Saturday, May 29, 2010

Scott McCloud shows that with Web Comics, it's more than just a distribution hub

I've been spending a lot of time looking at Web comics lately, researching options for getting my stories out there. While a lot of people are using the Web as a more affordable/accessible means of distribution, and that's obviously a very legitimate and attractive use, Scott McCloud (http://scottmccloud.com/) has really explored the interactive, multidimensional, and clickable aspects of Web tech.

I'm not new to the "Scott McCloud experience," the comics guru and visionary (also author of Making Comics) is someone I've known about for a while. But I'm now examining, or I guess I should say re-examining his work as a hopeful comics creator myself. If you want to make comics and you haven't check out his stuff before: Go. Study it.

Over at his blog, McCloud continues the conversation he's been having with the medium and its makers for many years. And he's not just a talking head. McCloud has a fine body of work you should check out. He's experimented with a variety of formats--telling many of his stories in a way that could only be done on-screen.

Check out his story The Right Number, link below. It's a story about obsession, done in an awesome zooming panel format in mostly mono-color blue. It's a powerful story, made even more poignant by the tension and urgency of the zooms. In the hands of a lesser storyteller, the zooms could become gimicky, but here, they totally work. The Right Number is a good example of how making your comics on the screen can push the storytelling boundaries. And how the Web can be more than just a distribution hub.

The Right Number by Scott McCloud
http://www.scottmccloud.com/1-webcomics/trn-intro/index.html

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