**TL:DR When it comes to writing effectively on dark topics, I need some advice please**

[sourcecider]

Well, some who are afflicted are more familiar with trigger warnings. I don't think it's totally vital what terms you use as warning of sensitive content, just that there's prior warning for the viewer. I was less talking about using trigger warnings themselves, more just the broad statement in the latter part of your comment -- "You can't censor stuff to help the mentally disabled, they have to learn how to help themselves."

[JessJackdaw]

@BeetleMilk @shazzbaa Mind if I chime in on the using metaphors to avoid controversy?

I think the main reason any writer uses metaphors isn't just to avoid triggering anyone, really it's to set up a story free of bias. I think that's exactly the reason Rebecca Sugar set up the world of Steven Universe and it's parallel diction. It tackles heavy subjects silently without using terms that are weighted by connotations.

For example, the word "slavery" is wrapped in bias that may pollute a readers viewpoint when reading your comic. If that connotation lends itself to the story. USE IT! It evokes powerful feelings and can make a line powerful.

If a word conjures the wrong feelings for your story, that's when you use a metaphor or perhaps a lesser known word to avoid this bias.

There is a slave race in my comic but it turned out that the word "slavery" wasn't working despite the story having heavy themes involving the subject. It negatively altered people's interpretation of the race in ways I didn't intend for! The bias actually worked against my story in this case so using a substitute word worked so much better for me to paint the story.

So @chokolatte don't feel pressured either way with using or not using heavy terms. Feel out what works best for you comic, and try out different words! Finding the right word play to suit your tone is so important when crafting your story! : >

[hushicho]

I advise not packing a series with all of these things; be sparing if you deal with "heavy" topics so that you can deal with them well and not just seem like you're overloading people with angst. It often comes off as looking manipulative and puerile when it's just one thing after another; one sees it so often in bad fanfiction that a lot of it has become stereotypical, or a trope at best.

The best way to deal with serious topics is to give each one a respectful examination and presentation, and don't make light of them. Don't use them to pull the spotlight onto yourself, and try as best you can to avoid characters coming off as "special snowflake" characters; it's not always fair, but it's very easy for audiences to knee-jerk into seeing characters as "special snowflake" types if there's a lot of dense heavy topics pertaining to them.

It's very hard to write characters that, as you've said, readers "despise", because if people don't really care about or personally identify with the characters, it's going to be much harder for them to feel invested in a series. There are exceptions, but these are fairly rare. What most would call tragedy is rare in life, and it quickly becomes tiresome, not to mention implausible, because willing suspension of disbelief is even less likely when the reader doesn't want to suspend their disbelief.

[haleymewsome]

Speaking from an experience you've actually seen or had yourself is a good way to make sure you come off as speaking from a place of truth rather than sensationalizing. Trying not to be gratuitous will really help prevent possible negative reactions as well. c:

[Zanreo]

I think for stuff like this, the issue isn't including the themes at all, but how you handle them, how they're portrayed in-story. Is it shown as something regular, "normal" that isn't done much with or that "can't be done much about", in a way that can be seen as glorifying (even if unintentional), or is it portrayed in a negative light? You don't have to slap big signs all over with HEY BTW THIS THING IS BAD, it can be done through mood, character reactions and emotions, ect
Also, content/trigger/whatever warnings can be a good idea for these kinds of subjects for readers who are sensitive about this. For some readers this doesn't even mean they'll avoid it, they just appreciate a heads-up about it rather than just getting it thrown in their face out of nowhere.
Research the topics, and be open to advice and critique regarding your portrayals - sometimes you can learn from it.
Also, make sure to put in some lighter/happy moments now and then to avoid it getting TOO dark rather than just throwing one thing after another after another with no "break" inbetween. Reading a story that's all dark and sad all the time can be exhausting, and if done badly might just make it look more "edgy" than anything else.

[NanettesClouds]

...and if done badly might just make it look more "edgy" than anything else.

^Super important point right there.

In the comic I'm working on the main character kills himself in the first handful of pages. It was really important for me to not come off as just being edgy for edgy's sake.

I think the best way to avoid being edgy is to treat your characters like actual people, approach their situation and behavior with sympathy. Understand WHAT they're doing and WHY they're doing it on a deeper level, not just tragic backstory stuff, this includes the bad guys who do horrible things Don't just say it's because they're crazy or because they had one horrible tragic moment in their past that screwed them up beyond belief. People don't have switches like that. "This character was abused as a child and now he's a horrible murderer because of it" is passively saying that people who have dealt with childhood abuse are fated to become horrible people, and that's not the case. That doesn't mean that you can't use that character, but you and your audience and your narrative need to be aware that the characters past and the characters present are not a cause and effect. @Kamikaze's advice about using TVtropes as a guide is probably the best way to check yourself on this, next to actually talking to people who have dealt with or have done the sorts of things you're writing about.

Understand that people who do horrible things aren't remorseless usually. Maybe they won't feel guilty right away, but eventually they will, and that will eat away at them. They can't go back and change what they did, they have to live with the consequences. That's a tragic thing.

Understand that not every piece of behavior has a clear cause. Why does my character commit suicide? It doesn't matter, depression doesn't always have a rational cause and it doesn't always lead to predictable behavior. Pretending like it does is a disservice to people who actually have to live with depression, or with a friend or family member who committed suicide. If I said it's because he wasn't treated well by his parents in his early childhood, I'm not only demonizing his fictional parents, I'm demonizing every parent with a kid that killed themselves, regardless of how well they treated their kids.

Also, side note, a lot of people are saying that you have to portray bad things in a negative light, or that you have to pass Judgement on the characters who do bad things. I don't think that's the case at all. Steven Universe is a good example of how to do this. The characters have done bad things, and they are capable of doing bad things. The audience doesn't need to be told that those things are bad, and we can reasonably assume that the creators of Steven Universe dont condone those bad things, even if a character doesnt get their due justice or if the naratavie doesn't call them out.

ALL OF THAT SAID the last REALLY IMPORTANT advice that I have for you is to not forget that good things can also happen. If your entire story is just one awful thing happening after another, the audience will become desensitized, and you don't want that, not only because it will make your readers bored, but it will make it so they treat the issues you're covering with less respect and they wont care as much if they ever encounter it in real life. Having some happy moments in your story will make the bad moments hit harder too, because the audience has something to compare it too within the narative.

I guess TLDR, don't treat the subject matter you're handling as black and white. It's complicated stuff with a lot of nuances, be careful about what you might actually be saying when dealing with those topics, And don't forget that good things can happen too.

[Koolaid]

My comic about death in particular (main person becomes zombie and the reaper wants his soul) and I made my ccomic particularly bloody and with lots of gore, but to overshadow these and to make it more appealing, I use bright colors and a very cartoon style with humor thrown in. "Tasteful gore" is what it has been described as haha also, making the characters have a lot of character and personality helps to get people involved and make sure the darkness can be mixed with a lighter side to get people more involved that don't really like too dark of comics.(example image for how colors can contrast very dark themes to make it more appealing)

[tayo_rafferty]

If it's serious topic then handle it in a serious manner. As the storyteller you generally should take those kinds of topics seriously but that doesn't mean all your characters need to, not everyone deals with trauma, grief or heartbreak in the same way.

I find that the most effective way to handle these topics is present it in a way that allows the audience to think about it and discuss it rather than having a story which presents something like 'drugs' (for example) as an 'absolute evil'.