"R" Rated Comics vs. "PG" Rated Comics

KevinTheJackal 2013-10-13 23:31:12 UTC #1

Hey everyone, and thanks for reading my first Forum topic. We produce webcomics, and we find that not matter what efforts we put forth into PG or PG-13 rated work, our crazy "R" rated stuff gets us the most positive comments.

Could it be that our 18+ stuff is just better than our PG stuff, or is everyone just that eager for profanity and violence?

I'd like to hear your thoughts. Are you experiencing the same thing we are?

Kevin Jackal Johnston

Andrej 2013-10-14 02:06:16 UTC #2

Personally speaking, I don't think a debate on R-rated vs PG-rated should be had. In the end, what I'm after (and most people too, I hope!) is a great comic, no matter its intended audience. That said, I do think that people are more eager and more inclined to violence and profanity because they're universal languages; and that there's a steep and complex challenge in trying to convey adult themes and settings within a PG-mindset, without falling into a squeaky clean product most R-rated readers won't care at all.

michaelson 2013-10-15 22:47:15 UTC #3

I'm of two minds on this topic. It really depends on what kind of content is defining the rating - is the R-rating for sexual explicitness, language, or violence? I feel like those three categories are vastly different in terms of webcomics.

@KevinTheJackal could you define what you mean by "positive comments"?

FUrbina 2013-10-16 07:24:49 UTC #4

Interesting topic.
I agree with Michael: if you drop us a bit more of information we can debate more.

KevinTheJackal 2013-10-16 10:55:38 UTC #5

Excellent points. For starters, "R" ratings in my thought process is Die Hard, Kick-Ass and Watchmen. Violence, guns, blood and sex (provided there is no erect male penis is considered "R" not "X").

There seems to be a divide in fans, either is totally rated "G" like Pixar films or we need to go over-the-top with violence. The example I give in our work is Demon Dog & Retro Rat. I went out of my way to make it PG - no blood, no excessive violence and focus solely on characters and story, and it's got fewer than 3000 fans. FLOYD is our extremely violent comic, released 10 months later than Demon Dog and has 10,000+ readers.

FLOYD is loaded with violence, sex, sexual comments, racist jokes and blood and the fans love it - even though it's about as 1/20th as intelligent as Demon Dog & Retro Rat.

My point: It's "G" or it's "R", there is no in between - why? Have any of you observed this?

jjfresh 2013-12-04 04:24:34 UTC #6

Well, one think I think it is is that when you use everything that is out there from sex to violence to gangs and murder, rape, cannibalism, psychological warfare, torture, so on, it can create a much stronger storyline. For me, I have interest in disturbing or psychological or tragic stories because that hold onto you the most. When you limit yourself to cuteness and innocence and simple humor, you have to be REALLY good to make it worth reading, otherwise it is just meh.

Also, I think people like that element of surprise. Something that is seen as so bad or inappropriate has an element of shock that draws people in. Calling something inappropriate is just arbitrary and really, if the art is good and the story is amazing, I don't care how messed up it is

apurviance 2013-12-30 00:18:25 UTC #8

I've seen something similar along the comedy-serial spectrum. Short joke-a-day strips get a LOT more hits than longer serials. As @jjfresh said, anything that hooks the reader will make them stay. But, publish what you like making, not what's popular. Otherwise you might end up hating making comics.