going away - Comic Discussion (Print & Web!)

Experimental Comics
MicMit at 7:11AM, Aug. 3, 2010
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joined: 6-16-2010
Having read Scott McCloud's books and following his blog for a few months now, I've become really interested in the subject of experimental and avante-garde comics. I love to see the work of artists that are really pushing the limits of the medium. There's a lot great work out there, some of my personal favorites are the works of Art Spiegelman and Chris Ware . Last summer I picked up the anthology book called Abstract Comics , which was spectacular and even got nominated for an Eisner award.
Recently I've been looking for experimental web-comics. You can see that, especially on this website, the typical web comic system still holds on to the tradition of its print ancestor, for the most part they are just digital copies of what each pay would be like if printed. There have been a few thoughts put forward about how to break away from this form, like hyper-text/choose your own adventure comics ,but the one that is most persuasive has been Scott McCloud's idea of the infinite canvas . A few comics have implemented this and it shows a great deal of potential. The only big flaw for now is the learning curve that comes with understanding how to use Flash.
Still, experimental comics are some of my favorite things to read. What do you guys think of them, and do you know of any artists (either print or web) that I should take a look at?

last edited on July 14, 2011 2:01PM
lothar at 9:44PM, Aug. 3, 2010
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MicMit
Of course most comics are experimenting, but usually just in small portions.

Think of it this way, most comics carry an element of evolutionary experimenting when it comes to its format, but then there are comics that do something revolutionary. To me an experimental comic is something that is deliberately made to break with typical conventions. Spiegelman had several pieces that broke away from the typical style of reading left-to-right. Instead he would create pages that were like labyrinths, you had several options as to what the next panel would be and the basic plots made sense. Chris Ware had a talent for not only creating complex panel designs but also utilized a variety of diagrams and other visuals that couldn't be used in another medium.
An experimental work is going out of its way to break rules and fight standards just to test how versatile medium is.



yea , makes sense , i just get mad when people use words to describe stuff , but i like trying to experiment and stuff , its more fun than doing the normal stuff
last edited on July 14, 2011 1:45PM
demontales at 7:45AM, Aug. 4, 2010
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joined: 7-18-2009
I can't say I've been particularly pleased or amazed by the exemples. It made me feel more like playing a videogame than a comic. However, I'm all for experimentation, we never know where that can lead us. I usually prefer experimentation in the art/layout while keeping "normal pages", but that's just a personal preference.

MicMit
You can see that, especially on this website, the typical web comic system still holds on to the tradition of its print ancestor, for the most part they are just digital copies of what each pay would be like if printed.


Lots of people on here would like to see their comic printed one day, or already sells them printed. Also, many people puts their comic online to have a possibility of beeing seen and receiving feedback, not because they can use a new medium.
last edited on July 14, 2011 12:10PM

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