Is prologue necessary?

[pilot-obvious]

That's actually exactly what I'm planning on doing! I created a short prologue that I'm going to add to my first episode later this month. It's about 10 panels (some are longer drawings!) with a short poem throughout.

[Tanako]

Nope. just extra work for yourself lol. ok let me be serious. at some point in time it was getting popular and I felt like I needed it. now that I think about it, only have one if you believe your comic needs it. if you can tell a story without it then that's even better because having one is just adding more work for yourself. so personally I won't bother however, I do have one in my recent comic but I cheated. how? well I took clips and images from what I already had an put them together to create one instead of actually creating one from scratch LOL.

[thedude3445]

Not only are prologues not necessary, but they're usually completely unnecessary. In novels especially, a huge portion of readers just outright skip anything labeled "prologue" because they feel they can pick up on all the information they missed via context clues. And they're usually right.

You definitely want to avoid the "characters talk in exposition mode in chapter 1" trap that a lot of bad stories start with, but a prologue that shows that very exposition may not be the right solution (though it sometimes is!). Figuring out how to deliver the backstory/lore information in the most narratively satisfying way is important, but I personally anti-recommend the prologue unless the prologue still features the protagonist (and usually they don't).

[Kura]

Damn the prologues are usually one of my fav parts of the book to read x.x why are so hated?

[cherrystark]

Because they usually aren't done very well, in my opinion. Sometimes, the writer gives no explanation as to why the chapter is a prologue but are quick to slap "prologue" on it. Other times, the work in the prologue is WILDLY different than the first chapter so it can make the rest of the story hard to follow.

[Rhonder]

In short, no they're not necessary. As others have already said, I think how a prologue is done and the purpose it serves is important in determining if you need one or not.

The type that I absolutely do not like and think almost every story would be as good without (or better, even) are types that just throw like... pure unedited world building in the reader's face. If you're just including a prologue to tell us about something that happened millions of years ago and has no direct tie to where the story actually starts... skip it, I say. Sure that conflict or world building lore may be directly relevant to where the plot is going, but that doesn't mean you need to lead with it. Often that sort of information can be woven into the story later on closer to when it becomes relevant, and after we've already connected with the character and their actual current day situation. Same goes for random blurbs of information. "this world is magical, and it works like this!" is just not a very effective way to convey that information, especially if that's the first thing you throw at a reader. Often there are more nuanced and enjoyable ways to show that early on than blatant explanations (this is something I partially sinned in in my first comic lol. I waited for a few pages before info dumping how magic worked but it was still not great. At least I contained it to a single page tho )

The type of prologue that I do like are those that are somehow separated from the main narrative, but directly do something to set up said narrative. Whether it be something that happened to the main character in the past that they don't remember well, or maybe we see some random characters discovering the mcguffin that our protagonist will later come into contact with early in the story, or maybe we see something from an unusual Point of View that's important to getting the ball rolling, or what have you. Basically so long as the prologue feels like its own actual mini chapter of sorts, y'know? It should still have stuff actually happening in the present that the prologue takes place in, and still be interesting enough to hook the reader, and all that.

[rajillustration]

Prologues are where I generally nope out, so I'd much prefer to either be tossed into the fray, or to have that prologue disguised as something else, otherwise--get it outta there. Save it for later. Especially in a webcomic, pacing is so fast that I can't justify using a prologue anymore. Not unless I had a very particular type of story that needed to have that feel.

[WinterFall]

I wouldn't call it necessary... it's more like a thought than a necessity in stories. Some stories are better off without prologues, and some are just... not done right. In my opinion, they're also unnecessary and unimportant. Most of the prologues are simply just like sequels to a latter that will happen later on in the story.

[Leverance]

In my story Incarnation I chose a prolog for the reason it's vital to understand the world and characters later on. I always make sure my Fanfics are written in a way an outsider can jump straight in and read it like any other book.

Though in a series like His Obsession I found a prolog unnecessary simply because the story didn't require it. And because it will be a series of two seasons only the end will have an epilog and prolog. Though the first season will have an epilog only.

[borzoiteeth]

Once upon a time in film making people would show people moving from one place to another instead of just cutting to the next scene. When film was new the audience needed that extra detail to follow how characters got from one place to another. Now, unless it actually contributes to the immediate plot you can just jump to the next scene. The audience won't get lost. Unless your story is dealing with rarer story elements and the audience you are aiming for is not familiar with said elements- you don't need to show history walking from point A to point B.

I love stories with pointless details. I do love a good prologue! However- most people who do prologues do it for stories that don't need it. They take reference from stories they love that do it (regardless if those stories actually do them right either) and copy it because they hope to replicate the epic feeling they get from the stories they love.

For a lot of people: "Prologues = I worked hard on my world and I want you to know that!" I believe a lot of creators do not realise that when it comes to all the research and worldbuilding that this is isn't a math problem. You are actually not suppose to show all of your work. The best worldbuilding HINTS at all of the work you've done. If you really, really want to share extra details- make it a bonus side page! Those details are only going to mean things to the readers who already love your world.

Heck- even if you do design your story around lesser known ideas, most people like a bit of mystery. Having your magic system completely broken down before you are given a reason why to even care just kills the "magic" of your world before we've even started chapter 1. In my experience, if you can't grab your audience the problem is usually not because they don't understand- it's because it wasn't grabbing enough.

I love prologues but they are so rarely used for the best trope they are open for- dramatic irony! History is always cursed to play a game of telephone yet most stories somehow have accurate tellings of how something happened whether it was five years ago or a thousand.

[Kaydreamer]

I don't mind a prologue as long as it's well done. It's the authors grand chance to showcase their worldbuilding chops though, so if it's poorly done, or I think the worldbuilding is shallow, I'm very unlikely to keep reading. It's kind of a make-or-break thing to start off your comic with.

I decided NOT to do that, because most of the magic system and historic worldbuilding for Blue Star Rebellion isn't immediately relevant at the beginning, and can be explained in context by the characters themselves later on. There's ample time for them to tell stories and myths to each other. It also keeps things more engaging for the audience if the author doesn't answer all the questions! What's 'Scrios'? You'll find out. What was the 'Cataclysm'? Have fun piecing together the hints I give you. What's a 'Keeper'? And so on...

Hell, a LOT of this stuff I don't intend to answer properly until the project after Blue Star Rebellion, and even then, the bulk of the non-essential detail will wind up in some illustrated approximation of the Silmarillion, like an in-universe book of myth. (The actual story will provide enough detail for things to make sense, but I don't want to clog the pacing with lengthy lore-dumps.) Until then, have fun headcanoning!

The other reason I don't like info-dump prologues is the tendency to think "My audience won't be able to understand what's going on unless I tell them how things work up front." No thanks... When consuming media, I prefer the writer to assume I can work things out without having my hand held the whole way. I'd like to give my own audience that same respect.

[cortezlord96]

Just to jump on what others are saying, the problem is MOST people don't do prologues right. They should only contain important things to what is absolutely needed to start the story cause otherwise your hook (ep 1) is boring and not interesting, cause for most readers they don't care about your world until they can get invested in your characters.

Here is a great resource

[gabriellabalagna]

Honestly, I really don't like prologues either.

If you're writing a complex story, it'll be easier on the readers for you to introduce concepts as the story progresses so the reader won't be info-dumped.

If you are trying to establish a world, just jump right into the world, no prologue needed.

If you need to explain something that happened in the past, do a flashback later on.

Sorry, hope this comes off as helpful, and not know-it-all.