Subtlety vs. Clarity in comics?

[riverrdog]

So I've been working on writing my webcomic and I've been told my stuff isn't quite clear enough.

For example, I've been working on the draft for my prologue and in the current version, my female MC narrates a ghost story, only to reveal that all along, she was the "ghost" hiding in the bathroom. And it's implied that she did that because she was depressed and ashamed of other people seeing her like that, but a few of my friends who I showed the draft to said they thought she was pulling a prank (even if the "haunting" lasted three years). One of my friends got it right off the bat though, that's good I guess. ;;

Which brings me to the topic - should comics be made as obvious as possible, or is it okay to have implied meanings rather than outright? I've been told a lot that comics should be as clear as possible with no room for vagueness, but that type of writing style just isn't my taste? I'm not sure what I should do tbh.

[rmdooley]

At a comic convention I heard the advice, "Assume your audience is smarter than you are, but write like they're not."

Clarity helps readers gain accessibility to the story. Vague hints and implications can be great tools, but what they are implying needs to be overtly obvious. It's a line I struggle with as well but when in doubt, don't leave the reader in the dark.

[gmaximin]

Hard to say without seeing your draft...
In any case, I believe a prologue should be inviting, so clarity could be balance against let say excitement/atmosphere. At the end of the prologue, you want to hold readers I guess, and if some elements are still vague, you can develop later.
On the other end, if your prologue is so clear that it becomes too dull, people might not be interested in sticking around.
That’s my personal opinion though, and I very much dislike obvious work, so I might be biased...

[cherrystark]

My series is a novel so I'm not one to give much feedback on how to write a comic. As a reader and lover a good mystery, I always appreciate "clues" that are obvious enough to pick up that they are important but their meaning can be ambiguous. I know a lot of readers get the satisfaction of trying to figure out the story before it ends. A clear cut "happy ending" is not always satisfying and neither is it's opposite.

As long as you are leaving enough breadcrumbs to keep your readers engaged and not needing to "rage-read" your stuff because there was a tiny clue that wasn't clear enough in the beginning that's now crucial to your ending - you should be okay.

[riverrdog]

I've heard that advice too! But I always wonder where I should draw the line lol. In any case, thanks for the tips!

[skicoak]

There's sometimes the issue that something loses a certain degree of clarity when that reader falls outside of the scope of a traditional genre fans. Tropes and structures that are the bread and butter of that genre don't always have the same effect to those unfamiliar with them.

For example, the trope that a room gets cold when something paranormal is present... If your not a horror fan and never saw this before...it doesn't have impact and could confuse the viewer.

[riverrdog]

It is said that the women's bathroom of Merbok Community College was haunted for the longest time.

It was often filled with screams, sobbing and soft whimpers. Occasionally, you could even hear the ghost cursing its life, condemning those who have wronged them.

"As if there were a real person inside," they would say.

But whatever it was inside the bathroom, it would not answer to any calls, and nobody knew who or what could possibly be there.

After three years of consecutive hauntings, the girls decided that enough was enough, and scattered purified salt all over the bathroom to banish the spirit.

The hauntings promptly stopped, but not because of that.

It was because I dropped out.

My name is Fan Qiu Feng, and much like ghosts which are said to be spiritual manifestations of a person's greatest regrets, I too embody 24 years' worth of bad decisions and mistakes.

.

I might delete this later in fear of having my work stolen (happened too many times before), but you get the idea. ;;

[dsptss78]

It all depends on what you're going for. If you want your audience to be in suspense or make theories on why certain things happen in your story. Then I would suggest a more subtle approach with clues and foreshadowing. However, if you're just going for a straightforward story then I would try to make things more clear and fluid. Me personally I like to keep my audience guessing wondering what will happen next or why certain characters make certain decisions. There is nothing wrong with vagueness if you intend on keeping certain invents or characters a secret until the end or near the end of the plot. Keep in mind when you make a comic not everyone is going to like your style or even the characters. Everyone has their particular taste and some readers can catch on to things while others need more clarity. I would suggest do whatever makes you comfortable and happy. At the end of the day, you want to enjoy making your webcomic. That's the route I went with mines.

[Dane_Sherbet]

There are two kinds of people: those who see the value in re-reading

[gmaximin]

The odd part to me is the narrator use of “it” here:

But whatever it was inside the bathroom, it [...] could possibly be there.

and switching to “I” for no apparent reason, so people might be confused. I’d just change that sentence so that the narrator does not say it or I, just for coherence, keeping I at the end. And if people are still confused, I’d maybe clarify later, but not now.

[DokiDokiTsuna]

It took me a bit of time to understand the premise, but I think I've got it...so this is a person who basically went to a public restroom to vent because she was depressed??

The writing does make sense in this light...but the idea is a bit strange, to say the least. So you're depressed, and you don't want anyone to see you...so you go to the bathroom and scream...?

Logically, it doesn't make any sense. First of all, if she did this for three years and that particular bathroom gained a reputation for being 'haunted', all she's doing is attracting attention to herself and increasing her chances of being found out. =/ Maybe it'd be smarter to go somewhere like, I dunno, a broom closet (or just go home...), and maybe not make a bunch of noise and speak out loud??

And second of all...how did she not get caught?? A bathroom is a small place; there aren't many places to hide...if it had stalls, she would have to be hiding in the ceiling or something.
And if it was just a one-room deal, then...why assume it's a ghost, when you could just assume it's a person having a breakdown (in college, it's not exactly unheard of...).

AND, if there was enough interest in this room that a group of girls would get together and exorcise it...no one thought to simply watch the room before it got to that point, and see if an actual human ever came out...? (She'd have to go back to class sometime...)
Unless they were "exorcising" it as a joke, and didn't really care...but the 'ghost story' atmosphere you set up suggests otherwise.

Basically, I can see why you'd be upset about it being misunderstood, but there are enough logic holes in this setup that I'm not surprised your test readers would get the wrong idea about what was happening. 'Subtlety' isn't really the problem, it's the events themselves.

[Dane_Sherbet]

Maybe there are showers in there? I do my best sobbing in the shower.

[riverrdog]

1. Maybe I should stretch it out to a few locations rather than just a single bathroom? When I used to have daily panic attacks I'd always pick the same bathroom bc I kinda claimed it as the "panic room" which this experience is based on, but that was something that stretched for a few months rather than years.

2. I'm not American. Mental health is still taboo here and it's generally assumed to be due to the supernatural. Our politicians actually still employ witch doctors sometimes and whatnot so it's not a stretch to say people would assume it's a ghost. It makes sense to me from where I live but I guess I'll still have to conform to American standards or whatever. I'll see what I can do.

3. Hmm. I guess that's true. Maybe I should write another way of the "hauntings" stopping.

[carreonaiwille]

I'm not American. Mental health is still taboo here and it's generally assumed to be due to the supernatural. Our politicians actually still employ witch doctors sometimes and whatnot so it's not a stretch to say people would assume it's a ghost. It makes sense to me from where I live but I guess I'll still have to conform to American standards or whatever. I'll see what I can do.

I'm not American too, and though attitudes on mental health are improving a bit here, there is still room for growth. I assume if your story was set here, they'd assume someone was making a fuss in the bathroom. I guess just maybe it would be nice to see how people in your setting would actually react and as a reader, though I might have some assumptions, it would be nice to understand or at least get a hint of the context on why people assumed it was a ghost when it could've been some student having a breakdown.

[riverrdog]

Maybe I should establish that cultural attitudes are different compared to what the usual American audience is used to? College is generally regarded as the "party" period of a person's life and most of the time people aren't really that pressed about working hard here. The "hard-working" period is usually in primary school till secondary. It gets more relaxed.

[DokiDokiTsuna]

Maybe I should establish that cultural attitudes are different compared to what the usual American audience is used to? College is generally regarded as the "party" period of a person's life and most of the time people aren't really that pressed about working hard here.

Seeing college as a "party" is actually a longstanding American tradition, too (see just about any college movie). The "I study 98 hours a day and survive on coffee and willpower" viewpoint is mostly reserved for people who are actually in college (who don't have rich parents...); I'm pretty sure most of the rest of the country still thinks we sit around all day eating pizza and playing beer pong...

Anyway, I hope you're not too worried about cultural things; I hate to see writers editing out everything that makes their story unique because they feel the need to appeal to certain demographics...if people can learn the cultural sensitivities of fantasy worlds that don't exist, they can learn to understand whatever you have to offer.

Really, I think the beginning being slightly confusing might not actually be a big deal in the grand scheme of things...? I mean, I assume that if MC is dropping out in the prologue, the majority of the story will take place somewhere else and be about completely different things? If that's the case, getting bogged down on perfecting this very tiny portion of the story might not be the best use of your time.
People expect to be a little confused when they first start a story (that's what helps capture their attention); it's the rest that really matters in the long run.

[thecrystalrook]

I like a balance. I like to clarify, but I do so by leaking details slowly over a story arc.

[jcmraz]

If you're going to be subtle then the best way is to hide it within an already interesting story. You can tell a good story that has deeper lore or meaning that isn't grabbable as easily. But the top level story has to make enough sense to be enjoyable to read. If you NEED to understand that deeper layer in order to understand anything then you'll lose people.

[AVXP]

Which brings me to the topic - should comics be made as obvious as possible, or is it okay to have implied meanings rather than outright?

You get what you create.
Skicoak pretty much gave you the answer, right there. You're doing the equivalent of asking-
"If I HIDE something, what if someone doesn't find it? Is that okay?"

That's an approach thing. If you NEVER want anyone to miss something, don't hide it in any way. Simple.
The harder anything is to find, the less people will find it. You can't account for- or control your audience.
Not everyone is reading your stuffs twelve times.
Not everyone has read every work in that genre and is familiar with how things traditionally work.
Not everyone is ultra-focused on the first read.
Not everyone is looking for a twist or surprise or strange turn.

The only error is IF you don't CLEARLY leave an exact answer and you meant to- then it's up to debate.
That's where vague comes in and 'open to interpretation' not that it was unclear from poor execution.

[JRHoch]

I always strive to be complex but not complicated. Creators often confuse the two.