Is SCI-FI a niche in webcomics? Why is that?

vincentvenoir 2016-10-24 23:16:11 UTC #1

Hi, my name's Vincent
I'm new here and Tapastic is my place for my very first comic.
I found that's only two pages for science fiction themed comics on tapastic. Why fantasy is 100% more popular? Is it easier to make a magical world rather than futuristic? Or maybe it's popular because of well known races (elves, dwarfs, vampires?) and fantasy cliche plots that we love?

You can check my work at KOT series! It's a space opera/sci-fi project, maybe with some fantasy elements later.
We also have crocodiles and cats and spaceships and a jedi master fish,

also, pardon for my language mistakes, I'm still learning english

60Six 2016-10-24 23:32:18 UTC #2

Thing is, sci-fi doesn't have to be a futuristic setting. My comic, City of Blank, is included in those two tiny pages of sci-fi comics on here, and if anything, it's behind our society in technology (It's about on par with our world's technology of the 80's). I think what separates it and makes it a smaller genre is the fact that everything has to lie within logic and explanation. Nothing can just rely on "because magic" in the sci-fi genre. I have purple, ghostly, face-stealing monsters in my comic, but there's nothing "magic" about them. I go into explanation of how they work, what they're made up of, and how they develop, grow, and reproduce.
When I first did join Tapastic, I actually DID categorize my own comic in "fantasy" because...purple, face stealing ghosts! But a couple of people on here actually recommended my comic as a sci-fi and after that I started to realize it really does fit better into that category, because there's nothing "magical" about the mysterious things in my comic. Everything has a scientific explanation that makes sense in that world, and for the most part, our's as well.

Point I'm getting at is... I think sci-fi is a smaller category because in a way it is...a little harder to work with? I mean, to be fair, no GOOD fantasy uses "because it's magic!" to explain the logic of their story. Harry Potter goes into heaps of detail of how things in it's magical world works with nothing being as simple as "because magic." But in the end, I think making a good sci-fi is a bit harder than making an average fantasy and that might be why it's more limited.

By the way, welcome to Tapastic! You'r comic looks awesome and I definitely plan on checking it out when I have time. The alligator/crocodile people in the image alone sold me. :'D

keii4ii 2016-10-24 23:37:28 UTC #3

While I agree that sci-fi is definitely less common on this site, here are some factors to consider. Firstly, genre overlaps. When you have something like a superhero action comic set in the future, I'm guessing the most obvious choice for genre is "Action" even though it's also sci-fi. What about a gag a day strip about a guy living in the year 2800? That also seems like it'd be labeled Comedy or Slice of Live, ESPECIALLY on this site where those two genres dominate.

My own comic appears to be fantasy, but it's arguably a very very soft sci fi disguised as fantasy. I put it under Fantasy even though the drama is the most important aspect of it.

I suspect it has to do with inaccurate expectations, at least in some cases. When I hear "sci fi," my first guess is Star Trek or Star Wars or any other 'space suits and spaceships and space battles' type of sci-fi. There is SO much more to sci fi -- I know this, yet the sci fi = spaceship association seems so firmly rooted in my head.

Weirdly, I don't have that issue with fantasy. It seems really easy to develop such an association between 'fantasy' and 'Tolkien,' but nope, that link does not exist in my head.

keii4ii 2016-10-24 23:38:46 UTC #4

One could just as easily say bad sci-fi stories use "because FUTURE TECH!" in a similar fashion...

60Six 2016-10-25 00:00:04 UTC #5

Completely true! And definitely not saying that isn't done in bad sci-fis. I don't know, I've honestly had an incredibly long day and don't currently have the brain power to back myself up. To be clear, I'm not saying fantasy is easier by any means. I just tend to see "because magic" a lot more than "because future tech" but there's a lot more fantasy comics out there so I suppose that's natural.
Sorry if I offended in any way?

keii4ii 2016-10-25 00:02:59 UTC #6

Addendum:

Now I'm speculating that maybe 'Tolkien' is its own genre in my head. When I see a fantasy story with Tolkien elves and Tolkien dwarves, I go "oh that's a Tolkien story" rather than "oh that's a fantasy story."

@60Six No offense taken! I just enjoy discussions. =D Sorry if I sounded annoyed.

60Six 2016-10-25 00:11:53 UTC #7

No worries! I'm incredibly terrible at reading tones online and that's just further proof. :'D

On the subject though, I kinda agree with Tolkien having it's own genre. I feel the same way with Star Wars.
Honestly, sci-fi is my all time favorite genre, BUT only when it's something like...FullMetal Alchemist. Space ships in space fighting aliens in space suits just isn't my cup of tea. ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with that kind of sci-fi, but it does nothing for my personal interests, and very often neither does Tolkien fantasy. However, I love fantasy like Harry Potter.

With that said, I'm kind of curious. Do you think the abundance of fantasy over sci-fi also has to do with just the art? After all, a huge percentage of the fantasy section is amateur or beginner artists and...generally magical glows and wands are considered easier to draw than high tech guns and space ships. Could this also contribute?

keii4ii 2016-10-25 00:31:14 UTC #8

Interestingly, I classify FMA as fantasy, as it deals with "soul power," and the trained fighters' physical prowess seems to exceed that of trained fighters in real life. But its lack of spaceships is probably a factor for my subconscious, too. XD I would say it's an example where the line between fantasy and sci-fi is blurred.

FMA has plenty of science in it, for sure, and it's all very logical/internally consistent... but so does Death Note, which is CLEARLY fantasy even though internal logic is just as crucial for that story.

I don't think the ease of drawing is a big factor. It could be, but it doesn't seem that way? Chobits is sci fi. Also, steampunk is probably just as much pain to draw as spaceships, but it seems more common than spaceships? I would argue pretty much everything is hard to draw. My observation is that when someone wants to do a comic but doesn't feel confident in drawing something, they tend to just skimp on it, which is why the background is often absent or just barely there in many webcomics.

mayday 2016-10-25 00:48:51 UTC #9

Hmm. There are actually a lot of sci-fi comics in the Fantasy section, which I think is just caused by a difference in opinion on what constitutes science fiction.

This is it exactly. Sci-fi is defined as "fiction based on imagined future, scientific or technological advances, and major social or environmental changes", and while space is a common aspect, there's a ton more that people just don't realize is more sci-fi than fantasy.

spadesart 2016-10-25 01:56:54 UTC #10

My comic is in some odd place between sci-fi and fantasy so I wasn't sure where to place it. I just put it as fantasy because it focuses on my vampires (even though it has some really futuristic technology like holograms and robots and stuff.) I really do love sci-fi stuff though, I'm surprised there's so little comics for it :0

NickRowler 2016-10-25 02:09:51 UTC #11

I wrote a scifi drama about a robot from space. But because it wasn't too stereotypically "scifi", I decided to put it under drama instead.

I think because the comics have to go into one category, some people may be left choosing comedy or action over scifi.

I think scifi is an interesting genre because it usually about taking a social concept and pushing it to an extreme. And maybe some people don't really want to take on a story which has deeper philosophy weaved in.

scythe 2016-10-25 02:14:01 UTC #12

Yeah, I think it's safe to say that sic-fi is my all time favourite genre. I don't know why it's not as popular. Maybe it's the just about the type of people who read webcomics. Sci-fi people tend to be into lots and lots of details and world building, which is maybe harder to do in this format than in a novel, or at least, it can take longer. I'd say the majority of people who read webcomics are tweens who are just looking for superficial, titillating romance stories and characters they can "ship".

If I wanted to I suppose I could change my comic to sic-fi, but then I think I'd feel obligated to delve into explanations for things whereas I'd much rather focus on the mystery and drama of the plot. Plus, I'm a bit old school and believe that good science fiction should be an allegory of some kind, and while my comic explores themes, it's not metaphorical. To that end, I've kept it fantasy, even though a lot of people tend to associate fantasy with more traditional, Tolkienesque, GOT style stories.

apocryphagraphics 2016-10-25 02:19:47 UTC #13

Also, remember that the comics listed under the Sci-fi heading in the genres aren't the only Sci-fi comics on Tapastaic. There are thousands of others here. Most of us just aren't worthy of getting listed on their Sci-fi list I guess.

J.Lovelace 2016-10-25 02:20:24 UTC #14

Um I think you have to switch the tab to "BROWSE ALL" and then click the sci-fi genre. There's 48 pages of sci-fi

mayday 2016-10-25 04:26:43 UTC #15

As much as I'd like to jump in and defend my fellow teenage comic lovers... I'm forced to agree that this is what many look for in a webcomic. Romance is great and I really enjoy it if it's done well, but I don't really read stories that are purely romantic. Though everyone has different tastes, so some people might think sci-fi stuff is dumb and over complicated , preferring simpler feel-good love stories. I don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with that, but I wish more of those people would give sci-fi a chance.
It's all about perspective, man.

shaneoid77 2016-10-25 04:49:27 UTC #16

Well, @vincentvenoir I haven't got any answers, but I think your work is brilliant, instant sub!

jurinova 2016-10-25 05:10:56 UTC #17

I think one of the main reasons for the lack of scifi online comics is that scifi simply isn't very popular at the moment. In the 80's and the 90's scifi was much more popular and had the internet been the way it is now there would've been a whole lot more scifi comics. Back then there was still a different view of the future and it drove people to explore it in science fiction, and now it seems apocalyptic stories have taken the place of scifi. Zombies and post-apocalyptic stories are a sure hit, though that seems to be changing slowly. Perhaps scifi will make a comeback soon.

I also agree with previous posters that the fact that comics can only have one genre in Tapastic causes a lot of scifi comics to go unnoticed. My webcomic is a space opera, so I thought about placing it in the drama genre instead of scifi. Many others probably face the same problem of deciding between genres. If there was a possibility to choose a secondary genre many more scifi comics might be found.

Michelle 2016-10-25 05:58:35 UTC #18

I agree with @keii4ii that some sci-fi stories fit better into other genres rather than just sci-fi alone.

My story is technically a sci-fi story, but it's more about the mystery surrounding the characters than the sci-fi/cyberpunk setting, hence I categorize it under the mystery genre. And while sci-fi covers a lot more themes than outer space and hyper-futuristic chrome cities, I think that's where most people's minds go when you say "sci-fi", so I tend to use the term sparingly when describing my comic.

While sci-fi has a lot of great stories within the genre, I find one of its common pitfalls (for me, at least) is the stuff that get so obsessed with world-building and tech-explanation that it forgets to tell an interesting story. So I tend to have a hard time getting into a story that purely defines itself as sci-fi.

vincentvenoir 2016-10-25 07:04:38 UTC #19

Thank you all for your answers! I'm susprised by quality of this conversation - love this place!

It's the same with me. And I'm consider about choosing action or comedy for my comic because sci-fi is only aesthetics in KOT.

sarrowsmith10 2016-10-25 15:44:05 UTC #20

I agree with this. So much about Star Wars is very much fantasy instead of science fiction. It's like a space fantasy. I'd think I'd lump Guardians of the Galaxy, Riddick, Voltron (new Netflix version) and maybe Dune with the label "Space Fantasy" rather than sci fi. Sci Fi for me is like "The Martian" or "Star Trek" or "Interstellar" "Space Odyssey" things that are based in Science rather than just space.

In many ways, my comic VSEPR is a scifi/action as its very focused on science and adventures in science and using future technology.. and its a shame because there isn't a Super Hero category either on tapastic.