The Industry Today: The Pros And Cons Of Web Based Comics
There is more than one way to see in the world of comic as their are in the real world,with the world comics we can create things ranging from the realistic to the surreal, from the detailed to the abstract. Comics have evolved in many shapes and forms throughout history whether be reading on a story carved upon a stone column, to reading a web based comic on a digital phone. Comics are even still evolving because like everything else in media or in life comics are subjected to development and progress and no form is immune to that. Even now there web based apps that are allowing people to watch and read comics in motion and sometimes that is a good thing as it adds to the narrative with a small sense of motion of motion in the little things which keeps the foundation of sequential imagination in place for the reader.
Don't get me wrong there are some who would say that comics should not be subjected to new forms of development or progress as Alan Moore states, "If we see comics as only in relation to films, then all they will ever be are pictures that don't move". There is truth to this statement as comics are an art form and respect needs to be maintained for what makes it that way, to what makes it a craft, if you add motion or sound then what is still making it a comic other than the borders in between. As I've put in the title I will be exploring the pros and cons to web based comics and how this can fit into the sensory of human perspective and using the Marvel Motion Comic as the example of the lowest form.
Pros:
The best example of motion in these comics is best depicted in either Hobo Lobo or the hyper comic PoCom as they move slick throughout their respective stories while at the same time adding detail which allows the reader/viewer to participate in finding the various details as they move through.
There is also the possibility of a Transmedia narrative where the comic is capable of telling many other stories through its current narrative, this can be viewed partially in Hobo Lobo and with PoCom this is on purpose as you move through the middle storyline you can split from it and view various others, but not just through space, but through time as well.
Although Transtextuality works both ways with Marvel as in some of their various Motion comics or just Spider-man there are constant references and thus they fall into a good/bad category of Intertextuality as they are using the words of someone else as a joke.
Probably the best Pro of motion Web comics is the fact that detail and hard work on the 3D models has not gone done a peg for the sake of the motion its self.
Cons:
The first would probably be how motion comics function, when you look at marvel's motion comics from its infinite series I would say that it is very basic and the participation happens with or without the viewer as it goes in an automatic motion and there is only a small level of control via the scrolling. This is both a con and a pro because motion can be done in many ways, with detail and thought into the movement of the comic as shown in Hobo Lobo's 3-dimensional convergence of detail and motion as they parallax.
The motion of the Marvel comic can down play forms of intertextuality as it is still the same form of wording and thus the response of the reader is generally the same as it is just done with moving images and thus shows that this form of comic is a media mix of its general product with advertisement for the actual comic or in some cases the Marvel Movies as they include Marvel Motion Movie Comics and thus this platform is just another step for Marvel in creating a bigger franchise.
The Accessibility is still the same for most web comics as they are still solely on the web and can only be found unless you go looking for them, yes they can be advertised and that allows people to participate in this idea like with Marvel, but Marvel are a corporate giant in comics and can afford to do that, but others who create there may not be able to afford to get their ideas out there and thus must use web based advertisement in order to get people to read.
Conclusion: Whether they be made for corporate gain or artistic expression, motion comics on the web are the next step in the comics franchise, not quite there yet, but it's on it's way and I think many are looking forward to the rise of what is an incredible idea for a growing industry.
