If you could change the beginning of your comic

[Michelle]

If you could change the beginning of your comic, what would you change? Barring the general "I would draw it better!", because I think we could all draw our first few pages better. I'm wondering about specific changes to the layout, lettering, composition, writing, pacing, etc.

For Centralia, I'm always a little iffy about how minimal the dialogue is in the first 13 pages. I didn't want to start the story with loads of talking and exposition, but at the same time, I feel like the overly-quiet intro might be a turn-off for readers, and it's sort of hard to connect with a character when they've only said like 2 lines. If I could change it, I might have put a little more dialogue, or character inner thoughts, just so people won't think it's a silent comic. :u

So what about you? What do you look back at and think "I could have approached that better"?

[AnnaLandin]

For Grassblades, I would probably tighten up the pacing of the first chapter a little bit - there's some walking-around-quietly pages that I could tighten up and make flow better - and probably spend a few more panels to firmly establish the fact that Akane is capable of speech, but just refuses to do it a lot of the time, since she suffers from trauma-induced selective mutism.

Otherwise, I'm fairly okay with how it turned out. It was originally supposed to be two chapters, but I combined them into one and trimmed out a lot of pointless stuff, so it's already better paced than my original outline had it.

[mariusthered]

If I could change one thing about the start of my comic Talesfromswipecity It would be the scene that shows cassie getting a spanking from jenny while lance is peeping in the window. Personally I like the plot, it put lance on Cassie's vengeance list and starts them both on a path that shapes both lives. The reason i would change in is I think it puts a lot of people off the comic showing a spanking early in the comic.

I'm changing the artwork soon and hoping that and the new story lines will bring people in.

[acealmansoori]

For LostMyth, I would introduce the comic more probably. It feels rushed, since it was. And has no proper introduction to the world and story. Other than that, I'm satisfied with the art and the story. The introduction and the flow in some places needs work >w<

[WakaXO]

For Neon Rabbit I think I would put more effort into backgrounds, like adding in more detail, and better shading/highlighting. Backgrounds are not my strong point, and in my earlier pages I was sort of lazy while doing them. I never did a proper scene layout before starting and a lot of my settings were done by the seat of my pants.

[niinasalmelin]

I think I would build up Sue's and Levi's childhood history more in the prologue of Numb and introduce Carl and Amy more clearly. Perhaps also clear up some spacing since it jumps around a lot in those first pages. I'm considering on adding some pages to the eventual printed version.

[shaneoid77]

I'd turn the smoke grenade colour green instead of grey

[popsiclestick]

for SARGENTUM, i'd redraw the entire prologue linelessly to match the later art, and probably not go for the cliche of the protagonist waking up to start the story. we are thrown straight into the world, but at the same time i dunno? it seems to be a bit of a trope?
i've also been having a lot of anxiety over the pacing and dialogue, and i'd not only neaten up the art but also try and make the scenes and dialogue flow better - i can't tell how well it flows because i've spent so long drawing and rereading each page, and i'm constantly worried it's bitty and unprofessional.

i'm trying to learn from this to make chapter 2 a better comic, but honestly, this sorta stuff keeps me up at night

[alaingrey]

I've got to redo the lettering. I liked how shitty it is and feel like it gets the feel of a lot of the dialogue across, but maybe finding a font that works in the book could do a lot of good.

[Shanny8]

Other than art being a little better(coz I started on my story when I totally wasnt in a good drawing mood), I wouldnt change a thing. I'm good with where the story is and how it is going so far.

[Potoh]

I'd probably start Amaranth with a little more drama, and not make Roghan and his mom Moira walk away so calmley from their burning house xD And I would indicate more clearly that something aweful had happened. Now it's a little too casual.

[KSlinger]

For West I'd just redo the art. I know that if I'd tried to pace it differently (tried to draw it out) I'd be sat here wishing I'd cut the crap, and even the art I don't hate, necessarily, I just know it could be better.

[quakeulf]

For Lemonade: I'd add another 20 pages to it to make it the long and satisfactory opening it should have been to better reflect the musical score. :3

[timinabox24]

I would not change the beginning of my comic, or any other part of it so far

[antimekii]

Tbh, I've been thinking about rewriting Mosquito Girl I would keep some of the plot points in the first few chapters but it's honestly all over the place and random. I started it just for the heck of it and planned it as a character driven story but idk. Also I already redrawed the first 10 chapters last year and it killed me. Redrawing takes so much time and i honestly wanted to give up but yeah i still did.

So if I ever rewrite my comics I'll probably start things off slow, building up the other side characters and probably dropping some foreshadowing cause I finally made up my mind with the plot and ending.

[Michelle]

@popsiclestick Haha, I sort of have the same waking-up start to my story. Not like the "hit the alarm clock get out of bed", more like waking from a dream or suddenly coming into consciousness. I didn't realize at the time it was such a trope to start that way D: But if it works for your story and doesn't feel like a total cookie-cutter approach, I don't see the harm!

@alaingrey Urgh I feel you. I know I need to redo all the lettering for chapter 1 of my comic because it's so clunky. But I do think your lettering lends a nice feel to the artwork that would be lost if you replaced it with a font. I wish my handwriting was nearly as consistent ;o;

@junorunow Haha yeah I had that problem in my older comic (which was also called Amaranth??? zany :0) where character reactions were kind of silly and inconsistent. Casually walking away from a burning house could work if you wanted to suggest they set their own house on fire, though XD

[keii4ii]

I already did! Twice! \o/

The first time, I had drawn multiple chapters of the comic, all the way up to a point that happens in mid-chapter 10 in the current version. Scrapped ALL of that (save for a few panels here and there, which got recycled). Rebooted. Why? Because I'd written myself into a corner. I could have continued that version, but it would not have been a story I truly wanted to tell. I did it to fix the future; fixing the past just happened to be a requirement.

The second time, there were a couple of things about the first chapter that really bothered me. I didn't reboot, but made some significant changes to those specific parts of chapter 1. It wasn't just tiny tweaks; one scene was completely rewritten and redrawn from scratch. Another scene hadn't even existed before the revision. The result was a definite improvement.

[aspiderjonny]

My J-Man series actually is a reboot of a comic I made in High School, but there are things about Book 1 I would change. Aside from better art (obviously) I would probably try to do a better job showing the friendship between Jonny, Abe, and Susie. Jonny and Abe's friendship I think was better showcased in Book 3, but not as much as I would've liked. I have ideas for Jonny and Susie, but that won't come for a while. I'm just afraid people don't see them as friends, and more plot-devices.

Book 1 for The Valve, my other series, I might not change much, since it's still fairly new. But I do wish I had fixed my big-head syndrome before doing comics.

[Puppisama]

I'm kinda pleased with the prologue of VCvsDvsCFAD, instead of changing anything, I'd add more pages to introduce the characters better and the world where they are. Instead of beginning with Evil ranting about Momo, I'd have started with how screwed the world is (most of the landmass is underwater...), where she is, ( in a recreated Amazonian Forest) and how dumb her sexy asistant is, then, her rant.

[ypirouz]

What I want to change about the beginning of my comic Torus Link is Side B of the Prologue, i.e. the bottom half. The structure I was going for was a "glorified lecture"about why Society's structure can't be changed. But in the end, I think I made it too verbose... I fear that people pass it up for prologue alone, and they miss the rest. Also, I think the major differences I WANT to show between Side A and Side B may not be obvious--- like that there are two different sets of Fire, Water, Earth and Air as entities, for example.

The other thing I'd change is the amount of time and care I put into those first prologue pages. Some of them were rushed, and I know I could do better had I taken more time. At the same time, I would not change Prologue A--- I'm happy with that. XD

P.S. Thank you Michelle for posting this--- I've been leaning towards changing up my beginning pages for those very reasons. It's nice to know I'm not alone in either being dissatisfied or satisfied. I'm curious--- how many here WOULD change their beginnings?