No-plot comics? (Question/ discussion/ promote if you have one)

[Brumoss]

How bad of an idea is it to make a comic with no real plot? Like some cartoons are- you know the characters, you know the settings and limits, but each upload is like an episode.

Also if you have a comic like that can you please post it so i can see it? Lol im just super interested in this right now.

[Jenny-Toons]

Nothing really wrong with that!

No-plot comics have been around for a good minute! They're very common in webcomics, especially if they're Slice of Life, and also a staple within Sunday newspaper cartoons.

For comics like these, episodes are connected in different ways. There's characters and settings, as you said, but there's also themes and premise that keep things going. And often times, any plot that develops is more subtle -- so we focus more on character development and interactions.

There's also a charm to them -- readers don't have to read earlier episodes to understand what's happening, and if they enjoy certain characters or certain episodes, they can also go back to those without missing much. There's a little bit of something for everyone with no-plot comics.

I don't have my own comic like that, but I do plan on making similar comics. It definitely makes for a fun exercise if you're used to making plot-driven work, and it can help you improve your writing skills!

So if you're planning something like that, I'd say go for it!

[TheLemmaLlama]

You can definitely make a comic with no overarching plot, like many slice-of-life comics/Sunday newspaper cartoons. Though in a sense, even an episodic comic like that is built up of little 'plots', with each episode having its own plot. Even a 4-panel gag is a plot, in a sense.

I feel like this way of thinking about plot is helpful, because even though your comic doesn't have to move in a certain direction in the long run, everything you read should probably still have a 'point' or head towards some sort of conclusion, like a punchline, or a realization, or some sort of 'cap' on the episode, if that makes sense. After you finish reading each 'episode', you should feel satisfied and not feel like it was pointless.

I used to think 'oh, slice-of-life means no plot, so I can just have my characters do whatever and it'll be fine because there are people who like to just watch fun characters do cute things'. But the truth is, no-one was going to be interested in reading about characters they don't know make random small talk for 30 minutes, no matter how charming or witty they were. There needs to be some structure to the interactions, if only to tighten your script and focus on the charming/witty parts and eliminate they parts where they waffle on like people do in normal conversation :]

[redfish]

I think no plot comics are great in twitter format since you can only upload 4 images at a time and twitter likes to boost memes and fun stuff rather than overarching plot with no context to the previous material.

[artamazon]

"No plot" is basically my entire comic. I have some continuity, but each episode is kind of it's own contained adventure. I was really inspired by old 70's Judge Dredd comics which also did exactly that. They were like 6-7 page individual stories, and I really liked that approach. I just wanted to make a comic I could mess around and have fun with.

https://tapas.io/series/SpaceBitch

[TheGentleArtist]

I have one sorta like that.

Tokyo Star Memories | Tapas

[Brumoss]

I just read the trailer and omg this is what i love/ i was thinking if i made a no plot it would be sci fi/ very similar lol so exited to read this later

[artamazon]

lol thanks! Comics can be anything, do what you want!

[UrMom]

Ah, my comic has been described as a plotless story. It's a character study so the focus is on them, they don't have any real goals to drive a plot to, nor are there any major events to move things forward. I basically chose a moment within the character's lives to make into a story, a slice of their lives if you will. There are a lot of stories like that too, if you Google "character dramas", you can find a good number of films that focus on characters. Not all of them are absent of plot, but that subgenre is the easies one to go to for that. There are also surrealistic stories like The Tree of Life which is more conceptual. Granted a lot of surrealist fiction has plot, but it's also a good genre to go to for none.

A couple webcomics I'd consider plotless off the top of my head.

Seluda - A surreal story exploring the mental workings of a teen boy named David.

seluda | Tapas

Colour Theory - A post-apocalyptic slice of life about some folks just living their lives after the world ends.

Colour Theory | Tapas

[NickRowler]

Are you talking about "gag-a-day" style comics? Or are you talking about slice-of-life stuff?

[Brumoss]

Idk i didnt put much thought into it. I guess I'm thinking of making a comic thats technically slice of life- but life would be sci fi. Kinda like Futurama.

[Lensing]

What are examples for "no plot" comics?
Or do you mean different writing styles like pantser and plotter?
When I look at famous superhero comics I don´t understand the plot but there
is a plot and a story about a guy sitting on the couch then getting up to get
a beer is a plot too which I would rather read than 2 superheros flying around
and fighting

[system]

This topic was automatically closed 30 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.