Unsctructured Comix

Scott McCloud thinks a lot about comics. He's got an excuse given that this is how he makes his living; however, it the depth and creativity of his thoughts that make him stand apart. A while back, he wrote a book (in comic form) called Reinventing Comics in which he analyzed the art-form and then speculated on its future. He was one of the people who, early on, saw the potential for the web and advocated the idea that the web could allow comic artists to employ what he described as an infinite canvas.

When you look around at most online comics, most of them look a lot like traditional print comics. Very few people are really taking advantage of the new medium and, sadly, many of those who are trying to do so aren't, frankly, doing a very good job.

Scott McCloud is more than just a theorist. He's created some truly innovative comics and have them available for viewing on his site. My personal favorite is an autobiographical one called My Obsession with Chess. For sheer beauty of form, I would recommend Zot, which is a kind of superhero story. He uses the idea of a story trail to connect his panels which vary greatly in size per the needs of the story. It's worth taking a look at.