Y’know what bothers me? Here’s what bothers me.
You’re reading an online comic, and you get into it. Sometimes the art is great and professional, sometimes it’s obvious that it’s a labor of love, but for whatever reason, you start following it regularly and look forward to each scheduled update. Then, with no warning whatsoever, it just stops. Sometimes - and THIS BOTHERS me - they have a “hiatus” or “we’ll be back in a couple weeks” and then nothing. Nada. Zip. They just stopped doing it and the project dies. Maybe it’s because I personally nurse abandonment issues, but that just cheeses me off a bit. Is the artist just some kid who lost interest? That I can almost understand. Does the artist think that nobody was watching/reading at all? Unless it’s complete crap, (and sometimes not even then) that’s almost NEVER the case. I mean, some of these things are actually really good and professionally drawn and realized. So, if you lose interest, or “real life intervenes” (and I do understand how that is) how hard is it to say “sorry - can’t keep this up. We’re going to stop the strip right at an interesting bit in the story because my parents are moving and I can’t live in their basement any more.” Or words to that effect. Something.
Anyway, That’s all too common, just because of the democratizing effect of the web, and the ability of virtually anyone with a scanner or the ability to use MSPaint to get a free comic site. Anyway, that’s all I had to say. It’s not terribly important, but it was on my mind because I live a petty life that centers on pretty pictures and funny jokes on the screen in front of me.
Pfew! Glad I got that off my chest. Aren’t you glad I got that off my chest?
JED
August 17th, 2009 at 11:55 am
Completely agree! I’ve been following a lot of webcomics over the years, and got very frustrated when it would just stop without any explanation - especially when I’m into the story and/or it’s towards the end of the story.
Note that this has happened to regular comics and not just webcomics.
August 17th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
AMEN BROTHER!! PREACH!! PREACH!!!
This has been a huge issue for me as a reader for some time now.
August 17th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Yes, I’m glad you got that off your chest, JD. It’s nice to hear reassurances that such a fate will not befall on Zona. And yeah, I hate it when that happens myself. Reman Mythology. Eidolic Fringe. Edwitch. Just to name a few such unfortunate cases.
Comics ending when they’re done - that’s a different case, and totally acceptable.
August 17th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
GAH! Okay, I think I can breathe again. For a very long second there I thought you were opening with that and then going to say, “and on that note, Zona is on hiatus!” Eep, whew.
Anyways, yes I quite agree, it really is depressing. Although, I have known a few comic that went on hiatus status for a year or two and then all of a sudden started updating again.
August 17th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
This is why I no longer enjoy Elf Only Inn. And it was such a good comic to. Sigh.
August 17th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
One reason I don’t like long stories is because I’m paranoid that if it doesn’t come to an end it’ll come to a stop and it will never reach a conclusion.
August 17th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
Yes, Several of my favotire comics either stopped for no apparent reason, have long and frequent hiatus’, or have gone on a really long hiatus with no idea when they will back. The one that most comes to mind is one of my favorites, despite its shortness, Arcane Times. It stopped in 03, but the artist has done other projects since then, and is currently illustrating a different comic, but he never said anything. And it ended on a cliff hanger, shortly after he started a new plot.
August 17th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
correction, mid 07 not 03
August 17th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
To the choir my friend to the choir….
Some comics reach an ending point, a stop, a conclusion.
That’s fine. That’s awesome. Bob and George did it. Chaos Diamond 3 finished (though that was a storyline made by FB20xl) awesomely.
As long as there’s an end….. it’s fine.
But dropping off in the middle….
I mean, sometimes there are good reasons.
Loss of loved ones, theft of tech, or turning back the clock to do proper revision (usually nice if they do htat before the plot goes to far)
Still….
eah.
*sips root beer*
August 17th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
*The MacNut hesitantly raises an embarrassed hand* Guilty as charged. My webcomic has recently gone on a couple month-long hiatus because, well, real-life issues got in the way and I ran out of energy to update for awhile, partly because I felt my promotion efforts were bringing in few new readers. I should have said something, but didn’t know what to say.
Well, I’ve recently gotten back on the horse, so to speak and started updating again. It’s gonna be a pain getting the momentum to update again, but I am determined to not let my webcomic be one of the “Vanished”. I have a story I’d like to get out, and years of ideas to turn into possible ideas. So I guess I’ll get back to the next update….
August 17th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
Ugh, I hate it too, I’ve got three on my list now that haven’t updated for a while. The worst one was “Last Blood”, which pinged up to #1 on the comics lists. That concluded the storyline and then the second story (mix of “after the apocalypse” and flashback to backstory for the first one) started up after a reasonable hiatus (the writer and illustrator both pushed to get to the end). Then the first story got picked up for an animated movie and suddenly updates are something like quarterly. Maybe. And the writer starts to get abusive with some of his long time fans who disputed his great genius in movie scripting.
For example, vampires are virtually unkillable and there is a sequence where an early mass zombie assault is stopped by a surprise move and the vampires ‘clean up’ the zombies that got missed. Bozo claims it is about a one minute sequence. Please. In today’s setup? We will get about four shots of the actual mass carnage event and a bit of fun and gruesome killings. If nothing else it will be setup for the next huge fight scene and justify the end of that one.
August 17th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
You have a very nice chest. You don’t need anything weighting it down.
I agree with you, that artists should come back and do updates on what the situation is, and be honest with themselves and their fans as to whether or not they can continue.
I have one of those artist friends who had to go on permanent hiatus. She has fibromyalgia. While she is quite talented as a cartoonist, she has a finite amount of energy for things she can do in a single day, and it is a smaller amount than most people. 80% of it is taken up with getting herself to work, struggling with a fast-paced job (however interesting she finds it)…and then the remaining 20% go into feeding herself, doing laundry, picking up her apartment, etc. I’ve watched her struggle really hard to try to get back to her webcomic ideas…but no go. She finally had to deliver apologies to everyone, and it tore her up, because she absolutely loves drawing. It tore her up further when she had to stop carrying around her drawing pens even on the hope of having a moment of energy to spare, because she developed tendonitis in both wrists.
She was getting good enough to have almost supported herself as an artist, too…except her mother’s estate has had a craptonne of problems associated with it, mountains of debt, and she desperately needs a consistent, frequent paycheque as a result. (***Station Break: Support Your Favorite Webcomic Artists! Donate to keep these things on the Net!***)
It’s not an easy decision to quit something you love, and a lot of people just don’t want to face that fact. For those that do, I salute them for their self-courage. (The rest…it’d be a really nice service toward your fans if you grew a pair, owned up to the fact that it just won’t happen right now, and told ‘em so. We’d think better of you, and not throw your URLs in the Recycle Bin when you haven’t updated for, oh, two or three or five or seven months.)
(Oh, and this goes for fanfics, too. If you’re posting chapters as you go, and then you run out of steam or time or life or whatever, TELL people you can’t finish the story. Apologize, explain, and let us move on!)
(Thank you.)
August 17th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
Fnord, I have to agree with you, I was just getting into Arcane Times…when…poof. Gone.
Buuuuuut…I can’t really complain, ’cause Cheyenne is now responsible for all that gorgeous technopolygnostic color used in Girl Genius. He is doing a fabulous job, enhancing an already outstanding webcomic into a stellar example of what a webcomic should be, and if that means Arcane Times has to be set aside…I can and will accept that.
I just wish, like you, that he’d SAY it’s on permanent hold, ya know?
August 17th, 2009 at 10:08 pm
On the other hand, let’s keep in mind that doing a webcomic can take a LOT of time and effort (and you can tell the ones where the author puts a lot of time and effort into it), is usually NOT the author/artist’s full time vocation, and most likely never will be.
Which means the webcomic is an after work/weekend/whenever they have a couple hours to spare-type project for most artists. They’ve got to find the time and energy to do it on top of the normal duties of life, including family time. It is really any surprise that so many artists reach the point where they just can’t do it anymore, for whatever reason?
I do agree that they should let their audience know when they have to stop of even put it on hold for awhile, but really, all things considered, it’s a minor miracle many artists are able to continue their comic for as long as they do.
August 18th, 2009 at 6:04 am
The first comic series I started to collect was Ranma 1/2. I even have Ranma on my original motorbike jacket (in Kanji). Rumico Takahasi (?) is the lady who wrote it, after 131 eps of the Anime, she stopped. The reason given was “My main competitor only did 130 on her series”. That was my first introduction to comics stopping for dumb reasons. So… Please do not stop making this comic. I like it.
August 18th, 2009 at 9:14 am
Yes, I agree. There is a long list of web comics I follow. Some are regularly posted and some are not. Of the irregularly updated ones, some post their excuses, some not.
And you know what? I don’t know which pisses me off more from the irregularly posted comics. The ones with no apologies or excuses, or the ones that have one damn excuse after another, on a regular basis!
I understand that real-life gets in the way, but if it’s that much of a problem, then maybe the artist shouldn’t be posting at all! Or at least wait to post when they have a finished project.
The artists who keep things going on a regular basis with minimum interruptions, gets my donations.
August 18th, 2009 at 11:05 am
I too hate it when a comic goes away without explanation. Still, I do see the other side as well. As a reader, I’m not a participant. I’m not a member of a club, I’m a freeloader. And I do feel that the artist doesn’t have to answer to me, has no responsibility towards me.
If it doesn’t work anymore, so be it.
An explanation would be nice, of course, but it’s not an obligation.
August 18th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
You know, I think your right, If they are going to stop publihing, what would it really require in terms of effort and time to put up a last page saying “It’s been fun but I need to leave now.” Is it too hard to put something along those lines up?
August 18th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
Sadly, one comic that I was getting into, “Us The Robots” did just that — stopped, without explanation. Here’s the link, should you want to see a funny, somewhat surreal strip. Each panel stands alone, though they do creat a storyline.
http://ustherobots.com/
August 18th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
I have to comment on one thing that’s been said here, which kind of takes away from the value of the audience by terming us as freeloaders of a kind. I appreciate the sentiment, but I don’t agree with it. I, as others do, put my product out on the Web and if someone wasn’t watching I’d be just jerking off. So, even though you may not pay for it, you’re still a valuable part of my experience as an artist and storyteller. Without you to listen to my story, what am I? And yes, I put out my begging bowl and gratefully accept all contributions of any denomination, but those who aren’t able to click the Paypal button are still participants, even if they don’t comment. They click, they read, they make my numbers in Soulgeek go up, and therefore increase my perceived and actual popularity. The only thing I demand it a modicum of respect for me and others here - just as people, nothing more. And if you’re going to critique the strip, please be smart about it and don’t flame or get personal. I’ve never had to remove anyone from the comments or the forums, and I’ve never censored anyone. That says a lot about my audience, and I’m very fond of all of you, and very grateful.
August 18th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
It’s art, JED. Art is participatory by its very nature. Even a painting is meant to be viewed not just by the artist, but by anyone else who walks past it. Art thrives with good feedback. Feedback is wonderful.
Squees boost our ego, which boosts our energy and our enthusiasm for our work. Flames…can be hurtful, but they can also be a lesson, either in how to improve the art, or how to handle criticism in a gracious water-off-a-duck’s-back manner. Constructive commentary, listing both good and bad points (and hopefully less and less of the latter as time goes on and the artist progresses in training and skill), is the most valuable thing we can receive.
And when everything comes together, artist, art-viewers, commentary, skill…you end up with one helluva good product. Like this webcomic.
August 18th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
Amen. If the artist had something drastic occur in their live then fine. I understand. But the old “I don’t wanna do this anymore, nyeah.” gets me riled up (Ahem, Ghastly. Admit it, you followed it too.)
That’s why I always loved Berkley Breathed’s work. He ended Bloom County, Outland, and Opus on gentle and well explained premises. More of a “saying goodnight” then a “WTF that’s IT?” .
August 19th, 2009 at 1:07 am
I dunno. I’m not a web comic artist myself but I find it hard to fault someone for not continuing an unpaid labor that is no longer a labor of love for them, especially if they are not doing well anywhere else financially.
After all, there are hundreds of web comics and even if you apply Sturgeon’s Law and stick to the best, that’s still a lot of comic surfing, and new ones are starting all the time. Some web comics I don’t even start because their archives are so large I’ll never get caught up with them.
August 20th, 2009 at 6:38 am
I am going to point out something simple. This ind of thinking doesn’t just happen to Web Comics. Look at Television. Firefly (not getting enough market share), Crusade (Not going in the direction that the TV execs think it should go, in spite of where the Producer wants it to go and a solid market share.), Gilligan’s Island (The Network Programming Director’s Mother wants to watch Gunsmoke in that timeslot.), Star Trek (Boy there was a mistake.), and recently Dr. Who and Torchwood which are “on Hiatus. “
August 20th, 2009 at 7:21 am
Hear hear! I’ve been a fan of webcomics for well…going on 10-12 years. Some have stayed in my lists forever (Sluggy Freelance) while others come and go (Gaming Guardians) as the artist/writer/whoever simply can’t get thier stuff together.
Is one thing to have a massive real life issue happen that needs your time. Hell if you drop of a near fatal heart attack…go figure updating isn’t prime on your urgent to do list….but the others who just ’stop feeling it’, don’t like the way the story is ‘going’ or simply is goi8ng to too many comiccons and can’t be bothered with thier webcomic from which sprang thier books they’re hawking there.
It’s these ones that really make me see red. As a writer if you don’t like how the story is playing out…REWRITE IT! Doesn’t take a genius to figure out if you’re in charge of scripts and making the story flow that you have it within your power to make it work better. Same goes for the artists…don’t like the art style anymore? CHANGE IT. FFS I don’t think I’ve seen an artist online who isn’t constantly changing/upgrading thier style. Hell look at CRFH or LICD it’s had so many art styles you often think you’re reading a different comic as you progress through the improvements.
I can understand taking a break to collect your energies but at the same time…there’s a point where even your limited public deserves that ‘I’m sorry I just can’t do this anymore.’ to let’em know it’s over. And as another pointed out Last Blood certainly could go this route…certainly with Marry Me and No Pink Ponies could all use the same message.
So yes, get it off your chest, nice to see there’s a webcomic creator who understands the reader!
BTW: CoZ rocks man…only question is…is Mentles nose suppose to be that big in the last page or is it just the perspective used to make it look like he’s got an elephant trunk?
August 20th, 2009 at 8:26 am
In TV though, there are other forces involved other than just the people making the show. For example, I’m sure Joss Whedon did not want to stop making Firefly, it was cancelled by the network it was airing on. That part was outside his control. And so it was for all the TV shows cancelled before they could get a decent run going.
Unlike a webcomic, which is almost entirely in the hands of the artist making it. All he or she needs is some webspace to put it on, and bingo, they’re “on the air”. And most of the time, it’s entirely up to the artist whether or not the comic goes “off the air”.
August 20th, 2009 at 10:25 am
Yes there is A kind of sad bunch of people who just dont get that this is a real job of work.
I can get behind thouse that hate it when A web comic just stops in A critical pass with out A word as to why. Or the lame bit about it not being A big enough of A challenge for them.
Then there is the sad ones like ” Elflife ” A great story wonderful art and A growing fan base. Then the artist’s (Carsonfire) eyes go bad he is injured at work and cant even make rent. He tryed to keep the story going with it in script form but even that was A problem with lousing his home then his roommate’s health went south.
So cheer up you good people enjoy the web comics while you can you never know when trouble can strike even the strongest of us.
August 21st, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Oh yes- it’s a frustrating thing when a series gets interrupted *coughHEROEScough*, and all the pressure in the world from the fanboys/fangirls won’t necessarily save it. (C’mon! They can’t ALL be Farscape)
I for one am glad you’re going strong- keep up the good work! And if it’s at all possible, I’d like to see some more of the…unusual wildlife that exists in this world.
August 21st, 2009 at 6:11 pm
JED, strictly theoretically speaking–really, ’cause I’m not able to front anything myself–if you had the backing to do this strip full time, how often would you be able to update? And thinking further, do you personally feel you could keep up the pace of doing Zona (*major coughing fit*) full time? Furthermore, would you want to if you could? I can certainly see the need to kick back from doing something over and over–that’s why vacations and guest strips were invented–so is your own current pace of twice a week where you are most comfortable (i.e. put out a product of extreme quality without burning out)?
August 28th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
Maturity has a lot to do with it. A lot of web cartoonists are a bit like rock stars–young, working out of the garage, they gain a bit of fame and feel they can rest on their laurels. Others have seen the breaks and knocks and see that the show must go on–they have an investment, particularly people whose sole income is the comic, like in Megatokyo, or whose strip is also syndicated in the paper press, such as Pibgorn and Retail. You can’t take a day off when the people who pay you are expecting results. At least, not without a few weeks notice. I say, let the kids have their freedom of expression (by the way, I have yet to see a web comic revealing the CIA/9-11 connection–maybe I’ll have to do it myself–bets on how long before I “disappear”? ha!)
And what’s with the editing window here using mustard colored text on beige background. I’m going blind here typing!
August 28th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Actually (sorry for the double post) I meant to say 9 Chickweed Lane. Pibgorn isn’t syndicated yet, I think.