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I've always been of the opinion that there really isn't such a thing as "bad art" or "bad storytelling". Yesterday as I was turning in for the night, I came across this issue among many people worldwide that I dubbed "Social Media Trauma" -- how social media can be a weapon for abusers using the computer screen to shield them while dishing out the hate, knowing the victim will never find them (they use usernames, or even worse, the "anonymous" tag). Now as one would guess, I find this kind of hounding to be an act of absolute cowardice.
This morning I stopped by Comic Fury to check out some of the recently updated comics. I saw one named PMD: Guardians of the Universe. PMD comics seem pretty popular on Comic Fury -- actually, a few of them have cemented their place on the Popular Overall sub-section on the home page. I was intrigued by the profile pic, and though I'm not really a PMD fan I was curious. Upon reading through the first few pages, I didn't expect to find a clear reminder of why I absolutely despise trolls of any kind, especially Internet trolls. But alas, here it is:
Net Troll Guest "E" Baselessly Roasts Budding PMD Comic Fury Artist -- And Gets Roasted Back Tenfold
Now when I was in elementary, I took that same approach. I poked fun at a girl singing Julie Andrews' "Wouldn't it Be Loverly". Her friends all jabbed back, asking the legitimate question: "Like you could do better?" That shut me up post haste. I was naïve at the time, like all schoolkids. But I knew when I crossed the line. The girl went on to impress a whole crowd of parents and students alike on performance day. Fast forward to adulthood, near graduation from college, when a dude I met online at a previous webcomic host read my original Lil' Hero Artists comic -- and criticized it. But he did it respectfully, and offered tips to improve. At the time, I was already working with my friend Nick Vollmer on an AU take called Lil' Hero Artists: Manga-Ized, which he soon read and really liked, saying it was a great improvement. It would've been the start of a great budding... had he not suddenly one day sent me a message that revealed him to be a prick who wasn't afraid to eviscerate an artist/author's soul to get his point across in critiquing. The last nail in the coffin was when I saw a stream of praising comments for Manga-Ized and eventually came to a comment left on a page advertising my first convention appearance and my original Lil' Hero Artists making it's sale debut. This page was updated WAY before Mr. Critic even found Manga-Ized, and so even though the comment was by "Anonymous", I was pretty sure who it really was when they said:
"You're still trying to sell that cruddy original version of this comic? This is better than that worthless pile of bull!"
Of course, it's Anonymous, so I can't say with 100% certainty that it was Mr. Critic at the keyboard. I'm just going by his previous comments and sudden descent into arrogance. But regardless, there's a saying that applies here. I was taught this saying in elementary, so it sounds infantile and "proper". But it applies even in adulthood and beyond. What is that saying, you ask? Here ya go, friends:
"If you don't have anything nice (or honest in a non-offensive way) to say, then don't say anything at all."
This morning I stopped by Comic Fury to check out some of the recently updated comics. I saw one named PMD: Guardians of the Universe. PMD comics seem pretty popular on Comic Fury -- actually, a few of them have cemented their place on the Popular Overall sub-section on the home page. I was intrigued by the profile pic, and though I'm not really a PMD fan I was curious. Upon reading through the first few pages, I didn't expect to find a clear reminder of why I absolutely despise trolls of any kind, especially Internet trolls. But alas, here it is:
Net Troll Guest "E" Baselessly Roasts Budding PMD Comic Fury Artist -- And Gets Roasted Back Tenfold
Now when I was in elementary, I took that same approach. I poked fun at a girl singing Julie Andrews' "Wouldn't it Be Loverly". Her friends all jabbed back, asking the legitimate question: "Like you could do better?" That shut me up post haste. I was naïve at the time, like all schoolkids. But I knew when I crossed the line. The girl went on to impress a whole crowd of parents and students alike on performance day. Fast forward to adulthood, near graduation from college, when a dude I met online at a previous webcomic host read my original Lil' Hero Artists comic -- and criticized it. But he did it respectfully, and offered tips to improve. At the time, I was already working with my friend Nick Vollmer on an AU take called Lil' Hero Artists: Manga-Ized, which he soon read and really liked, saying it was a great improvement. It would've been the start of a great budding... had he not suddenly one day sent me a message that revealed him to be a prick who wasn't afraid to eviscerate an artist/author's soul to get his point across in critiquing. The last nail in the coffin was when I saw a stream of praising comments for Manga-Ized and eventually came to a comment left on a page advertising my first convention appearance and my original Lil' Hero Artists making it's sale debut. This page was updated WAY before Mr. Critic even found Manga-Ized, and so even though the comment was by "Anonymous", I was pretty sure who it really was when they said:
"You're still trying to sell that cruddy original version of this comic? This is better than that worthless pile of bull!"
Of course, it's Anonymous, so I can't say with 100% certainty that it was Mr. Critic at the keyboard. I'm just going by his previous comments and sudden descent into arrogance. But regardless, there's a saying that applies here. I was taught this saying in elementary, so it sounds infantile and "proper". But it applies even in adulthood and beyond. What is that saying, you ask? Here ya go, friends:
"If you don't have anything nice (or honest in a non-offensive way) to say, then don't say anything at all."
