Feedback: BESC Free Comic Book Day

[Valeyard Vince]

On the one hand, one shouldn't complain regarding a free comic book. On the other, however, this is a marketing tool meant to put your best foot forward. Frankly speaking: if this is what the BE Story Club thinks of as Grade-A material, I'm not very confident in purchasing their other product.

First off, there is a LOT of sexy fetish material for transformations fans to enjoy, don't get me wrong. There is a ton of the good stuff brought to vivid life by a very good artist.

But beyond the growth and expansion sequences... the story made no sense, the characters were nonexistent (or at least inconsistent), and a wide variety of random sub-plots pop in out of nowhere.

For example:
1. Who is the crazy giantess who jumps out and attacks them on page 8?
2. Why doesn't Eric's friend immediately recognize the Mom? I know she's younger at this point, but the friend already knows that the women are going through some weird changes and was in the area for the sole purpose of finding her.
3. How did Billy get magic powers off ebay?
4. What exactly was Billy's plan? How were giantesses with bouncy-castle-sized tits supposed to "save" the fandom from the corporate whores?
5. Why does the girl say "Thanks so much for saving us" to Billy on page 10?

I think the main problem is that this story tries to do far too much in its brisk running time. If only it were a 2 or even 3 part story, then it might have had a fighting chance to work: establishing all of the characters, better set up for plot points, and even more time for the transformations themselves!

It really is too bad, because it is a fun idea with almost all of my favourite transformation fetishes jammed into a single adventure. Oh well, better luck next time lads!

[Snowglare]

Originally Posted by Valeyard Vince

But beyond the growth and expansion sequences... the story made no sense, the characters were nonexistent (or at least inconsistent), and a wide variety of random sub-plots pop in out of nowhere.

Well said. The art would have been serviceable with a good enough story. What we got was a mess. Characters spouting non sequiturs, precious little explanation of anything, nothing to hook into on a superficial level.

So many missed opportunities. The best part, in my opinion, was the flatchested nerd busting out. This would've been much better if we knew anything about her, if she reacted with any sort of emotion, and if someone in the story treated this like an event, like something had happened. The whole thing reads like a dream, stream of consciousness that's quickly forgotten because it has no effect on anyone supposedly involved.

It was a worth a look for free, though, and I'd put the story and art both slightly ahead of Dream Girl, simply because the former's less offensive and the latter is a refreshing change from Portal's sameface. Not that this artist has any more range; it's just a different face.

[Valeyard Vince]

Originally Posted by Snowglare

The whole thing reads like a dream, stream of consciousness that's quickly forgotten because it has no effect on anyone supposedly involved.

I agree 100% and I am ashamed to admit that that particular analysis of this comic's fundamental problems had escaped me. Bravo good sir!

[Valeyard Vince]

On a separate note, I would like to also bring to everyone's attention something that greatly displeases me: the disingenuous way the BE Story Club presents its audience's opinion of their work.

After posting a review of this comic on their site similar to the one I posted here in the forums, I noticed that it would require someone on their end to approve it before it would be published. A good enough system, but it got me thinking as to how quickly someone could abuse it.

First, I searched. I went through almost every single comic/story on their site, starting at the lowest rated and going up looking for a single negative review. I managed to come up with exactly ZERO. (If anyone could find examples that disprove this, I would love to see them)

Secondly, I experimented. A couple days after posting my review of "Kinky Comic Convention" I posted another review, this time a positive one of "Going Down." Now keep in mind this review wasn't a trap or anything, it was my genuine opinion on a story of theirs I had read years ago and enjoyed immensely.

Thirdly, I got a result: while my in-depth, thorough (but negative) analysis has yet to be presented, my vague, one sentence (but positive) review was added almost immediately.

This is not the way you build consumer confidence. You don't sweep away and ignore legitimate problems people have with your work! You address those problems and try to improve for next time.

Suffice to say I am more than slightly disappointed by this revelation.

[Snowglare]

Originally Posted by Valeyard Vince

Thirdly, I got a result: while my in-depth, thorough (but negative) analysis has yet to be presented, my vague, one sentence (but positive) review was added almost immediately.

This is not the way you build consumer confidence. You don't sweep away and ignore legitimate problems people have with your work! You address those problems and try to improve for next time.

Suffice to say I am more than slightly disappointed by this revelation.

That's pretty standard. We could have a whole thread about the power of negative thinking to force greatness out of the pillow fort it likes to construct from empty encouragement. In business, it's often a case where things are working well enough and no one wants to put in the extra effort or money to potentially bring in greater returns.

To be fair, I don't ask a great deal from a fetish comic. Hardly anyone does. It just needs to push the right buttons the right way and hold up to a cursory examination when the dust settles. The BESC has done little to push my buttons, from what I've seen of their content, so I've never subscribed.

Originally Posted by Valeyard Vince

That is literally the entire point behind Free Comic Book Day. While there is a slight element of just "giving the fans a free gift," that is clearly not the focus (otherwise, it would only be available to those who have already purchased a comic). From a business stand-point the purpose of Free Comic Book Day is to hook potential new consumers. And claiming that you can't possibly get new consumers is just stupid. I'm coming across new additions to our community of BE fans all the god damn time.

In theory, sure, but there hasn't been much new blood among comics readers for several years. Between FCBD, libraries, numerous digital freebies and the internet's near limitless access to "free" content, there's ample reason for new people to delve into the medium, but it doesn't happen in any noticeable numbers. People who drop by a comic shop to get in on FCBD rarely come back a second time, unless that time is the same time next year.

I suspect this offering has done the BESC some good and no appreciable harm. It would take a great deal more to attract me as a customer, but it got my attention. It gets their name out there a bit more and gives honest people a rare look at what lurks behind the pay curtain. If you know about them already, you know the content is varied and aren't expecting the stories to all be like this. If you didn't know and don't bother researching, it might be enough that it's a comic where boobs get bigger. There are more boobs behind the curtain, and most of them get bigger. There's some appeal in that without putting your best foot forward.

And it's never been the point of FCBD to put your best stuff on display. Few books do that, and few of those do so with all-new material. It's more about putting out something accessible and pretending you have a hope of dragging kids away from their games and iPads long enough to realize most comics are inappropriate and inaccessible for them 364 days of the year. The BESC faces a similar problem, in that putting one of their best comics out would lead to disappointment when you saw the other stuff.

They made an effort. That's commendable. This is only their second free comic, isn't it? Long time since Dream Girl. I'm glad they did. Food for thought, even if it is junk food.