Should I wait until I'm 18 to publish my comic?

[MGM33YotYot]

When I was 8 I started drawing a comic book. It was terrible and cringeworthy and I abandoned the idea 2 years later.
Then, about a year ago, I realized that the story I made DID have some potential so I started developing the idea and now I'm about to start writing the comic.
Should I wait until I'm 18 to publish my comic? Currently I'm a teenager (I don't want to reveal my exact age) and teenagers are very mentally immature, so even if I think that my comic is great, my opinion could change drastically in a matter of years or even months.

What do think I should do?

[kagety]

Make that comic. You'll learn tons and even if you decide to change your mind when your older, you'll be better off for it!

[Jophiel]

do publish it! first works aren't always perfect and you'll still have time for improvement~ you can always look back on it and reflect on what you can make better// it's experience after all The first step can be a leap

[Riisana]

There might be a story that you can only write now Your life will change, you will encounter new things, and you'll feel differently about old things.

I think it would be really nice to be able to read a story from you as you are now, as much as it'd be nice to read a polished story from you in the future. I wouldn't say it's "mentally immature", but rather pure and refreshing... And that's not a bad thing at all!

So I think you should go ahead and publish it! Remember, you can always rewrite it in the future-- or write an entirely new story, or even a sequel, or anything! Nothing is set in stone if you casually publish now~

[rajillustration]

hell knows if Tapas will even be around when you're 18, so may as well do it now. You can always change your username as you get older and what you did in your youth will be disconnected from who you will become. Like all the stuff I did on my old lj account? All the image links are broken because the image hosting site got bought out and dropped the pics, and it is essentially a graveyard. Doesn't matter how good or bad I was and I'm glad I used it when my friends were there and it was a fun experience.

[herhumanist]

You don't need to worry about whether or not you're too young. it's great to start at whatever age ^-^

Rest assured, I have also done comics books when I a kid and they were also cringy and terrible lolll

But I picked comics back up at 16 and I've been doing it for a while now.

Go ahead and start it! Even if you opinion on your comic changes over time (in a matter of months or years), I think the fact that you are able to start a project and spend time on it to nurture your art skills and also giving yourself an opportunity to create stories can be rewarding in a way. ^o^

[Kiweevil]

Why 18 specifically? Are you worried about something legal?

[DarJodo]

18 is the day you sprout half a head taller and receive your adulting manual in the mail.

[magnavarra]

well I am 30 and my comic is immature)) it won't get mature unles you make at least one full piece to get experience. And oh well if your story is about school there are a lot other teenagers who love similar things.

[potatogirl]

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[samshee]

Publish dude! Got nothing to lose.

Once you've matured you can publish more mature stuff!

[LostSpirit]

Well, Christopher Paolini plotted the Inheritance Cycle when he was 15 and ended up being the youngest best-seller in the world with millions of copies sold worldwide and strong, mainstream influence.

Age has nothing to do with the quality of the story. You strike gold, when you strike gold. But never forget that it's a growing process. I can understand what you mean. I started writing at 13 and I'm certainly a better story-teller now than I was back then, a better writer as well.

You'll never know though, not unless you try. And honestly, there's not a lot of insight you can get between 17 and 18. You're shaped more by the experiences of your life than the age of your body. I've met twenty-year-olds with way more wisdom, agility, and knowledge than a couple of 60-70-year-olds, who lived within the circumference of their town or region with limited exposure or experience.

[MGM33YotYot]

Why 18 specifically? Are you worried about something legal?

Nope. I wrote 18 because this is the age when you reach the end of puberty.

[MGM33YotYot]

18 is the day you sprout half a head taller and receive your adulting manual in the mail.

I love ironic comments like these

[AdamBraveOfficial]

What is the worst that can happen?

[unknown_user]

Well if your comics contains NSFW... and you are less than 18... you formally will not be able to read your own comics... but to be honest... who will bother to ask you for your official documents?

Drawing your NSFW comics with closed eyes, to not see it and thus to not get morally corrupted, is also an option!

Haha, forget, it was just a joke, of course, good kids don't do it, it's very very bad, God'll punish you.

---

P.S. If your story is Safe For Work, then, of course, there is no trouble at all from legal aspect.

[unknown_user]

Now a liiiiittle bit more seriously...

Currently I'm a teenager (I don't want to reveal my exact age) and teenagers are very mentally immature, so even if I think that my comic is great, my opinion could change drastically in a matter of years or even months.

You really think that after 18 you will not have this issue anymore?
There are many of us at this forum, who are adults, but sometimes hate our own stories and our own old art either because we overgrowed it at some point, or because our tastes changed, or just because anxiety and doubts in ourselves... Adequate adults are also continuing to develop and change their opinions on different things from time to time. Only stupid adults don't do this.
So we all have to learn to create despite of this problem. This is life...

[MGM33YotYot]

P.S. If your story is Safe For Work, then, of course, there is no trouble at all from legal aspect.

It wasn't a legal question, but still, thanks for the answer. It was fun to read

[Awesomeness_Studios]

Boi im also under 18 and people tend to like my comics. Of course, they're not perfect, but at least I'm learning from a young age. So you should totally get started!

[Iris-Grimoire]

The earlier you start, the earlier you get through the tough parts like learning the structure and making a project regularly. And knowing webcomic time, by the time you get to publishing a big book or getting any deals in a significant way, you'll be of age for sure. In fact, I think Spiderforest only allows people both over 18 and with a complete Chapter 1() so it is a required experience that happens on its own.