by Neal Von Flue
and Joe Zabel
Last month we argued that webcomics are becoming too comfortable, that
webcomics have settled into a mold of strip sized, humorous, generally
flat
copies of newspaper strips. Now we are going to admit that we lied.
Well,
not really. This time we're going to focus on some very notable
exceptions
to this idea. Here are three recent examples of new navigation models,
new
applications to create experimental work, even new forms of web art,
color
and design.
These comics were not easy to find however, and this is the part that
still
rings true. The kind of experiments found here are
too
few and far between. Pieces like these should be present everywhere and
flourishing. They should be supported and criticized, so the artists can have the feedback they need to progress.
Truthfully, experimentation, by nature, is never in the
spotlight
of any medium. As in music or any of the
popular
arts, Money is the big reason experimental work goes
unnoticed-- no
one is willing to pay for it first. But by and large our medium is outside the monetary system. We, as readers, are the only "money" comics artists currently
make.
So take it upon yourself to support these works, and ask for more. Drop
them
a line and let them know what you thought. Because they may be tired of
doing it for nothing.
Neal Von Flue
Ray Murphy- Detective of Dreams
Fufu Frauenwahl
Subscription (Modern Tales)
Unfortunately, one of the boldest experiments in Flash comics and
non-linear
storytelling is hidden behind the Moderntales.com pay service. Well,
maybe
not unfortunately, because if you were going to pay for a webcomic, Ray
Murphy should be high on your list. And if you were considering
subscribing
to MT, Ray Murphy can help you finally do it.
Ray Murphy's creator, German artist Fufu Frauenwahl, has said of the work, "Structurally it's quite different from the most other webcomics,
for
it's not a linear story, but more like a hermetic circular continuum
without
a beginning and an end. There's a central roundabout of panels, with
several
paths branching out from them. But every path eventually leads back to
the
centre. But while you read you don't actually realize you're walking in
circles... until you get back to where it started." It's hard to add to
that
description, except to possibly throw out more adjectives like
"concentric"
and "surreal".
On the surface, Ray Murphy is a fairly dull-witted and realistic dream
detective who works in a strange city filled with seedy characters and
strange geographies. His is a story about long shadows,
back-alley galleries, mutant dogs, and more. He is currently working on a big case, which
remains as
unsolved at the end as the beginning, despite his constant accidental
unearthing of evidence. This dream world moves around and through
Murphy,
who (just like the reader) stumbles through the narrative vainly trying
to
piece together what he's seen.
Ray Murphy holds riddles to stimulate the reader,
even
more involved than the act of navigation itself. Most notable is the
decoding of the alien language of his informant Molluskhead. Entertaining as it is, it ultimately it holds no answer to the larger
riddle Murphy faces.
The comic features an inventive and entertaining preloader, as well as
a
detailed description of how to navigate through Ray's world. It also
includes "Ray's office" where you can hunt out information on his
contacts
and pick up a few hints on the overall narrative structure.
The artwork is crisp and fine, successfully depicting the seediness of the city. Like
a
dream, it's rich and stylistic. It's meticulously detailed and of high
quality. Frauenwahl is an accomplished draftsman who has worked in
other
fields such as professional illustration, web design and storyboards,
as
well as studying comic book art in Angouleme, France.
There is no sign as to whether or not Ray Murphy will be expanded in
the
future (Frauenwahl says on his site that new things are in the works,
but no
word regarding whether it will be added to the existing Murphy comic or
released separately. Also included in the Modern Tales version are a
couple of
Molluskhead shorts. These are infinite canvas works that help to round
out
Murphy's strange world, and they are impressive despite
their
brevity.
So, if you are an MT subscriber, you're all set. Go and get challenged,
entertained and a little confused by Ray Murphy and his dream world. If
you'
re not on the roster, you should think seriously about it. I hear Ray
needs
some help.
Neal Von Flue
Read this comic.
Invisible Forces
Tom Stackpole
Free
Invisible Forces is a good demonstration of both the strengths and the drawbacks of webcomics experimentation.
As for drawbacks, Invisible Forces is a bit difficult to read. "Viewing this "webcomic" is no simple matter," writes Stackpole in an introduction consisting of step-by-step instructions and a practice window. The comic makes extensive use of the javascript rollover technique; specifically, the reader is required to follow from one node to another with their mouse pointer. When they roll over the node, the previous picture disappears and the next one appears. When no more nodes remain, the reader clicks on the picture and is taken to the next setup.
This gimmick is pretty neat, actually, and Stackpole uses it in a stunning variety of ways. One thing he does is to take a large picture and slice it into fragments. As you navigate the nodes, you see the various fragments, and then finally the whole picture is revealed, so you can see how the fragments interrelate.
Building on this approach, the artist introduces change into the sequence, so that the fragments are earlier time slices, and the final big picture is the end-state of the process.
In the most ambitious sequence of the story, the character Earl pulls out his sword and begins swinging it around, cutting the leashes of various dogs in the park. Stackpole uses the navigation technique to give Earl's slashing about a strong sense of kinetic movement. It also manages to conceal what it is he is cutting until the climactic big picture is revealed.
Stackpole is an offbeat writer with a strange, detached style. His tale of landscape worker Bill Turnip's romance with an art student seems a little too abstract to be involving, though there are touching moments, such when he compares her to the beauty of a jellyfish. The artistic rendering is uniformly excellent, but a bit cold, particularly since the characters' expressions never seems to vary. And since the navigation discourages paging backwards, it's more difficult than usual to figure out who is who and what is really going on.
But Invisible Forces is a stimulating exercise in a new way to show a scene and tell a story, and for that we recommend it.
Joe Zabel
Read this comic.
Tree City
Tym Godek
Free
Tree City is Tym Godek's first webcomic, and he's already an innovator, mostly due to him being the first to publicly use a new program called
Infinite Canvas.
Designed by Markus Müller, this program makes it easier to
create
web-formatted comics. It includes trails, fades, rotations and more,
along a
reading path structured by the creator and presented to the browser
with
Java. Without the tool, infinite canvas required
extensive use of tables and image slicing in order to create a seamless
appearance. And one of the biggest problems in infinite canvas
readability
has been the cumbersome manner of scrolling around a webpage,
especially for works that are multi-directional.
Infinite Canvas attempts to tackle all of these problems and wrap them
up in
a nice package, and Tree City is our first glimpse of it's potential.
Following the story of a recently graduated graphic designer coupled
with
another recently graduated graphic designer (whether they are married
or not
is never stated, but it's implied) Godek creates a very compact and
open-ended story. Its tone is minimal and slightly sad, and the artwork
is as well.
The art seems to have been created for print originally, but it is an excellent print-to-web
translation. This is a step beyond the usual "scanning and cutting in
half" process that most print-to-web conversions seem to be. This is closer
to
finding ways to make print comics fill the web media. Throughout the
reading
experience, you are treated to visual twists and turns, small
animations,
zooming and fading. And it is all tied together with trails and presented
in a
screen-sized window. All of this enhances the story; in
fact,
it seems made for this story. This is one of the best
amalgamations
of the Flash and Infinite Canvas camps of webcomics experimentation
that we've seen yet.
That's not to say the reading experience is flawless. There is a fair
amount of stuttering in the animation, noticeable in comparison to the
smoother movement of Flash files. Because of the animation,Tree City feels
slow
in spots. And although everything
fits
well in the web browser space, a set of resize handles could come in
handy
for viewing more or less of the canvas at one time. Of course it could be argued that infinite canvases are meant to be precisely what the artist intends
for
you to see at any given time.
As a first experiment with the new tool, Godek has hit a home run. His other work, The
Infinite Gag
Strip is another impressive web-experiment and is also created with
Infinite
Canvas. As a matter of fact, his comics are the only public showcases
of the
application thus far. Hopefully that will change. Both his work and the program are worth closer
inspection.
Neal Von Flue
Read this comic.
