Pros and Cons about where to place a backstory in a comic

[Nyalslo]

So there is a story that I am developing and I really want add something like the protagonist's childhood and some of his/her old memories somewhere in the plot. However, I'm deciding whether to add that as a prologue or display them in increments when the character does or sees something that triggers a specific memory. Based on these two situations, what are the benefits and consequences for each of them? Specifically how do both scenarios impact the story as a whole. And if possible, are there other ways to tell a backstory effectively while sticking to the main plot of the comic? Thanks for taking the time to read this!

[Reraser]

Based on nothing but personal preference, I find interweaving the backstory more engaging than to frontload a comic with backstory.

Backstory is a kind of exposition, and my own belief is that readers can engage with it easier if it's doled out in chunks; it works to thematically connect a memory to something happening in the world at that time. Or not! Sometimes flashbacks are just intercut separate from anything.

Putting all your backstory as a sort of prologue isn't even nearly an automatic Bad, you just have to make it engaging, and really start strong with how likeable/watchable the character it focuses on is. Like I said, it's the same as exposition- it'll work if it's interesting. So that's all you have to consider, how confident you are in your ability to make a load of information interesting.

[mariusthered]

i use backstories both ways iv'e mixed whole chapters with back story and modern time lines and also used them in bits like flashbacks to pad out a chapter. I find they can be very useful to change the speed of a chapter if you use them the correct way.

[joannekwan]

Yeah, I usually like to pepper backstory bits throughout the story either via exposition, like the character explaining something or through flashbacks.

[shazzbaa]

I've seen these two examples used elsewhere and I think they explain it really cleanly!

There's a movie called Planes, Trains, and Automobiles that's a comedy, where Character A is just trying to get home and goofy Character B won't leave him alone on his journey, and it's one of those movies that's funny because Character A is just so frustrated by this weirdo he can't get rid of. Later on in the story we find out that Character B's wife died, and suddenly all his weird, clingy behaviour makes sense -- he's lonely. The two characters understand each other and reconcile.
If we had known Character B's backstory from the start, the movie would not have been funny. We wouldn't be able to laugh at Character A having a hard time with this weirdo -- we'd feel bad for Character B. Char A would just feel like a jerk. So having the information ahead of time would've hurt the story.

On the other hand, in Finding Nemo, we see the backstory right away. Marlin's wife and almost all of their eggs are killed, leaving Marlin to obsessively protect and fret over the one baby that survived. He's overprotective, but we understand why he's like that.
Since Marlin's the main character, we need to be able to understand him. If we didn't know that backstory -- if we didn't understand why he's so scared of something bad happening to Nemo -- we wouldn't like him. He would seem overly fussy and smothering and we would have a hard time rooting for him. So if we DIDN'T have the information ahead of time, it would've hurt the story.

The point is, which way is better depends on your story -- How will the things that happen in your character's memories affect how the audience sees him, or affect how the audience understands the story? When do they need that information? That's going to determine whether it's better to include that information early on, or in pieces throughout the story.

And if possible, are there other ways to tell a backstory effectively while sticking to the main plot of the comic?

I've mentioned Rocket Raccoon on here a ton of times, but I think it's a really great example. We never see Rocket's backstory in the Guardians of the Galaxy movie, but once when he's drunk and in an argument with the others, he blurts out that "I didn't ask to be made!!" and rants about being "taken apart and put back together." He never mentions it again, and we don't have to see it. That's all we need to know about where Rocket comes from.
It's okay to have backstory come out in dialogue, and sometimes that's the right way for it to happen! If we'd seen a flashback of Rocket's backstory, I don't think that would be as meaningful as this rant bubbling to the surface in an emotional moment. When you can make exposition serve an emotional purpose, it can actually be really powerful.

[AnnaLandin]

Personally, knowing nothing about your story, I'd vote for integrating them in bits and pieces throughout the story, instead of frontloading it as a prologue.

Prologues, if not done well, have a way of slowing things down and feeling a bit lecture-like - as if you're just sititng your audience down and going "okay, here's what you need to know before we can begin the real story" - and they're not always needed. We don't always need to know about the character's childhood for the story to function, and prologues can make your readers feel like they have to wade through a lot of pages before they get to the actual story.

Speaking of specifically how to integrate a backstory in the main plot, I'd say that having a look at how the tv-show Person of Interest does it is useful. At least in the first two seasons, nearly every episode reveals something more about the main characters' backstories in bits and pieces, using flashbacks where it is relevant. Something in the present timeline triggers a memory - or is thematically similar - to something in the backstory of one or more of the characters, and you get a brief scene of the past, before they cut back to the present. Often, the backstory scenes link together to form a small story-arc themselves, telling a small, but complete unit of backstory throughout the episode. Say, you get a flashback to an old mission one of the main characters carried out, and the first backstory-scene you get is the start of the mission, then the second scene is the middle of the mission, and then the third scene is the end of it - and in between that, the main plot in the present timeline is happening.

Ultimately, though, what suits your story is what should be your choice here, as @shazzbaa says. If the structure of your story requires that we know what happened in the protagonist's childhood at the beginning of the story, then do it as a prologue. To continue on the Pixar theme here, take UP. It begins with a 10-minute prologue describing practically the entire life of one of the main characters - and without it, the rest of the movie wouldn't make sense. We need to know why Carl is so insistent on keeping his house, why he feels he needs to make the ardous journey through the jungle, and why his personality is what it is - otherwise his insistence on all of these things would make no sense.

[punkarsenic]

honestly, id recommend inserting them later in the story. its more difficult somtimes to figure out where to place them, but it means you can get straight to the action in your comic, pushing it forward. id recommend adding them in as the character tells that detail to another character, instead of just plain flashbacks, because they can get confusing.

on the other hand, a prologue gets it all out there at once, no worrying about people getting confused.

another option is to save it all up for a filler episode; if you need a break for the purpose of pacing or tying up some writing, but not a whole hiatus, then take a week or so to give minisodes about the characters past. thisll typically be slower pace, and id recommend changing something abt the art style to make it clear theyre set out of the general timeline.

whatever you choose, take for granted that people wont read your caption, and make sure the comic itself is clear whats going on.

[phoenixrenaissance]

It's all determined by the knowledge to want your readers to have, and when you want them to have it.

For my own project I have the chapters set up as, present day, back story, present day. It's a romance/drama but I didn't want anyone to play the will they, won't they game. So I went ahead and established that the characters were in a loving but troubled relationship in the first chapter, the reasons for the issues in the second, and how we fix those problems is gonna be the last.

I don't know if it was done right, but it felt right for the story.

And as a side note, I'm also a fan of flashbacks sorta giving too much information, so you don't immediately know what part of the scene is going to be important. Waiting around for that reveal is pretty fun.

[69Michi]

It's all come down to how you want to tell the story. Personally I like integrating bits by bits of the backstory into the story to keep the readers wanting more/wandering wtf happened.

The way I do it is through flashback. When the time comes and I see appropriate, I would drop a 1 or 2 panels that show a tiny bit of the main character's backstory that sorta linked to the current day. Because his backstory is a very important piece of information that can explain a lot of thing that is going on in the story right now, so I leave the flashback often vague. As a reader, I find it's fun to be left in the dark to figure thing out by myself, piercing together information to figure out the bigger picture. It's why I decided to do my story the way it is haha. My readers seem to enjoy it so far so I guess it worked out!

[doublethickcustard]

Everyone has already said that its probably best to litter backstory through the story as opposed to offloading it like a bit of an information dump in a prologue but just to add to that, I think its really important to keep in mind the relevance of it. Sometimes regardless of how interesting or colourful history or a backstory is, it may not be entirely relevant to the present story being told (just bits of it). Nobody likes to attack their writing and trim it mercilessly but it does improve flow and make it a lot easier to work with especially if you intend on presenting the information as flashbacks or stories within your story.

If you can summarize your story in one sentence, and find the point or goal of the story in that, then every part of backstory that isn't directly relevant, or doesn't directly affect that can be done without. So it's a bit like quality over quantity. Pick the important things and make them captivating. If not, it can really overload the reader with information, not to mention making a lot more work in regards to the art itself.

Stories are a journey, and take place at the height of interest. So in the name of leading your reader on a journey, it's good to leave relevant backstory out until it becomes relevant. If your reader is thinking "i wonder why this character does x-thing all the time" then when you answer their quandary and show them why, they understand it. You're answering a question your reader had. If you give them that information first, then you're answering things they don't necessarily have the context yet to know to ask or wonder about (or even care about). So that's why it's good to approach it that way, and thereafter it's up to you as the creator as to whether that's something your story needs or not. Maybe it's not! Some stories do need information upfront, I've used both approaches before myself, but I daresay avoid it if it can be.

I'm not sure how well I explained that but I hope it made sense!

[Nebulous]

Maybe you could have a side comic dedicated to revealing the backstory? And upload it in increments accoriding to your main story? In my opinion the safest bet would be to tie the storyline to the backstory, or to actually write out a backstory with a drawn bio for your viewers who are interested in more about who the character them self is.