Comics are a big part of my life. I read them before I fall asleep and when I wake up. Of course I get invested in the characters and stories and want to see them finished. And of course, I want the artist to be happy and healthy while creating them.
While I understand that life happens, situations change, and creators can’t always finish what they started, the lack of communication often leaves readers completely hanging. Let me explain why that matters with a few examples.
Midnight Poppy Land: A Case of Silence
One of the biggest examples is Midnight Poppy Land by Lilydusk. Once one of the most-read Webtoons on the platform, it has over 262 million views. But the situation around its hiatus has frustrated many readers.
Here’s a brief timeline:
- June 4, 2022: Mid-season break (7 months)
- August 2023: Short 6-week hiatus and other breaks in between
- December 9, 2023: Chapter 129 marked as “season finale” – no continuation since
During that time, the storyline had already become confusing, with many new and seemingly random characters introduced in Season 2. Fans were unsure whether the comic was coming back.
A full year later, Lilydusk shared on her Patreon that the series was on indefinite hiatus. In her words:
“I suck. I know, but there’s no easier way to put this. […] I’ve decided to put the MPL Webtoon on Indefinite Hiatus, and I don’t know when – or if – I’ll pick it up again.”
She went on to explain her personal situation and why she no longer wants to pursue art as a full-time career. “The bad news is, I don’t know if I want to make a living off of my art anymore. The good news is, I no longer have to (not anytime soon, anyway, thanks to your support over the years, coupled with my combined Webtoon revenue.)”.
Her honesty was appreciated by many fans. Personally, I respected her decision and openness, but I was confused why the Patreon continued without major updates about the Webtoon for such a long time. The part about no longer needing to make a living off her art, thanks to years of support and Webtoon revenue, felt a little out of place to me. While I understand the intention, it could have been phrased with more sensitivity – especially toward long-time supporters still waiting for closure.
Readers Deserve Clarity
Here’s the thing: While it’s true that passionate fans can be vocal or impatient at times, that doesn’t make their time or emotional investment any less valuable. At the same time, I believe creators deserve fair working conditions – because without them, burnout and indefinite hiatuses become almost inevitable
It took over two years to get any clear statement about MPL’s fate. To this day, fans still reread the series in hopes it’ll return. Some continue asking on Instagram whether the story is coming back. That’s heartbreaking.
What makes this worse is Webtoon’s lack of platform communication. If Lilydusk hadn’t published a statement on her Patreon, even those who specifically searched for it online wouldn’t know that this Webtoon will not continue. It should be clearly visible in the app’s interface, but it isn’t:
Only if you tap the small “i” icon in the top left corner do you see the status: on hiatus. There’s no explanation, no statement, no clarity. And worse: Webtoon continues to recommend this series.
Recommended… but Never Returning?
Under “More like this,” the app recommends titles like Let’s Play, Empyrea, and I Love Yoo – all of which are currently on indefinite hiatus. That means one out of three recommended Webtoons has no confirmed continuation.
If you read all of them, you’d end up going through nearly 600 episodes – only to discover that none of the stories have a proper ending.
It’s incredibly frustrating for casual readers who don’t check status updates before diving in. You invest time and energy… and in the end, there’s no closure.
Webtoon should mark discontinued or indefinite hiatus series more clearly – and stop promoting them as if they’re ongoing. For ongoing stories with planned returns, the app does sometimes show a small notice:
That’s a step in the right direction. But it needs to be more consistent, more visible – and definitely applied to series that are no longer in production.
Hiatus Communicatin: Do Other Platforms Do It Better?
Compared to Webtoon, Tapas handles this more transparently. On Tapas, the hiatus notice is visible directly on the comic’s main page, with clickable announcements for more information. It’s not perfect, but it’s something.
Tappytoon does a slightly better job as well: You can set notifications for status changes, and comics like I Stan the Prince don’t show up in recommendation feeds once they’ve been paused.
What Needs to Change for Better Hiatus-Communication
To avoid disappointment and confusion, here are three simple improvements Webtoon could implement:
- Clearer status labels: Mark comics as discontinued or indefinite hiatus directly in the app UI.
- Visibility rules: Stop recommending comics with no planned return.
- Mandatory recap episodes: Help readers pick up where they left off – especially if updates are months apart.
As readers, we respect creators and the reality of burnout, illness, or shifting priorities. But digital platforms also carry a responsibility: communicate clearly, so readers aren’t left wondering what happened to the stories they care about – and ensure that artists have fair working conditions that prevent such situations in the first place.
No one should have to read 230+ episodes, only to learn afterward – and through a third-party platform – that the story won’t ever conclude.
Check out my list of completed Romance Manhwa that won’t leave you hanging.
