What is a bad comic book? The story doesn't connect, the dialog is odd, or any number of things can derail an enjoyable story. Lets look at the 7 sins of comic book writing.
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When it comes to bad comic books, other than art, the biggest issues typically come from the writing of the book. The script lays the foundation for the story and can impact how enjoyable it is. Since every comic book story starts when a writer puts pen to paper, lets take a look at 7 comic book writing sins that can ruin your favorite stories.

Continuity - This can easily be described as the backstory or history for a character, team or storyline. The death of a family member, or a tragic accident in the past is an important part of what builds a character. However, issues pop up when you don't pay attention to those defining moments, or things get bogged down when you focus on them too much. Continuity is a fine line that needs to be walked, showing respect to what came before you, without limiting your ability to create something new.

Exposition - This is also called an "info dumb" where one of two characters (or the narrator) proceed to explain at length what is going on and why it is important. This can last a few panels, or go on for pages, but one thing is for sure. If you need to use heavy exposition to make sure your reader is up to speed, somewhere in your previous story you have failed to communicate properly via the art or other important lines of dialogue or narration.

Jargon/Inside Baseball - It is great that you know everything about a given world, and can speak the language of your universe fluently. However, relying too much on terms that aren't commonly used (which can happen in indie books) with previously giving the reader context can make stories unaccessible. Every comic is someones first, so bring your reader into things slowly, and use the jargon sparingly.

Unrelatable - When a reader cannot connect with a character, it makes them unrelatable and readers find themselves becoming uninterested in what happens to them. A character can be outlandish, like a billionaire vigilante, but they still need a hook that allows a ready to identify with them and participate in their character journey.

Verisimilitude - The perception that something is real or true, which makes the surroundings believable. Though comics are based in a fantasy world in most cases, the actions of the characters, the world and the environment need to make sense enough to feel real to the reader.

The Mary Sue - This is an idealized, or seemingly perfect character, which makes them boring.

Isolationism - The world of comic books are rich environments where something is always happening. Writing inside a bubble and ignoring what is going on within your own universe causes confusion among the readers and can lead to them abandoning one, if not both titles.

Weekly One Shot is a once a week show where we tackle a bigger topic regarding comics. From crossover events to cancelations to movie adaptations, it will go over anything in comics.