What do you value more - good art with a sub-par story or terrible art with an amazing story?

[baasinsimple]

I don't think a comic necessarily needs good art, there are several comics I know that are more with their bad-mediocre art more effective than great comic artists. Anything by ONE, JunHa Kim, Akhdas or DH animations are simple yet very good stories that don't have great art. Especially JunHa Kim and ONE, who have really flawed art yet story-wise are better than most of us. Really, if you're gonna judge something off the art alone without even reading 2 or 3 episodes than you're just gonna miss out on some great stories just because you felt like being temperamental.

[ble]

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[joannekwan]

LOL I was gonna say I thought the early art was more unique! It's got an interesting style and is pretty memorable.
Now it looks like a thousand other webcomics out there.

[Pandastrophic]

What's the definition of bad art though? Comics need to have a balance of drawing and writing, its a visual medium and to me bad comic art is art that doesn't communicate the story visually well. Like if the character expressions aren't drawn clearly, if its hard to tell characters apart, if whatever action is going on its hard to tell what's happening bc of how badly drawn it is. I don't think it has anything to do with skill level but more to do with visually telling the story and if the story is visually told badly then it makes it hard for me to connect to it.

Everyone brings up OPM but ONE's style fits the comedy/parody aspect of OPM well, his panel compositions are really good that Murata sometimes just redraws the composition as it is. His art improves a lot in Mob psycho and his shaky lines are really expressive, the art is so detailed too.

[AmazementComics]

I really do prefer a story that is good with sub-par (or terrible) art over anything. First and foremost, we have to establish that a story must have a keen sense of direction and purpose for it to be successful. It shouldn't really have to matter how an artist decides to create their visual technique, so long as they have a plot that is consistent throughout. There are quite a few comics whose artstyle isn't exactly appealing, but that's not anyone's concern except the artist. Even the most basic traditional art-based comics can still be good, and I know of one in particular on Tapas that stood out to me. I suppose depending on your taste in a certain genre will dictate what kind of art you're leaning more towards. I only focus more on what I can gain from the story, the artwork comes later.

[Eightfish]

Yes, agree.

Lots of people here are saying that art is not so important, but I'm going to bring up a counterargument:

The examples people are showing here are not actually bad. They still have a good grasp of comic flow, so the stories are able to shine through. I would call One Punch Man and XKCD functional art, not bad art.

Comics with truly bad art are never read at all, because their art is so incomprehensible that we can't even tell what the story is. I've seen this even with very good artists that can draw a body perfectly but can't board a comic for shit. Without at least a minimum level of artistic skills, there can't even be a story. It would be like trying to write a book without knowing the alphabet.

Also, since a lot of people are giving recommendations for their favorite "bad art" comics, I wanted to add one of my own:
Doe of Deadwood

As you guys can see, the art is pretty plain. I even thought it was kind of ugly, and that the fact that the main characters are animals was weird. But the writing was good enough to pull me in, and now it's one of the few comics I follow for every update.

But despite the art not being the best, the artist knows his limits. He never crams too many details into one panel, and his characters' actions and expressions are very clear. He uses enough panels to convey actions clearly but not so many that it gets boring. I've never felt confused as to what is happening in the story.

It's the same for the examples everyone else is bringing up: a good story needs at least a minimum level of comic making abilities to be decent.

[Afrofairy96]

Angry Max Fury sounds interesting I'll have to check it out & see how it looks

[yansusu]

Tbh I probably wouldn't pick any comic up if I don't like the art (which doesn't equal bad art). So without an art style that I like I wouldn't even get around to reading the story. But what makes me stay around would be the story so I'd say it's not either or it needs both: An art style that I like and a story that I like.

[JeanGuillet]

the discussion of Gunnerkrigg Court is interesting in this context. What really turned me off to GC is the lettering. I've tried twice to read it and can't get past the readability issue. Much more important than art or story. The size has to be big enough. It shouldn't give you a headache. There shouldn't be weird fonts. It's little things like this which really separate out comics with professionalism. Homestuck fell by the wayside with walltext & seizure gifs for me too. So I'm willing to stick around if your art is awful and your story is good, or if your story is awful and your art is good, or your story is awful AND your art is awful, but please make it readable, that's the point.

[amortelito]

Good story!! I have one or two beautiful but boring comics in my library because they are pretty to look at but I no longer read the dialogues or follow what is happening. The rest of the comics I follow have nice stories or endearing characters I don't really care that much for the quality. The good thing is that most artists are working hard to improve their pages, so I guess we can have both great art and a great story.

[Azifri]

I don't really have much to add, because it's pretty much what has already been discussed.
I prefer comics with subpar art but a good plot. Sadly, I do tend to click on comics based on their art; that's why places like this forum have helped me find new comics I would have otherwise probably not looked at.
There are certain artistic/stylistic aspects that make me stop reading though, like difficult to understand fonts, or scenes that are hard to follow.

[racarter]

In general, I prefer art. Story is important of course but I’ve often enjoyed bad stories just because of the glorious art. Like TRASH, Crime Zone, LIVES, Deathtopia (well it has A+ gore which is what I love, the overall art isn’t great), The Island Of Giant Insects (alas, they had to switch artists but now I’m invested), and I’m sure there’s more I’m just not remembering right now.

Using OPM as an example, since OP brought it up, I couldn’t stand to read the original webcomic because the art is so bad. When the manga version got badass art I was able to enjoy it.

Meh, I firmly believe that you can compensate bad writing with amazing art. Considering a lot of what I enjoy gets axed tho, I seem to be in the minority. But I can get invested in almost anything cool.

Problem is I know a lot of stuff out there with terrible art and terrible stories. Like bland run of the mill BS that I come across more often than not. Which really just goes to show you there’s no accounting for taste. Compared to that crap, ONE’s art is amazing.

But to me if the art is amazing enough, I can most likely get invested in the story easier.

[onigiriinu]

I'm not sure, usually, the art attracts me.
The story is making me wanting for more.
Since I'm also a comic artist with skills, I often look for a great story that will keep me there for a long time!
So, yes, the story is important to most of the readers.

[keii4ii]

What really turned me off to GC is the lettering. I've tried twice to read it and can't get past the readability issue. Much more important than art or story.

While I'm inclined to agree, it's just not the topic at hand. There are lots of factors behind "will you rather read comic x or comic y" and this thread is just examining two factors.

Also, legibility is surprisingly subjective! At least, more than one might think, once you get past the obvious crimes like 3pt tiny text in #e0e0e0 against #ffffff. It's evident that a lot of people don't have difficulty reading GC's font, but that doesn't mean it's easily readable for all, as you prove that. On the other hand, Mare Internum uses a very typical-looking comic font, but I know someone who physically can't read it because it messes with her eye condition... though she can read other comics with seemingly similar fonts?

[LT1986]

I value an amazing story with terrible art more than good art with a sub-par story, only if the story catches my attention. Good art usually makes me want to read a story. Now if the terrible art has an interesting message that I see right away from the art without reading, then I'll read the story.

[DiegoPalacios]

I prefer an amazing story and terrible art over amazing art and terrible story. (of course in the extreme case that the art is uninteligible, then i can`t appreciate the story)

Of course, amazing art is always a plus and helps with first impressions, but i watch a comic/show/movie for the story it tells, not for how good it looks.

[eochoa92]

Being very conscious about my storytelling, I seek out great artists so that their art can make my stories look good. That being said, I've talked to several people who also say that they don't mind if the art is sub-par, just the story needs to be great.
For me, it needs to be a bit of both.
I don't particularly like John Romita Jr's art and find it difficult to read comics where he was the artist.
Same goes for some Adult Swim shows.

[charliesackett]

Not gonna lie, I have a lot of comics on my shelf that are horribly written that I keep because they're pretty. If I love the story I will slog through bad art, but it's really hard for me because so much of my enjoyment of the medium is in the art. I get fixated on anatomical problems and then I cant even appreciate the writing because I'm distracted.

I'm also one of those people that's okay with just reading a book, so if I'm looking for good writing I don't need bad art to distract from it.

[Mari]

Both. comics with art that is something the person has not invested any time into I cannot get into. I wish I could. But if I cannot tell what is happening, or there is just no style at all, I can't get over it, no matter how amazing I find the story.

If it's clear and I can see there was atleast a semblance of effort, I'm more forgiving for bad art. Atleast they tried, you know?

[JeanGuillet]

While I'm inclined to agree, it's just not the topic at hand.

I'd say the visual presentation including legibility all falls under the art category. Was already mentioned earlier the Sandman series and how that comic uses legibility as a device. Can be done well, can be done poorly, but all part of the art. The is the great strength of comics in mixing media in unique ways. one cannot separate the lettering from the art without losing something about the presentation as a whole.