The Future of Comics

This week I read both Stand Still Stay Silent and Strong Female Protagonist. Web-comics opens up a new venture in the comics medium. It’s accessible to a wider range of audience, and the content that is created is not necessarily restricted by companies/publishers. The work in both these web comics are reflective of a more artist focused schedule and experimentation. One of my favorite things about Stand Still Stay Silent is the limited color palette and the use of a narrative that builds from a prologue set in the past before going into the post-apocalyptic future.  

The other comic, Strong Female Protagonist is a standard superhero comic that ends up being a more focused on the coming of age portion in college (and the fears of the having powers around people who don’t). It also puts a slight twist on the genre with her having a celebrity status beforehand (and with no secret identity to boot). The web comic that both of these stories are in are easy to navigate/user friendly. The advantage of this format is that it invites readers in without the overwhelming nature of finding issues and it can allow direct conversation with the creator through the comments section (which can be a blessing or a curse). Another advantage of the web comic format is the almost binge quality nature of it (this varies from story to story). Instead of having to wait monthly or bi-monthly for an issue, comics would update almost weekly. 

For the web comic that I have found, is Sabrina Cotugno’s The Glass Scientists. Not only is the art really appealing, but the story takes a twist on the classic Victorian era fictitious science stories, with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as one of the main protagonists. It has been running for about four years now, and has a continuous storyline. A big plus to this being a web-comic (or without the restrictions of mainstream publication) is that the main cast of characters are diverse. 

Web comics are very much the future of the comics industry, as long as it keeps its creative synergy and creative freedom.