Topic: What makes a good webcomic?

I think a good webcomic 1) has good art (which includes color, preferably, and complexity too) 2a) is consistently funny and/or 2b) an engaging plot 3)updates no less then once a week and 4)updates consistently or explains failures to do so every time.

What about everyone else?

All you've said is true indeed. I publish mine more than 1 once a week and my art is I have to say pretty nice, but over the last year or so, I have had little to no success whatsoever. I keep trying and hoping, but I've wondered how much longer can I publish Insects Inc. Unlimited before I decide to yank this webcomic?

Tough question. Personally:

1) Not bad art. There are plenty of comics out there with don't have what I would call good art, but are still great. White ninja, 8-bit and qwantz for example, the latter. As long as the artistic skills aren't distracting from the story (or humor), I don't feel the artistic talent is massively important. Now, having and art style that fits the mood of the webcomic itself is important.

2) I find the thing I'm looking for most these days is resolution. So many webcomics are ongoing that I'll tear through an archive and then suddenly the momentum is broken when I reach the most current strip and have to wait for updates. I'd like if more comics maybe had story archs. Like seasons for TV shows where a storyline is wrapped up. Granted... many may do this already and I just don't catch it while reading the archives.

And yes, updates are important.

Now, I'll go a step further and disucss what I feel makes a well designed webcomic site.

1) 'First - Previous - Next - Last' ('FPNL' for short) buttons at the TOP and BOTTOM of each strip. I'ts a pain to navigate through archives that don't do this.

2) Search. While not a huge deal, it would help on occasion being able to search through the archives for keyword-based comics. Wanna show your friend the funny comic with the killer-bunny, but don't want to dive into a 5 year long archive to find it? Just search 'Killer bunny.'

3) You domain 'webcomicdomain.com'leads right to the most recent comic. Most people do do this, so...

4) Basically just number 1 again. Its so hard to browse an archive if I have to scroll each time. I'm sick of my mouse-wheel noise.

Oh... and one more thing I'd like (and will possibly make a small script for). A way to save your spot on a comic. So if, like me, you're browsing through a comic, you can hit a save button and next time you go you can hit load and it'll bring you to your last position. Lots o' ways to do that...

I know that's what bookmarks are for, but for some reason I don't like doing that.

I came across this today that's similar to the "Tag the Comic" feature on Little Gamers

http://www.evoluted.net/community/code/comictagger.php

Ahh... exactly what i was talking about. Thanks. Seems simple enough to add to any comic.

Good find.

The funny thing about asking what makes a good webcomic is that everyone will have a different opinion, because everybody likes different things. Lucky for us, because if everybody only liked one thing, then someone would have figured it out already, and we would be out of a job (so to speak)

Yes and no. Some genres are saturated (gaming comics especially) while others just can't have enough.

Even so, I would think that general consistancies (like, for example, updating regularly most of the time) are important for all comics.

Effort. Effort in the production and execution, effort in community building, effort in website design, etc. Like someone said, the artwork doesn't have to be great, but I need to know that someone put effort into it and didn't just slap it together.

roof is right.

Effort is where it's all at. It's what makes a webcomic great... even though it has a flaws in the art, story, or writing.

To add to the discussion, I think a good webcomic should be a complete experience. The complete experience includes the presentation of the rest of the website as Like as long as you are reading it you never feel like you've left the world of the comic. This includes stuff like having custom 404 messages and if you have advertisements, make sure they aren't too intrusive.

I really like the effort answer. That sounds right to me (well as right as opinions can be).

There are times you can even "tell" when a creator has stopped putting the effort into a comic and it affects the "quality."

Effort. I like that.

I like webcomics with good characters. I can have so-so art, and I can stand bad plots, as long as I get charmed by the characters. The best art and the best plot in the world aren't that good if you can't relate to the characters, I think.

It may seem simplistic and obvious, but my biggest draw for a webcomic is humor. It's rarer than you'd think. So much of the stuff I read is a bitter mixture of snarkiness and superiority that tries to pass itself off as humor, which will not sustain a comic.

The art can be crappy as long as the humor is there, I think. Of course, this is probably just a cop-out on my part.

I agree with Speedofsoundman. The first thing I look for in any webcomic is humor. Then I consider whether it hurts to look at...not from an art point of view, but from a text/word placement view. If it goes beyond the gag-a-day variety, then I look for depth of character/storytelling ability (like Schlock or girl genius). After that, I look at the art...and don't get me wrong, I love me some art, but I've never stuck with a strip because it was pretty...it's the humor and/or storytelling that keep me coming back.

That being said, I fear it's only fair to state that my own comic, Slightly Off-Topic, has no artistic merits whatsoever and may fall into the afore-mentionned snarky category...but I try.

I'm pretty much of an art nazi myself. Most of the time that's what I look for first and I usually find it more important then even the story. This goes to show again that what makes a good webcomic is a very personal matter.

Well, I think it depends on what you look for in a comic and what the creators are going for. For instance, I wouldn't consider comparing a gag-a-day strip with a story-focused comic fair, even if the traits of each can overlap at times. They're just different formats and styles.

As for me, I enjoy a lot of different things in webcomics. Though I've seen a few sprite comics that were well-written, I tend to prefer comics with unique and distinctive art styles that are obviously drawn rather than copy/pasted or just basically edited-- but maybe that's because I'm a Visual Art undergraduate. XD; Now, the art doesn't have to be "good" (what is "good" anyway? Very subjective, if you ask me), but as long as I can tell what's going on, I'm usually cool with most styles.

Clever and good writing are pluses, but not necessarily musts for me... It's true in about 90% of the comics I read have what I would consider to have at least great writing, but there's a few that are simply entertaining for what they are.

Humor is a huge factor for me as well. Now, it doesn't have to be a gag-a-day, but even in serious comics I enjoy comic relief every now and then. My sense of humor is very broad, so there's several ways this can be done effectively to me, but I'm making a long enough post as it is, so I'll skip specifics. Suffice to say I find Dominic Deegan, The Dreamland Chronicles and Something Positive all to be hilarious when appropriate.

There's exceptions to the "simple art" thing with me on rare occasions. For instance, the writing and entire content of Circle versus Square is so hilariously and brillantly done that I can't help but love it -- even if all it contains are basic geometric shapes in black and white. ... Actually, that might be part of its charm.

I also tend to check comics that are regularly updated more often than sporadic ones, but I don't hold it against creators who can't update often -- sometimes there's just more important things to worry about.

About the only "must" for me is coherent writing -- the content doesn't have to be outstanding, but the grammar and spelling should be fairly accurate and "proper" at least 85% of the time for me -- seeing an excess of "liek r u OK?!!1" and a surplus of minor mistakes is a pet peeve of mine, unless it's intentional for humorous reasons.

... And I think I'll stop there before I ramble on much more. ^^;

K... thought about this and you guys' replies because, well, I'd like my comic to be good if not great!

But I gotta add something.

Although humor is fabulous and all the world loves to laugh, sometimes some stories just aren't meant to be funny. They're still good stories. In many cases they're beloved stories that become classics. But I guess that's neither here nor there.

There's a webcomic I follow called Xylia Chronicles. It's not funny. I don't think it has even had a funny moment. But the artwork kicks rear and the way the artist tends to leave you on a cliffhanger with nonstop action has me wondering what's going to happen next.

I know that this story has only just begun and she may or may not lose her momentum, but I hope she doesn't. I want to know: who is the fellow that the fairies are trying to kill? Who is this talking dog? How can I get a magic portal mirror?!?!

And other comics like Sluggy Freelance used to have my avid admiration, but then the comedy got old and tired. I wanted something more.... like when Gwynn was possessed by the demon. Wow that was a deep story.

So in the end I guess it's just in what you like and don't like. Again most people like humor, so yeah. For the comedy types, humor is in.

The slice your wrists emo type probably won't like that as much as... uhhh....

I can't think of any emo comics right now. :-)

Me personally I like a deep story with things to think about and ponder. I like to use my brain. And I don't mean in a geek way - "so the science of Star Trek works like THIS..." I mean in a REAL way. "This character is motivated by this situation but in reality the situation was partially seeded a hundred thousand years ago when Merlin stole Morgaine's teddy bear, but of COURSE no one knows! But *I* know! I'm the READER! And I've figured out the plot! I know I have! I MUST see what's next to find out."

When it comes to my own little comic I just tell a story, and I'm hoping people enjoy it. I examine the successes of tales like Code Geass and Elfquest, ripping apart their entrails like zombie dinner to get clues and hints on how to work my own dead flesh. I can only hope I'm doing a good job.

I'm done rambling now.

____

www.akashikonline.com

Well, though I prefer humor and like some comic relief, that doesn't mean I don't like serious stuff. And I agree that sometimes humor just isn't appropriate; however, I find I just tend to prefer serious stuff when once in a while something amusing happens -- could only be something small and insignificant, but sometimes the serious stuff loses its impact if there isn't a glimpse of something lighter to relieve the mood temporarily. Know what I mean?

Of course, there are exceptions and there are some things out there that really aren't funny at all and aren't meant to be that I enjoy... But a little laugh can go a long way, for me.

Strong characters, a sensible plot, and art/rendering that draws the reader in. None of those have to be the best ever created, but they have to have effort put into them by the creator(s).

Many comics lose appeal because of lack of engaging characters and lack of a longterm plot, as well as a lack of being unique. Too many comics fall into a category just for the sake of fitting into one, but a creation has to be what it is, otherwise it's fitting a square into a circle opening.

Characters and story arcs needs to be well thought out and not improvised, nor contrived. If the writer doesn't feel connected, or feel that the characters can almost write themselves, then they are never going to grow rich in development, but rather coast along mediocre lane.

I really enjoy a comic where you never quite know what to expect next, and one where you can get to appreciate the cast and want to keep reading.

For me, a web comic is successful if I am still thinking about it after I have closed the browser window. Whether it's humor, suspense, great character, or memorable artwork can be totally different from comic to comic as long as something about it sticks in mind. I'm not sure if either of my comics ("The Werewif" and "Murdermouth") do this, but that is what I hope to achieve. What do you think?
G

To me you have a successful comic if it does what you set out to do. IF you're going for a deep story but it just ends up being funny or bad plot you've failed. If you're going for the single-shot gag-a-day random comic and you pull it off and it's funny then you've succeeded. And as far as art goes, I'm not to picky, as long as you solidly do what you intend to do, the art usually comes second.