Do you plan comics with an end in mind?

[navyzerimar]

Yes...
Well I do at least with all the stories I want to tell I always plan an ending: but I am also guessing it depends on the kind of comic it is, like if it has a continuous story with characters and an overarching narrative: but if you only tell short stories and the likes then not necessarily right...?

[apurviance]

"Quitting is easy. I've done it lots of times."

Right now I'm scripting my 3rd ending, aka book number three. I can quit any time I want.

[shaneoid77]

I prefer to work with vague ideas and let the story flow, working within the Superhero genre is good for that, as there's usually lots of stories going on so an official end is rare anyway. Right now I work from synopsis/art/script, so the story is taken along visually first.

[Greg_Dickson]

I've revised my ending about 5 times, but recently, I've come to an ending that I'm so satisfied with and confident in, that I decided to create a short prologue that takes place in the future right before the final confrontation. I now know what my cast will start like and where they will need to be by the ending, so it's a good way for me to keep on track.

[TeamReGrBl]

@skyfish @hushicho

Have you guys ever watched the anime, Bakuman? It's about a kid who wants to be a mangaka and it does a good job depicting the process of becoming one and how they work creating manga as well as working with editors. I really enjoyed seeing all the inner workings behind how the whole mangaka process works; like having an actual studio set up to work with other assistant artists and how manga stories are ranked, as well as how manga gets picked up for anime adaptations, etc. it was cool.

I agree with the importance of being flexible - we have an ending in mind for our comic, but it's more of an overall idea of how things will end, with no specific details, so it still gives freedom for new things to happen till we get there. Plus having an ending in mind helps the story eventually reach that point organically, and not feel like it ended abruptly or 'out-of-left-field'

[cylmill]

Yes! I unconsciously imagine how it ends first than it starts haha....and then I think later of how to fill in the stuff in the middle of it all!

[lilybugged]

lol no
I'm planning a few pages ahead, but I do my comic as more of a side thing so I'm not sure when the ending will be.
I find it more fun that way, because if I decide later that I want to take it in a different direction, I can.
My layout helps with this sort of flexibility, too. Each sorta "chapter" thing just has a name, sort of like a topic, so if I decide I want to start something in a different direction or pertaining to another part of the story, I'll just find a topic name and start a new chapter with it.
Shameless self-promotion: https://tapastic.com/episode/353028

[Tentakustar]

Always. I need to have an ending in mind in order for me to know how my story is going to go. that's just how I do it at least. Having and ending and beginning helps create the middle ground of my stories. pretty much the "on-going" parts. I need the ending and beginning parts so I don't make something that trails off from the elements of the story if that makes sense? it basically just helps me keep things more uniformed.

[Fox_Den7]

I have an ending in mind for my comic but~ that could change who knows!

[punkarsenic]

oh yeah, you gotta know where it ends. you also need to know at least vaguely whats gonna happen in the middle, otherwise thats gonna be... a mess.

comics theoretically could go on and on, especially slice of life comics with decent characters. but hey, look at marvel and dc - they run on and on and on by creating new arcs, constantly. to an extent, it works, but honestly they both have awful continuity and every so often they have to have an apocalypse to keep iron man 20. either way, these comics have arcs that have a planned ending, so i dont think its really possible to write a story with a plot without some kind of ending, even if its lots of small ones.

[Jenny-Toons]

Most definitely. A lot of times, I like to know where my concrete ending is and where my concrete beginning is. And then it's just connect the dots from then on, for me.

I really like to have conclusions to my stories, and I'm not really a big fan of filler arcs that sorta digress from the story (UNLESS they're side stories that add to the story and give information that didn't fit nicely into the main plot).

[OliviaMerteli]

The end is generally the first thing that pop in my mind when I find a new idea.
Next, I just have to find a beginning, a middle and a context

[YangKoete]

So far most of mine that are planned are just slice of life, but I do have one massive story comic planned that I want to draw.

[trace]

Definitely. It's getting the plot interesting while getting there is the hard part, though.

[TheRabbit]

I have an ending planned, but haven't written down the nitty gritty of it. Since it will be aaages till I'll be there, I will probably have much better ideas then than I will have now.

[arushiangelica]

I write a poetry comic Existentialist Crisis. So this comic is something that can go on forever. And I don't mind. I might take hiatus maybe once a year or something to take a break.

As far as my novel Beautiful Rebellious Brainiacs is concerned, I have a clear ending in my mind. My story starts from the ending and then works backwards.

[pistolshrimp77]

I kinda have majorit of everything mapped out vaguely in my head. but during the making of the comic I add in stuff and characters to make its more interesting. But the main plot and mostly the ending is already mapped out for me. sometimes its mapped out what happens but you don't know how your gonna show that.

[joe_galindez]

Old threads are weird. So many faces that we don't see around anymore. Are they gone, or merely lurking?

I definitely write with an ending in mind. Sometimes I find a better ending along the way but usually I'm working toward a particular image.

[DiegoPalacios]

Yes, my actual comic has an end in mind. I have a lot of what will happen planned. Even some of the jokes. I write a script before drawing the pages and if i get a new idea, i check to see what works setter for that scene. I make sure i know where my story is going.

[kklekc718]

All my series (in planning or in development) have an ending.
For an example, Chronicles of the Last Century. Obviously, there will be an ending, as the name implies. I separate each book by a decade, (shall start with book 4 first and then later, do 1-3. Don’t worry, it won’t be like the Hobbit or the SW Prequel saga).
Another example is Legend of the Crusade (although this is more of a game idea). You finish the main story of the RPG game, so even that shall end.
My current series (release date TBA), Hero University. Every student are expected to graduate, so their will be a graduation for my characters.
I do have two series that does not have an ending in mind, but when the time come, I shall end that as well.