A low-heat situation

Posted on May 10, 2017 by Clint

One of my recurring topics over the years has been observations of creators burning out on their stories, an all-too-common occurrence especially in the field of webcomics. There have been more than a few abrupt endings that I personally witnessed, and many more noted in passing, to the point where Zombie Ranch seems to be something of a rarity as we find ourselves in the midst of its seventh straight year in production. Now of course that’s not as impressive as it might sound given that we’re a once-a-week gig that even then has taken its share of pauses for life instances or holidays, but never without some sort of notice, and I believe our longest hiatus was the month we took off after we finished Chapter 7 (at least part of which was spent in early planning and production for the trade paperback and its Kickstarter).

We’re still chugging along, and that counts for something, but I’ll admit that it’s tempting at times to want to just take one of those indefinite hiatuses that many of our peers have ended up doing. What stops me is that an indefinite hiatus more often than not just ends up a way that a comic dies without the creator officially pronouncing it dead. Because who wants to do that? But if it’s gotten bad enough that you want to just walk away and aren’t sure when you’ll look back, would it be better to make that final pronouncement rather than leaving everyone hanging?

Thankfully this is not a stage we’re at, which I credit to our slow pace and the accompanying patience of our readers. Nothing accelerates burnout like fans posting semi- or outright abusive demands to a creator if they feel unsatisfied with the pacing/quality/whatever of their free entertainment, ironically making sure to kill the thing they loved as something that doesn’t generally pay well (or really at all) turns from a joy into a nightmare for the artist(s) involved. That’s usually when the ultimate version of burnout occurs — the unannounced hiatus where without warning the comic just stops updating, because even the effort of communicating something to their fans has become too much and they’d rather figuratively slip out the back than face what seems to be already a largely hostile crowd. It’s an understandable behavior, but a result the Internet is full of once vibrant comics whose last update page is dated from a few years ago, with the occasional commenter asking, “Is this ever coming back?”

This, more than anything, is the outcome I seek to avoid. But what would happen if, say, Dawn were offered a full-time job doing storyboard work for an animation studio? Could we keep the comic going? If not, would we be willing to pronounce it dead? Should we? After all, not every comic that has gone on an extended hiatus has died. It would give an (unsatisfying) closure to shutter the doors early, but should we truly extinguish all hope?

In any case this all remains hypothetical and I suppose the best answer is to just deal with it if and when it comes to that, but I do like to take into account that our readers are a patient bunch and many of them are already used to just doing the occasional binge catch-up rather than reading week-to-week. That says to me that even should the worst(best?) circumstances happen and we felt like we couldn’t continue Zombie Ranch for the foreseeable future because of them, it wouldn’t rule out a possible resurrection (heh) down the road.

After talking about dire circumstances I should hesitate to compare the current comics situation to our marriage, but there’s a certain parallel in that Dawn and I have been together for over a decade now. The whirlwind zest of our early years has long since settled down into a more routine, low-heat situation, but it’s a comfortable kind of heat. The kind of heat that should hopefully never burn out.

 

4 thoughts on “A low-heat situation”

  1. Barn0wl

    I would be very sad to see ZR fall by the wayside. I have seen many comics just suddenly end with no real explanation. One good example was “Post Nuke”, I’d followed it for most of it’s run, but it just ended in 2012 with an explanation post on the blog. I had hoped the author would pick it up again … but I guess life got in the way.

    Similar thing happened with “Tyton Nuzlocke Challenge”. That author did at least get to a chapter end, but hasn’t updated since 2015. Though he did post a reply to a comment in 2016, so I still have some hope.

    There have been numerous others which I’ve followed and have abruptly ended. And I understand, as you mentioned, life does get in the way … especially when you’re spending your own time and money on something you love, with little hope of anything in return except the good words posted by your followers. And it is so very easy to let the buttheads get to you who complain because you missed an update after an entire year of on-time comics, or some other such thing.

    But I have also followed comics which have ended in a more controlled fashion. “Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire” is a perfect example. The comic ran for 11 years and ended when the author finished the story. “Darwin Carmichael is Going to Hell” is another one that did that. I love those comics even more because they told their story and drew them to a close. As a reader, this is kind of important to me. The best stories have a beginning and an end and I enjoy the middle all the more for knowing I’ll have the satisfaction of knowing what happened.

    When a comic simply fizzles out with no explanation from the author it leaves me … well, dissatisfied. On the one hand, from my personal point of view, I fell somewhat cheated because I’m left dangling. It’s as if I was watching one of the old-time serials that used to play in theaters back in the 1930’s & 40’s (I got to see quite a few of them on TV when I was a kid) … but the “cliff-hanger” never got finished and you were just left hanging. On the other hand, I feel that, in many of the instances where a comic author just walks away, they are doing a disservice to themselves. You pour your heart into the comic for several years, but you never finish it. Have they even written a finish to their story? We may never know.

    I guess my main point is, if an author has to walk away from a comic, I can fully understand it. But please, let the readers know what is going on. The fans aren’t as invested as the author generally (though sometimes some have made donations, or supported on Patreon or purchased books or other items), but they can become emotionally attached as well.

    I remember there was a comic a few years ago, I can’t recall the name now, but the author had become severely burned out over many of the things you mentioned and their real life was just getting tough. But he didn’t want to leave his fans dangling. His solution, I thought, was excellent. He took a little bit of time and finished writing out the story and posted it as a blog post after his last comic. That way his fans knew that the comic was ending and why, but we also got to read the rest of the story.

    In any case, although I haven’t been on here commenting as much as I’d like (my real life gets pretty tiring too 😉 ), I would definitely miss reading “Zombie Ranch” and finding out what happens to everyone. But you guys have been great about keeping us posted when you’ve had to take a break. I, and I expect most of your readers, greatly appreciate that.

    Thanks for a great comic! Can’t wait to find out what’s under the tarp!

  2. Barn0wl

    And dang it … I meant to say that “Post Nuke” ended WITHOUT any real explanation …

  3. Clint

    Thanks for posting, Barn0wl. I mean, it’s one thing for me to spout off all these theories and assumptions on what I think you guys (in general) are like and what your expectations are, but it’s nice to hear at least one confirmation. I do suspect the majority of our audience feels the same way, and the main thing people want is just communication — so when we do take a break, I always try to give at least a week’s notice and also list a specific return date which we do our best to hold to.

    If Zombie Ranch ever did need to end “mid-stream” I reckon I’d try to put together some posts detailing where the story was going and answering some key mysteries of past, present, and future — especially knowing there are at least a few of you out there who would greatly appreciate that!

  4. Barn0wl

    An explanations, even just a short note saying the hiatus is indefinite, goes a long way towards helping the readers feel better about things. I’ve often wondered, with a couple of the comics which just stopped updating, if something happened to the author. I mean, it’s simply life, but unhappy things happen sometimes.

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