Comments on Lonely Panel: Exploring Comics and Beyond (Formerly Webcomic Finds): Hotspot #4: How to Completely Spoil Suspense Using...

Well, in works that suspense is the point, I like ...

2005-02-20T11:23:00.000Z

Well, in works that suspense is the point, I like particularly webcomics like the The Order of the Stick where the cast page is also a comic, and all the things divulged there is information the writer wouldn't mind you knowing. Not only does that but at the same time introduces the reader to the kind of humour that characteristic of the strip. Well, it breaks the 4th wall but so does the strip,

Actually, that's a very good point. If suspense wa...

2005-02-19T22:51:00.000Z

Actually, that's a very good point. If suspense was never the point, then it would work. (Frankly, we don't see enough of stories that set out to defy the convention)

But for stories that rely on suspense to work (even if they don't realise it), then being indiscreet is not such a good thing.

K-Dawg: Well, it's an excuse not to update ;)

At the same time sometimes the author isn't really...

2005-02-19T22:20:00.000Z

At the same time sometimes the author isn't really interested in keeping the suspense. The example that comes to mind is not from the webcomics world, but from TV: On Babylon 5, J. Michael Straczynski wrote a episode showing the future, where the shadow war was long finished and they had won. He explained on the Usenet: I was writing these heroes for four years do you think they would lose? My

I've been trying to avoid spoiling things in my ca...

2005-02-18T15:45:00.000Z

I've been trying to avoid spoiling things in my cast page. I figure I might as well not update it until the character appears and is seen to be somewhat important.

"Does this cast page make me look fat?"

2005-02-18T02:18:00.000Z

"Does this cast page make me look fat?"

Hah. I thought the same thing to myself as I read ...

2005-02-17T19:47:00.000Z

Hah. I thought the same thing to myself as I read through this, "Does my cast page reveal too much??..."

Uh-oh, Ping. You kinda made me nervous for a bit...

2005-02-17T05:05:00.000Z

Uh-oh, Ping.
You kinda made me nervous for a bit. I thought you were talking about my cast page...

Guess "less is more" holds true here, then? If yo...

2005-02-16T22:55:00.000Z

Guess "less is more" holds true here, then? If you think about it, though, minimalism really does have its advantages with things like the cast page. I mean, I thought the whole point of the cast page was to tell you who is who, maybe give you a bit of insight into who each character is as an individual. It's sort of like a roster for a ball game, right?