Well, that depends on how bad the art. if the art is acceptable and the story is great i'd say i start reading the series. if the art is not acceptable for me(not everybody has the same standart on art though) then i won't bother to read them anymore, even if the story is brilliant

the art has to be absolutely terrible or the story has to deteriorate horribly along with soso art before I drop a series.

I've never dropped a series due to it having bad art.
But...I have continued to read several series with terrible story-lines due to particularly good art(and regretted it in many cases *coughTenjouTengecough*.

I would start any series as long as I think it might be interesting based on the summary that I've read for it. If it is but the art is bad, I'll still give it a try for at least a volume or two. I've never drop a series for it's bad art if the story is really good. One good example is Berserk. At first, I really didn't like the art. It took me awhile to get used to it and I started to like it.

Some series' art might look good and the story began as something interesting, but if it started to get boring, I'd drop it or maybe just suspend it until it ends and just read it for its ending. Even if the art is really good, if the story doesn't holds my interest, I'd stop reading it. An example of this is Vampire Knight or any other series created by the same author. For some reason, even if I think the art is really pretty, I couldn't enjoy reading any of them.

it depends.

The art is like the glass i see the story through. As long as i can "see" it clearly without having to pretend to be a detective then the art won't make me drop a manga. Some series (shoujo/ josei) i've disliked because of the extreme use of flowers in evey panel, and others (hoshi no samidare, usagi drop) i've come to like because of the combination of out of the ordinary art and story. I think art without a story is unreadable, and story without art can be dull.

But it isn't the only one. I may skip a series if the art is ugly but I wouldn't drop a series if the art turned bad. Lord knows if a reader that drops an American comic like Spiderman for changing to a so-so artist, the fan would stop reading in less than a year. Good story and consistant art is all I ever look for, even if the art is bad.

The art doesn't have to be good, but it must at least look decent. One Piece is a good example of horrible character designs that keep me from having even passing interest in the series.

I answered 'I never even start a series unless it looks good' but more than looking good, I'm always looking for art that look unique.
That's why series like Usagi Drop, Zetsubou sensei, and manhwa like Audition made the cut while popular manga with boring art, 'I can't tell the mangaka's style apart from others''s type of manga didn't.

As long as there's something to like, then no way am I gonna drop it.

Itazura na Kiss. 'nuff said.

not like i stop since its bad art but
if its bad art combined with bad scanlation i stop
or
if its bad art with boring story line i stop
but if its interesting i can see past it some of fave manga has some bad art moments

I have to admit the most important thing for me is the plot. If the plot if great I will want more of the manga.
Though I still read manga with great characters...if they are great then even the shittiest plot will make me wants to read it. After all it got my awesome char in it.
Last...chicks, the cuter, the prettier, the sexier, the better~ If I like the chick I will follow her...even if she dies or isn't choosen by the main char. T.T

Art is in my eyes a attractor since it attracts you to the title but it's not a must in any of the title I read.

It's a very hard to explain poll. I am willing to overlook almost anything if the plot is really good. But then again, there is always a need for the reader to be drawn to the character, so if the characters all look repulsive then there is little to no hope.

Just looking at these early results, it seems each person's answer comes down to how they interpret the question...