Digital Augmentation

What are the main differences between traditional and online comics? The possibilities offered by the digital presentation of comics are many and varied. The nature of an online comic can differ from the traditional form in three main ways: the integration of new media into the work, the format in which this is presented, and the level and type of interaction which takes place between the reader and the work. I will address the issue on interaction separately. Here I will address the issues of additional media and alternative formats.

Additional media

Perhaps the most common addition to a comic when producing an online version is to animate elements of the story. With tools such as Macromedia's Flash and Director applications, a stunning variety of animated effects can be achieved. Such additions to an online comic will certainly set it apart from its paper counterparts and earn it the status of 'multimedia'. However, I consider that in most instances, the use of animation in an online comic is motivated more by the 'wow' factor and the 'because we can' rationale than by a considered aesthetic judgement aimed at enriching the work.

In terms of presenting the action of the story, I would argue that it makes sense to either entirely animate the story (in which case the work ceases to be a comic and becomes a cartoon), or to use animation extremely sparingly, or not at all. Once is introduced into a work, a convention is established and a level of expectation is created in the mind of the audience. This expectation can then be subverted by using animation sparingly and, or upheld by consistent use of animation.

An important point for consideration is: at what point do digital additions to a comic transform it from being an enhanced comic to being a poor imitation of a cartoon? A good example of the pitfalls into which an online comic can fall is the Star Wars Episode I shockwave flash comic that I found on the official Star Wars site:

http://www.starwars.com   ³ 

What I watched was the first instalment of a series of online comic versions of the Star Wars Episode I: the Phantom Menace. The online comic version fails in a number of ways. Firstly, there is the animation and pacing. The animation consists of comic book style drawings animated in a stilted manner. The effect of this is that of a bad cartoon. The story is a condensed version of the film, so the pacing of the scenes has a hurried, perfunctory, feel. The soundtrack also is a cut down version of the film's, which, because of the streaming nature of the delivery, synchronises poorly with onscreen action. Another major problem is the lack of user controls. There is no provision made for pausing the sequence or coming back to it at a given point, the sequence must always be viewed from the beginning every time. This lack of user control puts it at a disadvantage against any other medium with the exception of a cinema screening, which it is a watered down version of in every other respect.

It is perhaps a little unfair to judge an online comic which has the daunting task of reproducing one of the most highly produced films ever, and was doubtless produced on a mere fraction of the budget of the film itself. It does however offer some important lessons.

The questions that should be asked when translating a work from one medium to another are:

• Of the various aspects of the work I am emulating, which can and cannot be reproduced in the medium in which I am working?
• What can my medium offer the work in addition to what is present in the original version?

The Episode I online comic elaborates on the original film format by placing multiple frames on the screen at once, each containing different scenes, providing some interesting juxtapositions of situation and settings, a familiar and effective comic book technique. Other than this, the online comic version makes little use of the medium, the lack of any user control being a particular shame.

My main criticism however is that it ploughs headlong into the folly of gleefully adding all the augmentations possible to a comic by adding sound and animation, which add little value to the work, while disregarding most of what makes a comic enjoyable and unique. Despite (or more truthfully, because of) all the digital bells and whistles, which are added, the overall effect is that of a very poor cartoon version of the film. This is a clear indication that while the addition of animated sequence to an online comic will make for an impressive spectacle, it does not necessarily add value to the work, and in fact it may actually be damaging to the integrity of the medium.

The other form of additional media often added to online comics is sound. The question of the use of sound in online comics is an interesting one. Sound is an entirely alien medium to traditional comics, for obvious technical reasons. The power of digital presentation means that online comics can have soundtracks. Soundtracks can perform a number of functions within a narrative. The question is: what value would a soundtrack add to a comic?

Sound can be used in conjunction with images to convey events that are part of the mise en scène, or to convey unseen events (gunshots, something falling over, etc.). Comics have developed their own ocular language to express aural events visually. Such visualisation of sound I find to be an extremely expressive dimension to comics when done well, and would consider it a shame to dispense with such a rich language in favour of straight reproduction of sound.

Sound is also used to convey dialogue, both by characters within the frame, external to the frame but within the narrative, and also entirely external narrators. Again, I feel that while it would certainly be impressive to have your comic talk to you, this would be a replacement of function, not an addition.

Finally, sound is also used emotively, usually in the form of music, to evoke moods and atmospheres. It is this function of a soundtrack as an emotional indicator for which comics have no equivalent or substitute. It is also the only function of sound that helps, rather than hinders the contemplative quality of comics. However, this is only true if music is used in a fairly loose manner. As I have mentioned earlier, part of the appeal of comics is that the reader drives the pace of the story. For a soundtrack to work in this context, it can only realistically be used to create a mood for the comic environment as whole, or significant sections of it. To attempt to tailor the soundtrack for specific pages, frames or events would prove disruptive to the reader's own flow. However, sound is the most primary of senses, and undoubtedly the most emotively powerful. As such it can set the emotional tone of work quickly and effectively.

On balance, I would say that while adding a soundtrack to an online comic would no doubt transform the work, it would not necessarily improve it, however, the use of sound is most likely to succeed if used sparingly and in a general manner.

Format

The medium of online comics opens up many possibilities in terms of format and layout. The basic restriction of the page is replaced by the restriction of the screen. Within this basic framework, however, much is possible.

McCloud suggests creating a 'story-scape' that the reader can zoom into and navigate their way around  ⁴ . He envisions building comics of all shapes and sizes, which are in effect 'temporal maps' of a narrative. In this way the user's screen would be, instead of a fixed frame, rather a window onto a world. This is an appealing notion, however it should also be noted that comic creators have often turned the restriction of the page into a virtue. Having a fixed page order and size means that creators know the exact format and context in which a given page will be viewed. This allows artists to plan compositions in great detail. If the viewable area of a work is variable, then compositional considerations must change accordingly. This means that compositions have to be designed to be viewed from a variety of viewpoints. This is not necessarily a negative point, but an example of the created problems generated by greater freedom of format.

In addition to the perceived shape of an online comic, there is also the issue of how the story moves forward. It has already been established that one of the principles of what defines a comic is the idea of space representing time. Given that the digital medium is not physical in any meaningful sense, how does this notion translate to the virtual spaces represented on screen? The short answer is that it doesn't. The question then is, what is the significance of spatial transitions in comics, and how can this be reproduced in online comics?

The significance of these spatial transitions is that the reader makes them and the pacing of the transitions is not forced by the medium. In other words, the reader's eye moves across the composition of a page as it wishes, and the page is turned when the reader so desires. In a digital environment, the form that the progression through the narrative takes is more open. However, while not literally physical, these paths can still be of a spatial nature, depending on the form of the comic. If the comic is of a specific 'shape', then there will naturally be the impression of progressing (for instance) 'along', 'into', or 'up' the storyline. Alternatively, there may be no spatial element or 'shape' to the narrative. In this case, how would the transitions be made? The most likely answer to this is that the work would become more filmic, as the work would divide up into the equivalent of scenes and shots, with transitions in between. Provided that the user retained control of triggering transitions, the essence of the contemplative narrative would remain.

The notion of the reader being in the driving seat with regard to the progress of the narrative is central to the way in which a comic operates. In this sense, the comic might be considered an interactive art form. In the next section I will further examine the issue of interaction as it relates to narrative, and the possibilities for development that online comics offer in this area.