à la Shounen Jump, although not that magazine specifically) with ongoing stories. I'm used to waiting for updates, wondering what will happen next. But maybe that's just me. How do you feel about this?

EDIT: I'm talking exclusively about longform comics (i.e. NOT gag-a-days), but feel free to discuss your preference on this with all kinds of comics.

[elixiadragmire]

I can see what you mean .... an idea could be to hype it up as a completed works if the writing stands up to that kind of reading in one sitting or doing extra side or after stories or one somewhat connected that going back and reading the 'finished' ones in the collection would still have their appeal

[ghostnxs]

I don't avoid finished webcomics but I do avoid long series...I just don't like or care for something that goes on and on. I personally don't care about being "there with the characters", the only thing that makes me want to read a story is mystery and suspense, if I already know what's going to happen I won't read it. I think Immersion is the least important aspect to me with a story oh and characters as strange as that maybe I don't really connect with fictional characters at all regardless of the medium.

[Raven_C]

I don't actively avoid them (most webcomics I come across are still ongoing or unfinished to begin with. Haha). Sometimes I start to read a webcomic without the knowledge of whether it is finished or not. And if I see in the description that it's done or someone told me it is, I'd still read it if it's interesting enough to me.

[keii4ii]

While you and I have almost irreconcilably different ways of enjoying stories, what you said makes sense: if you don't care for the characters, you wouldn't want to read a long story. Mystery and suspense are enough to drive a short story, but they're usually not enough to keep your interest through a long arc. ("They STILL haven't found out who killed the victim from the first chapter????" That's just tiring. XD)

[keii4ii]

Just realized something:

I generally avoid those unless I've been strongly recommended to read them by people with good tastes.

That might be a weird statement, since what are the chances of me coming across a finished webcomic without any recommendations?

[ghostnxs]

Well when I mean I don't care for the characters, I mean I don't root for them or get attached and by mystery I mean by not knowing what happens not the genre. For example if all the main characters ended up dying at the end of story I wouldn't care I just want to know what happens throughout the story.

[keii4ii]

by mystery I mean by not knowing what happens not the genre.

I know. It just happened to be the first example I thought of. (That genre is called mystery for a reason...)

[ghostnxs]

oh okay. On another note one thing I noticed when I subscribe to comics that are finished is I forget they are there because there aren't any updates to remind me.

[Jelw]

I think I'm the opposite of you, then.
With manga/anime unless I get a recommendation or happen to see a thumbnail/summary that catches my attention, I hardly ever dabble into unfinished works.
Publicized manga and webcomics are different though, of course. However if there was an option to sort through complete and uncomplete here, well, I would definitely be giving the complete section a thorough browsing BEFORE I went in and looked at uncomplete works.
I don't know, I'm a person who really prioritizes immersion as I read, though. This is the same reason I prefer long scrolling format and chapter-based updates far over pages as well.

[fighterxaos]

I guess there'd be no point in subscribing because you won't see updates but it certainly wouldn't stop me from checking it out and liking it.

[inkandmarkers]

For me, I guess the preference for it being completed or ongoing depends on the comic itself.
For a "episodic" series, like "Sarah's Scribbles" or "Lunarbaboon", where one episode isn't influenced by the others, I prefer to subscribe when it's not yet complete, since there's always something short and attention-grabbing without it being too immersive. I usually don't read through all of the previous episodes, since they don't require any backstory to immerse oneself into.
On the other hand, with series with a long, ongoing story such as "Singmire Haze" or "heart:sensory", I tend to read the entire story beforehand before subscribing. And every time it is updated, I tend to read the previous 1 or 2 episodes so I could understand the context (My memory's not the best ^^;) Sometimes I abstain from seeing the updates for a few weeks so the episodes could accumulate, though it is hard to resist.
I do enjoy both types of series, but based on the medium they're projected, the more episodic types are more adaptable to weekly updates than ongoing stories. I have a couple of Tapastic Premium stories ("Hwaja" and "Juju's Diary") that I tend to read 5 chapters at a time; the series is already completed, so I can read at my own pace without worrying that I'll be nearing a incomplete story.
That being said, this is only my long-winded opinion (wow did I really write that much??)
Because there are a variety of different series and stories, there is great diversity for people with different interests and preferences. Regardless of story type, I enjoy different types of series ^_^

[Husbando]

I see. Finished comics are like a fandom that is already over! haha!
Well, you know, i don't read too many online comics because i feel that suddenly the author is gonna get bored and will never finish it. So, i try to read finished series. Besides, i don't like to read 1 page per week, i get lost and then i stop reading. "Episodic" comics are easy to read, those are the ones i often follow.

[ratique]

Finished as in "completed storyline" or finished as in "indefinite hiatus"?

I do read both, if the comic good. Sometimes the journey (aka reading) is more important than having an ending. Being finished does not diminish the quality of the comic to me.

But it does break my heart when I find a good comic that is on an indefinite hiatus. In the past simply because it is sad not to know what is going to happen - and nowadays because it makes me wonder if I am going to be able to finish my (very long) storyline. I most certainly hope so.

[scythe]

I'm the same. Finished, unfinished, as long as it's good and I have the time, I'll give it a read.

And it is always so sad to see amazing comics start off with a bang and then just stop. All you can do for your own comic is just take it day by day I think, keep your eye on the next small goal, rather than the bigger picture, which seems a lifetime away.

[justjezz]

It depends on what kind of comic it is, but I'd still search for a finished comic rather than an ongoing one.

For short gag comic strips, I don't mind if it was ongoing. Most of the time, there's no story pushing it forward, so I wouldn't feel lost if I didn't read from episode one.

For longer, story-driven comics, however, I'd get confused by the weekly updates because I'd have to keep coming back to the older episodes to remember what happened to the story. (Or, if the story's really good, the suspense would kill me if I waited for another week. xD) I'd wait for the episodes to pile up, then come back later.

[keii4ii]

I don't know, I'm a person who really prioritizes immersion as I read, though.

Well, there are different kinds of immersion: forward-propelling, outward-propelling and inward-propelling.

Forward-propelling: This is the "page-turner" factor. "I must find out what happens next... RIGHT NOW"

Outward-propelling: pure fandom experience; sharing your love for the series with others

Inward-propelling: inspires in-depth analysis, predictions, etc.

I think you're putting more emphasis on the forward type, and I on the inward type. Most of the time, there will be a little bit of all three types, but different people enjoy their favorite stories differently. And even the same person may have different approaches for different stories -- or even the same story at different stages.

[scythe]

This opinion surprises me a little, but is nonetheless understandable.

For me, I just always thought that it was a given that you read long webcomics piecemeal, given that the majority of creators have limited time to work on them (as oppose to doing it full time in a team).

The fact that you get to read them for free is the trade off in my mind.

[keii4ii]

I'd get confused by the weekly updates because I'd have to keep coming back to the older episodes to remember what happened to the story.

If the comic is popular enough, there are ALWAYS those super-attentive fans who leave comment like "OH, so that's why character X did that 50 chapters ago." I kind of end up relying on them. XD Or I become one of them if I'm that crazy about the comic, although that's rare.

I don't mind that I need to read the comments to fully understand the comic because for me, that's a big part of the fun. I absorb how others are interpreting the story, and use that to enrich my own interpretation.

[facemeltingsolos]

I much prefer completed stories as it takes a while for people to update and I will forget what's happening in any given storyline. XD

It's just fun for me to view the whole work as a single thing. Easier to digest, analyze, and form an opinion. Of course, getting a story a bit at a time is still preferable to getting no story at all.