Rank what's most important to you as a reader: Story, Character or Art?

[sarrowsmith10]

1. Art, a super pretty comic is more likely to draw me in. Especially if its in a style of art I like.
2. Story, there are lots of comics I've read that had super interesting characters but they just don't do anything. It's all one big conversation, or sitting around the fire, or endless travelling, or oddly enough one really big long fight scene with no purpose. I lose interest. I can stand bland characters, but I think I really need to be invested in the story and want to know where the plot is going.
3. Characters, then finally this.
4. Can I add creator interaction? I really like when creators respond to comments and such. Even if the comic is not perfectly my cup of tea, sometimes the creator engagement keeps me interested.

[Kayke]

I think my order is
1. Characters
2. Art
3. Story

I think the art is probably what pulls me in initially, like what would get me to click on an icon... but the characters' designs are a big part of the art, so if the art is good but has characters I don't think like interesting I'm not going to click. And then when I'm reading, it's caring about the characters that makes me stay.

As far as story goes, I'll lose interest if the plot doesn't make sense or I feel like the character motivations don't fit with what they're doing... but I don't need complex stories with a lot of structure to keep me interested if the characters are fleshed out enough. I'll read about people just hanging out if they're interesting people.

[anitacomics]

I'd like to be less shallow and list story as the first, but it's actually

1) Art - because that's what catches my eye first. It's different if the product has been suggested to me by someone else. In this case, I can skip on the art and give it a try even if I don't like the pictures. It goes the same for comics, movies, anything really. I sometimes find myself refusing to use a website because it looks outdates, or just plain bad.

2) Characters. I like to identify myself with someone in the story, doesn't matter if it's the main character, the love interest, the funny sidekick. It's how I get involved more.

3) Story. I put this last because if the product matches the previous two things, I'll more than likely enjoy it even if the story isn't great. If the art is missing something to my taste, then the story has to carry all the weight of the quality so it clims to first step

[AmysGames]

For me it's definitely:

1) Characters
2) Story
3) Art

...which seems to be the opposite of everyone else here. But good writing/characters definitely draws me in more than anything else, where interesting characters will make up for a mediocre plot for me and vice versa. If it has both good characters AND a good plot, even better! (Though if the characters are outright terrible I don't think any amount of story could make up for it, thus why I put it above story. I consider them of about equal importance otherwise.)

Meanwhile, art quality matters very little to me. I can put up with amateur art as long as the plot is interesting enough (and usually the art improves over time, anyway).

[Ayusaurus]

1. Art- Mainly because if it's a style that catches my eye then I'll be more inclined to check it out.

2. Story - I'd like to know the story will be something that keeps my attention and something I'll be committed to in the long run.

3. Characters - For me, tbh, this is interchangeable with the story. Sometimes I've seen characters that have drawn me in, but I'd definitely say that for the most part, story will rank higher. However, that being said, I do like to see characters that are a good variety, have depth, and will have someone that I can connect with on some kind of level.

4. As was previously mentioned by @sarrowsmith10 , I would also like to see creator interaction. I think it speaks a lot of the creator to show that they really do want to have another level of association with their readers and with the story they're creating. I really enjoy that a lot and something I hope to keep up with as I write my comic.

[KoreanTacos]

Characters 1st: I want to believe that the person I'm following feels real in the context of their reality. A character who only exists to read a script isn't something worth paying attention to.

Story 2nd: if what I'm reading isn't interesting then why should I bother?

Art 3rd: I do have a certain standard. If it looks like the artist is at least trying then I'm willing to give them a chance, if i let art be my number one priority then I'd miss out on a lot of my favorite gems from my sub list.

[Croik]

1) Story, though I think I'm kind of including aesthetic in here? I like searching by genre, and if something fits, I'll give it read even if the art isn't immediately captivating. But I definitely have to have a strong investment in a plot if I'm going to keep reading, there's nothing I love more than a story with intrigue and especially momentum.

2) Art, being a visual medium and all. Especially if the style is unique. When following a bunch of comics I want to be able to remember exactly where I was whenever there's an update. And of course it's just fun to look at!

3) Character goes last just because something has to Who doesn't love a well-crafted character? But I'd rather have a semi-familiar character that gets things done than a really interesting character who has nothing to do.

Though this is probably biased, because plot is my favorite thing to work on when I'm writing.

[joannekwan]

1. Characters
2. Story
3. Art

Characters is number one for me because what's the point of reading a series if I don't like any of the people/things I'm reading about? Then story, it has to hold my interest in some way, even if I do like the characters a lot, if they just do the same thing over and over again, why bother. Then art, I've liked plenty of series on here that I'm sure most people would say has meh or amateurish art. I'm pretty lenient in this area, especially for creators just starting out.

[shazzbaa]

I'm gonna say:

It's Important For These Things To Be NOT TERRIBLE:
1) Art -- if the art is so poorly executed that I can't tell what's going on, or can't read the expression of characters, the other two categories can't save it, because those things can't be effectively communicated to me.
2) Characters -- I'll suffer through a clumsily told story to experience a fun character. I don't care to suffer through tiresome or boring characters just to see what happens next.
3) Story

It's Important For These Things To Be GOOD:
1) Characters - Absolutely the number one thing that both gets me interested and keeps me interested.
2) Story - If I'm interested in what's going to happen next, I'm more likely to stay with that comic. Keeping me hyped for The Things That Are Happening is the biggest thing that's going to get me yelling about your comic on social media or recommending it to all my friends.
3) Art - I like art, and it matters to me, but like....... I don't think pretty art has ever kept me reading a comic or even convinced me to read a comic if nothing else is really stand-out to me. If the art is really, really, good, it enhances the other two categories.

[KennDemon]

I'd say characters first, because if I don't care about the characters, then it won't matter what they do or how good it looks.
Story comes second. This may be because I enjoy reading novels a little more than comics.
I'll pretty much read anything if it's got compelling characters and an interesting story.
Art is third because I don't really care how "professional" it looks as long as I get the impression that the artist put time and care into what the art looks like.

[UrMom]

This one is kinda hard, it really depends on the comic. I guess my overall preference is:

1. Art: As shallow as it is visuals can really determine whether I'll stick with a comic or not, they don't have to be great but readable and expressive. I hate comics with really polished art where the characters look like robots void of emotion, when the artist has really great anatomy but never draw backgrounds, or where the they perfected a single body and face type but nothing else. All of those really take me out of a story, and are kind of jarring.

2. Characters: I like characters that are "human", who have flaws, make mistakes, argue, and react to situations differently. Those "pure", "role model" characters are kinda annoying. Everyone makes mistakes, we all treat someone like crap at some point, we can all be obnoxious. Let your character fuck up, and learn something from it, they will have more depth than if you don't! Flaws make a character more relatable.

3. Story: Put this last because as long as the story is entertaining to me I don't care how generic and stupid it is. Of course if a story is just bad with no entertainment value of any kind then I'll drop it. Also I'm really not cool with dark subjects like rape, abuse, etc. being shown as something that they're not. If an author lies to me about their comic being a "romance", I'll probably drop it.
Personally I don't really know what makes a technically "good" story either (just what I like), so I don't have much opinion on it.

[R.n.P]

1Story
2Characters
3Art

[XzynderVexymous]

The Story is WAY beyond everything else. Then it's characters then it's art for me.

[DiegoPalacios]

Personally, i prefer this order:

1.Characters: You need to care or at least be interested in the ones who make the story happen. And their actions must make sense with who they are.

2-Story:¿Is what`s going on interesting, memorable or at least enjoyable? Some works can survive without a good story. Some works may be generic, but if they touch your soul and make you care for the characters, they can save it. Obviously, if you have a good story, use it wisely.

3-Art: Good drawings without content won`t take you very far. But the art is your first impression, so, if you are a good artist, use it to your advantage.

[Luminosophy]

Normally I'd just rank story and characters together because some plots are more world driven and others are character driven. It's just a style thing. If we're talking about characters are far as aesthetics, yeah, I'll always appreciate cool and interesting designs. But that's extremely superficial, Studio Ghibli creates wonderful and memorable characters with some of the basic designs possible. And sometimes simple really is better, it depends on the point of your story.

Lately though I'd probably rank it like this:

1. Story - I like an interesting basis/ concept for the story to really pull me in.
2. Characters - I will be immediately turned off if I can predict exactly what the character will say to any given scenario because the entire cast are copy/paste tropes
3. Art - If you can understand that style is just based on symbolism and execute it well enough then your comic is legible. It doesn't need to be a museum masterpiece.

[Kura]

Characters
Story
Art

Even though all of those to me are important, that's how I would place it judging from my experience reading Hunter x Hunter. Most people who know that manga for that series, know what I am talking about.

I read that series through that horribly drawn sketchy first release ant arc (pages were later cleaned up when graphic novels were printed, but the original pages were absolutely horrible) and was still invested in the characters, even though the arc right before this arc in that series were not as great as others (Greed Island island arc, I just really wasn't that big of a fan of that story arc)

So as long as I like the characters, I can deal with get through a so-so story to reach the next hopefully more interesting adventure with these characters. While art apparently I don't have to know what the frick is going on and I'll still read it (seriously, some of those pages in the ant arc I could NOT tell what was happening) Like... I really didn't realize I didn't give a fuck about art as much as story and characters until those damn HxH pages holy crap.

[Griffian]

For me it's:

1. Characters:
   Characters are the driving forces behind me reading things. If I like your comic's personality and the characters are interesting, I can overlook a lot of story and art flaws. If your characters are irritating, artificial, and/or irrational, then I will drop your series in a heartbeat no matter how good the art and story are.

2. Story:
   I might hang onto a series with bad writing if I really like the style and characters, but it's not likely. I'm much more likely to hang onto a series with bad art with writing that works around it.

3. Art:
   Honestly, so long as I can tell what's going on and it's not obnoxiously bad I don't really care too much about the art. I'll geek out over it if it's gorgious, but bad art won't stop me from reading a good story.

[Silerna]

All of them. It makes a whole comic complete. If your not that good at drawing doesn't mean your story sucks or that the characters are bad written. It's a combination of all that whatever one lacks the other make up for it.
I think alot people forget that and only look at the art. That's not the only important thing. But you need to look through it for the other three things too.

[eicue]

1-Story
2-Art
3-Characters
But there's an element that should tie these points together: Storytelling. Without it, a comic could be only a bunch of great illustrations, great ideas and great stereotypes.

[phen]

Some interesting thoughts on this and what's more intriguing is that, for me, the novel versus comic/graphic novel brings in some huge differences in order.

Novel -- story first and foremost. Some of my favourite works have vague or constantly transforming characters that are carriers of the plot and not much more. Also, first-person narratives can often work to obfuscate the division between author, reader, and character, melding the three to create a piece that harmonises on memories, firsthand experiences. So with respect to my preferences, by extension, character isn't very important for an immersive story in novel format. The more abstract and crafty the approach of a story, the better.

Comic format -- art, characters, and story. Especially if it's a one-person operation, I find that if a lot of attention is given to the art, it speaks volumes of the passion even in a vague concept. Characters can be brought to life with an imagination that inserts itself. It's not to forgive inept writing or badly constructed characters, but personally, I can work to make connections in a loosely laced story if the art is highly appealing. It certainly doesn't guarantee success on a large scale (my favourite books and films have made my friends distrust my opinion on quality, OOPS).