Thanks for creating this topic! I know exactly what you mean.
This row of simple dialogue panels (from Carla's Adventures) turned out terrible the first time I drew it (at the top), but then again, most of what I drew back then did. Then I made a second version (in the middle), figuring I had evolved as an artist and that it should be easy, but it still turned out terrible. Roughly two years after the first one, I made a third version (at the bottom), which I think turned out alright (still not great though, tbh).