Comments on: Y’know what bothers me? Here’s what bothers me.

By: gridsleep

gridsleep — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 20:56:57 +0000

Actually (sorry for the double post) I meant to say 9 Chickweed Lane. Pibgorn isn’t syndicated yet, I think.

By: gridsleep

gridsleep — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 20:55:30 +0000

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!

By: James

James — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 23:11:57 +0000

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)?

By: The Origami Guy

The Origami Guy — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 17:22:02 +0000

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.

By: Lady Amber

Lady Amber — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:25:35 +0000

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.

{*v*}

By: The Macnut

The Macnut — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 13:26:51 +0000

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”.

By: Xiane

Xiane — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 12:21:19 +0000

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?

By: BetterThanLife

BetterThanLife — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:38:09 +0000

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. “

By: Retiarius

Retiarius — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 06:07:23 +0000

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.

By: Local Yokel

Local Yokel — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 23:00:58 +0000

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?” .