What makes a good comic?

[Guest The Last Free Voice]

To you, what makes a comic good? I'm an aspireing writer, and I would like to know what makes a comic good in your opinion.

[Steviekick]

To me, here's what makes a great comic:

 

• A good artist. I'll prefer something by Jim Lee over Rob Liefeld any day. Good art just helps make a good read.

• Dialogue that works with the characters. A lot of the 60s Marvel stuff that was amazing in concept was killed by crappy conversations between characters. The readers learns what is going on through the characters, so it is very important.

• The reader has to be able to connect to the hero. You have to feel what the hero feels to be drawn into the story. Like the first arc of the new Wolverine series. Wolvie is going out to "hunt" the people who killed that girl, and Rucka does an excellent job making us feel that Wolvie is doing what's right.

• Good pacing of story development. Whether it's just one issue or a multi-series arc, plot flow has to be appropriate.

• That leads me into the next point. Each issue has to have the abillity to stand alone yet still be part of the whole. If some random person picks up an issue of a series for the first time, they should be able to know what has gone on in the past and have some idea of what's happening now. Although I'd rather have an extra page of story, the first page recap in most Marvel series is great.

[MrRant]

A story that fits the run of the book. If you have 6 comics worth of story do that... no more... no less. Don't stretch it and don't rush it.

[Masked Man of Mystery]

And do not run a series longer than is necessary for your story arc just to pull some cash out of a francise. You may make les money but you'll be better respected and be seen as one of the few who do it for the love of it, not just for the cash. See Hayao Miyzaki for how to do it right, Akira Toriyama on DBZ for how to do it wrong

[Steviekick]

Because of the booming TPB market, arc length is becoming a problem with some writers. They just don't know how to pace a story well and are more worried about having 5-6 issues to fit it in. That's why the throw away one shot issue should be used more readily.