HEY LOOK WHO IT IS!
So there are a lot of inspirations for this comic, mostly in response to stuff I like or don't like in comics, superhero or otherwise. This comic came pretty directly from an Astro City story I read back in college where you were following this ordinary office lady as she navigated her way through a city of superheroes. I remember it was the first time I'd seen superheroes from the perspective of someone who wasn't super, and who was just watching them do their thing. It was nifty.
Website stuff: enough people have commented that they find the blogspot format I'm using unwieldy for reading the comics. I completely understand. I started using this format because it's very easy for me to update, and I need that (my life is stupid busy). If there are blog designs out there that utilize a more comic reading friendly format (that I can use on blogspot), or if anyone has any suggestions as how to make this blog more comic reading friendly, please let me know in the comments. Appreciate it!
Tumblr maybe ? I'm not really disturbed by the format, anyway.
ReplyDeleteLoving the comic, by the way, keep it up !
i think this format is totaly fine..
ReplyDeleteBUT if you want... there are layouts on blogger.. that you can just turn this blog in to.. with a click.. that will make the images much bigger... a wider space for the entries... im not sure what one it is.. but take a look around if you like, your sure to come across it.
I dont like CHANGE though... people shoudlnt be so lazy and just click on the comic if they want to see it bigger.
paah.
thanks faith. love ya !
I like the blog format. Why be the same as everyone else?
ReplyDeleteFormat is fine by me. I use Google Reader so I don't really SEE the format unless I come over to comment. I read the text off Reader and click the strip into a separate tab.
ReplyDeleteTumblr wouldn't be much better because thumbnails are thumbnails.
Heh, maybe some folk didn't realise you could click the pic, or don't use tabbed browsing (every year I celebrate the anniversary of the day I discovered tabbed browsing, when I was at last able to waste time on the internet ten times more efficiently.)
I like this one, with the perspective of the innocent bystander.
ReplyDeleteAs for comic formats, Dinosaur Comics and Wondermark both have blog entries right under their updated comic. I'm not sure how that would work for you though.
This format works fine, I think.
ReplyDeleteGreat comic, I love the perspective of the monster battle through the window. I am really starting to dislike that guy - he should appreciate our heroine more!
ComicPress, maybe? http://comicpress.org/
ReplyDeleteI'm not different than the other folks...the format's fine. The story and art is more important to me.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with the format comes in terms of reading the archives. Right now it's not that far back to go to start from the beginning, but as more strips go up it will become more time-consuming, clicking "Older Posts... Older Posts... Older Posts..." until you finally get to the beginning. Yeah, people know HOW to do it, but it's still not optimal in terms of being user-friendly. Why make things more difficult for new readers than they have to be? Put things in an easily navigable format early on, and you won't have to worry about it when the archives become large enough for it to actually be an issue. After all, presumably you want people to READ the comic.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I don't have any helpful suggestions. I have never run a webcomic or a blog, and have never had a reason to learn about the tools used for doing so. Maybe other webcomic artists can help.
The problem with the format comes in terms of reading the archives. Right now it's not that far back to go to start from the beginning, but as more strips go up it will become more time-consuming, clicking "Older Posts... Older Posts... Older Posts..." until you finally get to the beginning. Yeah, people know HOW to do it, but it's still not optimal in terms of being user-friendly. Why make things more difficult for new readers than they have to be? Put things in an easily navigable format early on, and you won't have to worry about it when the archives become large enough for it to actually be an issue. After all, presumably you want people to READ the comic.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I don't have any helpful suggestions. I have never run a webcomic or a blog, and have never had a reason to learn about the tools used for doing so. Maybe other webcomic artists can help.
Now, the comic.
This guy is really starting to come off as a jerk. There she is, fighting a monster, protecting the city, presumably saving this guy's life along with those of lots of other people. She's being a superhero! And does he feel guilty? Does he realize what he said before was wrong? Does he even turn to look and see how the fight goes? No, he just goes back to his coffee. Jerk.
I think you should keep posting on blogger for now and in in some magical future, when you have a few spare hours, you can organize all these into a chronological format.
ReplyDeleteThis from a man who has a whole saga posted backwards:
http://letflythecannons.blogspot.com/search/label/Jailbird%20Blues
I think Anonymous is correct; this format isn't terrible, but it's not particularly user friendly for someone new popping in to read the comic from the beginning. Anyway, hopefully I will be able to figure out a way to make this work. I definitely don't want to move the comic to Tumblr tho...
ReplyDeleteBen>> Oh my god, I read that! What a terrifying experience! I mean, you made it all funny and stuff, but yikes. I can't believe something like that could happen... well, I mean, I can, because bureaucracy is insane, but I hope it doesn't happen. D:
Faith, sorry to say this, but the best thing would be to learn how to use Wordpress instead of Blogger -- then you can get comicspress or one of the other made-for-comics formats.
ReplyDeleteBut since you want to stick with Blogger, I think you should put a link to the first strip in the sidebar, right at the top of the sidebar, so that new readers can just click to go there. When the archives are more built up, maybe you could put a bunch of links up there -- "Episode 1, episode 20, episode 40," etc -- so that readers coming back can skip quickly to close to where they left off.
I don't know much about how blogger words, but if you have the option of putting the "newer post" "older post" links at the top of individual entries, as well as at the bottom, that would make navigating from strip to strip easier.
And using the widest layout blogger has, so that maybe the strips could be full-sized instead of making people click through, would also speed up browsing through the archives.
Anyway, this strip is friggin' hilarious! And really nicely drawn. I'm looking forward to future episodes.
Hey, I just noticed the blog archive in the sidebar. That pretty much covers everything. Maybe put it higher so that dorks like me will notice it sooner?
ReplyDelete"Astro City" was the first thing I thought of when I read this comic. Love it!
ReplyDeleteI don't really have any constructive ideas to offer about the blog format. Though I would say that what might be confusing some people (like me) at the outset is having a comic strip that never changes at the top of the page. It makes the page look enough like the ComicPress format that it might take us a couple weeks or so of coming back, wondering why it hasn't been updated, then eventually noticing the treasure trove of longer-form comics below in the blog section. After that, it took me about 30 seconds to figure out the format, and a few minutes to get caught up on the archives.
Though I'm still dying to know how that stray cat saga unfolds!
Blogger is a fine base for comics, you just have to BEND IT TO YOUR WILL. We played around with that in my webcomics class at school, basically you shrink the amount of posts on a page to one and make buttons to maneuver through the archives. Looks something like this , using my friend's comic as an example. It's not perfect, but it works.
ReplyDeleteALSO, I just found out about you and your art through some links on twitter and I'm totally enjoying your stuff!
My boyfriend and I use "WebComic & InkBlot" to post our webcomic through Blogger. I don't post anything, but he says it is a pain in the butt. It is http://the-jerks.com if you want to see what it looks like.
ReplyDeleteReading your comic through Google Reader is fine for me. (Even though the lazy part of me always sighs every time I have to click on the image to read it, the comic is funny so I forget about that little lazy sigh by the time I have read it.) Good points about the archives though and readers coming in late to the game.
Faith, you are my new comic hero. I've read Demonology 101 and followed Ice, and I just discovered this and Friends with Boys a few weeks ago. Seriously. You rock my socks. If you ever have the chance, come to the Montréal Comic Con! I'm sure there are a few more of us that would love to meet you (and buy your books)!
ReplyDeletei would love to know how superheroes manage to fight and throw witty comebacks at their opponent at the same time. i mean if it was i would just be like RARRR RRRRR! MA! GRAAAARR!!!
ReplyDeleteya know?
:D