And to think yesterday I was just reading about "Social Media Trauma".

[jasonderoga86]

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."

Comments

[matt_zimmer]

As far as Gilda And Meek goes, if somebody wants to debate its merits, I say "Have a go." I know both its strengths and its many, MANY faults. Do I believe those faults are so egregious the comic doesn't deserve to exist? I do not. You live with the bad in Gilda And Meek to get to the good. And in my opinion, the good is VERY good.

I'm sure if I reread your stuff again, Jason, I could find stuff to nitpick and complain about. But all of those nits and complaints simply would be minor and small beans compared to the stuff I love. Not worth mentioning or starting a controversy or flame war over. Your stuff is good and worth reading, even if there are faults. No need to obsess on the faults.

*nods head in earnest*

[jasonderoga86]

Oh no, I'm not averse to critiques. But I've always believed there's a stark difference between constructive criticism and outright flaming. Case in point, there's an awesome Comic Fury artist who goes by "WynautWarrior" and is the creator of a great comic called Hopebringer. She gave an honest critique of Sneakers' U-Force, and found some faults that I agreed with on the basis that the first three or so issues were me experimenting with coloring style and format. However, she thought the good in the series outweighed the bad overall (she liked my main villain, Yon Seid, for being an "I'm bad cuz I WANNA be bad" kind of guy as opposed to the "tragic villain" archetype in her eyes), and wished me the best of luck going forward with the comic. And Hopebringer is quite an emotional superhero story with some TERRIFYING villains. I highly recommend it. ^_^

[jazznevermore]

Funny thing is, I can basically make an entire list of things critics would hate about my comic, but my work is allowed to exist and deserves to exist because I owe nobody perfection when it comes to my art.

As much of an advocate of free speech as I am, I abhor that there are assholes who feel they have nothing better to do than openly trash someone's art that they put their heart and soul into just because it doesn't necessarily align with their version of reality. It's a FREE webcomic for fuck's sake! Nobody had to pay as much as a cent to read it. That level of toxicity was ABSOLUTELY unwarranted.

So yeah, I'm with you on this, Jason.

[a_natural_beauty]

I liked this review and all that you have shared with us. At first I was thinking this was a social media topic about how it can be damaging to one's self image. It's not - but still, I feel that may be a good topic to write about on another day.

Yes, the whole PMD webcomics sort of are in a huge world of their own on Comic Fury. At first I was confused and kept seeing them and how it felt similar to the letter in my own comic - PM. Then I learned what it stood for and hey, they support each other and enjoy each other's works so more power to them! I read two currently and both are good in their own way.