First of, I'd like to thank everyone who chime in on this topic,
I definitely more enlightened after reading all the different opinion
@DMBrigman Your responses definitely put together my preference for the mobile format much better than I do here. When I posted this thread, I'm not trying to force creators to do it all in mobile, it really is up to the creator what format they wanna make it, but I sincerely believe that in the next few years, the shift to mobile will become more and more obvious that it is not something you can ignore like it is right now.
@Kimoisempai that Scott McCloud's comic is excellent!!
@GombikComics I would say one panel per line is better, I'm all for mobile
my phone is bigger than the regular galaxy/iphone and your comic still looks small to me, I mean it was still fine and readable but I think it will be better as one panel per page.
I agree with your opinion on if it's a highly detailed comic with dialog, reading it on tiny phone probably not ideal.
For those of you who advocate for book format in desktop/laptop viewing, I have a question:
Were you already webcomic readers from way back before smartphone era?
I feel like reading from the responses here, you would have to be comfortable reading it in a laptop because it was something you're already used to.
I mean I get it, a well made book format have a certain beauty to it,
I still read manga in print and digital format, although for the latter, I only read it on a tablet, not a phone, from official licensed publisher app like viz, crunchyroll, or comixology,
I find it highly uncomfortable if I have to go to a webpage to read something one these mobile devices, since most of those webcomic sites arent mobile friendly at all.
Reading is one of my entertainments, and the last thing I wanna do when I want to be entertained is sitting on a chair with a laptop on the desk, it just feels like I'm working, doesn't feel like leisure activity.
With the smartphone, I can be laying around on the sofa/bed, waiting for a friend inside a car, sitting in the waiting room of a doctor/vet, etc etc,
basically the consumption of that entertainment is much more flexible.
So if I wanna check out something new on webtoon/tapas, these are the times I browsed around looking for new things.
My tablet, however, is not something I carry everywhere, so I reserved the tablet to read something I know for sure is worthwhile, like really good manga that I've been following or kindle books,
because these products that I bought are usually have met my standard that worth my time sitting down and read, instead of on the fly entertainment.
Self published webcomics have extreme variation in quality, very few out there I personally invested in, so I'm less likely to allocate specific time to sample new ones, I just do it on my phone in different time of day to fill time.
I guess I should install tapas app on my tablet if I care enough to sampler all the book format webcomic,
Smartphone is a more widely used, and while book format still great for a tablet, it is usually too cramped and small for a phone.
If you have to sample how many of the internet comic reader population own mobile phone vs tablet, I think the numbers would be greatly tilted toward phone.
The laptop just can't compete with the comfort and convenient of phone and tablet.
I agree, it is all up to the creator whatever format you wanna make it,
but seeing all the complaints out there about visibility etc etc, and the amount of work involved making a webcomic, I think it is fair to say that deep down all creators want their work to be found and read, and being popular is some kind of acknowledgements that your work is well received.
Otherwise, why even bother to put it on the internet at all?
What I'm trying to say is, that more and more internet users are going mobile and while it may not seem like it today, this number will implode considerably in the next few years that mobile format is not something a creator should ignore.
The number of webtoons readers vs tapastic or hiveworks is a proof of how many people are reading on mobile,
they may not chimed in on this forum because this forum is not on the app, and it seems like only creators bother going out of their way to take out their laptop and type in here, so it seems like the responses here are tilted toward pro book format more than mobile.
However, not trying to contradict my previous points about mobile format,
while mobile does expose your work towards more internet users which now growing up with smartphone,
these users consume things differently than those who going out of your way to sit down and read something in book format.
They kind of consume it like disposable fast food most of the times. So your chance of getting these kids opening their wallet and fund your print version through kickstarter etc is probably quite slim.
It's a different kind of reading habit.
I included myself in these crowd, but once in a while I found a free webcomic from my phone that I thought was great and I'm willing to open my wallet for them, and I would never have found them if it weren't from webtoon/tapas on my phone.
