My comic finished its first season, and before I start the second season I'm wondering if I should include a "Previously, on..." or not.
What do you guys think, as readers or creators? Are they annoying? Helpful? Maybe one episode as a season recap that you could skip if you wanted? Or just a few panels at the beginning of an episode when it is relevant?
Aug '21
Aug '21
I think it depends on how long your first season is and how much time passed between season one and season two. Like if season one is a billion episodes long and is a pain in the butt to go back and reread quickly, then a recap might not be the worst thing ever. Or if you take a nine month hiatus between season one and season two, a recap could be nice.
But if season one is short enough to read in an afternoon and you start season two the next week or the next month after season one ends, then I don't think a recap is necessary at all. People who are binging your comic are going to read season one, then immediately get a recap of what they just read before they can get into season two, which would kind of annoy me as a reader. And anyone keeping up with it as updates come out could easily go back to a previous page or reread season one if they lost track of what happened.
The first season was about 30 episodes and there's about a four month break until the second season, so based on what you're saying it sounds like it's not needed.
Thanks for your thoughts!
I have seen people who makes them in, like, just 3 panels in one page, with some selected dialogue. Just a quick reminder that really doesn't take time to read.
It doesn't have to be a giant exclusive chapter dedicated only to that, either.
I really appreciate recaps as a reader so long as they are extremely short and/or clearly separated for quick scrolling skim or put in a separate episode. Let's Play is the Webtoon that I think does them best for my preferences and while it works especially well for a story that's got multiple threads (kind of gets you back into the one you're about to pick up) it's also nice to have reminders when a lot has happened and it's been 6 months since you've seen x, y or z character.
For my and Mig's own series, we obviously love all readers but between making it smoother for a binge reader or making things hopefully a little easier on weekly readers that have been sticking with us for a while... We lean towards including recaps where it's been months since a relevant scene happened. Part of my reason for that decision is I think it's more of a pain to go back and look for something in online vertical scroll land than with something like a printed comic book.
Curious what other creators thoughts are on this topic for sure!
As a reader and as a creator it's helpful for a quick recap. Especially if it's been a while. The recap doesn't need to be long at all, just go over the most important details the reader needs to know going forward. Especially if a certain point will be relevant in the first episode of the second season. Gives context, ya'know? Just a few panels are needed, but also make the first episode back a little more meaty as a reward for the viewer, so they feel the recap didn't waste space in the first episode back.
I'm pro recap. I follow a lot of different series so refreshers are always helpful. If I don't need them I can just skip them.
Perhaps only a page with 3 or 4 of the most important details from the previous season, preferably uploaded apart from the actual first episode of the new season, but on the same day.
Definitely! A lot of readers follow a bunch of comics at once, and they’ll be more engaged in your story if there’s a recap to help them remember what’s going on. I actually a recap of the previous episode for all of my episodes, because it only updates twice a month.
My comic is long (700+ pages) and updates only twice a week, so it's easy for readers to forget something. I always point out important things (with links to relevant pages) in the author's comment below the comic page. My readers say it helps a lot. Also, it doesn't clutter the comic itself and doesn't take much time.
I second this. I have a text description of what went on in each episode in the author's comment under the episodes and it's been overwhelmingly popular among my readers. You'd think it would be redundant but I tried to stop doing it and they all voted it back in. I use it to point out environment details that maybe people might have missed or make plot connections to previous pages. I'm careful not to spoiler things though.
My comic is long and has a somewhat complicated plot, so at the end of season 1, I made a recap episode where three of the "bad guys" interview the main characters and go over the main events of the season. People said they enjoyed it and found it useful, and for me it was fun to draw the characters interacting that way.
Personally, I like recaps, especially the ones written in a creative or funny way. Even more for webcomics, where a single chapter can take months or years to be completed, it doesn't hurt to have a reminder.
They're really well done and don't get in the way of binge reading at all, especially for traditional format.
At least at this point when the story's still more chill.
