Fear of backlash?

[VermillionWorks]

I'm worried that I'll receive backlash for how the story begins to take darker turns and show a more violent side then what is presented early on.

Like some here, I actually have a similar fear for one particular part of my comic, to the point where I've been flip-flopping on whether to try and avoid it or not, this coming from someone who's comic has had throat tearing and popping eyeballs. XD

However, that also means my comic has had some very messed up scenes already and I've never received any real backlash, even though the comic started out pretty tame. I can only trust people to turn away and stop reading if the comic becomes too uncomfortable for them.

You can say "there will be dark stuff in this comic" or "tthere will be violence/trigger fuel/ect" if you feel the need to be more specific, I don't think either of those type of warnings will really spoil the flow of the story. Then at least you can say you warned people.

I doubt any shift in the story's mood will make you lose tons of your regular readers, I wouldn't worry about it, but either way, sometimes you just have to go with your gut so you can tell the story you want to tell and not worry so much about people's feelings. Being considerate is all well and good, but worrying about that too much can also drive you crazy and lead to making edits you don't really want to make...then suddenly you've lost your original vision.

[indagold]

I got no self confidence what so ever and I will publish any crazy bizarre crap for the hell of it haha!

[CrispyGhee]

Definitely agree with this. Especially since webcomics as a medium allows you to have this sort of rapport.

I think that a creator can do to sort of learn to balance the intention of their story while at the same time be open to learning more about what causes certain reactions in certain parts of their reader-base. Putting stuff out there can be a tough lesson.

[sorrelma]

Game of Thrones, both the book (A Song of Fire and Ice) and the television series are known for ripping their readers/viewers heart, then chewing it, and then proceeded by spitting it back out while they watched. Yet, no one ever said "I'm not going to read/watch this series ever again!" because YOUR real supporters are the ones that say they can't wait to come back for the next book/episode. Sometimes backlash can be your friend if done right.

fair enough but look what happened to CW's The 100 when backlash sprang up over the death of one of the show's major lgbt characters (s03ep07 "thirteen")

ratings never came back up to their level before that episode, either. and the showrunners led a horrible pr campaign(jason rothenberg, the main showrunner, was.. bizarrely proud of his decision to kill her until it started hurting him) when trying to confront alienated viewers so the issue is still really sensitive for a lot of people

EDIT:// the other thing abt GoT and ASoIaF is that they were brutal and bloody from the beginning so it isn't a shocking development when something really violent and intense happens. fans can actually expect violence(also TV guide warnings let them know what's coming to some extent) that said, lots of readers of the novels won't touch the show because of the way some characters were treated in the adaptation

[mariusthered]

Yet, no one ever said "I'm not going to read/watch this series ever again!"

sorry but I did, in fact i got so pissed waiting for the last book to come out I sold my books. I must admit i have watched the tv show since i said that but im not half as interested in it as a was. My personal opinion is Martin love the shine of profit more and the love of fans and has sold out , but that's just me. (sorry to go off topic with this answer)

[quakeulf]

Attention? What's that?

[shaneoid77]

I'm in the same boat, and yes my social anxiety kicks in when I feel there will be a backlash against my work. There have been some potent attacks on mainstream superhero comics of late as to how they portray their characters, where as I like to think I put a little saucy postcard titillation in my art, you never know who is going to be offended. I worry because I enjoy working with diverse cultures but I have no experience of them except through the media and I'm afraid I wont get something authentic and potentially upset someone, which would in turn upset me.

[T10K]

Oh gosh, I think everyone who creates anything has that sort of anxiety. (You do a good job at managing it though, the work you produce is lovely and well thought out.) I think everyone has some sort of anxiety over how others will see their creative work; writing, art, sculpture, food, anything!

Thing is, there's always that fear, especially when your story takes a different tone than perhaps your readership started out with.

Yet, I think that as long as the events occur over time, what someone said above fits perfectly - it's a natural progression of story flow. You may get some comments or folks who choose to put your comic aside because it doesn't quite follow their taste in reading - but you also will no doubt pick up other readers who enjoy depth and will give you lovely feedback and enjoy the issues/situations presented.

I would absolutely consider the disclaimer if you're concerned - it takes some of the stress off of you and puts the choice right in the hands of your readership.

Good luck!

[NickRowler]

I also have anxiety but when it comes to backlash, I am on the fence.

I want to in the future dive into darker themes with my comic like abuse and manipulation but I am a bit afraid that if I don't handle it right, people will think I am being tasteless.

However, I am also tempted to push the boundaries "too far" just to get a reaction out of people.

[AdventuresOfToad]

The approach I've always taken to this is, make stuff that you want to read. Don't try to make comics for a specific audience, or even worry about who that audience is. If you're making the stuff you really love, the right audience will flock to you. Of course that said, you do have to market your stuff via social media in order to find "your people" but the main thing to remember is, there's an audience for everything. So bottom line, make what you wanna make!

PS if you want to check out my comic, you can do so here: https://tapastic.com/series/The-Adventures-of-Toad

[scullpanda]

I have severe anxiety as well actually and have a similar fear even took a comic down a while back because I convinced myself the art wasn't good enough and when people where commenting (the occasional mean human) it would just ruin me. Mine never had to do with the content turning darker(because I never got that far into it ) but with my ability itself, Took me almost a year again to work up the courage to make a new comic and post it.

[spadesart]

There's a comic here called Patrik The Vampire that did something like that and i think it actually gained a whole lot more readership after becoming darker and more plot heavy. (it's also fantastic i 100% recommend)

[ratique]

Do I just keep trucking on and pray for the best or should I put a disclaimer on the series that states that it is in fact to get much darker? Or would this spoil the flow of the story?

This is exactly what I have done. While I do not have anxiety regarding backlashes, I was worried that readers would be surprised by brutality and darker themes of the story. That's why I started my story with a disclaimer, which was positively received. It gave people the chance to ask what kind of violence to expect and I am glad I added it.

For reference:

Devil's Acres :: Disclaimer | Tapas

[punkarsenic]

Honestly, this problem has stopped projects in their tracks for me. Just thinking of all the constant criticism I could get.

I think a good thing to do, with any social anxiety problem, is look at how you perceive others. Like, you don't notice or care about things about other people that you get anxious they're judging you for. Nobody's gonna get angry about your anatomy slip up there, or shout about how terrible your plot is. In fact, from what I've seen here, there's very rarely backlash in general. When people don't like something, they just don't subscribe, or don't read.

But also, as someone dealing with this anxiety, I know understanding that doesn't always work. I'd honestly say, fuck all of them, you're making this comic for you and you're gonna enjoy it even if they don't - and some other people will, too. The best way to deal with anxiety for me is to just give zero fucks. It's hard - especially since deep down you really really really really care - but just try to convince yourself, see how it goes.

[greenraptorstudios]

Well first of all, there will always be backlash on something, it's just something that you gotta deal with. Also a little advice me friend told me once, you really should' worry so much. Rebecca Black did a pretty crappy music video and it still got famous and popular.

As for your story, I don't know if it would cause backlash, but it sounds like a sudden shift that could take the audience by surprise, almost like it's a direct 360 in audience direction. I would say yes you should put some warning up and kinda ease the audience into that "darker" tone your trying to set later. Don't just spring it all of a sudden.

Good Luck.

[WasHNooB]

wow...
this is a very interesting topic that I really didn't consider. The more you know.

I previously expected that our comic will not get much in terms of readership because it is very dark and who likes to read dark stuff... haha..

(I like dark :D) .

But readers have been supportive so far...

Our comic started off dark (so I guess you kind of knew what kind of story it is), but I'm actually at a point where its going back to dark and it is about to get really ugly.

That's why I started my story with a disclaimer,

Never thought of a disclaimer post... that is a really helpful idea... should probably do it to warn readers of sensitive content up ahead.
- WasH

[Fridgewriter]

"Who would have thought there'd be so much death in a vampire show?" - Skeletor

In most cases, you want to make sure your opening stories have some elements of whatever you want to feature heavily in later episodes or the ending. Cowboy Bebop gets away with a downer ending because the series did have many elements of tragedy and bad ends for other people between moments of absurd comedy and Jackie Chan slapstick without suffering tone whiplash.

Ctrl+Alt+Del failed at escalation and getting the audience comfortable at switching to dramatic moments because the author just told a story of idiots being idiots in zany situations with no real repercussions and then suddenly miscarriage. We all know where that went.

The other thing is to stand by your creations and your work if you're feeling that you're being true to your mission statement. Robert Kirkman of Walking Dead got unfairly called out as several of his minority characters had bad things happen to them, even though in the Walking Dead, everyone isn't safe and inclusion doesn't mean special favors for the sake of keeping a diverse cast. Enough people understood what that meant and stuck with it.

I too, get a little nervous at times talking about some of my projects or what elements it has but if you believe in it and speak honestly, you will more often be pleasantly surprised by people, especially if you also treat them with respect with their concerns.

[MAGAToons]

If it makes you feel better, I have a comic about President Trump so the backlash potential is huge. Sometimes you just need to not care what peoples' reactions will be and go with your instinct.

[lunchtiiime12]

MAGAToons: lol subbed

I'd say a good, healthy way to think about it is to realize of people are happy, mad, scared, whatever enough (pick an emotion) to actually respond or talk to you, you're doing it exactly right. Every comment makes you more popular in Tapastic's eyes, so yes, do whatever you want. People talking is the greatest gift in the world, even if it's "MAN THIS COMIC MADE ME MAD."

[Aspie_Gamer]

In today's overly sensitive PC world where even a healthy internet debate over dogs vs cats is enough to rustle someone's jimmies, you are going to encounter some kind of backlash no matter what. For example, in Life of an Aspie, simply having a relatable female character with gasp flaws would be enough to have some social media "feminist" screech "OPPPPPRRREEESSSSHHHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNN!!!!" and let's not even mention Eiji being a dick to Susan not because she's a girl, but because of her mental disorder. (And yes, Eiji Onizuka was designed to be what I like to call a "charismatic douchebag". Basically the Eric Cartman of LoaA to put it simply.)