Yo, what do you look for in a webcomic?

I plan on relaunching my website webcomic on January 1st. I'm not saying what it's gonna be about because I've changed my mind a total of 4 times throughout the whole planning. But Really I gave myself that deadline so I can have sometime to hype the launch and have some fun before I commit myself to a schedule. I kinda just got FFXI and I don't want to commit to anything besides that. My girlfriend is now the second love of my life >:). But ahh.. on to the meat and potatoes of the topic..

I want to know what people want to see in a webcomic. When I launch, I want to have a general idea of how to please the general masses. So try to help me out here. Infact, I'll start it off..

- Layout. The links have to be easy to access with little or no effort. Plus the colors gots to be pleasing to the eyes. Originality doesn't hurt either. Too many black backgrounds and the whole effect is diminshed.

- Update schedule. I like comics that update frequently on schedule. And stick to that schedule.

That's all I'm gonna list. What's your opinion on this?

Characters.

I want to care about your characters, and want to see what crazy stuff happens to them every day.

PokeGravy nailed it.

I like strips that are good.

I think you're trying to get a definition of 'it'. You can't define 'it' with words though. A comic either has 'it' or it doesn't. I look for 'it' in comics.

originality is always a plus

make me laugh and you might just win me! originality & characters are also very important.

i perfer mine to be in english. good ol', generally typo free english.

...but i'll also accept ebonics and farsi.

And no using 'teh' on purpose. That just pisses me right off

no gaming references, no gratuitous swearing, no internet slang, no ms-paint, no sprites.
and we'll get along fine

something that actually has some thought put into each strip. i.e. no non-jokes, no recitations of your boring video games or conversations about video games with your equally boring roommates that end in no punch line at all. and none of the same joke used over and over...especially if it's a joke that gets done all the time anyway.

Remember that you are on the internet: make the most of it. You have no limits for layouts and for structure. Be free.

That most be the most vaguest thing I have ever seen...

Hand drawn (but it doesnt have to be amazing art)
No Popups
Good Humor
Good Characters
Reular Schedual (even though I know how it is)
Something new and creative

Unique art style. I enjoy seeing as many unique styles of drawing as possible...

That's why I'm developing my own :D

I look for thoughtful, innovative, humorous writing with unexpected depth, along with interesting characters. If I can't have that, my second choice would be a comic about a couple of gamer Final Fantasy characters who sit around on their sofa making wise cracks and go on wacky adventures in their spare time. :O_o:

cheesecake comes into mind...

on a serious note, i wouldn't mind being entertained. something that'll grab my short attention span when it comes to looking at new comics... and a word to the wise when i say the short attention span for new comics is rather common nowadays...with all the filth around lately. a narrative hook in some form o fashion should be looked into...

No set formula here. The common denominator of all my favorite comics is humor. Now, they might be humorous in drastically different ways, but I find them all to be funny. Art tends to be a secondary thing to me, but that's not to say it doesn't matter. Originality is good, it's exciting to read something and honestly believe you've never seen anything like it before, but as an artist being original can be a slippery slope. Don't get so caught up with being original that you forget to be good.
Uh, let's see what else. I guess characters are a big thing. I've seen some comics with the best gags ever, but the characters had no real personality and eventually I stopped visiting. So as far as long term goes, if I can really care about the characters then I will be hooked. That's all I can think of...

The name "Dave Kelly" in the author, or 'Cave Deli'.

Small elfs that pack M-16's and drink beer and snort cocaine.

G Rated stories about happy wonderful, wonderfulness.

Personally I look for something isn't a webcomic. When I think webcomic, I just think of cookie cutter gamer sprite fantasy buddy comics. When I got into 'webcomics', I didn't even THINK that I was doing a strip, I was doing a comic page serial (as pretentious as that sounds). The Internet is an effective medium, but a lot of comics receive attention on the Internet because they are in fact on the Internet, not by any inherent quality of the media. A lot of webcomics can be treated as consumables, read, laugh, move on. Kind of like the dollar Agatha Christie books that my mother buys at the second hand bookshop. Not looking for anything of quality, just something to relax and unwind to. But, on the grand scale of things, not many people would pay a dollar to read a "webcomic".

I guess this is something to be said about the quality controls related to having a closed distribution system, when something ends up in print it could be deduced that it had to have something good about it to get past the quality control system through comic book companies (Although I don't agree and there are many comicbooks or syndicate strips that I wouldn't even bother touching, the majority even). The Internet is an open medium, which I find works better, but at the same time I can look at a lot of the TWC and think "No one would buy that". Is that neccessarily a bad thing? I think it is.

Sorry for the bizarre unintelligible rant.

So you look for.... quality?

The Internet is an open medium, which I find works better, but at the same time I can look at a lot of the TWC and think "No one would buy that". Is that neccessarily a bad thing? I think it is.



I wouldn't pay for herpes, Frank... does that make herpes a bad thing?


Oh wait....

I wouldn't pay for herpes, Frank... does that make herpes a bad thing?Heh, you can pay for herpes, it's even legal in Las Vegas!

But what I was trying to get across is that a certain amount of investment can do wonders for your perception of something, I've seen it argued in journalism as well. Things can so easily be tossed aside when they're free, or you can enjoy it on a level whereas if you paid for it, you'd feel ripped off?

But what I was trying to get across is that a certain amount of investment can do wonders for your perception of something, I've seen it argued in journalism as well. Things can so easily be tossed aside when they're free, or you can enjoy it on a level whereas if you paid for it, you'd feel ripped off?

I see what you are saying, and that makes sense. I don't think it always has to be a fiscal investment though. But people do place a high value on their money, so therefore anything they put this money into would obviously mean something to them. But I wouldn't say that people don't value things that can't have a dollar amount placed on them. Or at least they shouldn't.

no gaming references, no gratuitous swearing, no internet slang, no ms-paint, no sprites.
and we'll get along fine
no comics...

I see what you are saying, and that makes sense. I don't think it always has to be a fiscal investment though. But people do place a high value on their money, so therefore anything they put this money into would obviously mean something to them. But I wouldn't say that people don't value things that can't have a dollar amount placed on them. Or at least they shouldn't.Definitely, I'll use music as an example. I really like Alkaline Trio, I have all their albums, when their latest album came out I was utterly disappointed because I was incredibly into the band and their sound, then this arrived and it just missed me totally. I gave it to a friend who has a very similar music taste to me and he really really enjoyed it, being the first he had heard from them. Then I played him their previous albums, which he liked a lot more and the recent work paled in comparison. Perhaps that's an example of my cynicism as opposed to me having invested a lot in the artist. I think that makes sense?