This was yet another interesting topic that was being discussed on ComicFury a while back, and I thought it could another one that was worth discussing here as well . . . I guess the only thing I ask is that, if at all possible, we refrain from actually mentioning the names or titles of the comics we bring up in this thread.

I have a rather interesting case, but there were two different comics by two different authors on two different websites that I eventually stopped reading for the exact same reason: all of the characters were unlikable. All of them. With one comic, all of the characters were just straight-up jerks who treated everybody, even their supposed friends, like crap; with the other comic, while half of the characters were the same kind of jerks, the other half were basically just grossly exaggerated tropes that made them feel like parodies than actual characters you could invest in.

Most often because the comic goes on indefinite hiatus.
There are few I never started because they were just so banal and derivative that it just feels like a waste of time. Then there are ones that are just devoid of content that I can't figure why anyone would read it unless they were brain dead.

Those are usually wildly popular. 🤣 :D

Both the reasons you guys mentioned have happened for me as well, haha!

Most often for me, it's just that a story spins its wheels long enough that I just lose interest and drop off.

There was a particular one that bothered me enough to single out, though. I won't mention the title because I'm not interested in calling people out, I'm not sure this is a problem with the writing so much as my own personal tastes, bit it drove me nuts.
Basically it featured a main character with an ever-evolving power. Every update included long winded technical explanations of each new facet of his power and how it worked…and I just didn't care. All I need to know is what it does and to see it in action, I would've preferred to save this dry technical talk for outside the story for those who want it. I continued reading for a while after coming to this conclusion, just skipping all the technical talk because it really wasn't necessary to enjoy the story…but after a while it felt like in skipping that I was skipping entire updates, so I just stopped.
I feel like there are people who like it BECAUSE of the technical talk so I'm not sure it's a flaw, but that causes the things I do like to drag and so it loses me. I dunno, it stuck with me because I thought it was an interesting case.

bravo1102 wrote:
Most often because the comic goes on indefinite hiatus.

Well, that's as good of a reason as any. XD

dragonsong12 wrote:
Both the reasons you guys mentioned have happened for me as well, haha!

Most often for me, it's just that a story spins its wheels long enough that I just lose interest and drop off.

I'm actually experiencing this sort of thing with the LUANN comic right now: it's been on the same story arc for nearly a month, and it has been so played; usually, the story arcs will last for just a couple of weeks or so, but yeah, this one's been nearly a month.

Basically it featured a main character with an ever-evolving power. Every update included long winded technical explanations of each new facet of his power and how it worked…and I just didn't care. All I need to know is what it does and to see it in action, I would've preferred to save this dry technical talk for outside the story for those who want it. I continued reading for a while after coming to this conclusion, just skipping all the technical talk because it really wasn't necessary to enjoy the story…but after a while it felt like in skipping that I was skipping entire updates, so I just stopped.
I feel like there are people who like it BECAUSE of the technical talk so I'm not sure it's a flaw, but that causes the things I do like to drag and so it loses me. I dunno, it stuck with me because I thought it was an interesting case.

I suppose the author could just be giving the readers the benefit of the doubt, because some authors will do just the opposite, and not explain anything to the readers, which can make things so terribly confusing if you can't quite follow the plot.

-When the comic deviates too far from the original premise.
Sure the author likes to evolve and change what they do but that doesn't mean I have to follow the journey if I'm only there for the type of comic it used to be.

-When the comic just became totally secondary to the author using his website and fame for political rants- and I'm not talking the totally mistaken idea that an author talking about gun control, climate change, abortion, trans rights is “political”, those are culture issues, ethical issues, legal issues, human rights issues etc. I'm talking about the author actively campaigning for a political candidate and supporting a political party in a very noxious way, including conspiratorial ranting.
ACTUALLY “political”, as opposed to some idiot accusing someone of being “political” because they don't like their opinions XD
/rant
Sorry for the rant but I hate that stuff.

I usually prefer to separate the author from the art but in this case it was too hard to avoid.

-When the comic becomes too popular and mainstream and loses its edge because it wants to appeal to broadly. Basically when the author stops telling their own story and starts seeking to please.

J_Scarbrough wrote:
I suppose the author could just be giving the readers the benefit of the doubt, because some authors will do just the opposite, and not explain anything to the readers, which can make things so terribly confusing if you can't quite follow the plot.

Yeah, I definitely stand by my criticisms in this particular place because I didn't feel particularly lost when I started skipping the technical stuff - but I imagine there are also people out there who really want to dig into the mechanics of things so I guess it's more of a “it's not for me.”

It's all part of the tightrope that writers need to walk for sure. Too little exposition leaves a reader lost, too much bogs everything down. And I will absolutely admit that I can fall into the latter category pretty often so I'm not sure I have a right to judge, haha!

-When the comic just became totally secondary to the author using his website and fame for political rants-

Yeah, while not specifically comic related, I rememeber this is why I eventually stopped watching Mike Mozart on YouTube years ago, when his content went from reviewing weird, creepy, or obscure toy to stuff like him participating in that Occupy Wall Street movement, and showing off how he sneaks copyrighted cartoon characters into his street art to protest copyright laws and such.

Right now, I'm finding myself in this situation all over again, as another fellow puppeteer I've been following on YouTube has gone from making shorts that features characters, settings, and props made out of nothing but cardboard boxes has suddenly switched to making Jehovah's Witness videos, like . . . just . . . what?

It's all part of the tightrope that writers need to walk for sure. Too little exposition leaves a reader lost, too much bogs everything down. And I will absolutely admit that I can fall into the latter category pretty often so I'm not sure I have a right to judge, haha!

This is a whole forum thread all on its own. How much does the creator reveal?

I have stopped reading comics cold when they indulge in long prologues and then walls of text explaining every little bit of the world building. Like do I really need to know the history of the universe for the adventures of this one character?

Can't this all be revealed during the story as opposed to this info dump? Hate info dumps. Bad writing.

bravo1102 wrote:
Most often because the comic goes on indefinite hiatus.

Yep, was the fate of probably 90% of webcomics i started reading. Derelict and Poppy Opossum were some that particularly hurt me to let go, as they were really, really good.


Then there's the opposite end of the spectrum: comics that just wouldn't end. Order of the Stick, Sam & Fuzzy, Goblins to name a few. At some point i just don't care to see more of the same world & charatcers. I want the story to deliver on the threads it introduced in the beginning, give every charatcer a satisfying conclusion and then let me move on to something else in my life.

I’ll simply say, some comics became too wordy or too predictable as far as plot. I’ll put a comic on hold simply because I’m not in the mood to read it right now. Some comics require my full attention when I’m vested but I will not read it for months because another comic has my attention. I will eventually go back and read it.

There was one comic that I stopped reading because it just became far too emotionally draining. Don't get me wrong, this was a comic that had a lot of meat to its story, and the characters were very well developed and fleshed out, but the comic was very much an emotional roller coaster that packed punches at every loop-da-loop: the comedic moments were humorous, the romantic moments were rather heartwarming and passionate . . . but the dramatic moments were like WHAM! And I mean WHAM, the dramatic moments and arcs were so unpredictable, but when they hit, they hit really hard - after a while, between the unpredictability and with how emotionally draining the human drama in the comic could be, I just couldn't stick with it any longer, in spite of the great writing and eye-pleasing art style.

Here is a legit reason why I've had to stop reading a comic: because the author blocked me for no reason . . . even as a guest . . . how that's even possible is beyond me, but that was quite a douche move if you ask me.