I try to humanize more messed up characters other series would paint as the villains, even having the protagonist be an anti-hero and having terrifying looking characters be sweet. I usually don't see many stories do that.
I try to humanize more messed up characters other series would paint as the villains, even having the protagonist be an anti-hero and having terrifying looking characters be sweet. I usually don't see many stories do that.
I don't read many published comics, so I have no idea. Webcomic wise, though? I guess everything about it?
My comic doesn't have any escapist or fantastical elements, it's a slice-of-life, character study type of psychological drama focusing on mental health, bad people and bad relationships. It has no romance and has some elements of horror due to one of the character's psychological state as well as later on events. It also deals with a lot of heavy subjects from abuse and trauma, to bigotry. None of my characters are reliable or competent in any way, and are assholes most of the time, intentionally and unintentionally.
I'm not trying to brag, someone told me on Twitter out of the 200+ comics they sifted through on a webcomic promo thread, mine was the only one that stood out and fit their interest, which was actually really flattering. Not gonna lie. (The person in question didn't want comics with any fantastical elements or romance.)
Another thing that sets it apart is that the comic is entirely traditional and in full color, while there are some comics like mine in that department (Lost Honey is a great traditionally example. Toilet Genie also has some pages in all watercolor), it is still really rare. Rare enough that there are some people who've told me that they won't read my comic because it's not polished enough, or that my comic would look better if it were drawn digitally.
My comic overall is extremely niche, making it not very palatable to a lot of people. But I have a very specific story I want to tell, and even though it will never get as many readers as other comics, I still very much enjoy working on it.
Edit: Eeeh I guess I should promote my comic since everyone else is using this as a promotion thread.
I think the combination of genres I use in one of the main comics I’m focusing on this year isn’t one I see a lot in webcomics. Also my style of drawing is very underrepresented in the webtoons/tapas area of webcomics and I think it helps me stick out a bit.
I’m working in like a horror/comedy/myster-ish genre but at first the comic sort of reads like it could be a slice of life about a couple of ditzy pals then gets darker and more serious as events unfold.
It’s been really fun to watch readers go from “haha lol” to “what the fuck does this mean?”
I think my other comics have a lot of unique qualities but this is the main one I’m focusing on for the sake of this thread.
The simplicity and the art style. It's like a Saturday morning cartoon that doesn't take a lot to get into but you like because the characters are fun and the concept is interesting. I've had plenty people tell me the art is unique and looks good so you can look forward to that.
I struggle a lot to figure out how to even explain my comic or how to make it sound interesting to readers because it doesn't really follow any kind of set genre or formula, so that's what makes mine stand out. It's just kind of a story about friends talking about life and that's about it. Setting myself up for a small audience but it's a story I really want to tell. My art style is also lineless which isn't super common.
Thanks! It's good to know!
You also have a different approach on comics, and I'm impatient to see more of it 
Well for one, the setting. That's a given. There's lots of fantasy comics that take place in another world, but none of them that I've found are quite like Kehuegonea (Kiwigonia). The races and species are especially weird. They are a parallel universe to our own, and they have all the same species as us, but their versions look and behave differently (with the sole exception being the kiwi bird).
For example, Earth stoats are fuzzy little adorable weasel babies. Kiwigonian stoats are horrendous two legged raptor/kangaroo-like monsters with serrated teeth and the instinct to kill most anything on sight. In addition to that, many animal species are actual talking, functioning, bipedal races there. Ontop of that, the majority of them can hybridize. So you might encounter things such as fox-raccoon hybrids or dog-ferret hybrids. 
Other than that, the relationships my comic focuses on are a bit different than your typical flowery romances. The two main relationships that flourish in the comic are a friend/friend relationship, and a father/daughter relationship. That's not to say there's no romantic or sexual relationships, because their definitely are. But those relationships are troubled and realistic, they're not sweet and sappy soulmate type stories.
I really want to believe my comic is unique at least when it comes to the plot, but I'm also afraid that someday someone is going to say something like "oh, this is the same idea/plot as in [some popular comic, movie or show I've never watched]" 
You have your moments. Don't worry about it. That's what is good about your story. It is familiar but have its own way of telling the story.
I've asked myself this several times, and I try to tread lightly on the subject. But I can tell what I do well. I think I've created decent characters with the heart to flesh their own personalities, with the ability to make the right or wrong decisions based on their growth through the course of the story, to allow them to stand and be as is and not control them for the sake of plot. Simply put, to become a chronicler of the story than a writer, to believe that it was once the truth and not fantasy. I've enjoyed every moment making a story like this.
Perhaps the best result from such a train of thought is the idea of how perspectives work. While the story is focused on a protagonist, the side he's on is more accidental than good. Different groups and races, all trying to attack and solve the same problem with a different approach; who's right? Who's wrong? It's really perspective. I imagine people siding with or perceiving a group as good, while others perceive it as bad. I think that's what makes it unique. This is how I imagine it.
Do take the time to explore and verify it!
Oh, you'll get people saying that no matter how #Unique your comic is. A reader once said my comic reminded them of a movie called 'It's Kind of a Funny Story'. In their own way all stories are kind of unique, even if they follow a popular trend creators still put their own thumbprints on them.
Although to play devil's advocate, if you want a reader base you don't want your comic to be toooo unique, or hardly anyone would get into it.
thanks for the updated guidelines! They are very easy to understand and good job to all of the moderators makeing it so plessent to be here 
To answer the question: Wayfinders: Off Course is baed on our own dungeouns and dragons campaign, and thats what makes it unique.
If just one of us players was a different person the story would not have went as it did. The plot is driven by the characters and what they do,and how they interact.
For art we try to get inspiration from our own culture. The county the cast come from we took visual inspiration from the viking age because we are all danes in the group.
Can read it here: https://tapas.io/series/WayfindersOffCourse
What sets my story apart?
As far as I know I'm the only "reimagined public domain superheroes plus The Outer Limits" webcomic on the planet.
YES
For my romances, I've always liked to boast that they're unromantic romances.
I am not big into fluff so of course my stories won't contain much cutesy stuff. you know, stuff you can find in 90% of the romance stories out there. stuff that I come across every day in recommended and popular comics, in stories I stumble upon and sample.
