Note: I have stopped drawing new episodes of Icarus. Click here for the Artist's Afterword.

The Theory behind Icarus

The basic story of Icarus has been kicking around in my head for a long time. For reasons I won't go into here, I've decided that it must be published NOW. The best way for me to accomplish that is to self-publish on the web.

However, I belong to the comic-fan-camp that believes the printed page will always be better than the screen. You don't have to wait for images to load, you don't need a big clunky machine to look at it, and you can carry it around with you. But most importantly, I just think it's easier to lose myself in a printed page. Somehow the screen acts like a barrier, a mediator, that never lets me forget I'm looking at a piece of fiction that someone has created.

Maybe you feel differently. Maybe I'm just a technophobic luddite. Regardless, I feel an obligation to make Icarus a comic that is better on the screen than it would be on paper, through creative use of the digital medium.

I don't plan on using animation or sound. Animation, sound effects, and certain types of interactivity suggest cartoons and video games. But why would you read a comic that merely suggests when you can go watch cartoons or play video games?* Icarus is a comic, and comics have their own unique impact. If you don't believe me, see Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics.

At this time I don't know exactly what I'll do. I'm thinking mostly about navigation; making the way you navigate through the story part of the story, exploiting the fact that you are not turning pages, you're clicking buttons. And "buttons" can have any number of forms and functions. It won't be a Choose Your Own Adventure story; the plot and sequence of events will remain fixed. However, different pathways through the story may change your perception of the story. Different readers may come away with different experiences, but all experiences qualify as "the real story."

I plan to explore as I go and just try a lot of different things. Some will undoubtedly work better than others. There is one device I'm saving for the end, which will be super cool and more or less provide the keystone for the whole experience. But it's a surprise.

So, please check in every month for the latest installment, enjoy the show, keep an eye out for secret "buttons," and don't hesitate to offer feedback about anything at all.

Neal Skorpen

3-28-01

*I owe this notion to a panel on web comics at the 2000 San Diego Comic Con, which featured Scott McCloud, Kyle J. Baker, Cayetano Garza, Patrick Farley and Steve Conley.