Random's Great Webcomic Quest

Random

Random

Didn't **** any of those *****es
Joined
Jun 16, 2005
Messages
13,680
Location
Philadelphia, PA
UCfirstLCS.jpg


So I've been thinking about the idea of making my own webcomic for a couple of years now. And I finally feel I have the time and drive to pursue this goal. I really don't expect much out of it, but it would be a great way to teach myself how to draw and get a good amount of practice.

A lot of it is still up in the air, but I'm pretty sure I want to set it as me working in a Comic Book Shop. I got a few jokes in mind but as for cast, supporting characters, a name I'm still thinking about.

So what I'm looking for are any ideas, tips, suggestions you all may want to contribute. So that I may steal them.

(Also if anyone knows of a way to have spell checking in Photoshop that would be killer.)

By the way the above image was drawn while drunk. Considering that, I'm pretty proud of it.

LCS
 
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I think you should have a mad scientist friend.

Who lives with an angry military trained black guy.

With a puggle.
Holy ****, I just thought of a new Scientifically Doomed style show....

Nevermind, copyrighted *****.
 
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Think about your target audience. For example, you say your character is going to work in a comic shop, so presumably a bunch of the jokes will be about comics. Are your jokes going to rely on knowledge of the comic industry or will they be accessible to anyone?

I also think that there should be some real emotion in it too. Autobiographical or not.
 
Project does have a point. Who are you trying to reach?

How many times you going to put it out a week?

Nothing sucks more than reading a webcomic that isn't put out regularly. Everyone here knows you are lazy. Can you put out a weekly comic?
 
I think it's a good idea.

I assume you're not having it grounded in reality too much? Because that would be less fun. What I mean is, have it like Clerks except with random appearances by fictional characters (not necessarily licensed characters....I mean, have aliens and robots and zombies in your universe). Have real lightsabers in it, have adamantium and kryptonite as real elements, etc. Just as nods to the geeks.

Also, give yourself (the main character) an exotic pet or something. Or, while you work at the comic store you also go to college and you live in an apartment with a bunch of cats.
 
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Ultimate Houde said:
I think you should have a mad scientist friend.

Who lives with an angry military trained black guy.

With a puggle.
Holy ****, I just thought of a new Scientifically Doomed style show....

Nevermind, copyrighted *****.
Click to expand...
I had a feeling the first response would be something like this
ProjectX2 said:
Think about your target audience. For example, you say your character is going to work in a comic shop, so presumably a bunch of the jokes will be about comics. Are your jokes going to rely on knowledge of the comic industry or will they be accessible to anyone?

I also think that there should be some real emotion in it too. Autobiographical or not.
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For Audience I want it to be pretty accessible. Comic jokes will also be included with movies, tv, video games, real world commentaries, and general geek culture. So while there may be some comic industry jokes they'll be a bit few and far between (mainly because I'm not too savvy on the industry myself).

But really the shop would be a framing device for the stories. It's a fairly iconic place to be memorable and can be used to as a springboard for plot devices. At heart it will be about the characters their lives working at this shop, what they do after closing time, their relationships. And after getting it all set up I will have real emotion, story arcs. But that has to come naturally.

And it's good that you mentioned Autobiographical, because unlike most of my work I don't want to rely on things that actually happen to me, so far I just want to base the main character off myself, I want to spread my creative wings so to say.
Ultimate Houde said:
Project does have a point. Who are you trying to reach?

How many times you going to put it out a week?

Nothing sucks more than reading a webcomic that isn't put out regularly. Everyone here knows you are lazy. Can you put out a weekly comic?
Click to expand...
Who to reach? Not sure I would say early 20's and general geekdom.

Yeah, I haven't decided on a schedule, really it depends on how long it takes to draw a page. I plan on having the format be a full comic book page proportions so when I put it to book form it would be easy to do. To start off I'm going to trying once a week and see how it goes. I'm also going to make myself a buffer by making a bunch of pages before posting the first one. If I get a following or maybe adspace actually makes me some money they I'll try putting out more. And even if I miss a deadline I plan to atleast have some random doodle, guest comic, or something to fill in the slot.
Langsta said:
I think it's a good idea.

I assume you're not having it grounded in reality too much? Because that would be less fun. What I mean is, have it like Clerks except with random appearances by fictional characters (not necessarily licensed characters....I mean, have aliens and robots and zombies in your universe). Have real lightsabers in it, have adamantium and kryptonite as real elements, etc. Just as nods to the geeks.

Also, give yourself (the main character) an exotic pet or something. Or, while you work at the comic store you also go to college and you live in an apartment with a bunch of cats.
Click to expand...

I will allow silly things once in a while, but it will be pretty grounded in reality.

No pets.
 
Random said:
No pets.
Click to expand...

What is this a lease or a webcomic?

All kidding aside I like where you're looking with this. If you want to do acessable i'd say don't worry too much about collection down the line at first. I've been turned off webcomics before because they're not serialized enough. The web isn't they place to publish you 180 page graphic novel one page at a time. If they story moves too slow then you're not going to be able to retain readership. I think a good example of pacing would be Transmetropolitan, where the first two years of the comic served to get readers used to the world and the characters. Now with shorter content and a fasterr delivery system you don't need to spend years world building but at least a few months before you move on to your first real storyline.

Now with updates, that's entirely up to how fast yoou can create, but i'd reccomend at least 2 a week, 3 if you're in a storyline. Again moving too slow is a good way to loose the attention of our increasingly spastic audience.

Overall I'm excited to see you try something like this Random. I'm looking forward to seeing where you go with it. I don't know about the comic shop you go to but here we talk either politics, movies or game theory.

Its an oddly conservative comic shop...
 
If you do set it in a comic shop, it will be an easy way to introduce characters.

I suggest from there, move to an apartment to introduce more characters that way. Maybe have a jock roommate, someone who isn't in the comic book scene.

But I agree with Baxter, lots of readers of webcomics enjoy two to three updates a week, and get mad when the comic becomes increasingly spastic. Take El Goonish Shive for example. A great comic, then it went completely to **** because the creator couldn't keep up.
 
Friday said:
What is this a lease or a webcomic?

All kidding aside I like where you're looking with this. If you want to do acessable i'd say don't worry too much about collection down the line at first. I've been turned off webcomics before because they're not serialized enough. The web isn't they place to publish you 180 page graphic novel one page at a time. If they story moves too slow then you're not going to be able to retain readership. I think a good example of pacing would be Transmetropolitan, where the first two years of the comic served to get readers used to the world and the characters. Now with shorter content and a fasterr delivery system you don't need to spend years world building but at least a few months before you move on to your first real storyline.

Now with updates, that's entirely up to how fast yoou can create, but i'd reccomend at least 2 a week, 3 if you're in a storyline. Again moving too slow is a good way to loose the attention of our increasingly spastic audience.

Overall I'm excited to see you try something like this Random. I'm looking forward to seeing where you go with it. I don't know about the comic shop you go to but here we talk either politics, movies or game theory.

Its an oddly conservative comic shop...
Click to expand...

I feel with a whole page I have plenty of room to tell a single joke or part of a story, it's not just for a collection. Twice a week is great earlier on, but I'm starting once a week just to test the waters. And I feel the first bunch of postings will be mostly one shots, build up characters. Story arcs would come a little later.

Ultimate Houde said:
If you do set it in a comic shop, it will be an easy way to introduce characters.

I suggest from there, move to an apartment to introduce more characters that way. Maybe have a jock roommate, someone who isn't in the comic book scene.

But I agree with Baxter, lots of readers of webcomics enjoy two to three updates a week, and get mad when the comic becomes increasingly spastic. Take El Goonish Shive for example. A great comic, then it went completely to **** because the creator couldn't keep up.
Click to expand...

That's a given, not every issue will take place in the comic shop, nor every character a comic geek. The comic shop is a central fixture, but not the only thing.
 
Random said:
I feel with a whole page I have plenty of room to tell a single joke or part of a story, it's not just for a collection. Twice a week is great earlier on, but I'm starting once a week just to test the waters. And I feel the first bunch of postings will be mostly one shots, build up characters. Story arcs would come a little later.
Click to expand...

What type of characters do you want to have?
 
An Announcement!​


Before the first reply to this thread one of our own contacted me through PM. He as it turns out had been working on a webcomic that, get this, is about a guy who works at a comic book shop. Intrigued, I read the 30 scripts he had already written and found them to be quite brilliant and just what I had envisioned. Truly this was meant to exist.



So we might as well rename this thread McCheese and Random's Great Webcomic Quest as we present you the first promo picture of our soon to be made webcomic.




LCScastPromo.jpg



Let it Begin.


Any one guess the what the initials stand for gets a muffin.
 
Random said:
An Announcement!​


Before the first reply to this thread one of our own contacted me through PM. He as it turns out had been working on a webcomic that, get this, is about a guy who works at a comic book shop. Intrigued, I read the 30 scripts he had already written and found them to be quite brilliant and just what I had envisioned. Truly this was meant to exist.



So we might as well rename this thread McCheese and Random's Great Webcomic Quest as we present you the first promo picture of our soon to be made webcomic.




LCScastPromo.jpg



Let it Begin.


Any one guess the what the initials stand for gets a muffin.
Click to expand...

Its clearly Last Chance Shipton, with Shipton being the main character who is reduced to working in a lowly Local Comic Shop after loosing his job in the banking industry.

Geeze guys, be original. :D
 
I'm pretty damn psyched about this.

Friday said:
Its clearly Last Chance Shipton, with Shipton being the main character who is reduced to working in a lowly Local Comic Shop after loosing his job in the banking industry.

Geeze guys, be original. :D
Click to expand...
Shipton? That's the S name you come up with?
 
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