The 3x a week Grind ends its first month with just over half of its contestants still in the running. And almost everyone who ended said the same thing. They intend on continuing to update, maybe not on a 3x a week schedule, but at least once a week, maybe twice a week. And yet… events seem to conspire against this.
Brockway (of Swords are Cool) was shipped overseas, presumably to Iraq. War… just vanished, though rumors claim he’s in America right now, riling up trouble. Pimpette has stated outright she’s only taking a week hiatus to get things together… but I’m adopting a wait and see policy. Mercury Hat is taking half of July off, and Operation TC is on indefinite hiatus. Nary a word about what’s up with TLH’s Twice Destined.
Is the Lazy Grind cursed? Will each additional strip that falters go on hiatus, whether it’s short or long term?
I’ve got to wonder. It does make some sense to take a little time out and rethink an updating strategy. It’s difficult updating three times a week, even with a news strip format comic. None of the strips in the Lazy Grind use that format; it seems that with updating less than 5x a week, people feel obligated to give more comic for the update. And things seem to escalate from there.
Let’s look at one of the longer-running 3x a week strips that hasn’t missed an update yet, Nukees. This is one of the cornerstones of Keenspot Comics. It updates three times a week, like clockwork, with a simple black and white news strip format. It’s about Nuclear Engineers, even! But it’s still fairly popular (popular enough that when Gav links me in his news section, I get a big hit in visits at least). Nukees seems to show that you don’t need extra art or fancy colors in order to have an audience.
And no, Mr. Bleuel is not bribing me with Guinness to say that. Not at all. The Guinness bottle was definitely empty by the time it reached my mailbox.
Still, something that Darren stated recently stands out: It’s amazing how occasional feedback like this can lift my spirits and reinforce my interest in the strip.
Indeed, I still have the old comments from my own failed web comic in my forum board. Every comment helped fuel my enthusiasm. Every cry for a new update struck home and (until I went on permanent hiatus) helped urge me to do the next strip. Maybe what these people need most is for fans to let them know we’re still behind them. And I’m not talking with baseball bats.
Maybe we should let the dropouts of the 3x Grind know that we’re still interested in their strips. Then and only then, maybe they’ll come out of hiatus and continue their stories.
Webcomic commentary
Yesterday I wrote up a small tongue-in-cheek article about the 3x Grind. Unfortunately, when I was using Nukees as an example, I may have inadvertently come across as insulting or condescending. That wasn’t my intent or how I think of the other strips.
Back in 2001 when I created Tangents, I made multiple mistakes. I’d like to think I learned from these mistakes, and in a way I have; while I haven’t started up a web comic since the comic ended, I did realize what I should do if I ever started up comicking again. Little things like creating a buffer before I started updating, or scripting out the comic for months in advance and then keep up on that script (and this includes scripting dialog – before I knew the storyline, I even knew somewhat of what happened for each strip, but not the precise dialog I’d use), and properly scheduling my drawing time. Finally, I realized that I needed to create a set panel size for the comic.
This is why I like the 3x Grind so much. Regular updating is important for the growth of a comic’s art, establishing an audience, and so forth. And I look forward to Pimpette resuming her updates, for Mercury Hat to come off her vacation, Brockway to return from overseas, and so forth.
But Komiyan’s comments in my Tagboard are also true, after a fashion. Making a web comic isn’t about having an audience as much as telling a story. Still… we create these stories wanting to share them, wanting them to be read. Otherwise we wouldn’t put them on the web.
My intent wasn’t to make it sound like an exercise in ego. I just remember what I did back in 2001 and 2002, with larger strips to compensate for missed updates, and on down the line.
Take care! And Happy Fourth of July.
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Posted in Webcomic commentary
Tagged The Lazy Grind Contest, Webcomic commentary