webcomics = better readers??
Last week Sailor Twain passed 100,000 unique visitors. Though it will be a book eventually, this serial is turning out to be more than just a little side project in my garage of experiments.
I keep making startling discoveries from doing this webcomic, and its companion blog—all of them probably obvious to the more seasoned online comics authors. The immediate connection, being received, getting responses from India, Brazil, Korea, or Tennessee (never been there either) is all thrilling and new for me. But the biggest surprise, how to say this, is the quality of reading. And I’m not just flattering you.
I think for most people making a comic, it’s peculiarly vexing to see someone pick up 6 months or a year, or two years, or more, of your work—and blithely flip through it in 20 minutes, if that.
Ironically, the web spreads the reading experience, for those who follow it, as it appears. Even though most readers might spend the same thirty seconds reading a page, they do have to stop there, take it in, digest it, maybe even refer back to a previous page, before moving on. The result (clearly so, from many of your comments here and elsewhere) is a much more careful reading, one that picks up nuances which might easily be glanced over in a printed book… What a strange realization. Make webcomics to find your best readers??
Thank you for inviting friends to join us aboard the Lorelei, and generally spreading the word. And please do leave a comment every so often, it’s great hearing back from you.
I hope this chapter begins to reward your patience. I hear some of you have been hoping to see a mermaid.
Ok that’s Norman Rockwell, but there’s one.
This page rewards my patience. I have enjoyed this story entirely so far, but the small details in this page make Twain all the more appealing to me as a character. He is thirty-seven, he writes poetry, and he huffs at it when he’s dissatisfied. I love it, all of it, and seeing more makes my day.
I think i do spend 30 seconds on every page. The one difference between the chapters I noticed was the first two always had their last panels in anticipation of the next page while Chapter 3 cruised along in a pretty easy paced manner which was a pretty nice shift of the gears. I wonder how this is going to turn out.
Thanks Tintin, thanks mpsantosh. Good to have you aboard. I’d like to upgrade you to a stateroom suite, right away! Miss Carr will see to your things.
There are too many times when a story teller might skip over small details as irrelevant. Well, small details are what really bring a story to life, and I think that the slower pacing is a breath of fresh air! Also, i’ve gone back and looked at everyone’s eyes from the beginning to now. They have become more detailed and life-like as the story progresses, all except for Twain. His wife has the same eyes, as well. It may mean nothing, but i thought it interesting.
Is Twain writing poetry? Or is he trying out names for something?
Also, reading the story in installments on the web seems to be fostering a community….
I think that by the time the entire Sailor Twain story has been told, it will have been a learning experience for all of us Mark!
Hah! I almost forgot about the stag. I really like the serial pace! I think as a reader you can really see the effort and thought that goes into Twain, and the slow build is a great tool. Speaking of collecting it, though, do you plan on collecting Twain in installments, or as one big graphic novel? On today’s note, grumpy Twain is really funny.
Thanks, Danny. Yes, it will be collected as one book. No sooner than Fall 11, maybe a bit later. Now I’m enjoying this adventure, I’m in less of a hurry to get it out in physical pages.
And Matt: yes you’re totally right. I hope the eyes will have their own story to tell in the end.
Mark, I think you have been very generous with your art and history links, conversations and interaction with your readers. All of that intensifies your already captivating story and everything you’ve put into it. The addition of Hortensia’s tweets was a genius of an idea. Talk about adding dimension!
As to detail: At the risk of sounding pompous, such an approach shows a great deal of respect for your readers. This online book-club experience is the perfect platform for us to share our delight in what we discover aboard the Lorelei.
Thanks again for the virtual river voyage, as we slowly come to know our captain, our vessel and our fellow passengers. I’m glad that many more bends in the river lie ahead.
Wait, there’s going to be a mermaid in this story? I figured it was just a metaphor or something.
Don’t be too impressed by my showing up every page. I just stuck you in my feeds when I ran across you (One of Scott McCloud’s recommendations, if I remember correctly).Eventually decided I liked it and kept you in the feeds. Looking forward to the collection, though. A good page every few days is nice, but I will enjoy sitting and reading it all in one shot.
Wow, it’s interesting to see him in a somewhat more rumpled and casual state. An unguarded moment.
Adding to what matt observed: I noticed the downy chick had the same kind of eyes. Hmm.
Patrick Rennie brought up metaphors, and that made me do a virtual palmslap when I connected Lorelei to the title. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorelei) Oy. Slow on the uptake? I? Never. Even more embarrassing because I’d memorized the poem in my HS German class, many years ago. (http://www.business.uiuc.edu/vock/poetry/lorelei.html)
Mark, I think you have an interesting point about the installment plan for readers. The return visitors are coming back for a reason, and in my case at least it’s a combination of an intriguing story with multiple threads, what appears to be a still-complexifying plot, well-realized characters – and some nice, enjoyable art to go along with it.
I suppose that if the script were written out as prose, it would probably be a short story rather than a novel. Adding the imagery gives it a dimension I like more. Poring over the imagery and enjoying the little touches just makes it better, almost like a scavenger hunt.
When I was younger I used to rip through illustrated content pretty quickly. I’d burn through an issue of Mad in half an hour. When I moved into professional graphics production, though, my approach changed – I was much more aware of the kind of effort and attention to detail that went into the art I was being so cavalier with. That changed my level of appreciation, and now I’m more likely to linger for a while over a page.
It becomes more difficult with narrative, though, because I can get so engrossed in the details that I lose track of the story thread. So what I’m most likely to do is read for content and continuity first, then go back in a few months and revisit the work, paying more attention to the images because, since I already have a grasp of the story, those sweet little side-trips are much more welcome.
How about you (Mark, or anyone else)? Have you always appreciated graphic novels or other narrative art as you do now, or have you found your approach changing over time?
the mood and atmosphere in this comic is so wonderful. It’s beginning to become one of my top favorites. so excited to see what happens next!
Thanks, Audra! Yes, do stick around then!
Thanks for making this available. As a history professor I often lament new technology as a destroyer of young (and not so young) minds. But here, you’ve melded an older style of story-telling so well with a new delivery system. Plus, it makes for a great way to procrastinate when faced with a stack of final papers.
Mark, I hope you’re willing, and have that choice, to add some of the background information from these single pages into the final book.
Jane, thank you kindly—your comment pleases me no end. Hope to keep being of help in such procrastination. Just wait till we release the Sailor Twain Series wine. Then you can really blame Twain!
Klaus—yes, there will likely be some back matter drawn from some of these posts… It won’t be the same of course as this little double helix of narrative and companion-blog…
Warren: yes my own reading has changed the last few years. Perhaps I was more the esthete, but I tended to be a sucker for dazzling graphics. I’m much less so, and I get annoyed when that is a cover for an absence of story or meaning.
Came across this recently, and the story sucked me right in. There’s a real dearth of more slowly and intricately plotted comics right now, so, hey… good job.