Slowed updates or hiatus?

[TopJimComics]

Suppose you were reworking your comic from newspaper (3-4 panel) to comic (full page) and you were at the end of a chapter using the new format, and wanted to go back and update the earlier "chapters" to match the full comic format, do you think it's better to:

• Take a hiatus and update all the old stuff
• Slow down updates while converting old pages
• Screw old pages and just continue updating

Vote now!Show results

One thing to keep in mind is that converting old pages could have a good monetary return for when I exhibit at conventions, where I have trouble selling my old book that is all strip style....

[punkarsenic]

what value will updating these old chapters to the new format add to the reading experience? is it worth the time and effort? will it be satisfying work?

in webcomics you change and develop, and seeing that development is an integral part of the medium, and many people take joy in it. people wont hold a format change against you. is reformatting these pages the most rewarding use of your time?

[phen]

It is (frustratingly!) amazing how quickly and sharply your technical skills advance when grinding away at comic pages. Keep that in mind before you jump into reworking early pages. It sounds like you're simply reformatting, not working any new artwork and in that case, I think it's best to take it slow but keep updating.

On the other hand, if you're going to be creating new art...
Updating old pages can be a vicious cycle of constantly "rebooting" the first couple of chapters in order to best reflect the current standard of work. Best not get too caught up on the refresh there unless this is a personal goal and/or an undertaking you're capable of calling "finished" when you reach that last updated page.

Just gauge your priorities at this point in your comic's life. What's best for your growth, your comic's growth, and your audience growth? Experimenting is vital to the process so I wish you the best in this venture!

[SleepingPoppy]

Are you just reformatting the older pages or are you redoing them to fit with the newer stuff? If it's just reformatting, you should be able to do that on the side if you budget your time wisely. Halting the comic to redo old pages is always a sticky thing. If you feel confident, I'd say do what you gotta do, but don't over invest in past work at the expense of moving forward when you can help you.

[TJSchongar]

I could see redoing earlier panels if there was a specific goal in mind. Like, you planned to release the entire comic (or a volume of it) to hard/paperback, and you wanted to revamp the panels and call it an 'author's edition.' That would be good reason to redo your work. But other than that, I don't think changing your early work just to make it fit with later work is necessary. We all know that styles change, especially if you're updating over the course of years.

[ble]

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[KoreanTacos]

New audience judge books on their covers though. I get what the original poster is getting at with wanting to update, but unfortunately the more you keep looking back on something without moving too far the harder itll be to get back in pace. That first update, page, chapter, etc. Will never be good enough to you no matter what, as long as it works functionally its not necessary to work backwards.

[TopJimComics]

To clarify something I didn't put in the original post, this is much less about improving the art and more about making the whole series into a cohesive story. I started this series in 2009 and had no idea what to do with it other than I wanted to make a comic and I thought I had a funny gag about a robot losing his job. Then I realized that I just couldn't do gags and keep up with it, it's not my strength. I came up with a story that I love, but trying to sell a story where the beginning is muddled up like it is is pretty difficult. But I do get where everyone is coming from.

[McAmps]

Maybe you can give yourself a deadline to revise. That way you don't get caught in an endless cycle.