SHAMALINXAn attempt to catalogue all the ACTUAL WEBCOMICS (that is, the ones that boundaries-push instead of lying flat on the digital page, the ones that employ extra-papyral approaches, the ones that would not work in mere printed editions). Maybe 10% of what is online fits into this category.
I should note that Scott McCloud's thinking about this stuff in his Reinventing Comics (William Morrow, 2000) and Shaenon Garrity's great work in The Comics Journal are my twin pillars so far for a sense of the parameters and also the history of (actual) webcomics. Extremely inspired by them and also Eugene Kim, the guy who convinced me to make one. |
This is the first and still maybe one of the best in terms of interactivity coupled with meta-content -- the whole thing is about computer nerds surfing the web -- in a fast-paced comedic style reminiscent of The Simpsons. Smart, trippy and highly distracting, with tons of URL links and also, in the recent reboot, tons of buttons that change the page's appearance or trigger animations. [1995-2019]
This LGBTQ-populated story periodically uses .mp3 files with songs or narration. [2002-present]
"... imagine The Little Prince written by Neil Gaiman and Jack Kerouac only it takes place in a Final Fantasy game." [2006-2014]
"... a witty retelling of "The Pied Piper," and the side scrolling effect creates the impression that you're watching the whole thing played inside a diorama." [2011-2014]
"... One of the most spectacular pop-culture phenomena of the past decade, beloved by millions of readers: a unique and massive internet-based narrative work consisting of comics, chat logs, gifs, games, animation, and music." [4/13/09-4/13/16]
I personally feel that while Leisure Town has the digital veneer and shares many of the stylistic attributes of actual webcomics, it could exist in the same way in print and so does not qualify for the classification in the strictest sense. However my webcomics theory mentor Eugene Chen disagrees, "... and the reason will surprise you. I read an interview where the creator [Tristan A. Farnon] said he explicitly made the strip for the web and for screen resolutions at the time. He thinks they look awful printed out, and he's right!"
You decide. I will say that Leisure Town is cute and very funny in spots, and it's from the old school. [1996-2003] |
NONSHAMALINX |
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SHAMALAMAYIM: REVISION HISTORY
general
6/24/20 Split comic into prologue and chapter 1 pages. Added comments starting with panel 16. Moving forward I will now just post a link to reddit (and instagram, and eventually webtoons) as opposed to uploading the whole image file.
shama 16
6/19/20 1st upload.
shama 15
5/18/20 1st upload.
shama 14
3/29/20 1st upload.
shama 13
3/25/20 1st upload.
shama 12
3/17/20 1st upload. Ugh I'm getting later and later!
shama 11
2/27/20 1st upload. Ugh I'm getting later and later!
shama 10
2/18/20 1st upload.
shama 9
2/9/20 1st upload. Augh this one was a day late, I thought it had accidentally deleted, and then I had to compress it because it was too big. This should be a sign to me -- it is way too big; too clunky, too much going on (but still a part of me likes the overload of it). I also got two great insights this week, right before my plan to blast to a list of 500 friends goes into effect next month. The first was handed to me by my great friend Rian, who insisted that my plotting needs to be clear and intentional, and, importantly, not rooted in dreams or dreamlike structures. The second was accidentally hit upon by the layout for this week's panel. I can't exactly do Scott McCloud's "infinite canvas" yet, but I've ended up simulating it with last week's panel sliding off the stage as this week's replaces it.
shama 8
2/1/20 1st upload.
shama 7
1/26/20 1st upload.
shama 6
1/18/20 1st upload.
shama 5
1/10/20 1st upload.
shama 4
1/5/20 1st upload.
shama 3
12/28/19 1st upload.
3/25/20 2nd upload: got rid of the black path line the soccer ball travels on.
shama 2
12/21/19 1st upload.
1/18/20 Made a new .psd (got to remember that these early ones I was still using Photoshop for) with three frames like for shama 1 so the text will show for longer. Somehow the weebly version works fine so I made a different one for reddit. Success!
2/10/20 Arrgh! I added a set of squares to the left of the image depicting (and naming) each of Irma's family members in attendance at the game. Looks good tho I think my Mom will have a hard time reading the captions. But for some reason the same new .gif won't upload here on the weebly. Arrgh!
2/18/20 Actually wait it now appears that the correct shama 2 has uploaded to the weebly. Un-arrgh.
shama 1
12/14/19 1st upload.
12/21/19 Change title from shama1 to shama 1 to make it easier to find.
12/28/19 Tried to fix the problem (that the second frame only flashes for a second) in several ways, none of which worked. I finally made a third panel so that it now reads backwards (the blue second panel appears first) but at least now both can be seen for a few seconds. Phew.
1/26/20 Changed color from blue to pink to match the Llamas' colors.
6/24/20 Remade the whole panel to tie-in to the (new! improved!) plotlines, whilst retaining the black/white-to-pink moment.
6/24/20 Split comic into prologue and chapter 1 pages. Added comments starting with panel 16. Moving forward I will now just post a link to reddit (and instagram, and eventually webtoons) as opposed to uploading the whole image file.
shama 16
6/19/20 1st upload.
shama 15
5/18/20 1st upload.
shama 14
3/29/20 1st upload.
shama 13
3/25/20 1st upload.
shama 12
3/17/20 1st upload. Ugh I'm getting later and later!
shama 11
2/27/20 1st upload. Ugh I'm getting later and later!
shama 10
2/18/20 1st upload.
shama 9
2/9/20 1st upload. Augh this one was a day late, I thought it had accidentally deleted, and then I had to compress it because it was too big. This should be a sign to me -- it is way too big; too clunky, too much going on (but still a part of me likes the overload of it). I also got two great insights this week, right before my plan to blast to a list of 500 friends goes into effect next month. The first was handed to me by my great friend Rian, who insisted that my plotting needs to be clear and intentional, and, importantly, not rooted in dreams or dreamlike structures. The second was accidentally hit upon by the layout for this week's panel. I can't exactly do Scott McCloud's "infinite canvas" yet, but I've ended up simulating it with last week's panel sliding off the stage as this week's replaces it.
shama 8
2/1/20 1st upload.
shama 7
1/26/20 1st upload.
shama 6
1/18/20 1st upload.
shama 5
1/10/20 1st upload.
shama 4
1/5/20 1st upload.
shama 3
12/28/19 1st upload.
3/25/20 2nd upload: got rid of the black path line the soccer ball travels on.
shama 2
12/21/19 1st upload.
1/18/20 Made a new .psd (got to remember that these early ones I was still using Photoshop for) with three frames like for shama 1 so the text will show for longer. Somehow the weebly version works fine so I made a different one for reddit. Success!
2/10/20 Arrgh! I added a set of squares to the left of the image depicting (and naming) each of Irma's family members in attendance at the game. Looks good tho I think my Mom will have a hard time reading the captions. But for some reason the same new .gif won't upload here on the weebly. Arrgh!
2/18/20 Actually wait it now appears that the correct shama 2 has uploaded to the weebly. Un-arrgh.
shama 1
12/14/19 1st upload.
12/21/19 Change title from shama1 to shama 1 to make it easier to find.
12/28/19 Tried to fix the problem (that the second frame only flashes for a second) in several ways, none of which worked. I finally made a third panel so that it now reads backwards (the blue second panel appears first) but at least now both can be seen for a few seconds. Phew.
1/26/20 Changed color from blue to pink to match the Llamas' colors.
6/24/20 Remade the whole panel to tie-in to the (new! improved!) plotlines, whilst retaining the black/white-to-pink moment.