Honkai Impact 3rd: Join Anti-Entropy at the start and dominate the entertainment industry.

Why are we suddenly talking about comics again?

"Do you also draw comics?" Raven asked cautiously.

Bai Qianqu thought about it and decided not to tell anyone for the time being, since her work on comics always seemed like she was neglecting her duties.

Moreover, Xiao Qianjian can just write novels; adding the title of comic artist to her list would be too outrageous.

One account is enough for one task.

"Uh, actually it's a friend of mine, I asked for him."

Raven breathed a sigh of relief and laughed, "Really? I thought you could paint."

Why should an author waste so much time on so many other things instead of focusing on writing?

You must be asking on behalf of a friend!

The raven asked, "Has your friend ever published comics before?"

"No, this is his first work."

It turns out he's a new cartoonist.

Raven sighed. There are too many people drawing comics these days. Many people who study drawing turn to drawing comics. After all, which artist doesn't want to have their own comic book?

However, this has also led to a particularly volatile situation in the comics industry, with a large number of new comic artists but a very small number of established masters.

However, since this new comic artist is a friend of the renowned artist Qianjian, Raven was quite accommodating.

"For new comic artists, I still suggest not going to big platforms, because the competition on big platforms is too fierce. I suggest honing your skills on smaller platforms for a while, and then moving to a big platform once you have achieved some success and gained some experience."

Bai Qianqu nodded in deep agreement after reading Raven's words. This was also the reason why he did not go to the large platform.

"If your friend wants to enter the comics industry, you can try working with us first. Although our comics department is relatively small, it has great potential! I will give you the contact information for the comics department later. You can have your friend contact them directly. I will also give them a heads-up beforehand, so there shouldn't be any problems."

"Thank you very much then." Bai Qianqu was quite satisfied with Raven's answer, after all, Raven had given her a chance.

"It's okay, just come and submit your new work to me."

Soon, Bai Qianqu received a contact number from Raven. He glanced at it and his eyes widened immediately.

"Holy crap? The editor's name is number 17? Could it be Prometheus?"

The friend request was accepted quickly, and the other party sent a message first.

[Number 17: Hello, I heard you're submitting an article?]

[Zhiyin: Yes.]

[Number 17: Although, I still want to kindly remind you that our World Serpent comics department was only established this year, with only two people in the entire department, very few readers and few works, and recently there has even been a possibility of the department being shut down. Are you sure you want to publish your work here?]

Bai Qianqu:?

So this is what the raven meant by "relatively small"?

People go to smaller platforms to gain experience, but you're trying to turn the tide and change the situation, right?

Bai Qianqu also had a slight thought of giving up. After all, how could she get her work into the top three of the serialization charts on such a small platform?

However, the system's voice suddenly sounded.

[New Mission Issued: Save the Department from Ruin!]

[Saving the Club from Dissolution: Save the World Serpent Manga Department from being abolished! Become an idol (scratch that) manga artist! Publish your manga in the World Serpent Library! Save the manga department!]

[Mission Successful: One mission failure penalty has been waived!]

[Mission Failure: Penalty Increased!]

Chapter 174 Yu Tu, the Master of Slacking Off

Upon seeing this task, Bai Qianqu was speechless. What a familiar feeling this was! Are you serious about crossing out the word "idol"?

Is he tasked with saving a department that's about to be eliminated?

For the sake of the mission reward, Bai Qianqu had no choice but to bite the bullet and accept the mission.

After all, being exempt from the penalty of failing a mission means that even if you fail the previous two missions, it won't matter.

In other words, as long as you publish your comic on World Snake, it doesn't matter if you don't get into the top three of the serialization charts!

Ori got it!

[Zhiyin: It's okay, I'm willing to publish my comics here.]

Prometheus in front of the computer was stunned. He had made himself perfectly clear, yet this person still wanted to come. How stubborn was this person?

However, I have already said everything I needed to say, and if he still wants to come, I have nothing more to say.

[Number 17: Okay, this is our comics department. If you have time, just send me the character illustrations and a simple outline of your work, and I'll see if I can get it published in a magazine. Anyway, we don't have many works currently being serialized.]

Seeing how pitiful Number 17 sounded, Bai Qianqu's eyelids twitched wildly.

He wouldn't have come if the system hadn't suddenly given him the task.

The office of the World Snake comics department.

After closing the chat window, a girl with gray hair and a face resembling a Spanish duck looked at the woman on the other side of the office, who was sleeping soundly with her mouth watering, and couldn't help but frown.

"Yu Tu! I've told you so many times, don't sleep in or slack off at work!"

The woman known as Feathered Rabbit swept her loose hair back, revealing an exquisitely beautiful face. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she murmured, "Alright, Prometheus, don't call me Feathered Rabbit. I prefer you to call me Mistelin. I'm so tired. Pour me a cup of coffee."

"Did you stay up all night reading comics again last night?" Prometheus instinctively reached for a cup of coffee, but quickly realized, "I'm the head of the comics department, aren't I? What kind of employee orders the head of the department to pour coffee?"

"It doesn't matter. Look how good we are, right? Pouring a cup of coffee just makes us seem even closer."

Prometheus: "I am reconsidering the rationale for working with you."

"Alright, Prometheus, I know you love me. After all, I've been taking good care of you these past few days, so I'm kind of your guardian."

"Have you taken good care of me? I'm the one who's taking care of you, aren't I?"

"That sounds so hurtful, Prometheus. Aren't all those little dresses in your closet bought for you by me? Dressing you up nicely is a way of taking care of you. By the way, why don't you wear them? Prometheus would look so cute in a little dress."

Prometheus:

At this moment, Mistelin radiated an intellectual glow; anyone who met her for the first time would surely think she was a woman full of wisdom.

However, Prometheus knew perfectly well that this so-called intellectual appearance was nothing but a deceptive trap!

You should know that when this person came to World Snake for an interview, their resume clearly stated: "I refuse to work overtime! If overtime is excessive, I will send the boss to provide end-of-life care!"

She is essentially a pseudo-talented woman who possesses a wealth of theoretical knowledge but lacks any practical experience!

Like her sister Cecilia Shaniat, the two were hailed as geniuses from a young age, able to quickly grasp any kind of knowledge.

But that's all. Apart from acquiring knowledge, Mistelin relied entirely on her sister Cecilia for everything in her life. She had no practical skills of her own until Cecilia got married, at which point Mistelin completely lost her free nanny (just kidding).

Having lost her support, Mistelin did not stay to work at Schicksal and moved out of her sister's house. Because she loved reading comics, she sent out a large number of resumes to various publishing houses.

She thought that with her excellent theoretical knowledge, finding an editing job would be a piece of cake, but she was repeatedly rejected because her resume was too outrageous.

Later, Gray Snake happened to see her resume and thought she was an interesting person, so he recruited her to the comics department to make up the numbers, and that's how [Feather Rabbit] came to be.

However, the comics department of the World Serpent Library has been established for almost a year, but it has not made any progress. Mistelin's excellent theoretical knowledge has not played as much role as imagined.

It just goes to show that there is indeed a difference between theory and practice.

There wasn't much work in the department, and Prometheus was very capable, so the comics department didn't have much to do every day. As a result, Mistelin became even lazier, spending her days looking at manuscripts and slacking off. She was either sleeping or eating snacks while reading comics, living a very carefree life.

Prometheus said earnestly, "Mistelin, you can't keep slacking off like this. You have to work hard and fight! The gaming department of Raven next door used to be in the same boat as our comics department, but now they've risen up with 'The King's Avatar.' Now we're the worst department. Aren't you worried at all?"

Mistelin tilted her head: "You're the minister, shouldn't you be the one in a hurry?"

Prometheus:

Every time she talks to Mistelin, she ends up being completely exasperated.

In the end, she brought over two cups of coffee and gave one to Mistelin.

Actually, the reason why the comic book department hasn't taken off can't be entirely blamed on them, because most comic books in this world are adapted from novels, and most of the popular novels are adapted into comics.

There are many advantages to this. After all, good novels have a large readership, and the comics adapted from them will also attract many fans of the original work. This gives them a significant advantage from the start compared to original novels.

However, such adaptations of manga also have their drawbacks. The plot of the adapted work will be somewhat different from the original, and if not handled properly, it can easily lead to the collapse of the manga.

If the plot and character settings aren't faithful to the original work, those who followed the original novel will be the first to criticize it. Besides, most readers already know where the plot is headed, so their expectations aren't high; most are just there for the spectacle.

There are also some original comics on the market, all drawn by original artists. However, this type of comic is very easy to fail because the artist not only has to draw, but also has to design the comic's plot. It's like doing two things at once, which is time-consuming and laborious. Naturally, it's difficult to balance both. Therefore, these works either have a good plot but a bad art style, or the art style is okay but the plot is terrible.

Chapter 175 A Not-So-Simple Short Story

Even if both aspects are done well, the update speed cannot be fast, which leads to a decrease in income, which is not comparable to those pure illustrators. Gradually, there are fewer and fewer original illustrators, and most of them have turned to pure illustrators.

Currently, the World Snake Book Library's comics department only has two contracted original illustrators, and one of them has just finished a work and is on break. Therefore, the comics section only has one original comic, while the rest are adaptations of novels. Moreover, these illustrators are inconsistent in their work, and sometimes they can't even submit the artwork for the current issue.

When the comics department was first established, World Snake did provide some support, but the competition in the comics industry was too fierce. Many readers were following the few books they liked and were not likely to switch apps. In addition, World Snake Library was not a particularly large novel platform, so even fewer people read its comics section.

Ultimately, the reason is that World Snake's comic section lacks any truly outstanding works.

Famous novelists or original illustrators choose to publish their works on major platforms and magazines. Why would they choose a small, new platform?

Without good comics, no one will come; and without people coming, you can't attract good submissions.

This vicious cycle gradually led to the situation we see today.

At first, the comics department had more than a dozen people, but in the end, only Prometheus and Mistelin remained.

Looking at the deserted office around him, Prometheus was filled with worry.

If things continue like this, the comics department might be disbanded before next year.

What to do then will be a big problem.

However, Mistelin continued to carefree as she scrolled through her phone reading a novel.

"The King's Avatar is really popular right now. Both the online version and the print version are selling like hotcakes. Luckily, I joined World Snake so I can see the latest chapters as soon as they're released. I'm so happy."

"If this novel could be adapted into a manga for our department, our department would definitely take off, right?"

Prometheus rolled his eyes.

"People think that Qianjian-sensei is at the height of his fame, would he even look at us? Even if he were to adapt a manga, it would be sent to the biggest manga magazines, such as 'Manga Party' or 'Kun Manga,' where the number of readers is many times greater than ours."

Mistelin nodded in agreement: "That makes sense. But didn't you just receive a message from someone who wanted to submit a manuscript?"

"Yes, I told him about our situation, but he still wants to come. Weren't you sleeping just now?"