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By Category:
Dump-Stats Should Be Chosen Wisely
posted by Jordan on 2011/1/17 (Comics)
Alright, so as you've probably guessed, the comic has run into a bit of a snag. I won't bother with any excuses in order to get to the heart of the matter; the fate of Anti-Heroes.
After three years, the time has finally come. I can't do this anymore. I've changed jobs and I currently have so little time to focus on this comic that it's simply unfeasible for me to continue making it. I don't really want to stop, since I'm still very much interested in telling the story I had planned, but I've thought long and hard about the decision and there's nothing else I can do at this point. Sure I could stick around and say "comics will get done when they get done," but I've been doing just that for several months now with barely anything to show for it. I've come to the realization that it's time for me to hang it up.
So what happens next? Well, when I first made this comic, I made a promise that if I ever decided to stop, I wouldn't leave my fans hanging. The rest of the story will be revealed one way or another. The only question I need to answer is how. I'm going to go ahead and narrow it down to two options for you all to vote on:
1) I simply spill the beans. All my secrets, plot points, future characters. Everything. It's not the most elegant way of doing it, but at least you guys won't be left in the dark.
2) I pass on the comic-making mantle to another artist. I give him all of my notes and let him take over the creation of the comic. This way, none of my future plot would be spilled out and the comic would continue, just without me at the helm.
I'm putting the future of this comic in the hands of its readers. So what'll it be?
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Comments
It kind of seems like the entire "Yay New Artists" business was rather useless.
Clearly a few people felt important signing up for such a large task, but I am not seeing any progress at all...making one comic strip on a forum is one thing, but it is certainly not an indication of any sort of commitment. At this point, I am doubting that the comic will even begin again at all, and my bet is under 10 strips for sure and quite probably under 5.
The best of luck to them!!!Yays and Congratulations all around!
“Is Jordan giving up actual ownership of the comic and the site?”
I can't speak about the comic images since they're Jordan's, but ownership of the site and its maintenance and development will continue to stay in Jordan's and my hands since the server space and the software is owned by me.
I'll definitely be going over how it'll work with the site with the new scriptwriter/artist just as I'm sure Jordan will talk with them about image copyrights.Is Jordan giving up actual ownership of the comic and the site?
I was caught by the phasing of the words "given administrative access to the site..", which inferred that Jordan was just quitting the drawing aspect and had no intentions of giving up ownership of the project, unless I am mistaken. He said he will stay on as creative consultant. Can anyone comment?
I suspect there may be both past and future intellectual property issues if this deal has not been touched by a lawyer's pen. I urge all the partners to obtain a solicitor's advice before they get in too deep.
Remember, this is a comic, but it is also a business property and should be treated accordingly... Use caution, guys. A bit of legal preparation beforehand may save a lot of headaches later on.
Also, I'm still not convinced on your art Funky Goose. I'm no artist, but I can tell that Dyluth has a near perfect match for the Anti-Heroes art style (OOTS style) as shown by the test strip.
Go leakingpen, your writing was amazing in the test strip. Keep it up!
The passing of the Anti-Heroes torch will not be in vain!
I can say definatly that you are overestimating problems that dont really exist...
Zarah isnt going to be micromanaging anything, who/whatever gets the job will basicly be given free reign with it, they would just be given the story hes written so very well and that we all know and love!
Congratulations, we've just added the element of bureaucracy to the whole generation process of this comic. Trust me, this will end badly.
I can see whoever inherits the comic telling Zarah at some point that it is now THEIR property and they'll evolve it as they see fit, which may not agree with the original author's notes.
It is not like these people are being hired as ghostwriters and ghostartists. They are being asked to take over.
Zarah would have been better off updating once a week. If he couldn't accomplish that, then that is just bloody sad... Nobody's life should be THAT busy.
It'll take as long as it'll take, but it really does look like there'll be results.
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=184630&page=3#81
Option #2, followed by #1 when comic comes to its end.
This way we can enjoy the comic, but in the end we will still know exactly how you wanted it to go.
Finding someone willing to update someone else's comic regularly turns out to be hard.
The only potential candidate turned out to have also a hiatus-generating attitude and backed out "temporarily", which, as we all know what means.
Mad Mask backed out. The hunt goes on.
This comic is very good!
(I really couldn't care on what you pick, but if option 2, make sure it's a good artist.)
Anyway, option 2. Indubitably.
However, some would say you should prioritise your art over mundane affairs like work.
You were a great artist and author and I highly enjoyed this comic. You did the best with what you can and I look forward to seeing what comes next with the new person
You did very well man, let´s give someone else the chance
If you really do not want to continue the comic yourself, then I have this to say:
Do not do the first option. It is not elegant and it is just bad. The comic is (maybe not best but still the most fun) medium to tell the story and giving it away just like that will not help it but destroy it. If you do this, someone would think it is the best to draw the comic anyway and would use it, but alter it with his own insight. Then someone else would also grab the idea and what we would have hear would be semi-amateur bunch of different universes which would not do any good (well, assuming it is too famous as I think, but giving away the story like that is still the worst idea).
I would recomend to pass on the comic making to another artist. But you have to believe him, that he will not spill the beans as you could and you have to know, that he understands what you want him to do. I think, that the best option is to pass on the comic making to someone else but you have to be well put-up with him. Also it would be good if he has shown his work to you to get a permission to post a new page. It would help the story to not to go out of control and fix some details. I believe, that no matter how bussy you are, reading it would not take too much time.
I almost wanted you to choose me as I love this comic and I tend to write stories and have some insight in characters psychology. But rather scrap that idea, since I am lazy as hell and drawing (even primitive like that) would not work for me, my english is kind of good but since I am not native speaker, I have no experience with different dialects (dwarves) and slang. And for least but not last, I do not know the rules of Dungeons and Dragons and it could hurt the comic "mechanichs".
But if there is none but me, I would be the last resort.
Like a bard song
(Geez, do I need to include my email to make sure people don't think it's me?
)Basically, I'm seeing a lot of people say the same thing: if you can find someone who is willing, who can do the style, who can pull it off, and can do it well, they're an excellent candidate.
They don't need to have all those traits, but the more, the better.
As I mentioned, you can do #1 any time before you die. (So save notes, just in case?
) People want #2, and I agree. If the person who picks it up knows what you were intending, then I don't think we'd have any complaints. Heck, if you consulted with them every once and a while, it'd put our minds at ease, though that wouldn't be required. And, hey, one thing you should know is that dropping a comment here boosts fan morale by 500%. One of the concerns I see for people (that therefore choose #1) is that they fear having you not at the helm could unintentionally alter the story. And I gave a few suggestions above to hopefully minimize that. As mentioned, you can post how you intended it to go originally if a new person takes it a different way than intended.
The fans should also remember that the artist who picks up will ALSO have that in mind, and want to avoid like the plague diverging the story in a way unintended. (Well, presumably.)
Fangirl Lisa was quite correct. We will support you, regardless of your decision. And, heck, short of you taking down the site, I think even if you DID choose option #1, people would continue visiting the site every day, simply out of respect. And we all know, all recognize you have a life to live, and will honor whatever your choice is.
We have our opinion--and it seems like it's mainly a single voice, saying one thing only--but the end choice will be yours, and I know I personally would be happy with whatever your choice.
You are an inspiration. You really are. And it's a shame to see you, yourself, can't continue on, but the comic has grown to have its own legend. Let the comic continue to be an inspiration, in my opinion.
The storyline's incredible. The humor's great. Everything in the comic is awesome, and I really, REALLY hope you are successful.
That means that the comic still has a lot of fans; I can tell without having read the comments (which I'll do). Which also means that I think it might be best to continue the story. I know, you wouldn't be the one doing it, but hey, the person who does take up the reigns would be able to explain--word for word--what you had in mind, after the comic comes to an end.
Basically, I think you should do #2, first. And then, after we see the results of #2 all the way through (the story's finished, new artist abandons it or we get a rebellion from the fans.
) then you do #1,Basically, my logic is this:
You can always go and do #1, at any time. But once you do it, half the value in doing #2 is worthless.
You can do #2 without doing #1, so my choice is obviously passing it on to another artist.
Of the two options, I like Option 2 best (though I can live in Option 1). Like lots of others said, though, be sure you like the guy first - take your time choosing your successor. IT would be a shame to waste such marvelous story went on for much longer than anyone expected it to when we saw it come to live in the giantitp forums. Long live antiheroes, and may its creator enjoy what he does in its place
whatever you choose to do with your comic, i'll be following it, even should you update a couple of times a year. if you pass it on to another artist/writer, i'm sure you'd be the best judge of who should carry on your comic.
As for how long this transition will take, well, all I can say is that it will take as long as it needs to. You might not like that answer, but this is my comic, and I'm going to ensure someone who is capable of handling it will be the one to take the reigns. For my own sake, and for the sake of my fans who still enjoy reading it.
“As for Crazed's posts on the previous update page, was he (1) lying or (2) seriously misinformed by the artists or (3) lied to by the artist”
None of the above; no, I wasn't lying. I said Jordan had a buffer of a few comics and planned to update soon. I wasn't yet aware of his decision to stop doing the comic.
But for now, I've posted this thread.
As for what I'll do if someone takes over? I'll try to stick around as a creative consultant to answer any questions the new artist might have or to provide some direction if he gets lost.
I'm a huge web-comic reader, and a big fan of OotS, and I gotta say, your style, story and development are as good as the original. This story deserves to be told the way it was intended.
I have to say that I will neither vote 1 nor 2 for the following reasons:
- I will not vote 1 because, may be, in 5-10 years time you would want to restart this comic and, as slightly possible as it is, I do not want the plot to be spoiled. (I will always keep the quick link to this comic, it will not cost me anything!
)- I will not vote 2 because I do not think that another author will be capable of making all the puns that allowed this comic to be as great as it was.
I wish you a very happy life and thanks a lot for the 219 comics plus specials you created for us!
Almanro
PS: Great comic as always!
Very sad to see you go, but I understand life takes precedence over something like this.
The story seems so far from going anywhere at this point with all the delays in updates. Let us know what you had planned to do, take your time in writing it up and release it to the fans.
Who knows if the replacement will follow your ideas or his own? Will they too run out of time to do it? Just let us all know what YOUR vision is.
And definitely don't leave it for yourself to finish at some later point of time. That will insure that the whole endeavor will be forgotten.
I was on the verge of finally deciding to quit following your comic for lack of frequent updates. I have a list of webcomics I check on regularly and I usualy try to keep it as short and concise as possible, so when a comic starts to stagnate I tend to chop it off and never look back.
if you do the info dump, i'll read it, probably like it but then i'd go ahead and forget about your comic forever.
option 2 would be best as then I would keep you on the list and you'd get to keep another visitor to your site.
And I am willing to be next author, unless you already have someone in mind.
But if not possible, then not Option 1 - just let it die. Let people's imagination do it justice.
Really appreciate the comic. Thanks for what was there.
Just my $0.02.
I think you should set a deadline, if you don't find a suitable artist by 2011-mm-dd you will go for option 1 and those that want to imagine their own ending can do that.
If, however, you are 100% done and don't want to have any further involvement, then I would rather option 2.
If a suitable replacement artist can not be found, then don't post your notes. Just let the story die where it is and leave the ending to each reader's imagination.
I'll be very sorry to see you go.
Happens to the best of us, good luck managing your life as is.
Just... Find someone reliable wouldn't ya?
Thank you for your comic.
It's a fun comic!
Fear the boot did it, and I appreciated it.
I'll to throw my hat in the ring for subsequent artist. I do have a day job, but it doesn't take all my free time.
A comic story without comic has no sense.
Someone else continues the comic, but you also release your notes to the general public, so that those who can't wait, can see how it goes on.
Also it would give the new author a bit of freedom to give this his own taste, but people would still know, how you would have ended this.
Congrats on getting this far (and on having notes for further development!) and best wishes for your future.
I want to know how the story ends, if you give it to someone else now they might also decided not to finish it and I can't see a third person carrying it on, so we'd be left never knowing.
Bravo though: I thought I'd gone crazy from exam revision when I saw 219 at the top.
I vote Option 3, you stay on as an advisor or proofer so that the material is displayed the way you want it to be done.
I vote for option 2, even though we should all consider that the new artist at some point could make his own choices (and he would have the right to do it, I add).
I vote for #2.
Good luck in the future and please keep us posted if you are going to do anything of this in the future again!
I'd actually prefer you continuing the comic by yourself, even if that means one update in a year or less.
If it has to be one of the above options and you find someone capable of pulling it off, I'd vote for #2.
I thank you for your dedication to your fans and your comic as many people have enjoyed your work.
I am disappointed that you, the original author, is not able to put your own ship to rest, but if you can pass the wheel to another great captain I would greatly appreciate it.
Thank you for all your hard work and your well crafted plot. I also vote for Option 2.
Have a nice life Mr. Jordan Quigley.
Sorry to hear that you're just not in a place for this right now. But hey, given the economy, at least you've got a job eh?
Option 2 for sure
I said that in the ecstasy of seeing Number 219 at the top.
I vote for Option 2.
Finding a great comic is really easy today, but it is always sad to see an unresolved storyline go to waste so option 2 would be the best if you could find an artist who would be willing to stick closely to the original material, but art is hard if you are not skilled at it and some might want to focus on their own original work, and I would offer if I could but I can not so I cannot expect someone else to commit themselves to finishing this hard work.
You have to do what you need to do though! You have a life, a comic is a comic and not your life, we will live but we will all miss you! It would be less satisfying, but if option 1 is the only thing you can do, then it would be appreciated, maybe it could inspire someone else to start another great comic like Rich Burlew inspired you to create this great comic!
Thank you for all your hard work and good luck!
(sorry if this was submitted more than once, having trouble with the CAPTCHA)
Maybe have a mountain fall and wipe everyone out just to finish it off?
Option 2, assuming the person who takes up the mantle is competent.
If more than one offer/agree you could potentially ask the readers as to who they think would do the better job.
I think you understand my answer.