Do you think in order to make a GOOD comic, you should be a reader of comics?

[darthmongoose]

Pretty much every professional comics creator I know is a massive comics nerd. They love comics. They love talking about and dissecting comics. They either devour tons of comics, or at least used to read a lot and bemoan that working on comics gives them limited time to do so.

I think there are circumstances in which somebody could make a successful comic without being into comics, but they're quite odd and specific, like: "It's a gag comic with simple art that more leans on excellent writing, something like xkcd", or "The creator isn't into comics, but is VERY into a related thing, like film storyboarding or animation." (I can't imagine why somebody like that wouldn't like comics though...). It feels weird to me, personally. I learned so much about how to time jokes from reading things like Scott Pilgrim and Azumanga Daioh... and also... Making Comics by Scott McCloud is a comic! I feel like making comics without having read "Making Comics" is completely ridiculous, it's like... I dunno, it'd be like being an animator who's never read "The Animator's Survival Kit" or a Games Designer who's never read "The Art of Game Design", it's practically mandatory reading!

But even outside of just how reading comics shows you what to do and what not to do, helps you find your personal storytelling style and stuff... it's important because it helps you know where your comic fits and where your audience is. I don't think it's very likely for a person to make a popular comic on Tapas if there's not a single comic on Tapas with over 10k subs that you actually enjoy reading. How can you make a product an audience will enjoy if you don't like any of the things they like!? How will you know who to market to and how to market it without seeing where your work fits?

And then there's another thing which is... comics are exhausting. They're so much work. I can't imagine making one if I didn't just absolutely love comics and think it's a wonderful medium, and love to have books of my own comics on my shelves alongside books of comics by friends and people I admire. They don't make a lot of money, they rarely result in a lot of fame... why make comics if you don't love comics!?

[NickRowler]

Honestly, the thing most newbie comic creators struggle with is not understanding story flow. Scott McCloud even dedicates his how to books to it probably due to most other how to draw comics/manga books tend to be on drawing only.

I think they should read some comics within their genre to understand style. And maybe they should also read Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics. I don’t think it would be impossible for them to create a comic. I think of something like Cromartie High which was created by someone who dislikes most manga and common manga tropes, thus you end up with a series that is quite unique looking when compared to other manga.

[candiedcotton]

I pretty much went on the same tirade, haha. Basically, their response is that they feel written literature is a dying art and that if they convert their work to comics, it will get more attention. They want the fame, and maybe some cash along with it. I did make it clear to 'em that making a living off comics is damn near impossible even for the best of creators, but eh. It's that old mentality of "yeah but my story is better than anything ever".

[darthmongoose]

All I can say is...er... "Good luck" to this person because...wow. That is some serious Dunning Kreuger effect they have going on there.

[candiedcotton]

Oh for sure.

Just kinda made me wonder how common that mentality was though, you know. How many folks decide to get into making comics when they're not really into them at all.

I'm an absolute addict, so I can't even imagine.

[DarkSena]

Everyone started off as a reader I would say
Even though I have to admit... I'm a terribly lazy reader. I hate to read But I love to look at the art, okay

[BoomerZ]

It is possible if he studies the medium for structure and and technique. Stories are stories. If you know how to write a story, that's half the battle. I would also say if he was a storyboard artist he would be fine. If all he does is write stories, I think he will be lost at layout. Lots of medium shorts and full shots at eye level will most likely be his go to.

[Nugtown]

I think they're lying, straight up
It's not necessarily because you need to read comics to make comics, you could feasibly do it on your own with no help. But there's a difference between "I have no need to reference comics" and "I have never read them!" <--not even absorbing it by casual exposure? Good one.

[AxemanRifflord]

...How is this person even expecting to get the art done? Are they going to hire an artist? Do the art themselves? Freeload? Have they even considered that part?

[candiedcotton]

Oh no, I've known this person for a decade. It's 100% believable, lol.

[candiedcotton]

I think they assume I will be the one drawing it, haha.

[DiegoPalacios]

Gotta say one must understand how the medium they are using works and reading is an easy way to get the grasp on comics.

[Lensing]

You should be really good at telling stories and be able to communciate with pictures.
You need some experience in visual storytelling, I can imagine someone who is into
movies and doesn´t read many comics and is still able to make a comic book.
But I think in reality most people who create comics are comic fans first

[powerplantanimations]

Yeh. I actually recommend people go back to early as the 30's and start seeing the evolution of comics first hand. This is why I think reading stuff like DC is useful lol.

[DNoble]

Has any good music ever been produced by someone who dislikes music? any films by creators who don't enjoy movies? Any novels by those who don't like reading?

Reading comics doesn't produce good comic creators by nature, it certainly helps improvement, but it isn't a prerequisite so much as it is a simultaneous phenomenon: People don't make good comics because they like reading comics, people who make good comics also like reading comics.

One is not the product of the other, they are simply simultaneous and symbiotic phenomena.

[hakei]

Sounds like "I'm going to cook the best steak even though I've never had a bite of steak or even watched someone cook a steak before but I'm good at cooking bacon so it's basically the same thing."

[AxemanRifflord]

They shouldn’t assume anything.

[theyrebothakilogram]

Yeah, there's a lot of visual tropes that you don't know unless you've read a lot of comics, so it's like everyone else is in on the joke except for them. Panelling is a lot more complicated than just 'picture with words' so reading comics is pretty important to making a comic

[ziibb]

Oh absolutely. They'll probably make a decent comic but not without tons of trial and error and even learning the basics through a much harder way than necessary.

I'm ngl though I think I understand them, I liked making comics ever since I was a kid but I didn't like the classic superhero style (the only type of comics I knew at the time) and just did my own thing steering clear of them. Once I came across webcomics and webtoon I felt like I found my place! Completely different format that has its own formulas and technique to learn about and I gladly read their tips and tricks and improved my comic skills.

Maybe let them do their own thing first. I know I wasn't like them where I rejected the very idea of ANY comic and you're right cuz reading comics is important to really master the elements, but maybe learning that itself is part of their journey!

[Katzalcoatl]

You do have to read a bare minimum of comics to understand how comics are made.

You can't cook a pie without looking at the recipe or at least tasting one pie. If you cook without any knowledge you will never arrive at the answer without many trials and errors.

Trying to do a comic without knowing what is popular and what is well accepted in certain genres is like attempting to draw the mona lisa without ever having seen the painting and just getting a vague description of what the mona lisa looks like by a friend.

You always need to investigate the things you are attempting for the first time. If you don't investigate your competition or your target audience beforehand your business will fail unless you are extremely lucky. And lets be honest not everyone is the unicorn they like to see themselves as.