Episodic or continuous storyline?

[galebourn]

Which kind of webcomics do you guys prefer, the classic one-pager with a punchline at the end or those with a deeper storyline and lots of pages?
Right now, I'm working on a weird mixture. My comic has a punchline after every page and usually only consists of 4 panels, but they're all connected through a bigger plot.
My concern is that people are turned off by a continuous storyline, because they can't just start at any given point in the series.
I only have a few readers right now, but I already received lots of weird questions that could be easily answered if you read all pages.
Stuff like "Why is the Demon Lord afraid of his own bodyguards?" (It's clearly stated that those bodyguards are assassins from the Wizard).

Do people have problems following your storyline? Are episodic comics more successful?
Let's have a nice discussion!

[joannekwan]

I agree episodic ones are easier to follow though like you mentioned there is a historical canon even in those.
My first series I posted here, Demon House is sort of episodic, each update is 1-3 pages and I have episode arcs that can take up 4 or more pages. I view it as a sitcom (though without laughs all the time) where the main focus are the characters and how their relationships with each other grow and change over time. So there aren't any twisty plot-points to keep track of really.

Most of my readers seem to remember what's happened. Even with my other two series which are continuous storylines, I haven't really gotten questions about something that was covered in earlier episodes. The only thing is people forget names and specific relationships like if characters were friends or siblings. Which is understandable, especially if the reader is following like 300 series. I am guilty of forgetting names too.

[AnnaLandin]

Well, I'm working on what is going to be a 1000-page epic, and people have been keeping up pretty well so far! XD

Sure, new readers are going to land on the latest page and ask themselves what the heck is going on - but that's an issue for a lot of serialised media. Imagine flipping to a new channel on tv and landing on an episode of a tv-show you've never seen before - you're not going to know whaat the heck is going on. If you still like what you see, you're going to go back and find out more!

Episodic comics are easier to consume in bite-sized pieces, and easier to share online with others - a "Hey look at this funny thing I found!"-thing - but longer storylines don't seem to be a problem, really.

In fact, I could see it being a strength - people are getting more and more used to binge-watching tv-shows. If you have a comic with an ongoing storyline, new readers are going to have a big archive of pages to dig through!

[mariusthered]

my comic is most defiantly Episodic its on going like a soap opera but I make it easy for people to follow by breaking it up into seasons. I end seasons roughly every two chapters so it wouldn't take much for people to find out whats going on if the read something they don't understand connected to a previous chapter. sure there are bits of my story lines that put people off but other bits that get them interested again it's all part of the game.

[hecdora]

Yeah, I agree with Anna.

For me, personally, it depends on multiple factors, could be time, how tired I am, or simply thinking "oh man, I can't be bothered to start something new right now". It's the same with all media though. I can waste away hours on a game, completely engrossed in a story, only to want to play something as simple as Tetris for the rest of the year. Sometimes I don't want to invest in something new, sometimes I just want that quick "HA" amusing feeling.

Both have a time and a place BUT overall, nothing beats getting into a longer storyline. I can recall almost every engaging storyline I've ever had the pleasure of losing myself in. (not names or details like that, I'm terrible with those details) I can barely remember one offs I loved two weeks ago, on the other hand.

With your, somewhat unusual case, I'd say it'll work both ways and it depends on the readers. If they want to learn the lore, great, if not, they have a chance to enjoy each page and its punchlines while not getting the full meaning. No harm there!

[Ringarune]

I personally like deeper storylines, only problem is that it many cases (my comic as well) it takes forever for those stories to get anywhere since most artists on here do not do this as a full time job. The episodic ones I really enjoy as well though, especially when I want to laugh!

[TrustyShamrock]

i like them both for different reasons. my favorite comics are usually the long story ones. but those are sit down with a snack comics. and it turns out im super lazy when it comes to actually planning on being lazy. so i been reading a lot more one page comics and strips lately so i can get thru them faster

[Aspie_Gamer]

With episodic comics, you don't have to really think all that much about what the comic should be about especially those "personal life" comics a few of which I follow.

With long form stories, you really have to put in a lot of thought into both the story and the art and plan far ahead as far as updates go since not a lot of readers probably want to wait for your comic just to have the main story update at a snails pace.

It's why I put my long form comic Life of an Aspie on the backburner until I can update the story in large chunks for a few months at a time.

[Jabbage]

I've been really impressed lately by comics that manage to combine both, taking a leaf out of cartoons like Gravity Falls and Steven Universe that have an overarching storyline woven into their episodic stories. Deadendia is my absolute favourite example of this.

(I keep saying I'll try writing a story that way... just after I've finished my ongoing 40 pager and the anthology comic I've got planned for after that and... and and...)

[MrKyleRose]

I try to do a little of both as well. For my series The Working Stiff each strip is a stand alone gag. I usually do 3-4 related gags in a row that sometime build to a final strip also serves as a larger punchline for the grouping. The long term threads are all in the character development and relationships. I also will put in background jokes that reference things from past strips.

While I think being too continuity heavy is a concern for new readers, one of the advantages of webcomics is that its all there. If a reader likes what they see, they can just hit that "first strip" button and read from the beginning.

[MrKyleRose]

Seasons are really helpful. I'm planning on breaking my series The Working Stiff in to seasons (at this point probably yearly). This allows you to have a clean break point if you need to take a break but implies there is an intent to continue. You can also do things like timeline jumps or style changes in between seasons and still have it feel organic.