Freegurt
And especially: THAN, THERE, THEY'RE, THEIR, TO, TOO, WHY IS IT SO HARD TO REMEMBER ARG.

The absolute WORST of all:
Your instead of You're.

That's not to do with being a grammar Nazi, it's just about basic comprehension. Those two words mean such different things, the forms they take are so obviously different, and even the emphasis in pronunciation that it's bloody confusing when some moon-calf uses the wrong one. It takes me right out of the narrative.
I don't actually care about most spelling mistakes and poor grammar really though, it can even sometimes be a deliberate part of the story, but the "you're" and "your" thing always makes the author look like a very young child.
-I've actually unthinkingly used the wrong one myself in the past at least once that I know of, although that was in a forum post and I shamefacedly edited it when I saw it.

-----------
Filler pages or anything that doesn't fit in any way with the comic breaking the flow.

-----------
text walls.

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Toe-curlingly horrible boy-love moments. No problems with normal gay love scenes, but any homosexual encounter when it's drawn by a straight person because it's something that titillates them (boy drawing two girls getting it on and vice versa) tends to veer towards the to-awkward-crude-and-embarrassingly-awful-for my-eyes sort of thing.
Not always but often enough

-----------
Gross out stuff to do with bodily functions or blood and guts. Fart jokes and off-screen implied stuff is ok, but when a comic gets too unsubtle obvious and revolting, I leave!
But then you have a comic like Bones that uses gross ingredients very obviously and transcends them to become something amazing... So this isn't as cut and dried as I'd like to think.

In fact none of this stuff ever is.

Since we are talking instant turn offs, bad writing is off topic, since it really cannot be appraised right away, it takes some investment. But, bad grammar/spelling isn't. Still, I am willing to let that slip by, even though it is usually a symptom of general sloppiness and, therefore, lack of overall quality. Anyway, without further ado, here are the main offenders:

Bad art. Comics are a visual medium foremost, sequential second. So, if the art is simply bad (and don't go on about "taste" and "freedom of artistic expression" - yes, your stuff can be MS paint or stick figures or whatnot, but it has to be stylized, it has to have your personal touch AND that certain unknowable factor that creates aesthetic value. Look at Achewood ). This mainly goes for story driven comics. For cartoons and joke-a-days I can make an exception, but you really, really have to have good writing and/or humor. Of course, it will be hard for people to appreciate it, since they will be turned off by your art, but hey... Some succeeded .


Fanfic comics. Don't get me wrong, I love Final Fantasy, LOTR, whatnot, but hey... Couldn't all that creative energy be spent or something else, I dunno, maybe something that features characters and setting you thought off? I mean, if you can come up with a story, you can come up with characters and settings. Or maybe you can't, but than your fanfic comic probably sucks for reasons other than being a fan comic.


"Please read from right to left". Might as well say "Please, right away, exit stage left".

Why do I feel like half the people here are trying to describe my comic in a round about way?

Justnopoint
Anthro- exceptions Purgatory Tower (I miss you) and anything that's 80s/90s adventure cartoony anthro
like Punk Pink.

Aha! I knew you rigged those awards against me! Now I have the PROOF!

Ocean- Filler Art is a good one, a couple of pages of that and I'm sick of it! My tolerance for pages that are not more of
the story is very very low.

harkovast
Why do I feel like half the people here are trying to describe my comic in a round about way?

Also, comics that have made up words like Harkovast in the title. Comics that involve fighting magic cats. And comics that steal awards that should have been won by me, right out from underneath my nose. Yeah, comics like that really piss me off.

harkovast
Aha! I knew you rigged those awards against me! Now I have the PROOF!

Ocean- Filler Art is a good one, a couple of pages of that and I'm sick of it! My tolerance for pages that are not more of
the story is very very low.

Pfff whatever, you described EVERYTHING about my comic! >:-(

Manga (I think it all looks the same!)

Sprite comics (I've never read on I liked)

Anything with Sonic the hedgehog (sorry sonic fans)

Anything really sexist. Pervy fan service just switches me off.

Anything unimaginative or ripping off something else.

Yeah buddy, even sprite! I have a character drink something that looks pretty darn similar to a sprite and you totally just honed in on that and hated it too! Your depths of prejudice have no end!!! raaaawrrrr!!!!! :3

harkovast
Why do I feel like half the people here are trying to describe my comic in a round about way?

You're not alone. For me, it's "bad art and long archive." It would be "manga" too if I hadn't been so bad at my eary attempts that my style developed into something entirely (or at least partially) different.

The art, I can improve some with time and practice. I've already done a bit to improve "talking head syndrome" (I have to be dilligent to avoid falling into it again).

But the archive will only get "worse." What can I do about that? Nothing really. It's separated into fairly self-contained chapters. I made character bios, a timeline, and a complete plot summary so people can "cheat," but the archive will always scare people away, and as time goes on it will only get worse. People who might have enjoyed my story will never look at it because of that, and I can do nothing to convince them otherwise, so I guess I have to accept it and keep going.

I used to be scared of long archives (esp. ones with bad art) too, but I knew the way my story is, and I like it, so I forced myself to get over that hang-up because I could be missing some of the best comics. So, now I don't get turned away by giant page numbers. I do put off reading them until I have time to devote to the entire archive, go back to the beginning, and read it in chunks.

These days, it's the SHORT comics that turn me away, not the long ones. Sometimes people post 5 or 6 fantastic pages and then stop entirely, but a 200 page comic that is still updating a couple times a week has a lot to offer already and likely will continue.

usedbooks
These days, it's the SHORT comics that turn me away, not the long ones. Sometimes people post 5 or 6 fantastic pages and then stop entirely, but a 200 page comic that is still updating a couple times a week has a lot to offer already and likely will continue.

That annoys me too, but it's not an instant turn off since I read through it all and only find out that it's a dead end afterwards. -_-

Don't know if anyone cares but my likes and dislikes here affect the choices I make when picking features...
Except when I'm doing that I am more strict about grammar. -not that I'm a great paragon myself, but we must have some standards.

------

Long archives can tend to be scary and even scare me away totally... Not all the time though. And if they have an intro section somewhere, or character bios or whatever that helps GREATLY. It makes things easier to contemplate getting into :)

------

Great big PNG pages (file size) are extremely irritating. DO NOT DO THAT. Jpeg is still THE best web format for freehand colour raster graphics on the internet. Save at 60% or 75% quality and you get a great file size and decent quality. 32bit PNG is NOT for that sort of artwork over the internet. Please don't use it. Please.

------

Similarly- pages with massive dimensions are a pain. It's fine if it's something clever and Scott McCloudy, or if it's a simple long vertical scroll, but if you've just scanned your ordinary comic page at 300 DPI and that's the exact size you've got it up on the web (2480x3508 pix for example), then I won't read it.

------
Lastly- the home page feature. I don't know if anyone has mentioned this but it always turns me off. I give those comics another go when I'm looking for a feature, but as a reader I don't normally read them.
There are always, always, always exceptions however! :)

great topic!!

gees it's like everyone's pinpointing my comic!! "No Lithuanians "? D:<

jk, jk.

Here's my list of turnoffs:

when he chews with his mouth open on the FIRST DATE! (ok, ok jk.)

1. (this one's REALLY IMPORTANT) bad photoshop coloring. I will NOT read a comic with amateurish, unsteady PS coloring. For some reason it screams out, "HORRIBLE" to me. I mean stuff like using the airbrush for highlights, using lens flare, and using dodge/burn inappropriately. Also, using crappy 'textures' as backgrounds, or using the leaf-shaped or grass-shaped brushes instead of drawing leaves or grass.

2. Furry comics. But don't take offense, Harkovast, cause I don't really include your comic under that sub-genre (I'd say yours is fantasy, with animals. Like, The Lion King isn't a furry movie.) These often come hand in hand with the above, bad ps coloring.

3. Illegible fonts

4. Too wordy/ "poetic"

5. Pencil art (with exceptions, like "The Horribles" )

6. Humongous archive (with exceptions)

7. comics so wide you have to scroll sideways

8. Typos/bad grammar

9. ladies who are annoying victims

10. men who are uber-strong

11. never updates

12. gamer humor

13. overly complicated art

ok, I can go ON and ON...

ozoneocean
Lastly- the home page feature. I don't know if anyone has mentioned this but it always turns me off. I give those comics another go when I'm looking for a feature, but as a reader I don't normally read them.
There are always, always, always exceptions however! :)

Same here, it looks terrible as a site design normally and I almost never comment on the comics latest page that have it.

-Genderbend comics. These didn't use to turn me away but now I can't stand them, there's something so gimmicky and insincere about the way it's portrayed. (if there were one dealing with it seriously and non-fetishy i'd dig it)

-32bit png is best for b/w and manga toned comics because it actually does save filesize, for color jpg is superior even if you zoom in at 400% and see a few misplaced pixels.

usedbooks
But the archive will only get "worse." What can I do about that? Nothing really. It's separated into fairly self-contained chapters. I made character bios, a timeline, and a complete plot summary so people can "cheat," but the archive will always scare people away, and as time goes on it will only get worse. People who might have enjoyed my story will never look at it because of that, and I can do nothing to convince them otherwise, so I guess I have to accept it and keep going.

This is just an idea, but you could do, like, "Used Books 2" (hah) or something. After some sort of climactic arc, start up a new one, reintroduce characters a little (you know, like they do in anime sometimes around episode 13-- the filler "this is what just happened" episode). That way, people won't be scared off, people who want more backstory can delve into your archives, and your old readers can still keep up, and all that.

Ok, there are two categories: things that I definitely won't read, and things that will put me off a comic I'm already reading.

So, for category one, things I won't even try:

1- Right to left reading. C'mon guys, that's not part of a style or anything. If you are not Japanese you just look ridiculous doing it.

2- Abstract. I like my comics with characters and stories, thank you very much.

3- Gamer. Sprite or not, the problem with gamer stuff is that you have to know the source material, and being one of the two persons on Earth who's never owned a videogame console, I'm kinda lost.

4- Gay. I simply don't like it. No, I'm not open-minded. Why should I be?

5- Slooooooooooooooooooooooooow. I know page count is not an issue here, but if I see the story is going nowhere after 20 pages, I don't think I'll stick around.

6- Infinite canvas. Tried it once and it annoyed the Hell out of me.

And for category two, things that will put me off:

1- Too much filler. There are people here that post sketchbook material as a separate comic, and I think that's where the "filler" stuff should go.

2- Comic gets sidetracked or becomes something else entirely. If I am reading a superhero comic and it turns into political commentary, I'm out. That's why I don't read much marvel nowadays, and I apply the same rationale to webcomics.

As far as some of the stuff that's already been mentioned, I, for one, have no problem with copy/paste art if it is well done and for a purpose. I religiously check out The Porch every wednesday and you can't say that the art is too varied or dynamic. Same for stick figures /crappy art or whatever. If it is done for a purpose, or if the comic has some other redeeming value, I'll read it, no problem. It only has to be entertaining.

Do you guys really think long archives are a big problem for a lot of people? They don't scare me away, really, I just... don't read them. As long as the comic provides me with a clear jumping on point in the form of a chapter beginning that isn't 200 pages back, I'm fine. If I REALLY like what I'm reading, I'll read the archive.

Typos, spelling and grammar, by the way - that's the same category of "no effort = me no interest" as bad art for me. Plus a writer whose command of the language he writes in sucks is the same as an artist who can't draw. Simple as that. Language is your tool - at least TRY to master it or you're a hack.

For me, some of my "turn-offs" aren't necessarily bad things, just things that personally keep me away. Like long archives or infinite canvas. The prior is mostly 'cause I can't stand to jump into a comic without catching up- I've let some of my faves fall behind and I'm desperately tryin' to commit myself to goin' through the missed pages. The second has to do with how much information I can (or am willing) to digest in a single sitting. I tend to prefer the traditionally sized comic page.

I think it's easy to get bummed out when folks bad-mouth things we associate with our own comics- but to each his own! The Hub has a lot more dialogue (too many wooooords and not enough action!) and moves a lot slower than a lot of folks prefer. I mean, it's approachin' 70 pages with not one sign of a real plot! Or at least that's how I see it. Whatever. It's how I conceived the story, and how I think it ought to be told. It doesn't really bother me that it's not for everyone.

Kristen Gudsnuk
This is just an idea, but you could do, like, "Used Books 2" (hah) or something. After some sort of climactic arc, start up a new one, reintroduce characters a little (you know, like they do in anime sometimes around episode 13-- the filler "this is what just happened" episode). That way, people won't be scared off, people who want more backstory can delve into your archives, and your old readers can still keep up, and all that.

(Trying to avoid hijacking the thread, but...)

There are pros and cons to doing things that way. You tend to lose readers between titles and can add some confusion to the continuity of the canon. It also is a question of organization. I believe I considered going that route but decided against it due to my own vision of organization and continuity. The big archive could scare people off, but it makes me feel accomplished. (And it helps me monitor stats too.) Other people actually like reading through archives; being able to hit "next" and bookmark wherever they choose is convenient. I have done what I can to provide organization, separations, up-to-date recaps/summary, and reminders/links in my author notes. That solution is best for me.

Whatever way you choose, I think it's important to make the decision *early* -- like before you start uploading. Then you can have equal length volumes at regular intervals, more organization, less loss of readership. If I made the decision now to just start a new volume at the end of this arc, it just would be silly (800+ page Volume 1?). I don't want to start a new "project." I will throw in a recap reintroducing story/characters, though. I've done it before, and my readers said it was helpful.

Hyena H_ll
I think it's easy to get bummed out when folks bad-mouth things we associate with our own comics- but to each his own!

Like my superhero comic! I SWEAR IT'S DIFFERENT.

The Hub has a lot more dialogue (too many wooooords and not enough action!) and moves a lot slower than a lot of folks prefer. I mean, it's approachin' 70 pages with not one sign of a real plot! Or at least that's how I see it. Whatever. It's how I conceived the story, and how I think it ought to be told. It doesn't really bother me that it's not for everyone.

That's another thing I don't care for in comics. Pacing is one thing that seems to really get people stuck. It seems like the superhero comics here go way too fast and the fantasy comics go way too slow.

As far as the big archives, I don't mind as long as I can actually get into the story or the art doesn't grate on my eyes too much. If the art sucks, the archive suddenly looks more like a job instead of entertainment. And if the story doesn't hook me by page twenty, I'm outta there.

Another thing that I absolutely hate is when someone tries too hard to be offensive. Like, if someone does a good job at it I'm there saying "I'm offended! But laughing! Ha. Ha. Ha." on the other hand, if someone is trying way too hard I'm like "Dude, not funny."


1. (this one's REALLY IMPORTANT) bad photoshop coloring. I will NOT read a comic with amateurish, unsteady PS coloring. For some reason it screams out, "HORRIBLE" to me. I mean stuff like using the airbrush for highlights, using lens flare, and using dodge/burn inappropriately. Also, using crappy 'textures' as backgrounds, or using the leaf-shaped or grass-shaped brushes instead of drawing leaves or grass.

Oh goodness, you have no idea how much I hate that. ESPECIALLY the burn/dodge effect. Or when the artist can't decide on the style of their comic and changes it every other page. BLEH! There was a comic that I tried (operative being 'tried') to review and I just ended up not posting because I couldn't get over the fact that this comic was so poorly done.

Here's the problem I have with the "huge archive" complaints: what if someone is doing a strip comic? Since I work on a strip comic, my philosophy with working on it is "if I feel sick of the characters, I'll stop doing it". Of course, a book is a different story, but most strips in newspapers last at least 5-10 years, and that's considered a drop in the bucket compared to the crappy ones that have been around for 90. Of course, I doubt that I would be doing Negligence that long.

However, to try to alleviate the problem of an insanely large archive, I do set up the chapters so that the first strip in a storyline is on the chapter list. I also have a "Meet the Cast" link so that more people become familiar with the characters. I understand the complaints about large archives, but personally, if the comic is good, that means I want to read it all the more.

Harkovast
Why do I feel like half the people here are trying to describe my comic in a round about way?

Oh, I totally know where you're coming from there, threads like this make me self conscious too! Especially when I see things that don't really apply but I know are common misconceptions people form without reading the comic. It's a real bother when people won't give you a chance because of what they THINK the comic is rather than the truth!
I really don't like how these negative threads pop up again and again :(

But I'll kibitz a bits whilst I'm here lol!

Big, big giant turnoffs:

-Porn, fetish, shota, yaoi, anything of that ilk. I can read a comic that happens to have sex scenes or gay romances in it, but nothing that uses this to promote and drive the "story". I know sex sells, but as an asexual, I'm not buying!
I won't read anything that's obviously targeted at a fetish either. Just squicks me the hell out that people are turned on by some pretty bizarre things...really puts the kibosh on things I'd planned for my own story when I find, to my horror and dismay, "There's a fetish for THAT?!!" Oh, the woes of doing a supernatural-themed comic...

-Author is a jerk/snob, or soapbox preacher. I pay a lot of attention to people in the forums and decide from how they interact whether or not I'll check out their comic. The forums are where authors let loose a little, and if I see one being a complete buffoon, I won't check out their comic. But if someone is cool and funny and isn't causing any harm (like Renga and Harkovast) I'll definitely give their archives a go, and not half-heartedly! The problem is though, I know I'm missing some fantastic comics, but I can't help it. There's just no excuse to be a complete d*ck to people on the internet, and that just reflects poorly on their works. Though as bad as some people have been lately, I don't think any megalomaniac can top the epic ego levels of a long-gone comic that used to be on DD back in the days...hey, longtime DDer's, remember This Guy? [web.archive.org]

As for soapboxers, it's gotta be pretty overt. If it's a small vein of the story, I can deal with it. But if the author's notes are filled with vileness and bigotry as well, I drop that comic like a hot brick. There's only been 2 comics that fit the bill for me to date, I can tolerate a lot but not some ranting hypocrite spewing tired misconceptions at me. Calling someone stupid is not the best way to get them on your side!


Other than that, I'm pretty open to most genres and styles. I think people that close their minds to things outside their preferred genre are missing out on some true gems on this site. I'm a little bothered to see so many people instantly hate on Manga, when a lot of styles get mistaken for Manga right off the bat even if they aren't styled that way (ahem, mine for example!) but I can see where people are getting tired of people copying the "how-too" book style (yes that extra o is intentional) Then again, I've seen some pretty darn good art come from generic Manga style comics where some people are struggling with their Western-style art's proportions! Plus, I get a little annoyed when people insist that others draw in a certain style (particularly the style said opinionated person draws themselves!) when the artist already has an adequate grasp of their style, be it manga, chibi, cartoon or whatever. It's always good to expand your talents, but I don't get why people are so hellbent on "reforming" manga artists all the time. Most often these are people that drew manga all their lives and decided to change styles, and they seem to forget sometimes how wonky that sudden transition can be. It's a real shame when a decent manga-styled artist decides to draw western style out of the blue and it looks stiff and boring compared to their manga, but they gave in to peer pressure and now it's hip to deride anyone who "still draws manga" as if it's something you need to grow out of. I see this all the time, and it really bothers me!

I understand the issue with pacing. But if you read those 20 pages all at once like you would in a comic book, the pacing may not seem so bad.

However if you are reading the same 20 pages in weekly installments over 2-4 months, it probably can feel like it's dragging.

I tend to be a bit forgiving of that stuff as sometimes I wish my comic would pick up the pace a bit. But, you can write the comic the way you normally would, or you can write it paced differently for the web. Yet, if you ever publish it, it may read differently in book format.

Does that make sense? I hope so.

Hyena H_ll
I think it's easy to get bummed out when folks bad-mouth things we associate with our own comics- but to each his own!

Honestly, I think people imagine exaggerations when they mention the things they don't like in comics. For instance, how many people said they hated furry/anthro comics? I'll bet they envisioned comics where animals are humanized to a fetish degree (you know the kind I'm talking about), but in reality they wouldn't mind if a comic had some modestly-designed animal characters who aren't pointless human-replacements.

And manga? They're probably imagining a right-to-left-reading comic with magical school girls named "Yuki" and "Hanako" and girly boys who fall in love with each other. Truth is, there are a lot of manga-influenced comics that don't deserved to be grouped in with that kind of trash and are much more tolerable.

So I don't think any of us should worry too much. Though my own comic bleeds slightly into several of the hated genres of this thread, I think most of us have a long way to go before we reach those stereotypes people are so put off by. Well, most of us. If you make a Sonic sprite comic you can't be helped.

Amelius
but as an asexual, I'm not buying!

Wait aren't you married to EvilemperorNick irl? You mean you....don't......
.....
:O

Amelius
.hey, longtime DDer's, remember This Guy? [web.archive.org]

HAhaa oh wow

But yeah i think most people are thinking of extremes when it comes to dislikes. Like i said i hated furry but there was one where the author made up her own animals and the art was incredible, so i read it.

Skullbie I am going to read between the lines of what you are saying...

Skullbie
Like i said i hated furry comics but then I read Harkovast and realised I was wrong and talking animals are freakin awesome.

I only hear what I want to hear.
Self delusion kicks ass!

ozoneocean
Lastly- the home page feature. I don't know if anyone has mentioned this but it always turns me off. I give those comics another go when I'm looking for a feature, but as a reader I don't normally read them.
There are always, always, always exceptions however

Errr, just to make sure we are on the same (home) page (harhar) - you do mean that having a home page without the latest comic panel is a turn off, right? Because it sure can be for me. Not guaranteed (that's why I didn't mention it), but it can be. I want to check the comic out straight away. Who has time for one more click! These are the interwebs, people!

Skullbie

Amelius
but as an asexual, I'm not buying!

Wait aren't you married to EvilemperorNick irl? You mean you....don't......
.....
:O

Amy just happens to be mostly heteroromantic as opposed to hetrosexual.

MeHighLow
Errr, just to make sure we are on the same (home) page (harhar) - you do mean that having a home page without the latest comic panel is a turn off, right? Because it sure can be for me. Not guaranteed (that's why I didn't mention it), but it can be. I want to check the comic out straight away. Who has time for one more click! These are the interwebs, people!

What I've seen with the Home Page feature is that it doesn't show the most recent page, it shows the second-to-last page in the archive... I don't know why it's like this, but it aggravates me. I have to browse several pages to be sure I've read the pages in the right order.

I really do think the Home Page feature is bad for most comics, but it won't stop me from reading them.

Hawk
What I've seen with the Home Page feature is that it doesn't show the most recent page, it shows the second-to-last page in the archive...

Actually, the homepage shows the latest page, but if you click the "latest page" button, it takes you to the next-to-last-page. So if you want to comment (or read comments), you have to then click forward a page to see the latest page.

I like to read comments and comment on comics I follow, but that is three extra clicks and page loads (which can be VERY difficult when the site is slow or on dial-up). You also have to click off the page to get to the pull-down menu to see the archive. Those extra steps are so aggravating that they dissuade me from following those comics. If I do, unlike the non-homepaged comics I follow, I won't leave comments. It's almost like the creators want to put up barriers for their potential readers!

more stuff I just thought about:

Too much cliches
- You know, stuff like someone waking up in the morning and he/she happened to be late for school, yadda yadda. And whenever some superhero does the cliche scene of saving somebody from a bunch of low level thugs. It gets boring.

Same sex stuff
- Sorry I'm a heterosexual male. Stuff like that doesn't turn me on. If you want that, fine. Its up to you. I'm not homophobic or anything.

Talking heads
- I know a comic here that's totally guilty of that. I won't name names but here's some clues: Average of 8-9 panels per page, art isn't bad, text is difficult to read, fantasy genre.

Too annoyingly pro-New World Order. If your comic in any way, shape, or form promotes the following as a GOOD THING:
- Eugenics. You know, the stuff that inspired Adolf Hitler to go murder some Jews and the wrong kind of people. Its also the stuff that inspires the present day United Nations, vaccination agenda, abortion, gmo, chemtrails, etc. Look more into it.
- Mass surveillance, loss of civil liberties, increase of police presence, etc. I don't wanna live in Orwell's 1984 or Huxley's Brave New World.
- Anti-gun. Mass murderers like Hitler, Stalin, and Mao agree that gun control works.
- Communism/Socialism/collectivism. Equality my ass. Sure. We're all gonna be equally slaves with no private property. We'd all be under one BIIIGGG GOVVERRRNMMEENNTTT!!!
- Racism, any form of discrimination against gender, religion, sexual orientation, etc. That's for ALL SIDES btw. Not the politically correct version.
- Global warming. That whole stuff is the fault of the sun and not man. All planets in the solar system are warming up. Don't tell me that the aliens drive gas guzzling SUVs. lol!
- political correctness. That came from Mao Zedong btw.

I find it amusing that hardly any of the stuff that'll be in mine hasn't turned up much at all.
I was gonna do the right to left thing to make one deliberately look like a scanlation. But I was considering changing that anyway.

And manga is quite a loose term for me. Since in Japan every comic is manga and it encompases a wide variety of styles.

I tend to stick more towards Manhwa and Manhua styles though. But more grounded in realism.

At least in the main two I'm working on... I'm trying all sorts of combinations with the rest.




Anyway, here's what I hate:

1. Furries. I'd like to find an exception to the rule but not yet.

2. Shallow yaoi/yuri/GL/BL/porn masquerading as a good storyline to do with something else and having good art.
It's so annoying for a story to just flip the moment someone the character is attracted to walks into view. You're left hollow and dirty at the fact that you reccomended it.

3. Pointless and/or physically impossible sex scenes.
If it doesn't develop characters, advance the plot or create amusing in-jokes and isn't coincidental (For example, somebody's doing the deed just when they get the call that their grandmother's dead, etc) then what's the point?

4. Expressionless/generic faces.
At least make an effort! Yeah they look pretty but are you that scared of making them look less than symmetrical that you want the alternatives of gender confusion, age confusion and a crapload of other confusions?

5. Text overload.
Describing the entire damn backstory in one page gives less depth and mystique to the characters. Especially when they just chuck names in the description that we need better explanations of to care about what we're reading.

6. EVIL RACES!
Seriously. An entire race can never be anything. Humanity sure as hell ain't a good race. Dolphins can be evil bastards. What makes the race of dinosaur pirate clowns weilding slingshots made of puppy offal that fire deathstalker scorpions any better?
It is pretty damn racist, too. Just imagine the evil race as black people!
Seems pretty stupid now, huh?


7. Forcing dialogue.
Space it out a bit! It gets pretty annoying pretty fast having to read everything. A few panels can hint at brilliantly what one bubble can explain tediously.


I'll add more later.

Faliat
It is pretty damn racist, too. Just imagine the evil race as black people!
Seems pretty stupid now, huh?

HUH?




I agree with the text overload. Why do you think I read comics? If I wanted to read a book I'd do that instead!

Nergal, he means that the idea of an evil race as a plot device is racist, and if you think of it in specifics, the racism is apparent.

I hate homepages! for some reason sometimes when I try to get in I get stuck in the empty, sad little forum with one post by the comic's author. IT'S COnfUSING

Faliat
It is pretty damn racist, too. Just imagine the evil race as black people!
Seems pretty stupid now, huh?

This. Even Blizzard, makers of the bane of my generation (WoW), understands this with their races in their games. Not all Zerg and Orcs are...EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVIL.