I think that sounds really cool. I've seen other authors do that, mainly Rick Riordan with The Kane Chronicles which is from the perspective of two different people. I really enjoyed it there so I'm really curious to see how that works out 
It depends on the reader. My sister for example can't stand negativity in stories and is unable to sympathize with a jerkass main character. Personally I'm kind of a jerk in real life so I have trouble believing characters who are nice all the time. I think it's good to have a jerk MC as long as they have to deal with the consequences of their actions.
Whether a character is likeable really depends on whether or not they are relatable. I like to think our man character, Felix, is rather relatable, as he has no clue whats going on in his life after the events of the first few strips, and to an extent, neither does the reader. He also just wants to protect his friends, and cares deeply about them. I feel like anyone can relate to that.
I hope that most of our main cast is relatable to someone.
Maybe he has a bit of a bad attitude, but he's got clear morals which makes a difference to me, and a lot of people a assume.
(General topic reply--)
Like a lot of people have mentioned, even a bad character in sense of personality can be likable with good writing. I think it's just part of human nature to want to understand things, otherwise science and other things wouldn't be as important in our society as they are.
That's why even a bad character can be liked if there are clear reasons behind their actions, or if they're shown to have morals of their own. Where as a character who may be pleasant and kind but lacks these things or is riddled with inconsistency is harder to see as a person, and is therefore harder to like.
I also think morals have a large part of making a character likable on a personal standard.
2 months later
My main character thus far makes horrible first impressions. She's still trying to find what makes her likeable but heck that's part of the story and I'm having fun watching her freak out. Characters have flaws, characters have problems, and people end up rooting for the hero as they take that shotgun seat to watch that character overcome those problems, conquer that molehill and do whatever it is heroes do to become so endearing.
Mine are likable, but sometimes I try to show them in a different way. Also I try to give them some bad-boy(girl)-vibe, though it's hard to see in the first chapters. XD
I'm that rare example of a terrible person who, nine times out of ten, likes the main character best... Everyone has different opinions, but personally for me I can't stand characters who are just downright mean or spend too much time whining about how sad they are and how horrible their life is, as it just gets me really down too. I do like characters to be "nice" but, as most people would agree, that can be pretty darn boring if that's their only personality trait.
My main character... Well, almost everyone who's voiced an opinion seems to like Polyphemus so far! But I think that's because nobody's seen much of him yet so for now he's just "adorable" or "cute", and that's the only thing for people to judge him on. I don't know what people will think as the story continues? I think there's definitely potential for people to think either way, but I hope most people continue to like him. I certainly do. :')
I personally like all my main characters? They've got flaws, sure. They can be a little hot headed or selfish depending on the situation... and one of them has some issues with respecting other people's personal space, to be honest... but I think all in all their hearts are in the right place and they want to help people.
I've had a few readers say they don't like/trust some of the characters, but so far they have all kept reading, so I don't know if likability of the main characters and entertainment/interest of the reader are directly related.
I also don't know if being likable is directly related to being nice or a good person. Like in Howl's Moving Castle almost all of the characters have moments when they are extremely bratty and selfish and even mean to each other... but I still love them all a lot?
I believe the protagonists I write are likeable for the most part. Zethero, the protagonist of Seishin Patona will help others even if he is a target of ridicule. I also gave him a silver tongue where can talk back to authority.
No matter if a protagonist is good or bad as long as they are protrayed as humanly as possible while have redeeming qualities can make for a good character.
I try to base my character "Hop" on all the bad parts of myself or just things I don't really care for. I'm really into self deprecating humor and it's kind of cathartic to make light of my own flaws. People seem to relate and enjoy that.
I think for the most part likable is sort of a broad statement and doesn't have to depend on whether or not the characters behavior is "good." I think people like to have a character that they can relate to the most, and that is what makes them likable. I'll identify with a misanthropic asshole much more easily than a saint who barfs sunshine and rainbows.
Character development can go in so many ways, there are plenty of times where people end up rooting for the villain by the end of everything, or you find that the main character was a terrible person all along. In the end it is the tone that largely decides how a character will be received. That being said an authors narrative can take on a life of its own and they will find that the characters they created to throw away becoming integral to the plot.
Hmmm depends. I'd say probably people will get mad at my Main character because she's kinda a coward and a crybaby, and people mostly don't like that, though, there's a purpose of why I do it, and like someone said up here, I'm also trying to show them as human as possible so I'm like "how this character would react to this..." then I got it.
But usually depends, because a person can like, relate with a character for something of the past or such, but if the chara acts in a different way or in a way the person who relates would never do, the person would dislike the character, even if relate to him/her. Or something like that, i'm bad explaining xD
Many of my characters got a sad/terrible past, but they all act differently because of that, so it will depend in what people want to see in a character too. In the end everything depends in how we show our characters. A chara who's a jerk with a terrible personality can become likeable if it's written correctly, for example.
1 month later
There have been plenty of times when I just can't watch a show at all because of the main character. No matter how good the story is, no matter how great the side cast is, if that main character ticks me off to no end I'm gonna stop watching it. That said. so far my character designs are not really solid so I'd say that Chris the Sheep is like-able because of his design but in terms of personality? That's a mystery to me how people perceive him. I try to make him an average guy that meets interesting characters along his way.
I tend to purposely design my main characters to be jerks in the beginning, but develop into more likable people later on. I also like to balance this by having multiple main characters (one that has more likable traits to foil the other one.)
I would say Azora from my comic Aetherwing1 does not start out as very likeable. She's rude and uppity, but I balance this by showing these traits in a comedic light at times. Also the story's other main character, Marcel, is intended to be a lot more endearing.
I honestly don't have a problem with main characters that have unlikeable traits as long as they aren't boring. I also tend to enjoy side characters more than main characters, so if a series has a protagonist that I don't like, I'm usually okay with it.
I feel like my main character is the kind of person you either love or hate. She's obnoxious and headstrong and can be a total brat. That said, she's very pro-active and there's never any doubt about her heart of gold, and those two traits have seemed to win over pretty much anybody initially bothered by her exuberance. I'm pretty excited to begin posting it online and hearing other people's opinions on her.
And yeah, I have certainly stopped reading a story just because I didn't like the main character. Even some stories with fantastic side characters seem to have bland main characters, and that really bugs me. I think the blandness is actually the main problem I see: I'd rather read about someone I actively dislike than someone who bores the daylights out of me. Wishy-washy mayonnaise MCs drive me nuts.
There's a difference between 'likable as a person' and 'likable as a character'.
A 'likable character' can (and usually does) have flaws and weaknesses, or even actually bad characteristics to the point of knowing that you wouldn't like to meet them in real life (i.e. one of my main protagonists is pretty racist towards humans, and a meeting between us would not end in a bright new friendship).
On the flip side, there are many really good and delightful people in real life who are 'likable people' who would not be very engaging or interesting characters in a book or comic, despite being great friend material.
In fact, I'd even take it to the extent of talking about likable villains. You may hate them as a person, but they could still be great characters to read about, or even feel sorry for. I do love a good sympathetic villain, but they're hard to do well.
I don't intentionally try to make my main character likable or unlikable. Though for the most part the readers seem to enjoy them so far.
I don´t know. I usually ask my proof readers if they are enjoying the characthers and why. And I always try to match their personality with their age (if the characther is an adolescent, they will be a bit more selfish, if the characther is a kid, they will be more innocent).
But sometimes it all comes to the consecuences of the characther´s actions. Scott Pilgrim worked because he eventually had to realize he was an asshole, Woody was called out a lot by the other characthers, Rorschach from Watchmen is another example: he is a misogynist, homophobic creeper who breaks the fingers of anyone who resembles a thugh, but the comic frames him as exactly what he is and the other´s threat him in a realistic manner; that´s the reason everyone still finds him likeable.
If Rorschach acted like this, AND was framed as a knight in shining armor and no one ever questioned him, he would be remembered just as another emo characther, and not by the fact that he is still a man who cares about justice and is looking to protect everyone he can (even if he has a lot of hate for society).
The Dirty Old Ladies1 podcast mentioned kind of a cool, like, guideline on their character episode -- "Proactive, Competent, Likable -- pick two for a strong character." You can have a competent, proactive character who is an utter monster and people will probably be fascinated by them anyway. You can have a character who sucks at everything, but as long as they're proactive and likable they won't grate horribly, etc etc. It's sure not a SET IN STONE RULE but it's a neat thing to keep in mind!
