How do you decide on the rating of your comic

Redshine · Post by **Redshine** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 4:09 am

Okay - I've tried the search ... no luck ... I've gone till about page 10 on this subforum and gave up ...

Can anybody tell me about a good way to decide on a comic's rating?

I know, mine for example is past the PG but WHERE exactly do you draw the line between Web14 and NG17? How big's the trouble you get into if you misjudge the suitability of your comic?

Cope · Post by **Cope** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 6:07 am

Our ratings system is explained here, in case you haven't checked already.

redshine wrote:How big's the trouble you get into if you misjudge the suitability of your comic?

Pretty much very small to non-existent.

Comicgen's ratings aren't policed pedantically, if that's what you're worried about. Just choose what you think fits.

TheSuburbanLetdown · Post by **TheSuburbanLetdown** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 6:55 am

If you step over the line, men in black coats will come to your house and beat you with squeeky hammers and foam bats.

Cope · Post by **Cope** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 7:26 am

It'll weird you out the first few times, but after that it's merely annoying.

Swikan · Post by **Swikan** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 7:36 am

I think you should consider the audience who is likely to be entertained by your comic as you envision it. Then find a rating system already in place that you are familiar with, like the ESRB ratings for video games or movie ratings and find the comic/internet equivalent.

Since I am more familiar with the Motion Picture Association of America's rating system so I used that as a general guide.

You don't have to stay STRICTLY within your ratings, of course, but your audience will come to expect certain content. Also, I think if you choose a rating, you should really try to stay within the original boundaries you set for yourself. If your story has an element that goes a bit further, there are ways of suggesting stronger elements without going beyond the bounds of your chosen rating. Example: My G-rated comic just ran a storyline which involved some nudity. I didn't show anything more than would be shown in bathing suit (bare shoulders) and it didn't go beyond one day's strip. I still got positive feedback on the whole storyline, though there was one comment in the shout box along the lines of "there goes the G-rating!"

Yeahduff · Post by **Yeahduff** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 8:09 am

Don't obsess over it. Just make the comic you want and decide later what lines you crossed.

Fabio Ciccone · Post by **Fabio Ciccone** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 8:29 am

theSuburbanLetdown wrote:If you step over the line, men in black coats will come to your house and beat you with squeeky hammers and foam bats.

it happened to me last week. Creepy fellas

Perk_daddy · Post by **Perk_daddy** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 9:57 am

They also come if your comic is rated Web-MA and you don't show a booby at least once a week.

Geekblather · Post by **Geekblather** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 11:02 am

I had some difficulty with that too. I eventually decided on roughly Web-14, because while it does include 'adult' situations, they're also situations that uh, kids in the real world actually deal with, and I try to deal with them fairly realistically. I'm not going to pretend that high schoolers don't swear, think about sex, or do drugs. (And yes, I know not all of them do, but some do.) I just try and present things in as real a way as possible.
I figure, even if some stuff might be Web-MA, the fact that it has consequences, cancels out any glorification that I might get squeaky hammered for.

RobertBlake · Post by **RobertBlake** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 11:53 am

geekblather wrote:I had some difficulty with that too. I eventually decided on roughly Web-14, because while it does include 'adult' situations, they're also situations that uh, kids in the real world actually deal with, and I try to deal with them fairly realistically. I'm not going to pretend that high schoolers don't swear, think about sex, or do drugs. (And yes, I know not all of them do, but some do.) I just try and present things in as real a way as possible.
I figure, even if some stuff might be Web-MA, the fact that it has consequences, cancels out any glorification that I might get squeaky hammered for.

Pretty much the same with me.

While most of my comic is G to PG, there are some instances that might push the rating limits. Such as the time one character talked about masturbating and the following comic implied such to the character's thoughts of their friend performing oral sex on them. Even though it didn't really show anything, it's not exactly appropriate for young eyes.

Although, when it comes to swearing, it's usually nothing stronger than 'hell' or 'damn', and even then it's a pretty rare thing.

TheSuburbanLetdown · Post by **TheSuburbanLetdown** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 12:03 pm

I don't even remember what mine is rated. People say bad words in it.

Yeahduff · Post by **Yeahduff** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 12:33 pm

I think mine's PG13. Though I'm a little out of touch with what makes each rating. I mean the movie Ghost World is rated R? What the fuck?

Geekblather · Post by **Geekblather** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 12:36 pm

yeahduff wrote:I think mine's PG13. Though I'm a little out of touch with what makes each rating. I mean the movie Ghost World is rated R? What the fuck?

Oh God, I love that movie. Yeah, movie ratings in general are- pretty tarded. I try to base my ratings off what my target audience is. Mostly high school/twenty something people, not kids.

Jameslong · Post by **Jameslong** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 12:42 pm

just rate it XXX, then you'll be guaranteed a whole shitload of pageviews.

Dutch! · Post by **Dutch!** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 12:54 pm

Actually, it was suggested to me in another forum that I change my comic listed ranking from G to MA and watch all the readers flock to my site.

Somehow that just doesn't sit right with me though.

Yeahduff · Post by **Yeahduff** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 1:15 pm

This is a myth. A lot of people will go to any NC17 site they can find. A lot of people, though, will unconditionally avoid them.

Jackhass · Post by **Jackhass** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 1:19 pm

It honestly doesn't really matter much.

Just think of what your comic would get if it were translated into movie form.

Jekkal · Post by **Jekkal** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 3:32 pm

Rate to your audience, not the content necessarily.

If you think the story requires some higher-level thought, go ahead and make it 14 (and then sprinkle in a few curse words to justify it). Likewise, if you're heavy on the gore, make it MA to be safe. Go for NC-17 if you're willing to bust out nipples for the sake of random titillation. Likewise, if the content is fairly innocuous, make it G just to spare yourself the hassle.

Content can be fairly pliable, so it's really more about what you're willing to do and who you're aiming for than the actual story/content.

Jekkal · Post by **Jekkal** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 3:43 pm

Dutch! wrote:Actually, it was suggested to me in another forum that I change my comic listed ranking from G to MA and watch all the readers flock to my site.

Somehow that just doesn't sit right with me though.

But Loli's all the rage. Look how much press it's getting lately!

Dutch! · Post by **Dutch!** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 5:56 pm

What's Loli?

Comic Genesis Forums

How do you decide on the rating of your comic

How do you decide on the rating of your comic

Consider a bit of pandering to your audience.

At least they stopped using the pillows.