Hmmm, yeah, it's a funny thing; I mean, serialized prose is totally a thing, and so many novels were written that way back in the day, but I don't really love that format. Comics, though ... I grew up on comics as a serialized medium, and the difference between the issue-a-month model to the 1-5 pages-per-week model hasn't been too disturbing for me. (Of course, when it comes to webcomics I do think the strip/self-contained-update format is a little more perfectly suited to online updates, buuut I also read maybe a dozen graphic novels that are being serialized page-by-page online and enjoy them greatly. In fact, those are my favorites ... probably because I just prefer long-form comics, period. YMMV.)
Plus you're right; the visually trackable process/improvements are really interesting to watch as they go down.
From a creative angle, it feels a little bit like this choice between ... the graphic novelist who goes into seclusion for years and then publishes a finished, polished piece through traditional means, trusting that the audience will be there when it counts (Alison Bechdel, Craig Thompson) and the online cartoonist who is able to build an audience as they go by being constantly visible and entertaining (and then, if they want to create a print version--which I do--they have that audience to draw on and fund them). I see the appeal of both models, but it seems as though the second one is much more workable for people who are starting out (Bechdel and Thompson already had audiences; Bechdel even built hers through serialized storytelling). Although I also kind of worry that there's some ... attention addiction going on, there. (OTOH ... it's a good motivator. Much easier to fizzle out or drag your feet when no-one's watching.)
Thanks, I appreciate your perspective! I'll have to think about presentation more when I'm getting down to it, I think ... I need to also consider logistics and process stuff (like, how much do I want to script/edit in advance of posting, how does that work with having a buffer, selling minicomics, etc) ...!
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
branchandroot
(no subject)
Date: 2013-04-19 08:16 pm (UTC)Plus you're right; the visually trackable process/improvements are really interesting to watch as they go down.
From a creative angle, it feels a little bit like this choice between ... the graphic novelist who goes into seclusion for years and then publishes a finished, polished piece through traditional means, trusting that the audience will be there when it counts (Alison Bechdel, Craig Thompson) and the online cartoonist who is able to build an audience as they go by being constantly visible and entertaining (and then, if they want to create a print version--which I do--they have that audience to draw on and fund them). I see the appeal of both models, but it seems as though the second one is much more workable for people who are starting out (Bechdel and Thompson already had audiences; Bechdel even built hers through serialized storytelling). Although I also kind of worry that there's some ... attention addiction going on, there. (OTOH ... it's a good motivator. Much easier to fizzle out or drag your feet when no-one's watching.)
Thanks, I appreciate your perspective! I'll have to think about presentation more when I'm getting down to it, I think ... I need to also consider logistics and process stuff (like, how much do I want to script/edit in advance of posting, how does that work with having a buffer, selling minicomics, etc) ...!