The Giant is awesome.

[konradknox]

I just want to make a post in support of Rich here to point something out to people who try to call him on working too slow or charging too much or any sort of scheme.

I've been a follower of both OOTS and Erfworld, and here is the difference, guys.

The Giant on OOTS:


Further, if anyone wants to stop supporting the comic altogether, they are welcome to do so at any time. If, as a result of circumstances beyond my control, "more and more" people choose to stop supporting the comic, then that's what happens and I'll deal with it. It's not something you need to worry about.


Rob Balder on Erfworld:


Frankly, the continuation of Erfworld is in doubt. Unless we can bring in an experienced professional comic illustrator to take over the series, then there may not be a Book 3 and beyond.
...
This is another tough transitional time for the comic, and a lot is at stake. If this project succeeds, then there will be a second Kickstarter this year to fund Book 3 in much the same way. If the project fails, then we'll have to see what exactly we can do to keep Erfworld alive.

As always, thanks to everyone who supports Erfworld in any way. You are why the comic exists. There's much more story to tell, and I hope we can continue to bring it to you.


OOTS fans can consider ourselves lucky that we have Rich and his personal dedication, and should be thankful he does all the work himself, writing and illustration, no matter at what speed... because... whether or not this is a matter of not affording an illustrator or simply refusing to continue the story for free, but Erfworld appears in geopardy.

The difference I am reading, all things considered:

Rich says: "Even if you don't support me, guys, I will tell this story and eventually get this comic done."

Rob says: "There is lots of story to tell, guys, but I won't tell it unless people pay."

So consider that before calling Rich harsh, because he is pretty damn awesome.

((And yes, I'm a supporter of OOTS, my lady loved the Explosive Runes G-strings, too bad those aren't for sale anymore.))

[HZ514]

There are two types of writers: those who write to tell and those who write to sell. One tends to do both; the other tends to do neither.

(Disclaimer: I'm sure Rob is a wonderful guy and I enjoyed Erfworld through its run on this site. I'd wager that he's in a much different financial situation so the choice to continue isn't entirely in his hands. The above turn of phrase is just meant to encompass an idea, not disparage Rob's decisions or character.)

[Grey Watcher]

I just want to make a post in support of Rich here to point something out to people who try to call him on working too slow or charging too much or any sort of scheme.

I've been a follower of both OOTS and Erfworld, and here is the difference, guys.

The Giant on OOTS:


Rob Balder on Erfworld:


OOTS fans can consider ourselves lucky that we have Rich and his personal dedication, and should be thankful he does all the work himself, writing and illustration, no matter at what speed... because... whether or not this is a matter of not affording an illustrator or simply refusing to continue the story for free, but Erfworld appears in geopardy.

The difference I am reading, all things considered:

Rich says: "Even if you don't support me, guys, I will tell this story and eventually get this comic done."

Rob says: "There is lots of story to tell, guys, but I won't tell it unless people pay."

So consider that before calling Rich harsh, because he is pretty damn awesome.

((And yes, I'm a supporter of OOTS, my lady loved the Explosive Runes G-strings, too bad those aren't for sale anymore.))

I think that's a bit unfair to Rob Balder. Burlew is lucky enough that he can both write and draw and thus needing to find a collaborator he can afford has never been a question. Balder doesn't have the luxury of being able to draw (at least, presumably, not to a standard he considers acceptable), so he's forced to hire someone who can. Which means that money, crass though it may be, is a central component of whether Erfworld continues or not.

[konradknox]

That really does tie into what I tried to say. Rich doesn't need a backup illustrator, he is doing everything just fine, and it works. We're lucky Rich does exactly what he does and how he does it.

[archaeo]

Rob says: "There is lots of story to tell, guys, but I won't tell it unless people pay."


This is easily the nastiest thing I've seen on this forum today, and I read all of the current comic's update thread. Is that really what you drew from Rob's posts at Erfworld? That he's holding the story hostage for more money?

[Sir_Leorik]

Unlike "Order of the Stick", where Rich Burlew is the sole writer and artist, Rob Balder has always shared writing duties with an artist (like many comic books), so his search for an artist was completely understandable. Xin Ye, the artist for Book 2 had to take a sabbatical last year, and will be leaving the webcomic as soon as Book 2 "Life is a Battlefield" is done. Rob already found a replacement artist: David Hahn (http://www.erfworld.com/2013/05/ill-just-launch-this-sneak-preview-link-aaaaand-were-funded/).

[sam79]

Not sure how fair or otherwise the OPs characterisation of Erfworld's author is, but it is certainly the case that most print comic books and many webcomics split writing and drawing duties between two (or more) individuals. This is obviously because telling a good story and making compelling artwork are totally seperate skills, and both of which demand time, practice, patience and not a little bit of talent to develop fully. These two skills can sometimes exist, and at a high level, in the same person: a fact testified to by the ongoing and (ir)regulalry updated Order of the Stick saga.

[Cizak]

Is it required to insult someone in order to support someone else?

[Barsoom]

The Giant truly is awesome, but thumbs down to the OP for being unable to make this point without being nasty to someone else (who, by the way, completely does not deserve it).

[The Pilgrim]

Do not let the fact that Rich Burlew gets revenue from the printing books and recently harvested over one million bucks from his Kickstarter project blew your bubble world in which comic artists must live out of air or otherwise are greedy swines.

[The Giant]

Is it required to insult someone in order to support someone else?

It definitely is not.

While I certainly appreciate support, in no way do I concur with the implication that Rob is holding his comic hostage for more money. I'm lucky enough to have found financial success with OOTS, but that makes me exactly that: lucky. It doesn't make another creator, who may not have experienced the same luck yet, somehow faulty.

Most importantly, remember that Erfworld's main comic story has run less than 300 pages so far; he doesn't have the luxury of having multiple books to sell yet. Since he doesn't control the art side of things, he also can't just whip up a prequel when he needs more money. He's stuck in a catch-22: he needs more content to make more money, but he needs more money to pay for an illustrator to make more content. That's a rough patch to be in, and what he needs from people is their support. Or, if he can't get that, then at least don't attack him over it.

And frankly, that quote in the OP was more about me telling someone to shut up if they don't like the content and/or schedule than it is about finances. It's easy for me to be blasé about whether someone hates what I'm doing and stops reading because statistically, a few readers here and there are not going to put a dent in my income. Other webcomic creators are working with a far different set of parameters.

I'm going to lock this thread since it seems to have no content beyond the comparison between the two of us, and I see no value in that conversation continuing.