World Information

TigerEye · Post by **TigerEye** » Mon May 21, 2007 3:31 pm

Hey I have a question for you experenced Fantasy and Science Fiction comic artists. With other world based comics is it a good idea to put a "world information" page on the comic website?

The comic I'm doing is based on a completely different world (for the moment) with its own races, climate, habitats, etc. So I've written up some basic information about the world and races. One thing that concerns me is giving the reader too much information to start off with, insteed of them discovering it on their own. Or overloading the reader with too much information they may or may not need.

I'm also concerned about putting up some specific information then deciding it doesn't make sense or scrapping it later on...

Warofwinds · Post by **Warofwinds** » Mon May 21, 2007 3:43 pm

I've got a world page on my site, since my comic is on another planet also. The information I give really depends on where I am in the story. I only add more to page when the plot is there or past, but never before. I'd rather let them discover it in the comic, and use the page a refresher, not as a tool to learn more than they should, before they should.

And maps. Everyone <3's the maps.

TigerEye · Post by **TigerEye** » Mon May 21, 2007 3:51 pm

Hmmm thats a good idea, I could always just add information about the place the characters are at. I've been working on some maps as well, not only cause they look cool but it helps me keep track of where I want stuff to go, lol.

I really like the world information page on your site as well.

Valkyrk · Post by **Valkyrk** » Tue May 22, 2007 3:12 pm

I would highly recomend a world page. It helps for the people wwho really like your comic and want to learn the precise facts behind the terms you use. In fact, my comic really needs one reeeeeeally badly. (I'm not very experienced at introducing new ideas.) I should probably be working on it instead of posting here.

On a sidenote, I've seen some peeople use your comic's wiki page as their world page. It may be easier or more difficult than to make a seperate page, for I can't tell from experience there.

Kirb · Post by **Kirb** » Tue May 22, 2007 4:12 pm

You can make one, but don't let it become a crutch for your storytelling, as they often do.

TigerEye · Post by **TigerEye** » Wed May 23, 2007 11:43 am

I think I will go ahead and add a world information page, mostly for just tidbits of information and some setting info for the readers that like pages like that. I'm going to be careful to not add any spoiler info though and just put up info that I've finalized with the comic. So I don't have to worry about deciding to throw it out later.

Fabio Ciccone · Post by **Fabio Ciccone** » Wed May 23, 2007 12:52 pm

I think it can be a good solution if you publish a very basic world page, and then, when the races, places, etc, appear on your comic, you update the world page. Thus you don't give spoilers about what's to come and you provide your readers a nice info source about what is happening right now and what happened in the past.

BoShek · Post by **BoShek** » Wed May 23, 2007 1:39 pm

Yes, letting people know about the world in a side page can alleviate the need for tons of expository narration. That's one of my biggest insecurities as a writer, fear of too much narration. For that reason alone I think a background page is good.

Wp · Post by Wp » Wed May 23, 2007 2:47 pm

I think a comic should contain enough references that there is no need for a specific page or narration within the story to know about the world.

TigerEye · Post by **TigerEye** » Wed May 23, 2007 3:05 pm

Well I certainly plan on adding enough information, or detail in the comic, either by visually showing things or naration (if the situation calls for it) that I wouldn't have to have a world info page. The main idea is to maybe give readers a small reference page or a brief overview of how stuff works on this different planet.

Warofwinds · Post by **Warofwinds** » Wed May 23, 2007 3:23 pm

View the page as an extra. No matter what, it should not be necessary for a person to read your world page to understand your comic. The comic should stand alone. BUT, people like extras. So they're a good thing to have. For those people who like your comic enough to explore your site more, such pages can be very rewarding. The world page should be a want, not a need.

Siabur · Post by **Siabur** » Wed May 23, 2007 4:46 pm

Treat it kinda like an encyclopia article. Info on the basics but nothing story related.

NakedElf · Post by **NakedElf** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 3:50 am

I'm one of those people who will put waaaaaay too much effort into my story's world, and then not enough into the actual story... If you make a world page, it should be either things which are simply interesting about your world which will give users a better understanding, (for example, 'Planet Foo is the unverse's largest exporter of icecream--that's why there's so many ice cream parlors,) or useful references which would be cumbersome for people to access in the comic (such as a map.)

Overall, though, if you feel like your comic 'needs' a world page, then you're either putting way too much thought into your world, or you need to put more effort into explaining/showing things in the comic itself. As folks have already said, such a page can be nice if it supplements/expands our knowledge of the world, but shouldn't be our primary source of inspiration.

Flames05 · Post by **Flames05** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 1:32 am

i think that the world view is most important to a fantasy series ^^ absolutely have a world info page, but don't reveal anything too crucial that can be revealed in the story plot. have the basics like a map if you made one, where the regions are, what races live, special cities (capitals etc. ) and such ^^

to be honest this is what I love the most about creating a fantasy world, is creating a world with endless possibilities

Jameslong · Post by **Jameslong** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 6:55 am

can't say much that hasn't already been said.

these sorts of projects (outlining ideas, extra pages, drawing maps, etc.) are the things that really get my creative juices flowing, so to speak. Just the simple act of drawing a map can create so many subplots in my own mind that it almost becomes overwhelming. Drawing a character gives me a peak into who he/she is and what he/she has been through.

I don't have a world map, but I do have a glossary for some of the crazy terminology I throw around. But like Kirb said, don't ever let your extra pages become a free ticket for lazy writing. Just because I explain what "Spatial Emulation" means in my glossary doesn't mean I can just toss it out there and expect everyone to know what the hell i'm talking about. I still rely on contextual clues, explainations, and basic story-telling within the comic pages to get my ideas across.

Fabio Ciccone · Post by **Fabio Ciccone** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 10:12 am

For the record, my comic is a fantasy one and I really don't cara about world building... I just write it as it goes.

Geekblather · Post by **Geekblather** » Mon Jun 18, 2007 12:38 pm

My comic is set in more or less, the real world (although a fictional city). I made a glossary anyway though, and a map of the city. Mostly- because my mom and some of her friends read the comic, and asked for definitions of some of the things I say in my newsfeed, and because I like making maps. I hope to make an interactive map at some point...

Redstitchpress · Post by **Redstitchpress** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 9:19 pm

There are 2 schools of thought on this. Some believe that what you create can be understood by anyone as long as its clear enough and has a general message people can understand. If the world is too different it can be tough though.

All Star Wars had was "In a galaxy far far away." Others like Tolkien go into a lot of explanation and exposition.

I've found that doing a fantasy story requires a lot of detailed backgrounds and not as much close ups for me to reinforce the fact that its not a normal time or place. I had trouble doing that at first but I'm getting a bit better.

So I guess you could do it either way...

Fabio Ciccone · Post by **Fabio Ciccone** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 4:46 am

To me the main problem is you may not be able to write the story you want because you have to compromise with a previously created background. Say you come up with the idea of a story about a race of rat men that attacks a village. Then you look to the world you built and see that there is no rat men! The only races created by the gods are humans, elves and the [name an animal which is not a rat] people! Than you have either to replace the rat men with one of the other races, which will probably change the story in the first place, or creating a whole story about how they were forgotten and blah blah blah... you risk becoming Marvel! (Hey, how about a story with Psylocke? Yeah, I know she is dead, but I can come up with something...)

I love world building. But I wouldn't do it to write a comic or a shortstories series.

ChaosBurnFlame · Post by **ChaosBurnFlame** » Sun Jun 24, 2007 4:10 am

I, personally, wouldn't add a 'world' page or a 'timeline' page or anything like that.

If there's a piece of information that's important to the story, then just have it told from one of your character's perspectives. If there was a great and catastrophic conflict before the story began, then have a monologue as a preface.

Saying "You NEED to know this to know what the heck is going on" makes the comic seem more daunting. It's not like the first viewing of Star Wars had ushers passing information sheets to the opening audience as they were seating.

If there is any extra information, then truly make it 'extra'. If there's an awesome event from the past you want to mention, have a character mention it.