You type in the website URL, up comes a virtual comic book shelf. Pegboard in the background, and a too-small-to-read comic page sitting on the shelf. Buttons for forward, back, first, latest, and discuss appear on the front of the shelf below the page. You move your cursor over the page and a magnifying glass appears. You click.

The once unintelligible page now zooms in through flash to full size. Moving the cursor to the left and the right, hidden back and forward buttons appear. A hidden close button appears as you move the cursor into the upper right corner, which takes you back to the comic book shelf.

Is this all unnecessary fluff or does it add value to your webcomic experience? While Drunk Duck does not offer flash for its comic hosting, a few comics have ventured into this area. Even the clown prince of webcomic, Penny Arcade, finds a simple page effective enough for their high-volume traffic. From a personal perspective, I find the flash engine fun and interactive, though as a businessman I have to wonder if it will discourage readers in the event of load times on slower machines and connections.

For examples of non-flash comics, just have a look around.

For a comic using flash, however,
http://www.studiogibberish.com/wakeodyssey/ (This is done in Java, actually, but you get the idea)

I'm really wanting some feedback before Crossoville (http://www.drunkduck.com/crossoville) launches on its own site. We've been planning to use flash, but want some feedback before we commit to that decision.

I hatehatehatehatehatehateHATE flash websites. For me, they're just a pain. I find them needlessly complicated- all I want to do is read a comic. For me, when it comes to site design, simplicity is key. I want to be able to easily navigate through a website, with no muss or fuss. A simple overhead navigator or sidebar makes things much easier. But what I find with many Flash sites is that they're so... flashy. The site itself looks nice, but navigation is a pain in the ass. And if you have a lower bandwidth, the last thing you need is more crap to download.

Normally, I dislike fancy flash-based sites for comics. I'm not there to look at how awesome you are with flash, I'm there to read the comic. I don't need page turning animations or music playing in the background or an animated introduction every time I visit your site. I just want to read the comic. :/

The only comic I've ever seen where I think Flash enhances it is Lizzy. The Flash is part of the comic itself, and it animates as you mouse over each panel. It's pretty cool - but you'll notice that the site itself is not annoying and distracting. The focus is still on the comic.

Last post before I go to bed... -_-
Your Crossville looks ok. Why bother with Flash? That's a lot of good effort for a toy photo comic I must say! Good work!

Flash sites... I find them irritating. A real pain in the arse. If I see a great comic and I see I have to use Flash to navigate it, I just think ooooooh dear...

But if people do creative fun stuff with Flash, even though it irritates me, I DO reserve my judgement, and I DO give it a shot! I've seen some clever Flash comics like Alpha Shade for example, and the little bits and pieces Subculture does. Generally though, as people have already said, it's another barrier to getting into the work: great for first timers, not so fun for on going readers.

It's nice to do fun stuff with it though and I fully endorse experimentation and trying out new things!

So it would seem so far that Flash should only be present if the comic itself is utilizing it for animation and such. Any takers for the other side? Even if all you reply with is a "Flash good" or "Flash bad," that's helpful. I'm really trying to get a sense of the whole community, not just a select few.

Thanks for the feedback!