Theory
Theory of webcomics
A Site For Sore Eyes: Principles of Website Design by David Wright
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Why are there so many badly-designed webcomic sites out there? For a community that prides itself in its creativity, you would think that the sites would show that. For the most part, it seems that your average site’s design is almost an afterthought. Unimportant.
Potential Comics UK Zero Zero One
Submitted by Daniel Goodbrey on August 22, 2003 - 10:40
A massive new collaborative hypercomic debuts today at E-merl.com. The comic features the work of a host of stars from the British small press scene, alongside such well-known creators as Chris Ware (Acme Novelty Library) and Roger Langridge (Fred The Clown).
Originally masterminded by cartoonist Tom Gauld as part of the Comica festival at the Institute of Contemporary Art in London, the comic has now been adapted for the web by E-merl’s own Daniel Merlin Goodbrey. The special zooming interface used to display the webcomic is the first piece to benefit from Merlin’s new infinite-canvas delivery system, The Tarquin Engine.
Where Have All the Short Story Comics Gone? Young Girls Have Picked Them, Everyone
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on August 1, 2003 - 10:02
Over at Ninthart, Alex Dueben laments the disappearance of the self-contained short comic book. (Dueben is zeroing in on something smaller than a graphic novel, able to stand apart from an ongoing serial, essentially the comic equivalent of the literary short story). Perhaps he hasn't checked out Modern Tales Longplay?
Ninth Art on Making Webcomics More "Webby"
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on April 30, 2003 - 11:32
Over at Ninth Art, Alasdair Watson has written a column throwing out some of his ideas on how comics can tap into the world wide web in a deeper way. He's dismissive of infinite canvas scrolling and the use of flash. Instead he's looking for personalization, interaction, and the ability to choose your own genre for a story (it sounds an awful lot like picking a "skin" for your message board or instant messenger program). He's a man on a mission, that Alasdair!
Free Will(y) Eisner Lecture at Library of Congress
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on March 14, 2003 - 11:50
The Library of Congress (Washington DC) hosts Will Eisner for an April 1 discussion of the graphic novel.
"In the lecture, Eisner will discuss his own approach to writing and illustrating graphic novels and explore his views on the evolution of popular visual media. Images from early wordless books and a variety of recent graphic novels will be shown, along with a selection of Eisner's own drawings."
The event, to be held at the James Madison Building's Mumford Room, will be free and open to the public. More information at the Library of Congress site.
Print Comics go Online Interactive
Submitted by Jamie Robertson on March 5, 2003 - 13:25
Not satisfied with the ending of the comic you're reading? Go to the Internet to read another ending. As the Small Press Magazine reported, Kameelman Comics will be offering digital alternate endings for its print comics. Fans will be able to access the endings via an online password protected area at no charge. According to Publisher, Jill Legleiter, A1 Oregon Publishing, who owns Kameelman Comics, will begin offering alternate endings to the comics in order to make the comics much more interactive. This also gives the writers a chance to present all those ideas they would have ordinarily tossed out.
"Our plan for the alternate ending is to use the latest technology to make comics interactive, deliver more value to our fans, and give readers another reason to try the Kameelman comic book. Putting in the Easter egg is pure fun! In the future you will see us getting even more creative with the (Easter) eggs! But I can't say more at this point."
To read the entire article, head over to the Small Press Magazine.
If Graphic Novels are "Really Long Comics," what is a Really Long Webcomic?
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on February 10, 2003 - 02:28
A brief primer on the "graphic novel" from Jessica Abel. A light-hearted look at what makes a comic a comic. Not specifically about webcomics but certainly raising some good points about the medium generally. (She even includes the McCloudian "container" metaphor!)
John Barber on Comics Layout and Storytelling
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on February 7, 2003 - 14:23
Don't be put off by the academic sounding language, The Phenomenon of Multiple Dialectics in Comics Layout by John Barber, is an excellent paper on the use page layout in relation to comics storytelling.
When we're reading comics, we don't see one panel at a time, we see two pages (or an entire screen). Most comics artists ignore or fight this, but it presents great possibilities for storytelling--not just flashy effects. What possibilities? How does this external system relate to the internal system of panel transitions? What about "closure"? Glad you asked...
Read the first section first, the second only after you've had a chance to chew on the first one. (You need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to read pdf files. It's available for free download here.)
MORE INNOVATION BY MERLIN!
Submitted by Anonymous on February 5, 2003 - 14:24
Daniel "Merlin" Goodbrey, known for his obsession with webcomics innovation, is pummeling the limits of the medium with his creative fists once again through his latest project, The Mr. Nile Experiment.
This time around, Merlin plays with the reader-writer-artwork relationship through intensely trippy metadialogue. The Mr. Nile Experiment touches on webcomics theory and perception philosophy, neatly packaged in a nice simple infinite canvas-style, vertical scroll layout. Oh, and it's interesting, to boot.
If you like webcomics that push the boundaries of the medium, or you just like a good mind-screw, then this project is NOT to be missed.
Goodbrey's latest cyberlab creation is slated to run in daily installments throughout February, and can be found at his website, E-Merl.com.
Reiterating Comics
Submitted by Xaviar Xerexes on February 4, 2003 - 09:14
Many webcomics don't push the boundaries of the web but simply take advantage of the efficient, low-cost publishing platform the internet provides. Still there are others who read Scott McCloud's Reinventing Comics and wanted to continue the conversation. Naturally, by drawing comics about it.
