Transmedia: Storytelling for the Digital Age

Sherry Tucci:  "Meet Regina, an outgoing Polish girl who loves the color pink. Instagram tells the story of her life, from romance to parties to family time, like any young adult. But there is a catch—Regina isn't real."

Melanie Goodfellow:  '“I broke all the Holy Grails of interactive. I have no film, I have no App and I don’t have a website” – former Pixel Market participant Ram Devineni talks about the intricacies of developing and financing augmented reality comic book Priya’s Shakti.'

Transmedia NZ's Fiona Milburn takes a look at three ongoing transmedia projects using comic books to great effect.

"Noah Berlatsky contrasts the graphic violence in Gotham to the subdued approach in Ms. Marvel, and ponders which is truly more realistic."

Dipal Parmar:  "A unique aspect of the comic book is that it has been brought to life through the use of augmented reality app Blippar to create animation, videos and other interactive elements."

Tim Carmody:  "In the Marvel comic Hawkeye #15, published in February, the title character was brutally attacked and deafened by a supervillain real estate developer trying to push the hero's neighbors out of their apartment building in Brooklyn's Bed-Stuy. (It's a very special comic book.)"

Eric Jaffe:  "[Psychologist Neil Cohn of University of California at San Diego] says any language has a "holy triumvirate" of elements: expressive form, grammar, and meaning. Comics, he argues, meet all three requirements."

Marc Graser:  "Disney is giving its theme park attractions a backstory in comicbook form. Marvel and Walt Disney Imagineering will launch “Disney Kingdoms: Seekers of the Weird” as the first of a new comicbook series" ...

An interesting list!

Dr. Drew Morton on Scott Pilgrim: a unique transmedia experience in which visual style is the glue uniting comic, film & video game.

This is a great article for transmedia practitioners and educators alike.  I particularly liked Tyler Weaver's analogy for transmedia storytelling, "It’s the idea of the chef: learn the basic tools, then an understanding of ingredients, then how to build flavors by combining those ingredients into an irresistible meal."

Although aimed at educators, this article contains some great tips for DIY comic creation that everyone will find useful.

Alastair Reid:  "New projects are integrating traditional art with digital innovation, and the medium's proponents believe it can tell stories in a way other media may not" ...

Michele Brittany:  "Comfort and Adam use the term “comics” to encompass comics, manga and webcomics. Obviously, if you are thinking and researching the self-publishing route, this book is for you. [...] This book is also for creative individuals who are not looking to self-publish. As a freelance writer of popular culture, this book armed me with comic book industry terminology and knowledge that I did not have before."

Todd Allen:  "The business side of the comics business is something that doesn’t get discussed nearly as much as it should and that can cause some stumbling blocks — particularly for creators striking out on their own."

Jaya Mahajan:  "Priya’s Shakti is  a social impact multi media project that has an augmented reality (AR) comic book, street art and social media pages . It is a project that aims to create an alternative attitude towards violence against women."

Shathley Q:  '“Sometimes…” as Stuart Moore writes on the first page the pre-Superstorm Sandy released Wolverine: Under the Boardwalk, “…you just gotta disappear for a while.”'

Russ Burlingame:  "There are few comic book movies that fans will go into with less information than I, Frankenstein; the film was written by Kevin Grevioux and Scot Beattie and adapted to a graphic novel from Grevioux’s first-draft screenplay."

Despite the odd hiccup, comics seem to be successfully embracing digital whilst also growing their traditional print base.  It makes a great lesson for any of the creative industries struggling with the transition to digital.

Interesting ....

In part 2 of an excellent set of articles, Tyler Weaver puts the controversies surrounding video games and comics into historical context; and chooses the dawn of Marvel's Universe as "the most perfect encapsulation of a shared storyworld out there".

After a stellar year in 2012, what's next for comics?  Hint: there's a lot of transmedia storytelling involved.