So what's an absolute dealbreaker for you when deciding to read a webcomic?
Weird subject matter?
Offensive?
Author is a jackass?
Sprite?
Furry?
Genre?
Style of art?

Post your personal thoughts on this please- :3


Me personally; When the author does nothing but plug their comic, mentioning it in every post- I won't click the comic ever. I've actually taken a comic off my favs never too return just because they do that.(this is just my particular petpeeve though <3 )

I don't go for offensive comics, nor do I particularly care for the comics of people I personally despise, although if the comic is really, really good I'll make an exception and stick with it.

Personally very little offends me, so I usually like to try something for a while before I decide whether or not it's worth continuing.

I'll give just about any type of comic a try so I don't have problems with subject matter, genre or offensive content. Constantly talking about your comic in places that it's innappropriate is pretty obnoxious though. I usually don't mind if it's just something in the sig.

First would just be that I don't find the artwork appealing or there are big flaws in plot and story. There are a lot of storylines I'd like if they were written in text but because they were drawn in chibis or something that I don't find appealing I skip them. And there are a lot of comics that I skip because they create some awesome looking monster/creature and then name it something cheesy like Fluffy. Or they just have some glaring defect of logic in the plot. If a story breaks willing suspension of disbelief I'll stop reading it.

I think the second most likely thing to turn me off is if the the author is a jackass. I've skipped plenty of hilarious comics because the author acted like an ass to their readers and constantly insulted them. I can even deal with joking insults, but when an author starts continuously attacking the people who support them I stop reading.

Anything that is made of sprites, I usually ignore. It just means (For the most part) That someone took some images that someone else had made and went to MP and cut and pasted. No skill, most of it isn't that funny, and yeah...
I'm not saying that ALL sprite comics are bad. Just most of them. Like, if someone made sprites themselves, not just recoloring other sprites and such, then yeah, I might check it out, otherwise, no.

Also, anything that has a swear in the title.

i'm one of those super sticklers at art, so if the style interests me i'll look at it~ if not, nope. Again with the comic artists that arent that nice to their readers~ that's not attractive at all =/

i can't DO sprite comics, i just cant, it really doesn't appeal to me and...geh

There is always room to improve on things so i'll give everything a chance once.

I'm not into most the Adult comics here, uhh~

good stories can make a comic, i shall use Used Books as an example here~

so that's it i guess ^^;

If the author is truly an abominable person, I'll skip his strip regardless of how good it might be. This hasn't come up often, though. I'm talking about a puppy-kicking rotten apple kind of person.

Sprites. Can't stand 'em. Almost every single one I've seen has been visually painful. I can't tell what I'm supposed to be looking at, and most of the time I have no idea what's going on because the "authors" are using game characters and assuming everyone reading knows who they are, how they know each other, and their motivations. Since I don't know any of those things, it's pointless to read it as it makes no sense to me. There might be a fantastic sprite comic out there, but I won't know because I've been sickened on the entire genre.

Sprite comics are bloody terrible. Most of the characters are taken from old video games, I would've appreciated it if the author would use original characters instead re-hashed ones.

Stupid gag strips that aren't funny. You know, there are plenty of them and most of them, the humor isn't funny but nice try.

If the author is an ass, it's not worth my time to read through his archive.

Yaoi/yuri comics are disguatingly disturbing.

However, I'm very lenient with my gradings... I just aimlessly give out 5's and appreciate people's work. I don't care if the art is donkey crap (I'm not even better :p). I just study the authors situation and read his/her comic regardless and appreciate it.

Anyway, I love the majority of comic styles and there are sometimes exceptions that I'd swallow my pride and read a comic that isn't my style.

I will look at most comics. I'm in it for the stories/jokes, so even a beautiful banner won't necessarily draw my eye unless it contains some intrigue too. Oh, and I am much less likely to click any banner/link with sprites or scantily clad, absurdly proportioned women simply because I have a feeling what those comics might be like and it holds no interest for me. (Like anyone else, there are genres I like, and those that just are not for me.)

After I actually check out a comic, the fastest thing to turn me off is not being able to figure out what's going on. It could be a problem with panel layout, font, art, story flow, heinous spelling, "in" jokes, or whatever. If I can't follow the story/joke, then I won't stick around.

In terms of genres, I don't like dark comics (most horror and noir) or ones that are too serious/emotional/downers. (I don't like to feel bad when I read a comic.) I'm not into romance or "real life" either. I just don't find it entertaining.

Oh, and if the author is really a jerk in their comments or has a bad site design (piles of ad banners, flashing, seizure-inducing animations, etc.) I usually won't return.

Sprite Comics. No matter how hard I try, I just have a hard time looking past the fact that it's just ugly ass, 12 year old made sprites... it makes me have a hard time even trying to understand a storyline under the pixelated "goodness".

Comics with just horrible art styles. I can deal with simple art, since I read several comics that have very, very simple art (including my own). The only time I will ever read a comic with a horrible art style is if it has a storyline that's so wonderful, I just can't stop reading.

Comics with beautiful art, but ugly storylines. Can't do it. Mainly romance ones... I can't do romance without some type of action, drama,or humour.

I can, however, read basically all types of other comics, including adult comics (actually, I have a "adult" comic in my favorites list on my computer... I think of the comic as being more of a romantic-comedy-adult sort of t'ing ).

I tend to avoid sprites. I give every comic a chance - unless the author has proven him/herself a complete asshat, in which case I'll avoid them like the plague - but with sprite comics, it takes either an engaging storyline or really good jokes to keep me coming back.

I'll also avoid it if the subject matter doesn't appeal to me - for example, I'm not too fond of pure romance. I need some sort of plot beyond who-gets-who, and it needs to be written in an interesting way. There ARE exceptions to this rule - romantic comics that are nothing else - but those are rare, and they have to have engaging characters for me to read it.

Also, I admit that bad art puts me off a comic. It's one thing for the artist to make a mistake - they don't need to be stellar, just passable and willing to make an effort - but consistently bad art from an artist who doesn't even bother to try makes me drop the comic; it sends the signal that the author doesn't care about the comic, and therefore, probably doesn't care a whole lot about the readers either.

As for offensive themes.... I'm pretty hard to offend, all things considered, but there are a few things that just rub me the wrong way; pedophilia, racism (portrayed as a positive thing), rampant sexism (again, if it's portrayed as a positive thing), graphic animal abuse, etc., etc.

I don't think there's anything that would make me refuse to try a comic.

Once tried, though, I'm likely to drop something that seems to be using obscene language, sex, buckets of viscera etc instead of a story. Quite happy to see any or all of that within a story but if it seems to be the main rationale for the comic, it's unlikely to hold my interest for long.

Heh, I'll give sprites a go. I don't mind the style of a comic, it's the content that gets me. Most sprites tend to be done by very inexperienced young people though, so the stories and humour aren't what I'm into.

Really, really crappy lettering will make me not want to read a comic.

I like adult comics just fine.

Gamer comics though, I'm a bit tired off. I can't read something like Penny Arcade (and the rest), because it's just... well, stale?
No offence to those that do them and like them, it's just a personal thing.

I absolutely deplore Sprite Comics. Most of the ones I come across are extremely half-assed and sloppy.

As Ozone said, comics about gamers and/or the daily life of a gamer is getting old and tired. The only 'gamer' comic I still read is CTRL+ALT+DEL. Why? Because it's evolved over the years (as with style and art) and it continues to evolve into something good.

I won't read a comic if the story is repetitive, cliche, redundant. The art could be the best looking thing around but if the story sucks, I'm going to pass. Ex: Dreamland Chronicles.

When an author's underlying racism and offensive views peek out from under his comics, I just leave.

For me to not check out your comics due to your behavior in the forum, you pretty much have to be racially/politically offensive. Arguments over stupid lil things like videogames or movies can't possibly make me hate you.

There's several types of comics I'm not into and don't usually read:

1. Adult - no exceptions, just not interested.
2. Sprite - with rare exceptions.
3. Boring :sleepy: - This is huge! If it's too slow a pace, even if it has good art, I lose interest quickly, regardless of genre.
4. Inanely Profane - If none of the characters can complete a sentence without cursing or if there's cursing in every single frame, it annoys me!
5. Gay/Lesbian-Centric - I've written gay characters before, but when that's the main point of the comic, it just doesn't interest me. I don't mind reading comic stories that happen to have gay characters, however.
6. Trapped In High School/Middle School (usually manga-esque) - Now, I don't mind a good manga at all, but I do get tired of perpetual high school jokes/situations. It would have to be awfully well-written and original with pretty good art to hold my attention.
7. Deliberate shock/offensive - Usually either sexual, racial, religious or political. All I can say is, ick. huh!?

Combinations of the above also exist and are "dealbreakers" for sure! :)

I try to avoid comics that appeal to my baser nature. Read into that what you will.
I don't know if the word "refuse" is the right word though, because no one is exactly holding me down and saying "C'mon look at the screen! Open your eyes! C'mon now!" Rather there are things that I just try to avoid.

I search through the database quite a bit for new comics.
When searching I use the following criteria to exclude comics off the bat.
For style I exclude: Manga, Sprite, Stick figure.
For catergories I exclude: Real Life, Spiritual, Romance, Tribute, Political
From the results I go through and check all the recently updated comics.

If you have a huge archive, I am very prone to avoid it, even if the art is phenominal and the story is well done. That is not to say I have excluded all huge archive comics but you have to be something special for me to sit down and read every single page to get up to date.

I enjoy the varying styles people bring to their comics but veer away from comics which seem done by someone really young and someone who really is just screwing around and not really trying. There are some however that have potential and you can tell and I will give them a chance and try to be encouraging with their development. Not to say I am the crap when it comes to artwork but I feel artists of varying degrees need encouragement and need to strive to continue to develop their craft.

Apart from all that if a story gets cliched or the user rarely updates I soon find myself deleting them from my queue.

Sprite, overt homosexual themes (my best friends are both gay, so I'm no homophobe), another manga wannabe, bad art.

I can be put off if I'm coming into a story with a huge archive only because I barely have the time to read the few DD books I read now. I just don't have the time to read for hours getting caught up.

Later,
Chip

I usually would read anything.
It's usually the authors who put me off.
Maybe the thumbnails don't look too interesting either.

TheMidge28
For style I exclude: Manga, Sprite, Stick figure.

Oh Midge, stop lying, you love stick figures and you know it ;)

crocty
I usually would read anything.
It's usually the authors who put me off.
Maybe the thumbnails don't look too interesting either.

TheMidge28
For style I exclude: Manga, Sprite, Stick figure.

Oh Midge, stop lying, you love stick figures and you know it ;)

Only yours.
Only yours.

To paraphrase my post in the other thread - anything that looks like no time, effort or thought went into it, basically. This seems to happen more often in some genres and styles than others, but I wouldn't dismiss anything based on the fact that it belongs to one of these categories. But if a comic looks like the author doesn't care, I don't see why I should care.

And I've yet to see an "adult" comic that held my interest for longer than ten seconds, I'm sorry. I'm not a prude and there's nothing wrong with pornography in and of itself, porn comics just don't do it for me.

Well spacehamster :)

You'll find that even though Wyrden's listed as adult...I'd have rather listed it as mature, however. There's nothing graphic about the comic or the nature of the scenes, there's no way myself of Reva is even going to go into full blown pornography style writing or art, nor hentai.

That hasn't floated and will never float my boat.

Yet I still think it falls under the adult category (unless someone can enlighten me otherwise)

As for what puts me off in comics, most people have given quite a good list of things and my biggest niggle tends to be similar to spacehamster's comment. I find that if the author cares about their work, it appeals to me far better.

Webcomic authors that treat their fanbase/readers like dirt also get a big no-no from me as do porn comics and hentai.

Gamer comics don't hold me much any longer. I like comics that'll make me laugh or make me think.

I'd have to agree with RabbitMaster and say that I don't "refuse" to view a comic, but there are some I choose to avoid. Ultimately I'll give any comic a fighting chance.

I'm not very picky when it comes to the art, since a lot of people (like myself) look for criticism to help them improve their work. I tend to avoid sprite comics because a lot of them aren't constructed well enough to tell what's going on, as well as the fact that the artist didn't make the art.

Some fan comics are OK, mainly ones that introduce a completely different story from the works they're based on. But if it's practically the same thing as the original, I'll leave it alone.

Comics with lots of plot holes don't catch my interest. Or comics with tons of different plot lines going at once... little intermissions are fine, but they'd have to be few and far between.

spacehamster
But if a comic looks like the author doesn't care, I don't see why I should care.

I agree with this statement, too. If you aren't passionate enough to try your best, I essentially won't care to read.

A lot of you are saying 'If author isn't nice to readers'. But really, I don't think this ever happens. 0.0
The ONLY time I've seen the author treat his fans like crap is with a BL comic on smackjeeves where he basically mocked the yaoi fans in his comic, and well as the comments section.(He still got 300+ favs with liek, 23 pages)

I'm gonna be harsh and say badly-done sprites... Because I've read a few and none of them have a compelling enough story. I mean, that seems to generalize the genre and I may be wrong, but some of it is just really silly. I love comics with plots, so comics that are just one-off, no-plot and repetitive usually get on my nerves.

Looks like its genric, unorginal, done without much thought, badly drawn, not a lot of updates, author that dosen't make and effort to interact with anyone on DD, and just plan old lllooonnnggg haituses.

Sprites, manga style, generic ideas and such usually turn me off. Also bad art or writing. (Yeah, I'm a hypocrite haha )

Bad art and writing can be a turn off for me as well, but...there are times I've flipped through a big site and found that the art/writing has vastly improved as time has gone on. Either the comic artist has improved or they hired a new artist/writer.

So in that respect I tend to be a bit more lenient.

Edit: after chatting with ozone, Wyrden's now been changed to mature :)

Er, I suppose I'll answer them with the list you've posted... I could attempt a paragraphed and neatly spelled essay sort of thing on the matter but no. It would not work.

Weird subject matter? Not really :D I like wierd.
Offensive? If it's funny at all no. But I draw theline on black poeple and jewish people jokes.
Author is a jackass? *sigh* I fall under that catagory so I can't really say anything about that.
Sprite? If they're crappy looking, I won't read them.
Furry? I don't mind furry.
Genre? I can't stand romance comics...
Style of art? I'm fine with all styles, really.

Comics that have abstract concept/storyline are the ones I avoid the most. I just can't read something that will give me a headache.