I agree with you, I would use one without text (even the one without the frame/green background tbh) - this way it's easier to focus on the character.
I am going to suggest maybe reading my comic if you want to help me because my series does not match the icon you presented.
I still prefer my icon.
I moved the character closer together...if that helps (which took a while because the icon was a cropped version of my banner)
Aww dude! I really dig that second one with the Captain going crazy! I think that reads better when scaled really tiny too! : >
Hello I'm a new member of Tapastic, with the series MOROCHOS. I'm the writer and my twin brother is the illustrator. This is our Icon (or Thumbnail). What do you think of our Thumbnail? 
I recently updated the icon for my series Lemongrass. I'd been lazy and sticking to cropped panels up until now, but I finally took the time to draw some custom art for it, and I think it was a worthwhile exercise.
I had been quite annoyed by my series icon for some time and finally decided to do something about it yesterday.
First, my icon as it was for over a year:
Then I switched to something different for a few weeks, but I wasn't happy about it:
And last night I sat down, figured out what made other icons work well and drew a new one.
Now I am happy again 
I'm a mix of A + B. 90% A, 10% B The most important to me is art. If the art isn't to my taste, I won't consider it. Once it gets past the art gate, I look at genre. Good art, but horror? Out of my zone - I scare easily. I generally avoid genres like Romance too, so it's a combination of A) Icon and B) Title/Genre for me.
As for the gaaaaaame!!! I picked the FRESH listing since there's rarer and new comics there than the usual Popular and Trending comics.
I'm super picky =_= sorry. I don't have a lot of free time to browse webcomics when I'm already putting most of my passion into official manga and anime.
1 month later
Hey there, I'd love to hear feedback on this avatar for FACTION3? We're definitely looking at some alternatives, and I'll be sure to post them when we have them, but before that, we'd love to get some constructive feedback for the next draft! Thanks in advance, this thread has been so very helpful.
I think I'd place myself somewhere between A and B... perhaps A.5 or something ridiculous like that. Depending on the kind of mood I'min when i visit the site, I'll be more or less likely to give something a chance. My eye will always ALWAYS go the icon first and foremost. Art style and coloring has never been a factor to me, but I feel like a person's icon says quite a bit about them; it's the first view a potential fan has of your series, and that should always be considered in my opinion. What is the first impression you want to make? You can spend a lot of time, pulling apart the psychology of different colors, compositions, expressions, and any number of things to perfect an icon, or play it by intuition. What would pull you in if you were browsing? What represents the theme of your story in an intriguing way?
Next, I tend to consider the title. To be fair, titles never seem to make or break my decisions, but if there is a title that I find particularly witty, mysterious, or clever, I will definitely check it out regardless of art or my usual preferences, just to feel out the creator's sense of story / aesthetic.
I do my best to give everything consideration, as there is just about an infinite amount of ways to interpret any given thing. But I confess, the icon is my main attraction.
I'm sticking with a symbol from the comic that unifies it since my work is heavily laced with symbols and iconograpy. (top one is from a current comic)
This probably will be the icon to a comic I want to upload once I get it started.
Do people prefer illustrations? I dunno, this makes it easier for me.
Looks pretty cool. Made me want to click and check it out. (Which I did)
Great contrast between Faction boots and pastel colors.
It represents well your art style.
After checking your comic, I can say you could be showing a bit more of your universe since it's so rich.
But I like it as it is. The squared portal is very iconic already. 
I..honestly REALLY like the one in the bottom. It gives me a trippy vibe since it has the traditional 3D effect and a very neat symbol. It's simple and effective. Maybe it's just me but I AM compelled to want to read it out of pure curiosity.
(p)
This is the one I've been using presently, in contrast with
(1) & 
(2)
The original one (1) is still pretty preferable but in a way it might limit what the series would be about? I do like the current one (p) a lot mostly because people seem to be attracted by the character designs when they start the comic, so it already gives a preview of what to expect plus the key players in the story. BUT (1) gives off a sense of mystery and cosmic consciousness behind it >->(\
If I was 100% confident, I wouldn't be posting here sooooo, what do you guys think? Should I go back to (1) or stick with (p)?