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mariusthered
Nov '16

At present in my comic Talesfromswipecity7 I am begining to run a few story lines that are setting up for bigger events down the line (no spoilers) As the city is self containing veiws need to see polictical actionls on the city leaders as wel as the actions of family's and criminals.
(so swipe city fans stick with it huge action is coming! )

I cannot help but feel this slows down the story, but cannot be helped, if i don't show these things events later on won't make much sense.

How do you feel about such pages as a reader? and how do you work through such times as a creator?

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TheObliviousOwl
Nov '16

I think there are ways to overcome those issues but making each character, even the side ones, fascinating in their own right. It is really, really difficult to do but creators need to do their best to outdo themselves in even mundane moments.

I totally understand though. I have difficulty with that as well.

As a reader though, I do not mind. I enjoy slow pages as well, and am fairly patient. smile

rmdooley
Nov '16

I know what you're saying. Legio Arcana2 is entering into a setup scene and I'm currently drawing another which double reminds me how irritating the process can be.

One of the reasons that setting-up pages can be so frustrating is because as the creator, you know what is going to happen, and want to get to the pages that make the buildup worth it. One thing to keep in mind of this, is the reader does not know what is going to happen, so can enjoy the leading up just as much as the climax.

The slower scenes for building up can be great instances for developing characters. In the absences of immediate danger that actions scenes present, the more subtle tensions between characters interacting, more passive conflicts, can take center stage while moving towards a major plot point. Again, without the distraction of high-octane conflict scene, background and worldbuilding can be woven in. While two characters are conversing, adding details into the background or dialogue can help flesh out the world the reader can fall in love with and then give more weight when it all comes crashing down.

When the pacing of the story starts to slow, different panel layouts and shifting perspectives for the slower scenes can keep the reader's eye engaged as they read through the necessary brick-laying scenes.

As a reader, I do enjoy build-up scenes. They can carry tension, conflict, and show sides of the character that are missed when a plot picks up its pace. I just need to remember these elements I enjoy when I'm creating one

I think Road to Perdition did buildup well, tension is kept taut and some of the conversation scenes are more entertaining than the shootouts because of how well executed they are

Also, Bendis did a good job with lead-up scenes on his Daredevil run. The courtroom drama and conflict swirling around Murdock when he is not in costume comes off as more threatening than when he is in physical danger.

dojo
Nov '16

I definitely understand the concern, but I feel like the majority of readers don't mind a few slow moments here and there. Any reader who goes "wow this story got boring" after a couple buildup pages in a story that has a track record of being faster paced probably wasn't that big of a fan of your story in the first place.

After a big action scene coming up in Paisley Brickstone1, I have some settle down where a few characters will be sitting around the same room for what will end up being a few months in real time (basically the bulk of chapter 1), but I break it up with having moments of tension, flashback images when exposition happens (to make the exposition more interesting to look at so we're not just looking at the same faces talking at each other), to following different characters who do wander out of said environment. If someone told me they wrote a story where almost the entire first chapter takes place in the same room I probably would say "wow that's a terrible idea", but I FEEL like I did a pretty okay job making it interesting and INTENSE. I'll have to wait and see what my readers think B)

And ultimately, I feel like slow moments are necessary in good stories, because it can be pretty exhausting to read a story where nothing but action is going on. There's a lot of manga out there that I kept up with at one point that I gave up on purely because they quit having moments like that, and all that was ever happening was fights, and it just ended up being, well, boring. If there's always excitement and never buildup, you'll rarely have a payoff that feels worth it, and the action feels like more of a slog than those buildup pages ever were. PLUS those slower moments give more of an opportunity to really show who characters are better than action ever could. Readers love that cuz it gives them more reasons to care about them and worry when the big events do happen.

Down_the_Rabbithole
Nov '16

Brother, I'm there with you!

My Friends in Distantland1 is currently in its first set-up phase, establishing a character and a bit of the world. Granted, it's done through a chase-scene, but it lasts quite a few pages. I'm a kind of person who likes to use more visuals than dialogue because I think a lot can be said about a character through body-language and facial expression. It's also because I've been trained as an animator, not as a comic book artist.

I know the feeling of "this is going on too long" and "the readers must be getting bored". Everyone I met so far seems to be okay with it, so I must be doing something right. Somebody's bound to stick with you even if you take 14 pages to get from point A to point B (me).

mariusthered
Nov '16

thanks for the feedback so far peeps, some very good points coming up.

My biggest thing in my comic i worry about is the scene with people stood talking in offices, (either the Mayor and the Police commissioner., or other cops talking) I guess as said it's down to keeping it entertaining script wise.

I cannot agree more that reading too much action at once can be too much, but somehow that had slipped my mind.

as said thanks for the feedback so far and i hope people will keep going and help others with this point.

ashriott
Nov '16

I've definitely had this problem with Malleus Malefircarum! If anything, the first volume is one massive prologue, which is a no-no for anyone who would like to know the basis/aim/characters of a story in chapter one.

Though simple at first glance, I have always considered Malleus Maleficarum to be a relatively ball-busting and ambitious story to write, especially when I'm a total amateur at writing. However, as some of the above have mentioned, there are so many ways to make slower parts interesting. But I personally find them difficult to pull off. I've never had a good understanding of making mundane moments interesting before I dove in and wrote my story xD In saying that though, I find slower parts to be more prominent and difficult to manage at the start of a story. When you're somewhere in the middle, it's slightly easier since most characters have already been introduced, worldbuilding has already been done etc...

As a reader, I'm usually pretty patient. I like reading the set up and reaping the rewards of a great story after!

shazzbaa
Nov '16

I guess I don't find talky pages to necessarily be boring if they're paced well and the characters are interesting! Some of my absolute favourite moments in comics have been just two characters talking and playing off each other in fun ways.

I feel like there's a couple different kinds of set-up. Obvious set-up is when everyone's talking about this haunted house and telling you all the things you need to know about its hauntedness. Or when the mayor and the cops are talking about the crack-down they're gonna enact that readers know will affect the protagonists in some way. Anything where we can kinda see where this is going is actually pretty easy to make interesting -- it's tense. The protagonists talk about the haunted house they have to stay in and you're saving all this information and worrying because it directly affects the people you care about.
There's also set-up that's more hidden -- we need to learn this stuff, but we don't know why yet, so for now it's just information that won't be important until later. That's a little trickier because I feel like set-up scenes like this have to kinda have multiple purposes; like, yeah, you're learning information that you'll need later, but you're also learning something that's relevant to you now, like seeing and learning more about the relationship between these characters while they talk about it.

SirHellsir
Nov '16

Ugh, I get you so much right now. The entirety of the first volume of Bite Madness is basically an introduction to the real story.

It does have a climatic battle at the end and I have been trying to throw some clifhanger info at the end of the latest chapters I wrote, but it will feel slow for a while.

But I think is worse for the writer that is already aware of the exiting moments (and already want to be there) and not so much for the reader that is just getting to know the characters and world.

mariusthered
Nov '16

indeed i have so much stuff im aching to put on the page but im having to wait for the story lines to develop