TWCL

zomatic · Joined: 31 Aug 2011 Posts: 4

Howonurth wrote:

The writing is THE most important element of a good web comic. If you surf around the millions of web comics online these days, the vast majority of them are manga-influenced graphics, in many cases beautifully drawn, but with so little of anything to say that reading them is just painful.

Now think about it; a web comic is really a very very very low budget movie. A movie with a great idea and great plot, great dialogue, and great insight can look like hell, but still you think of it as a great piece of work. Whereas the biggest budget movies in the world always have stunning cinematography, brilliant sound work, pretty much every tech aspect all presenting at the highest quality. Do these things make for a great movie? NO! If the story sucks, no amount of jazzy technical ability can save it. A bad story, lacking in originality or good structure of any kind, can in no way be saved by the "art."

Same holds true for comics. Brilliant art + bogus writing = bad comic, not worth tuning in to again. However, great writing, really clever gags, great compelling story + lousy, childish, stick figure art = good comic, entertaining and curiosity provoking, so much so that the reader will come back again and again. In spite of the less than Da Vinci-esque visual art, if the writing is really clever, the comic is good.

This has been my experience.

I have to agree with this. I would read the most horribly drawn webcomic if it was really clever, original or funny. There are people out there that produce outstanding artwork that are in dire need of writers. IMHO, this is what makes the genre exciting, the huge variety of styles and lack of censorship.

joeychips · Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2011 2:53 am Post subject:

I need to like the art but it doesn't have to be amazing--as long as it's sincere.
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Joe Chiappetta - Read Silly Daddy comics at http://sillydaddy.net

NK_Nutter · Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2011 11:50 am Post subject:

I have seen many badly written webcomics with good enough art for me to have a second look.

I have yet to see a badly drawn webcomic with a story amazing enough to save it.

Art > Writing

If I wanted great storytelling with crappy art, I'd just read a book, not a comic. Smile

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uncaringmachine · Joined: 09 Jul 2005 Posts: 617

I'm going to have to say that when I first click on a webcomic, if the art is downright terrible, I won't even give it a chance. But you could have Jim Lee(I hope you know who that is) drawing a comic at his best, but if the writing is terrible, then it's just not worth it, unless you only bought the book to use his art as a reference.
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smbhax.com · Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 2:37 am Post subject:

I don't really like Jim Lee's art. >_>
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let there be cake · Joined: 21 Sep 2011 Posts: 1

For me, it's more whether the art and the writing manage to express the same atmosphere. Like Casual Notice brought up: if you're aiming for a 'serious' comic, I don't... think you can get away with stick figures (more power to anyone who figures out how to do that, mind!).

Art produces a story's nuances: how you compose your panels, where you choose your close ups, the kind of angle work and details and colours you use - all of these elements play into how the story is conveyed. From that point of view, I'm not sure you can have an amazing webcomic story and really bad art work - or rather, really story inappropriate art work. They're quite tied together in my head.

iaviv · Joined: 03 Sep 2011 Posts: 251

I don't care for Jim Lee either, but the point is "art that's appealing to you", which changes from person to person (in my case it would be Frank Quietly; I always check everything he draws, and even if the writing's awful I enjoy the art enough to read through the whole thing).
I personally am more likely to give a well drawn comic a chance over a badly drawn one. But bad writing will most likely make me lose interest pretty fast, so good art isn't everything, not even in such a visual medium as comics.

uncaringmachine · Joined: 09 Jul 2005 Posts: 617

Heh, yeah, I was just using poor ole Jim Lee to make a point. Hey, he was big in the nineties! Wink

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Casual Notice · Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 1:32 am Post subject:

SHALLOW COMMENT ALERT!!!

So the general feeling I'm getting here is that art roughly equates to a girl's prettiness and the writing equates to her personality. (Don't lie, guys--and girls, really, but alter the pronouns so they ake sense to you--if you don't find a girl at least a little attractive, even being the coolest girl in the world only raises her to "friend"...if she gets that close.)

~~~YOU MAY NOW RETURN TO YOUR USUAL LEVELS OF ARTISTIC AND PHILOSOPHICAL DEPTH~~~
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What I lack in sincerity, I make up for in sarcasm.
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uncaringmachine · Joined: 09 Jul 2005 Posts: 617

Well, I did make out with a girl I didn't find attractive once. Just ONCE. So I suppose I would give an ugly comic some tongue.
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rockstarzdaddy · Joined: 24 Sep 2011 Posts: 7

uncaringmachine wrote:

I'm going to have to say that when I first click on a webcomic, if the art is downright terrible, I won't even give it a chance. But you could have Jim Lee(I hope you know who that is) drawing a comic at his best, but if the writing is terrible, then it's just not worth it, unless you only bought the book to use his art as a reference.

That's the way I see it.And yes,I know who jim lee is. Very Happy