Mystery comic Feedback + More Online places?

[ahkwardkat]

Hey guys, I'm looking for more places to post a comic and I need some help on how I could improve it.

I am pretty happy with how my comic Naor is doing so far both on Tapastic and IRL (I've sold about 200 books), but I've noticed that, overall as as whole, Mystery comics don't do well here on Tapastic. I've also got it on Line Webtoon and Smackjeeves and Deviantart ( where it does the best). I know of Pop Comics, however my phone software is so old I cannot download the app register there. They have no way to register from a laptop yet. u_u So I will go there once I can.

However do you guys know any more places to post comics? Maybe is there a place for mystery sorts of comics as a specialty?

My comic is a murder mystery with lots of supernatural/mythology/fantasy in it. However despite the high amount of fantasy, I have it labeled a mystery comic. I rarely see mystery in staff picks despite the amount of mystery comics on Tapastic, and though I'm in trending and popular sections sometimes, I'm always looking for new and better places. I've only been posting Naor for 3 or 4 months, so I know I need time, and that's not something I worry about. I just want to get on as many places as I can early on. :'D

I'm happy to have about 300 subscribers between all my languages of Naor, and it's been received well. I just feel like the mystery genre isn't.... mh popular or well liked here. I don't know if also maybe part of it is because I update once a week... however I have 3 jobs. Sometimes my freelance work ( freelancing, the comic, and non art job) makes it so that I can't update that week, so I'll miss a week. I had a large buffer when I signed up, but I've already used it up. Freelancing is quite unstable for me, so I can never predict what I'll be doing week to week.

I put a lot of detail into my pages. I ink traditionally and then color/tone digitally and I post on Tuesdays right now. I also wonder if it's because I work in a limited color palette. I don't use B/W but I don't use color either. I only color certain things (fire, magic, eyes, the blue stones shamans carry and anything I think is important) so that they pop or stand out, so it's a little unusual in that aspect of how I color. I have examples below.

Any advice? It might also be helpful to note I originally never planned to post it online. I set everytihing up as a printed comic only originally, but there was such a demand from my following on my DeviantART that I added it for them. ouo Maybe I need to post a different day? Maybe I should work in a simpler style or change to full color/BW instead of a mix? Do I have too much text? I already cut it down from before, but maybe I need to cut it more? Do you know another other places I could post or maybe a mystery comics website? I haven't found any.

I'm not shy at ALL for feedback, both things I could fix and things I'm doing well. I have two art degrees, so I'm not shy at all about hearing honest feedback. XD I really want honesty.

Here are some samples of my pages ( not really in order)

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[marygold]

From my experience, if the comic's art blasts AWESOME in people's faces they automatically want to continue checking out, you've already succeeded in this part. Imm no expert, but maybe if there are prolonged periods of just talking and the page designs are really similar, then readers will get bored. Also, a lot of readers go mobile so they might not be able to see the text well, although the amount of it is perfect in my opinion. If you can, try to organize your panels in long strip mode if you're sticking on tapastic, it makes them easier to read.

In terms of websites, I don't know how hiveworks works (haha) but if you're old enough you can be a part of it or something like that. I wouldn't really recommend Drunk Duck but some people go there.

I hope this helped a little. I'm a noob so I don't know very much about this 😅

[ahkwardkat]

      I really don't want to reorganize my comics JUST for

Tapastic. I don't see that amount of effort worth it, plus I already
work 90+ hours a week as it is, idk how I'll find time for that. u_u
However I can see how it would be valuable to people who prefer reading
in that format, plus I personally hate reading in that format. XD It's
SO BORING to look at.

I'm glad the text seems good to you. ouo I hope others will think it's acceptable too.

Thank you so much for the feedback though

[marygold]

@ahkwardkat I see your point. For certain comics the page by page format makes everything more amazing (cough cough Tokyo Ghoul cough cough). There are some comics here who follow that format and are really popular now that I think about it.

Maybe it's an issue of what transpires then, since your art is amazin as it is? A Matter of Life or Death is 85% conversation, maybe we could see what the creator is doing (besides updating every single day)

Although honestly there's little to nothing wrong with your comic. I wouldn't worry, and I've already given you a few possible sites 🙃

[Michelle]

Hi fellow mystery comic writer! :>

First off--- gorgeous artwork! Looking at your pages, there's nothing that seems inherently wrong with your comic. It looks really nicely done!

If I had to guess, it might just be a matter of the audience. It seems like a lot of readers on Tapastic gravitate toward cute and light-hearted comics involving primarily human characters, which makes a fantasy/lore-driven comic about animals stand apart from the crowd. Which isn't a negative thing, it just means your comic is more niche. But for being a rather niche comic, you have a great number of subs C:

Sadly I couldn't tell you what site would be better suited for a comic like yours, but I will say any lack of readers isn't a result of poor quality, imo.

[ahkwardkat]

Aha thanks. I know also I've only been post here for a short time, so I figured that or the "cute thing" was the problem. The comic isn't about animals, most of the characters ARE human, I just haven't gotten to that part yet. Possibly that might be the issue, they think it's about animals, but it isn't. Maybe when I get to that part the comic will be more appealing to people?

I'm glad it isn't a quality issue though!

[ahkwardkat]

I haven't read Tokyo Ghoul but I hear it's great. XD I'm glad it isn't an issue with the art though. ouo

[agentfink]

As @Michelle said, 'hello fellow mystery writer!'

300 subs isn't bad for here. The art is fantastic, but I do agree with @Michelle saying that it is more niche. World building is hard, getting people into that world is even harder.

My comic is a murder mystery with lots of supernatural/mythology/fantasy in it. However despite the high amount of fantasy, I have it labeled a mystery comic.

Maybe you're working against yourself here? I was super excited when the mystery category was provided. My comic was under drama for the longest time because that seemed the only place for it. But my comic was competing with a lot of teen angst drama and my comic is a murder mystery (with drama yes, but at it's heart, it's about a murder and the characters that come together because of it). My characters also fit the genre Police Mystery-- cops, FBI, drama between characters -- I'm not doing anything new here, but I hope the story I am telling is new. You follow?

Since moving my comic into another category, I feel like it's doing well and it has found it audience to an extent. The world of your characters is not familiar and every few pages your explaining it to the reader. Maybe your work would do better in fantasy because people who are typically into that genre are highly interested in world building.

[niinasalmelin]

Another mystery -creator butting in!

You have some outstanding art! I haven't seen this comic before so I'll have to give it a go (if not art-wise, maybe I can give some feedback to your story :)). Also as @agentfink said, maybe try different genre. Since you seem to have many fantasy elements this could do well in that genre.

Alongside tapastic, I think not so many people are looking for mystery in webcomics. As it was said in this thread, it's more specific taste. You're doing great sub-wise I think! I have way less than you, but the there is new readers every month, so I think we have audience here, it just takes more time to find them. Before there was 'mystery' genre I was under 'drama' and that felt like a big cheat since there IS drama but also some horror elements in the future. I felt like I was fooling people and they'd take my head in the future when we get to the darker stuff.

Unfortunately I don't know any site that would be better for mystery, if you someday find it give me a shoutout as well.

EDIT: I just read your comic and I think there's not much wrong with it, it's just only beginning, so people haven't caught up on it yet. As the story progresses readers will 'get' where you're going I think you'll be fine. It's usually how it goes with slow burn, longform comics.

[ahkwardkat]

That is a really good point about the world building portion being fantasy. I for sure had not thought of that. Possibly I could try that for the next chapter (since I just started one) and see how that goes.

I'm glad the art doesn't seem to be the problem. XD

[ahkwardkat]

Aha yea it is a long term comic. I expected it to be slow at first and gain more over time. I just... expected more interest in mysteries as a whole I guess? I will try a different Genre to see if that works. ouo I'm glad people seem to be liking the art, I was pretty unsure about it since it's not... um super cute or obviously manga... or cartoony... it's kinda a mix of things.

If I find any good ones, I'll be sure to post the site in the forums and let everyone know. If I could make one myself I would. u_u

Thanks for the feedback!

[Ambat]

Mystery writers represent! Mystery is a hard genre to sell because I feel like it can go in a lot of different directions--I feel like right now what's more popular in webcomics is adventure types or the slice of life/one shot joke types, so it can be discouraging to be a creator in a genre outside of that! If you find a place or a way to market to a crowd that's more oriented towards the mystery genre, please do share, because I'm a little lost myself and just kind of shooting things out where ever I can haha! Good luck to you too, your pages look really great!

[nobody]

As a creator you can still upload your comics with your computer through their website (talking about POP Comics). They recommend posting at least 5 pages pr. episode, since they put an ad after every four pages, which is how you earn ad revenue

Your artwork looks fantastic by the way!

[ahkwardkat]

Honestly, I just did what Fink and Niina advised and changed genres. I'm hoping that it will help being in a close genre, though at its heart it will stay a mystery comic.

[Ambat]

Honestly, I just did what Fink and Niina advised and changed genres. I'm hoping that it will help being in a close genre, though at its heart it will stay a mystery comic.

Maybe I should do the same... Thanks for the suggestion!

[ahkwardkat]

No, I cannot upload to Pop Comics. My phone software is too old (I have an LG Lucid from 5-6 years ago) and I cannot use the App. I cannot even sign up on the desktop version. It won't let me, I even contacted Pop Comics to ask for help and there wasn't anything they could do. So I'm not able to use Pop Comics right now.

Thanks! I'm glad you like it. ouo

[nobody]

@ahkwardkat So you have to have the app on your phone in order to sign up on your desktop? My phone is new enough to have the app, but I registered on the desktop version, and I only upload comics through the desktop version, so that sounds weird :/ But the people working there probably know what they're talking about, so if they say you can't, that's likely true

Anyway; POP Comics seems to be made primarily for longform comics (kind of the opposite of Tapastic), so I think your kind of story would fit in well, whenever you decide to get a new phone

[agentfink]

Honestly, I just did what Fink and Niina advised and changed genres. I'm hoping that it will help being in a close genre, though at its heart it will stay a mystery comic.

And of course that is always the best way of looking at it from the creative perspective. But for potential readers, it is not obvious. IMO, I would say that your comic is actually fantasy-- it takes place in a magical, fantastic world-- with a sub genre of mystery. The mystery/murder is what your fantastic creatures in this fantasy land are trying to solve... which is of course, your story.

Tapastic is limiting to terms of categories yes, but I think all stories are mixed between two different genres and the trick is identifying the most obvious so the readers know what to expect.

[ahkwardkat]

It won't let me register on the desktop. I have been trying for weeks, so I have no idea how you were able to make an account on your desktop. ono This is what I asked them via their facebook page:

"My phone is an android, but not compatible with the version for download. I have tried to update it numerous times and failed for other apps. I'd love to get on the app and site, but I have no way of creating an account. When I try to sign up via the desktop webpage, it simply reloads the page and fails to make an account. Are there any options for me?"

They replied with this:

"Our system currently required a confirmed app download in order to create an account. BUT we're changing that in preparation of the launch of our web-based reader. We'll be fast tracking this development update, so it should come in the next few weeks.

Sorry for the inconvenience, and we look forward to hosting your work on POP!"

I don't be able to get a new phone for a while. Even then, I don't know if it will be compatible either. I'm moving to India soon, and rather than get a new phone in the US and pay insane roaming fees for the year or two I'm in India, I'll be getting a phone and a plan over there.

IDK , I'll figure it out eventually.

[ahkwardkat]

The mystery/murder is what your fantastic creatures in this fantasy land are trying to solve... which is of course, your story.

This makes sense! Hopefully over the next week or so as I update it, it can do better in this category with mystery as the subgenre.