How many is too many curse words and profanity in comics?
Added 2023-10-14 23:32:52 +0000 UTCSo it got me thinking, when I'll be making the comic for Pepper in the Sandbox, is there some sort of limit to how much cussing and swearing I can have? Many of the characters in in there will be saying "fuck," "shit," "bitch," etc. as an expression, directed toward other characters, and to the stuff happening around them. Pepper will definitely be doing this a lot.
I plan to publish the series to KDP on Amazon as a publish-on-demand type of physical comic and wondering if any of you guys know how strict Amazon is on this topic. Or maybe even just comics as a whole. I wouldn't be thrilled to have to cut back on that aspect of the comic but I guess I'll have to see. Mostly, because I feel that it would lose a big part of who Pepper is and I generally would like to be as liberal as I can with the use of the dialogue in that area.
I'm a bit aware that there are ratings for this type of stuff so I'm also wondering, if I have a lot of cussing, does that immediately get rated as "mature." If I censor the profanity like "f*ck" or "sh*t," do I still have to mark it as mature? What if it's just "$#!+?" Is that just fine?
Hopefully, you guys can shed more light on this! If there are sites that I can go and read about the metrics of this stuff I would greatly appreciate it 😀
Or maybe I'm just overthinking this stuff and it's totally fine to cuss like a sailor and this type of shit doesn't matter 😝
Comments
Nah, it shouldn't be any type of hate speech. Just some aggressive banter and maybe sometimes vitriol from one character to another. I'll definitely put a disclaimer though just out of consideration.
Rino Rafael Moralidad
2023-10-15 13:57:54 +0000 UTCLet Pepper say "fuck", Amazon! :P Hmm, I do feel like this might come down to whose your target audience. Swearing gets a lot a leeway in a lot stuff nowadays as long it fits your intended audience and if its not any form of hate speech. I dunno if it allows you tag stuff there, but I think you could at least put a disclaimer of some sort to give your potential readers a heads up of what to expect.
StumpedMoose
2023-10-15 03:28:56 +0000 UTCYeah, that's kinda the point, at least for Pepper. She's supposed to be a little abrasive in that way. But I'm glad you're looking forward to it! I'll be posting the WiPs here as I'm working on it. I didn't know there was a lot of cursing in Heneral Luna. I guess, since I've only seen parts of it. I probably should watch the whole thing 😄
Rino Rafael Moralidad
2023-10-15 03:24:08 +0000 UTCYeah I want the characters be able to express themselves more explicitly during scenarios like those. So I'll probably do it anyway. Just wondering about the Amazon stuff. I guess I'll just go and research it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Rino Rafael Moralidad
2023-10-15 02:26:40 +0000 UTCI can’t make a new paragraph on iPhone, so I just wanna say I dunno about Amazon’s policies. I wish you the best, I’m genuinely looking forward to it. (Ngl, when you said lots of cursing, you made me think of the Heneral Luna movie a few years ago 😛)
side-fish
2023-10-15 01:49:32 +0000 UTCI’m not fond of cursing if it’s unnecessary. That said, if it works, then it works 🙃
side-fish
2023-10-15 01:47:13 +0000 UTCThe #@*$ loophole gets the meaning across in the context, while keeping the rating open to everyone.
Goddamn_Bats
2023-10-15 01:37:03 +0000 UTCIn tense situations, I’d rather see cursing. It’s what anyone would do. Censoring it feels forced, and makes the scene harder to take seriously. I don’t have a clue about Amazon’s rating system, but I know I can see all sorts of wacky adult novels, so I rather doubt curse words will hurt sales.
VGR
2023-10-15 01:21:42 +0000 UTCNah, it shouldn't. It'll mostly be there to make the characters to help them sound more natural.
Rino Rafael Moralidad
2023-10-15 00:59:40 +0000 UTCYeah, it's definitely not gonna be just that for the dialogue for sure. I was mostly wondering for the publishing side. I guess, I'll just have to do some research there. Thanks for the input!
Rino Rafael Moralidad
2023-10-15 00:14:47 +0000 UTCPersonal preference? I don't care, as long as it's not the only thing the characters are saying the entire story. (As a joke strip, where that's the point, sure xD) I find it realistic, relatable, and immersive to allow cursing. For publishing's sake? I've got no clue, sorry.
FuzzyFoxe
2023-10-15 00:08:24 +0000 UTCI would say as long as the cursing doesn't distract from the rest of the dialogue. It can be plentiful, but if the cursing makes something harder to write/understand, then it may need to be pruned back a bit.
franksboy01
2023-10-14 23:42:50 +0000 UTC
