You have your story, your characters, your outline is looking schmick and you have a good buffer under your belt. Now what do you call all of it? Today I have some tips on how you can come up with the perfect name!
Know your genre
If you’re mentioning “king” or “queen” in the title, people are going to assume that there are fantasy elements involved or if your title is, for example, “Space Force” readers are going to expect it to be sci-fi themed. Keep your genre and audience’s expectations in mind when naming your comic. It can be a great jumping off point.
What common symbols, imagery or themes occur in your comic?
Does your story involve the elements, fire, earth, water, air, or does it invoke the spirit or imagery of animals? Are there soldiers, war, time travel, space or politics? Think about what themes or visual imagery you have explored in your comic. You can incorporate them into your title, thus setting the scene of what’s to come.
It’s in the dialog
Did one of your characters say a banger of a line? Maybe that can be your title! It’s a cool easter egg when the reader sees an iconic character say the name of the story particularly if it has an impact on the story itself.
Ask your audience!
Beta readers are a great way to test your comic, so if you’re struggling to find a title, crowd source it! If you have a list of options you are trying to decide between, put it to a vote with a trusted crew of friends and see what they have to say about it. You might even be able to come up with something completely new!
Do you struggle with naming your comics? How did you come up with the name of your current comic? Let us know in the comment section below! And join us on Sunday evening for our Quackchat at 5:30PM(EST)!
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Insert title here (tips for titling your comic)
Emma_Clare at 12:00AM, Sept. 11, 2020
5 likes!
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PaulEberhardt at 11:55AM, Sept. 13, 2020
In any case I strongly suggest to take some time to come up with a title and take some counsel with your pillow as well. Spontaneuous ideas at around 4 o'clock have a way of being either as awesome as can be or making you wonder how you could ever have thought they could make any sense. I'd say the odds are better than 50:50, but remember that your title is your brand so to speak (No reason to unduly put yourself under pressure because of that, but still). Back when I got into webcomics I rushed the finding the title part in order to get started already, which is why in retrospect it might look a bit random and probably doesn't make as much sense as I thought at the time. I stick to it anyway; it has kind of established itself during the dozen years it has been online and I'm cool with it. However, whatever new story I may come up with in the future, I'll make sure to follow my own advice.
bravo1102 at 2:08AM, Sept. 12, 2020
The KISS principle applies to titles. Keep It Short and Simple.
hushicho at 3:35PM, Sept. 11, 2020
I almost always end up going with either perfunctory titles, or some play on words that readers will get eventually. H18 is probably my most subtle and nuanced, layered title, but Incubus Tales was my most popular and longest-running series, and that's a very straightforward title! Usually, if one looks at titles of long-running series, they're almost always fairly utilitarian. They usually either refer to the central protagonist if there is one, or they describe a common thread to the story.
dpat57 at 5:52AM, Sept. 11, 2020
How is this article not titled "Ah. Ah. He said it." ? :)
usedbooks at 4:39AM, Sept. 11, 2020
I love coming up with titles for chapters/arcs/books. I always try to create double or multiple meanings. (Like my more recent episode "Chills," which has a character having a nightmare while he's in a hypothermia coma.)
bravo1102 at 2:45AM, Sept. 11, 2020
Flip it. Come up with a phrase and then create the story that would best express it. Like "Ghosts never killed anybody" or "I married a demon" --
Andreas_Helixfinger at 1:15AM, Sept. 11, 2020
Simple. I just wordplay around with the themes and characteristics within the comic, finding synonyms and combining and/or reinventing words and terms until a catchy title pops up.