Is prologue necessary?

[kavaj]

I know that it’s really important for readers to get hooked up on first three chapters(?) but i don’t really like prologue when i read a comic. So is prologue unnecessary for readers or is it important especially in lore-heavy fantasy/supernatural? I also know that exposition by characters talking to each other in first chapter explaining something that should have been common knowledge in the first place is also cringey and awkward so might as well make prologue? Because if there’s no prologue it’ll be long before the story goes into the conflict and maybe become boring. And like, 90% of the fantasy webcomic that i read have prologue. And it’s still kind of boring. I know i’m all over the place. Sorry. So how do we balance this?

[migxmeg]

I dislike prologues that feel like prologues (a lot!!!). I'll still power through if the thumbnail/description seemed interesting enough but I want to get the lore later, when I'm more invested.

Edit: reader really doesn't need to know how the world works at the beginning of the story - you can entertain and surprise them with it later . We were floored when RWBY did the Jinn episode but only because we cared so much by then!

Edit again: One counterexample immediately came to mind of a comic with a prologue that is actually entertaining. Sets up the conflict/characters with drama and flavor - doesn't just tell you this is the world history/rules/etc.

Errant | Tapas

[surenlicious]

Nope, just throw me straight into the fray. I will trust you, the writer, will get on and tell me eventually what everything meant and otherwise I'll just scram. XD

[CommanderMarty]

A prologue's importance depends on the series.

Some series have tons of lore that need to be explained before the reader gets into the real stuff, some do not need a prologue.

[kavaj]

Like lotr movies have monologues/prologues and it kinda worked? It might be just cate blanchett’s awesomeness but for some reason it doesn’t work as well in comics?

[Lahin]

Prologues can be boring if not done properly. As @migxmeg said, prologues that feel like prologues are very tiring to read.

One of my favourite ones is from 'The Alchemist'. I was honestly taken aback by the fact that it was only the alchemist finding a book in a caravan and finding a story about Narcissus that was barely a page long.
That was it! The version of the book I have only had a page and a half of prologue and it was basically there to make the reader wonder how this plays a part in the story.

That 'wondering' plays a huge part to get the reader invested!

If your work is a fantasy, then a prologue might help, but they are so easy to mess up!

So, the prologue is only there to entice the readers to read the story, to show them a bit about the world so that they go into reading it feeling like they know a little bit about it.

In the end, it's your choice. See how you'd feel as a reader. If you think a prologue is needed, keep it. If not, there's no need at all.

Hope it helps!

[tiredpigeon]

It depends. Some stories wouldn't make sense without a prologue explaining everything, and some stories would do just fine without one. It's the author's choice- But in most cases, you can skip it and come back later if you're confused. I dunno if that's taboo or something, but I do it frequently.

[DualDragons]

I like to think of a prologue as a tool, if it is used well then it can really enhance a story. But when it is used poorly it can kinda damage what you are going for.

[tiredpigeon]

If you feel like you'd constantly have to explain things that should have/could have been explained previously in a prologue, you should probably add one.

[kavaj]

So the real question is ... it depends on the skill of the author? Let me ask you guys this then. What is considered a good/bad prologue then? How long is too long? I know a bad prologue when i read one, but if i have to create a prologue myself is totally a different beast. Means i have no clue.

[kavaj]

Yeah, i already have initial conflict for prologue without explaining rules etc, but readers just go along with the characters on their journey. But this only works if the characters aren’t really privy to the rule of the world as well, isn’t it? Thanks for the recommendation, i’ll read it later <3

[cherrystark]

My work is a novel but I do think often prologues are unnecessary. Unless you are are following a certain formula like the classic fairytale "Once Upon a Time" motif or setting up the mystery like in the classic mystery format, a lot of the exposition can be woven in at other points of the story.

I think the key to a good prologue is knowing what information readers HAVE to know before starting the series and what can wait until later. Cryptic/vague poetry is often not helpful or intriguing (LOTR is an exception). I've often read prologues where they drop us into a scene, introduce new characters, etc but then dramatically shift the view because the first part was just the "prologue". Stories like that, I'd rather the prologue just be called "chapter 1" and move on with the story.

[cherrystark]

The quality of the prologue definitely depends on the skill of the author. If the prologue sets the stage for future events awesome, I'll read it. If the prologue is just used to infodump about the world because you didn't want to include it later on, nope. I'll skip it and probably won't finish the book.

[darthmongoose]

Ah I feel very flattered to be used as an example!

But yes, to repeat what most people have said, prologues aren't the right fit for every story. I felt like it was the approach that worked best for Errant specifically so used one, but normally I'm not a big prologue person and especially don't like ones that are like... narration over a tapestry or something talking about the great dragon war etc. etc. If it doesn't have a really compelling and immediately relevant plot hook or character drama I usually tune out.

[kavaj]

So without prologue, as the story goes characters throwing bits information here and there something that should be common knowledge is forgivable then?

[cherrystark]

In my opinion, yes. With how my brain works, if an author spends too much time at the beginning of the story explaining the magic system and other world building, I can and will probably forget it by the point in the story where that information would actually be useful. I would much rather read about characters being drastically wrong about dwarves or something because of misinformation they'd heard in passing rather than presenting all that information in one post.

[darthmongoose]

So without prologue, as the story goes characters throwing bits information here and there something that should be common knowledge is forgivable then?

So this is the main reason a creator might need a prologue. The alternative is having characters telling the audience about stuff that happened or that they know rather than having a scene or sequence that shows it. This was why I felt Errant needed a prologue, because the alternative was either the audience being told rather than shown this pivotal event that happened in the past, OR setting up the story, then interrupting it for an extended flashback.
As much as some people hate prologues, it's also annoying when all the characters are like "AS YOU KNOW, our village was invaded by the empire five years ago." Which also feels really silly, but would be hard to avoid if the comic was written in a cinematic style like mine without narration or internal monologue.

[kavaj]

XD right either way is not fun, but maybe can be fun with the right hand(author) which i seem to not posses.

[pilot-obvious]

I don't think prologues are absolutely necessary but it can certainly be a tool that helps many artists and authors. I like it when authors use short prologues almost as a teaser to set up the mood for their series. If it's shorter and visually interesting, then I'm all for it. If it's a boring, text laden info dump, then it might deter me from continuing the series.

[kavaj]

How much short is short? Do you think combining short prologue into the first chapter would be good? Like maybe 10 panels and then right into the story so it doesn’t feel laggy?