DC Adding Animation, Alternate/Multiple Endings To Digital Comics

Greg

http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/dc-brings-animated-panels-multiple-endings-its-digital-comics-6C10199554

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/06/04/choose-your-own-dc-digital-comic/

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=45869

http://www.comicsalliance.com/2013/06/05/dc-digital-dc2-interactive-choice-based-comics/

John_Steed

makes sense. like it.

luke52

John_Steed said:

makes sense. like it.

Agreed. I like the thought of making digital it's own medium instead of just a replacement/alternate to paper copies.

David_D

I think these things are fine for side products (like a comic tying into a video game) but I personally do not want to see this migrate into their regular comics.

A talented artist makes sequential work that is already animated. It is full of energy, motion, and momentum. And it is done with the language and techniques of comics. I don't need animation added to my comics. Let animation be its own thing and comics be comics.

As for user driven stories? I pay them to tell the stories. To make the choices that are the most satisfying. Because they are the storytellers, and I am the reader. Let video games be video games. I don't need my comic to have choices.

So, again, if they want to play with digital possibilities, that's cool. But those feel like a hybrid experience to me. Like many other tricks of the past. But I would rather let the comics be comics. Even when they are distributed to me digitally rather than on paper.

BlackUmbrella

Not into it if it involves sound or movement. I prefer my comic books to have more in common with books than cartoons or films. I do really like the progressive panel reveals, subtle shifts in focus and other "quiet" innovations that enhance the digital reading experience.

John_Steed

While I understand the naysayers it's also a fact that folks - me included - read comics in print AND digitally. It doesn't make sense that reading a comic on a screen should be EXACTLY like reading it on paper. So what if there are special functions on a digital device. The more extras the better. Especially for the same or less price than the printed stuff.

And - paper has also special features like: it smells, it can easily be torn up, it works without electricity, it's easier to hold up while reading lying on the back......nobody is complaining about those "hybrid experiences" . Just kidding :D

A bad comic will suck with or without animation and various choices of endings.

eduardo_sanchez

I think it's great that people are trying new things with the medium. They should be trying to work with the strengths of this new platform.

David_D

John_Steed said:

While I understand the naysayers it's also a fact that folks - me included - read comics in print AND digitally. It doesn't make sense that reading a comic on a screen should be EXACTLY like reading it on paper. So what if there are special functions on a digital device. The more extras the better. Especially for the same or less price than the printed stuff.

And - paper has also special features like: it smells, it can easily be torn up, it works without electricity, it's easier to hold up while reading lying on the back......nobody is complaining about those "hybrid experiences" . Just kidding :D

A bad comic will suck with or without animation and various choices of endings.

Yes, a bad comic will still be a bad comic with various choices of endings.

I just don't want to see these options become the norm (and I don't think it will, if only for cost reasons). Because then an otherwise complete and tightly told comic will start to be pushed to have decision points. And that art that can stand on its own merits will need to create opportunities for motion. (I sort of picture those moments in some films that have a 3D version that are clearly there just to feature the 3D).

Digital is already different than print. And that is great. The experience of digital, just the panel view options, or the ability to zoom, all of that already makes it a different experience.

And there have been some great examples of publishers adding functionality and layers to the comic. Four Star Studios did an excellent job of that-- there are all sorts of different ways to view the process steps of the finished product, or to see some creator commentary on each page. And that's great. Especially because all of it must be opted into. And it doesn't actually change the storytelling. You can turn it off and have a more traditional reading experience if you want.

And, to be clear, if they want to make some special products that are more like this, then so be it. I just don't want to see animation and multiple become a norm. Because I think comic book storytelling (whether on paper or screen) is not broken. It doesn't need more options as a matter of course.