Electric Sheep Web Comix
By Jessica Scott
A lot of webcomics out there today are merely print comics just scanned
in and slapped on a webpage. Even those that are created on computer
still use the same format and style of print comics. There are square
boxes, usually three, and they are read from left to right. While
many of these comics are great in their own right, they don't fully
take advantage of the possibilities for story-telling afforded by
the web.
Electric Sheep, on the other hand, makes a point of taking full advantage
of the non-linear properties of the web, and utilizes them to create
new and interesting styles of comic. One popular comic, "Shapeshifter,"
has pictures made entirely in 3-D rendered computer graphics. Although
many regular comics are drawn on computer, they still look
like drawings. This, on the other hand, is clearly computer graphics.
In addition, instead of just having multiple frames, one right after
another, the reader must click on the current frame, and is taken
to a new page where the next frame is. It has more of a book feel
than a comic feel because you are constantly turning the page.
There are other comics that use different shapes and sizes for their
frames, and link them through twisting lines rather than having them
situated one right after the other. One such is "Chrysalis Colossus."
This also had a very interesting background, which had a mixture of
corporate logos, and tribal and Asian writing. The contrast of the
pictures of the comic itself, which were space-agey looking with Victorian-looking
characters, was very cool.
The subject matter of the comics on this site is nicely varied. There
are sci-fi, humor and drama comics. I was also pleased by the number
of comics directed at females. Electric Sheep is definitely a haven
for comics trying to break the mold of the print comic.