I've been a silent reader til now, cause it is not easy for me to discuss in English and the heat of the discussion scared me off a little bit. Still I think it is a topic that concerns every creator on Tapastic and I don't want to regret that I didn't speak up in the end
-There is no "Story driven" VS "Short comics"-
What made me a bit sad is that I noticed some bitterness in the last times, about how "easy" it is for creators of Short Gag Comics to get exposure. While I can understand some frustration (I want to talk about that later) I think it is really important to remember this: We are one community. We all benefit from the success of each single series on Tapastic. Helping and supporting others and Tapastic itself, is helping ourselves. Every reader that made an account because of another comic, can be your next fan. There is no short VS long. There is just one community.
-Story driven comics/Mangas-
That said I can really understand that working on a long story can be frustrating, especially when the feedback is rather low compared to series that need much less work per page... but this is not a comparison. Each format has it's advantages and disadvantages... both formats need skill and talent. I guess everyone has to deal with the fact, that it will ALWAYS be easier for Short Gag comics to gather new fans, because it is a lot easier and faster to consume them (also to produce them, which means more pages), that doesn't make them better or worse. I myself read many comics on tapastic and I have to admit that most of them are Gag comics... because I'm doing one myself (reading is always learning) but also because I can read them whenever I have minute. It is not easy to keep track of 100 comics (I'm actually reading all the comics I have in my reading list). So I really have to choose well. However there are some story driven comics too and I take my time to read them and appreciate them... probably more than any Gag Comic. What I want to say: It is not the number of subscribers that matters... but what your comic means to the single fans... that decides how loyal they will follow you, if they are willing to support you.
-The dilemma-
I find the name of this topic is a unlucky choice :/ As some people already said: Best new webcomics was made for short comics in the first place. That format is not the right place for story driven comics, as spoilers couldn't be avoided. But if it is not the right place for all kind of comics, maybe the name should be changed into something like: Best new shorts, for example?
And while on the front page the features of short and long comics are pretty balanced atm (imo), I agree that authors of story based comics should have their "counterpart" to the best new webcomics. I could imagine it like that: Ask people in the e-mail newsletter to send you one picture in a certain seize and a short comic description. A little bit like here (in the middle but more based on the story rather than the characters): http://tapastic.com/episode/83933
That would be a nice thing to have a fast first impression and would make it easy for readers to pick new series that are matching their interests.
-Tapastic-
I just want to say again that I NEVER before found a page with such a carrying and friendly community and staff members that are searching direct contact to their creators and are always having an ear for feedback and suggestions, like on tapastic. I am really happy to be here and I can just say once again: Please keep up the good job.
@danielerudoni
It is always okay to express suggestions and to give feedback... but we have a saying in Germany: It's the tone that makes the music.
That said I don't think it is the job of Tapastic to get your comic popular, they can help you a lot, but most of the work is up to you... and there are some things you can do (like people already suggested). I honestly wonder why you start blaming the page without trying to improve the situation, when it could be done so easily?