Art or writing?

[Joel Fagin]

Possibly a stupid question but I'd like some official percentages on this question so I can quote them.

- Joel Fagin

[Johndar]

I would deffinately say that the writing is more important. Art will get you started on a comic, but if the writing is bad, you'll eventually leave it for something better. I read a few comics that don't have the best art, but I still read simply for the story.

[Black Sparrow]

Ah jeez. Does it have to be so concrete?

I voted writing because, if it's good writing and mediocre art, I'll stick with it (Order of the Stick is my current example of this).

But if the art's a really crappy manga ripoff pencil+MSPaint style, I'm not going to start reading it in the first place. The art needs to be at least decent, just to be able to pull me in.

Though I guess awesome art but mediocre writing doesn't work for me the way awesome writing and mediocre art does. Earthsong's pretty, but I'm just not interested.

Dunno why I'm babbling to such a simple question. Guess I'm trying to put off homework or something...

[TRI]

I'll be the first (and quite possibly last) person to vote "art."

Really, you need some of each. And when I was thinking about which I would rather read--a comic with crappy art and brilliant writing, or a comic with crappy writing and brilliant art--it was close... but then I thought of something: I've read comics that were in languages I don't understand because I liked the art... whereas I've seen very well written comics switch to text in places because they didn't feel they could tell the story in comic form and they lost me.

So between a comic with art but no writing and a comic with writing but no art. I'll take the one with pictures.

[Perk_daddy]

I've always remembered something Bill Watterson espoused: Good writing can save bad art better than good art can save bad writing.

Johndar's right: you are originally drawn to a comic with good art, but you stay with the ones that write well enough to keep your interest.

[Turnsky]

well.. on one hand you can have a well-written comic, but ugly as hell.
on the other you have an eyecandy festival and it's got less plot than a DVD player's instructional booklet..

i'd say BOTH are important to a good webcomic.

a few are exceptions to this.

[Linkara]

I'm a writer first and an artist second (an obvious choice). To me, the story and the message is more important than making the pictures look good. You could have Alex Ross and George Perez do a comic version of the Gor novels and it wouldn't matter how bloody gorgeous it was, it'd still be the Gor novels.

[Joel Fagin]

Ah jeez. Does it have to be so concrete?

Statistics need to be packaged in nice, uncomplicated and straightforward ways so that people like <group>* can understand them.

Edit:

So between a comic with art but no writing and a comic with writing but no art. I'll take the one with pictures.

Ah, but do you just look at the pictures as pictures - or do you follow the story the pictures tell? That's still writing.

- Joel Fagin

* Insert chosen group to taste from this list: Politicians, non-webcomicers, McDuffies, Americans, Australians, management, the English Cricket team, TV personalities, Drunk Duckers, Cornstalkers or mice.

[TRI]

Or a way of reducing a complex situation to a simple set of numbers that has nothing to do with the actual situation. You can make statistics say anything you want if you phrase the question and interpret the data the right way.

You could have Alex Ross and George Perez do a comic version of the Gor novels and it wouldn't matter how bloody gorgeous it was, it'd still be the Gor novels.

I'm always curious when someone brings these up. Have you ever read a Gor novel or are you just going by their reputation?

[Linkara]

You could have Alex Ross and George Perez do a comic version of the Gor novels and it wouldn't matter how bloody gorgeous it was, it'd still be the Gor novels.

I'm always curious when someone brings these up. Have you ever read a Gor novel or are you just going by their reputation?

Reputation plus "essays" written on them along with excerpts. Frankly from the excerpts I find the writing stilted and non-involved with the situation. Frankly, considering my feelings about the "philosophy" that has developed from the books (see my quote of the moment... which probably should be changed, it's been up for a few months now), and after reading some articles in support of the "lifestyle" as well as visiting a Gorean message board once... well, that all made me physically ill just from reading ABOUT the stuff, I'm worried about what would happen if I tried to read the books themselves.

Anyway, back to the subject of art and writing, if I may ask, Joel, what's the polling for?

[Joel Fagin]

Anyway, back to the subject of art and writing, if I may ask, Joel, what's the polling for?

A subtle attempt to collectively insult politicians, non-webcomicers, McDuffies, Americans, Australians, management, the English Cricket team, TV personalities, Drunk Duckers, Cornstalkers and mice.

Or maybe so I can quote it in passing in a tutorial and have it sound more official than "most".

- Joel Fagin

[Linkara]

...What'd the mice ever do to you?

[Ahaugen]

...What'd the mice ever do to you?

it's called hantavirus

[TRI]

Ah, but do you just look at the pictures as pictures - or do you follow the story the pictures tell? That's still writing.

I would say "no". The story was and still is a complete mystery to me save the elements conveyed by convention: the comic I had in mind was a magical girl manga. I was able to tell that the girl in the school uniform with the short pleated skirt was the hero, and that they small brooding flying animal was her familiar/mentor/whatever, and that the amorphous things were the enemies.

But if those elements were present in a single picture I would be able to tell you that much, and I don't think you can argue a single picture constitutes a story.

On the other hand I have no idea what the two guys with rabbit ears in the high-collared jackets were doing there, or what was going on in that scene on the top of the high rise, or what's up with the second magical girl who swings the giant 9-pin connector around.

Also, it occurs to me, that a "comic" without art isn't really a comic at all, whereas I could still call a plotless mess with no character development a comic... not necessarily a good one, but more of a comic than a serialized novel.

[Johndar]

that's a very good point. You can't even have a comic without the art.

[Prettysenshi]

I'm gonna say art. Here's my reasons why:

1)Comics are a visual medium. So thus, I want to see art, before words. Good art, at that. If the art isn't appealing, I won't read it. End of story.

2)You can tell a really good story without words. If you're a skilled storyteller, the story should come through, via art.

Huh, that was shorter than I thought.

[Johndar]

2)You can tell a really good story without words. If you're a skilled storyteller, the story should come through, via art.

But then again, without writing there would be no story to tell.

I'm begining to think you can't really value one above the other.

[TRI]

In reality, yeah. But that poll option was not provided. (See my above post about making statistics mean whatever you want them to mean.)

[Joel Fagin]

I know a comic isn't a comic without the art but I'm less interested in what makes it a comic than what makes it a good comic.

And I think a story told without words is still writing. It's still got plot, characters, dramatic structure and so on. Just no actual... er, writing.

Pen to paper writing, anyway.

- Joel Fagin

[McDuffies]

Jeez, joel, if any newbie posted this question, I'd understand, but you...
Every time you ask this question, all people start answering generic "good art attracts people, good writing makes them stay." Not because they've put a thought to it, but because they've heard it so many times that they're somehow convinced it's true.

My answer is: writing and art.
If you think writing is more important, go write fiction.
If you think at is more important, go make illustrations.

So I don't vote because you didn't offer the option I could honestly vote for. I read some comics for art, some for writing, but whether I read a comic with good writing and bad, innapropriate art, or a comic with good art but shallow script, I find that comic lacking.