What do you wish to see more of in webcomics?

IdiotWithPencil 2019-10-30 15:59:58 UTC #41

sure it was funny =) good comic

DistortedWho 2019-10-30 16:05:51 UTC #42

Are you saying that JtHM is not slice of life? Fuck, what am I doing with this knife and all these people tied up...

I get what you are saying about marketing, although in my experience (I don't know if that is valid for comics), goths can like dark serious stuff too.

By the way, had a look at your comic and it's really nice to know there are other people who upload traditional art here. I thought I was going to be the only one.

I released my first episode by the way! Kurt in Samara is here.

jensrichard77 2019-10-30 16:09:14 UTC #43

Now let's see where this will go.
I'm your first subscriber. Woo hoo

vfinnigan 2019-10-30 16:12:26 UTC #44

That is an extremely hard subject to tackle, because most people writing it don't understand what goes on in the head of someone struggling with the will to live. And as someone who does understand suicide from multiple perspectives, I don't really want to explore that headspace much further than I already have. It's terrifying. So I only do that as the story requires. I also have the added challenge of keeping it kid-friendly without sanitizing it too much.

And I absolutely can't stand romanticizing suicide, because it hurts everyone involved, from the obvious friends and family to the first responders who have to clean up the mess. (And yes, it is messy.) It's especially harmful to people with chronic illnesses or disabilities. Yes, we do face pressure, even if it's not intentional, to just up and die. Although sometimes it is intentional.

But realistic depictions of people dealing with suicidal ideation and such and what it's like getting help for it are few and far between. Lots of attention is given to people who kill themselves. Not much is given to the people who are that ill, but manage to live anyway. If sometimes only by sheer force of will. Or because of the one friend who stayed up all night on the phone letting you talk it out and talking you down. (You don't need to worry about me. I'm far too stubborn to die before my time.)

CMYKat 2019-10-30 16:20:54 UTC #45

In the slice-of-life universe, I want to see more dynamic character studies that have little to nothing to do with their romantic or sex lives. Even if their romantic or sexual interests are expressed in the comic, I want to learn more about other ways the character navigates through the world with their flaws and differences. I'm seeing an emergence of this now but before I felt quite alienated from a lot of comics because I LOVE slice-of-life but felt surrunded by "college boy likes this other college boy and it's eating him alive and following him EVERYWHEEEEERE also he owns an ice cream sandwich store and is part elf" etc.

I also want to see more bravery in approaching "serious" character traits like mental diversity, disabilities, illnesses, etc. Let someone who has Asperger's fail to get along with their sibling sometimes because siblings often fight. Feature a hearing person get really upset at their deaf friend because they sign too fast and it makes them feel inadequate. Show someone dealing with unwanted resentment toward a family member who is terminally ill. Of course, I still suggest hiring sensitivity readers for this kind of stuff when appropriate, but I find unless the person is writing immediately from experience, even if they are experts at avoiding stereotypes, they still tend to pussy-foot around certain aspects and the cast is annoyingly accommodating or overly understanding unless they're meant to be branded as the antagonist.

GamerPrincessXI 2019-10-30 16:29:24 UTC #46

Haha, you said pussy-foot, lol XD. My mom says that a lot. I agree with you on the sensitivity training but I don't feel like a writer has to hire another writer for that. If the person who does the comic research the subject matter and goes about talking to people who have these unique things than surely no sensitivity training is needed.

CMYKat 2019-10-30 16:32:55 UTC #47

As someone who is part of several minorities, I definitely think hiring a sensitivity reader is extremely beneficial when writing challenging aspects outside of one's experiences. I didn't mean to imply hiring another writer c: Just to be sure they've [the writer] listened with intent to someone if tackling something tricky like "black person grows up with racist white family" and the writer has zero experience with this, for example.

arcojawa 2019-10-30 16:37:06 UTC #48

... hmm... that's an interesting question...

... as far as method goes, I'd like to see people practice less technical skills like "if this panel is directly after this panel does it look like they transition into one another?" or things like variety in facial expression and poses. Technically skilled artists, in the age of Photoshop and Freeware, are a dime a dozen. You need to start working on the less obvious skills to set yourself apart from deluge of graphic artists. (Admittedly for me this has been paramount because I'm not a technically skilled artist and could probably be described as clumsy in my technique)

As for representation and, uh, trope variety I'm actually pretty satisfied with where things have been. Lately it seems like writers are really trying to do more, push into unfamiliar territory, and avoid old cliches. Things like gender, sexuality, and race representation are being pushed harder then I've ever seen in my lifetime (don't let the vocal minority fool you, they're not as common as they think they are). Characters are being written less like walking tropes and more like people which is a big step up from what I remember in my youth. It's easy to focus on the exceptions to this, the boring characters, the cliche characters, the frustrating characters, but honestly it feels like in the past several years a lot of progress has been made in the writing department.

Having said that, I'd like to hope that we'll eventually settle into ideal middle grounds in a lot of these "one extreme vs the other" situation. Q: Is sexuality good or bad? A: People are allowed to be sexy and sexual but don't overdo it and don't let a character be defined by that alone. Q: Is it bad to be toxic? A: It is something we want to avoid but we should also acknowledge it and try to help those who are toxic. Stuff like that.
Seems like some folks -and not a lot of them mind you- seem to think that there's an extreme answer to some questions and that's almost never a good way to think about. Let your views be challenged and be willing, at least, to listen to other opinions.

UrMom 2019-10-30 16:49:55 UTC #49

Pff that's true, what stories you like doesn't stop at what groups you hang out in. I was more meaning what general audience (or stereotypes), while you can find a reader anywhere, traditionally you wouldn't advertise a drama/romance/comedy comics in a group that likes horror and vice versa. At least that's what everyone says not to do, I just post on the general webcomic side of social media, which is a giant melting pot of everything.

Thank you for checking out my comic, btw! Despite having a tablet I prefer going all natur-al. There are a few of us out there, fighting the Digital Man!™ So you're definitely not the only one.

Congratulations on posting the first page of your comic! Things will only go up from here!

I'm not sure what your preferred genre is, but I know a few finished comics.

These are more bittersweet.

GamerPrincessXI 2019-10-30 17:18:53 UTC #50

I would argue against hiring someone. It feels like more money being wasted. I'm also part of a minority group and I'm not really in the mood of wasting money.

CMYKat 2019-10-30 17:21:18 UTC #51

Many sensitivity readers work for free. I'm using the word "hiring" in the sense of "employing" someone's services, whether pro-bono or in exchange for wages. c: And I'm not telling you how to run things. You can work however you feel.

GamerPrincessXI 2019-10-30 17:23:20 UTC #52

I don't have if you're referring to This is Us, The Conners and and oldie but goodie, or that what you talking about Willis show, (I can't remember what the name was)...

GamerPrincessXI 2019-10-30 17:24:39 UTC #53

Nothing is free, my child. On a side note I wish I was in my eighties, already.

skicoak 2019-10-30 18:16:34 UTC #54

Different Strokes was the name of that particular program.

azzy-m 2019-10-30 18:28:38 UTC #55

This is a little specific, I think, but I kind of wish there were more stories in the vein of Adventure Time or Bojack Horseman - capable of being lighthearted and funny one moment but can strike you with deep, philosophical, or existential messages the next.

I think the closest I've come to reading something like this was Graveweaver's ITGR. Especially the Discover/Canvas version.

Darth_Biomech 2019-10-30 18:39:57 UTC #56

More science fiction that treats the "Science" part seriously, instead of as an excuse to have aliens (obligatory humanoid and nigh indistinguishable from humans, of course) and spaceships in their story.
I mean, out of many I have read, it appears that very few had at least skimmed through an Wikipedia article summary on the subjects relevant to their story.

GamerPrincessXI 2019-10-30 18:48:32 UTC #57

Ah, now I remember. Good times, XD... Thank you!

AbelDraws 2019-10-30 19:22:06 UTC #58

Thank uuu <333 I'll check them out when I get home

skicoak 2019-10-31 10:10:20 UTC #59

Naw, Good Times had Jimmy Walker in it...Different Strokes was Gary Coleman's show

gempompadour 2019-10-31 12:42:43 UTC #60

This something I love as well and search for in comics. I hate it when people say men and women can't be friends or their relationship will always be sexual in nature.