Wow, I got more feedback than expected.
@kytri, thank you for reading! More about how the character will be coming up as the story goes, although admittedly not a whole lot will be blatantly explained about that part since it doesn't have much to do with the long-term relationship of the two main characters. Although that part, along with a few things that happened before, will be eluded to and shown visually via old newspapers and such. Julian will even talk to an older lady at some point who used to live in the same state they were found in, and remembered the event. (hopefully I'll successfully get the point across. Lol!) The lack of info is also kind based on the character as well, Julian is very tight-lipped about their history for reasons that will come up... eventually.
But you are right, I'll flat out say a mysterious kid showing up half-dead in a burlap sack was a big thing for a while, but the hype died out since it was canonically 17-18 years ago.
@Draconic Thank you for checking out my comic! I have tried out playing with hatching to make different textures, but I admit to forgetting after a while, and they never translate very well during the scanning process. Changing mediums has been something I've thought about, but I mainly use color pencils because I can't afford the other options. Paints, and especially Copics are crazy expensive compared to cheapy pencils unfortunately. ;v; Do you have any techniques you can suggest to give off a textured look with pencils?
About the overdetail, do you mind showing an example? Possibly from chapter 3? I have gotten this critique for previous chapters, and I've been trying to fix it in the latest one, using light browns or not even reinking backgrounds. The comic was partially intended to help me improve my background, perspective and architecture drawing skills, so I've been trying to keep to that while chilling out a bit. Although I'm aware I could still be having this issue.
Lol I announced the page count to warn people that the comic is kinda long... not to brag about it or anything. This is definitely not intended to be professional, it's just a hobby project I do whenever I'm not at work or doing house chores.
@tired_programmer and @Draconic Not to make excuses, but the slower pace is intentional. The comic is a slow-burn, and more character driven. Just to warn you, it is meant to be an extremely angsty, overly depressive comic. More to study how these characters became the way they are, and what they intend to do upon recognizing their destructive behavior before something worse happens (Particularly with the main-main character, since the other one is not mentally able), rather than be action packed. I guess you can say it's kind of like a character study comic, but less intelligent, if that makes sense.
I will ask, is the pace so far so slow that it hinders anything?
I have been having trouble figuring out a way to incorporate visual character details while having a decent pace, there's a lot I want to pack into this comic, and want everything to have a purpose either character development wise or plot wise. Although it's been hard finding that balance between too much, and not enough. Do you all have any suggestions for this?
Also to answer your final suggestion, Darconic. Given my comic is super niche to begin with, I don't really care about views to be honest. xD I made this as an outlet for my own depression and anxiety, and the request for criticism is meant to help me improve for myself rather than as a thing I can do to get more attention.
I'm so sorry if I come off as whiny, or making excuses. I just want to explain what I'm trying to accomplish with this project for better clarification. I really do want to do the best I can with this comic, especially since I personally don't have a lot of experience with some of the subject matters.
Also I'm sorry for the text wall, I do that when talking about something that interests me. Either way I'm super grateful for you all taking the time to look through my comic, and giving me your feedback, it really means a lot!