Writing Visual Culture

This article examines the recent emergence of the motion comic as part of a growing relationship between comic books, animation and new forms of digital entertainment and distribution. Motion comics typically appropriate the narrative and ‘static’ artwork of a comic book, which is then manipulated by animation software such as Adobe’s After Effects to create an impression that is similar to paper-cut animation. Early examples of the motion comic form include the episodic web-based Broken Saints (Burgess 2001), as well as Saw: Rebirth (Shuter and Viney 2005). This article will reveal a number of motion comic aesthetics via a brief analysis of Watchmen (Moore and Gibbons 1987) (Hughes 2008). A number of interactive digital comic narratives are also explored, including Pocom (Gauld and Goodbrey 2003) and an overview of the app-based title, CIA: Operation Ajax (Burwen 2011). Craig Smith, ‘Motion Comics’ Writing Visual Culture 7 (2015) 2 INTRODUCTION The motion comic can be regarded as part of a broader movement, which has placed the comic book medium as one of the most influential narrative sources in popular film and animation. The advent and maturation of Computer Generated Imagery (CGI), Visual Effects (VFX), and sophisticated digital compositing, enables Hollywood filmmakers to create CGI comic book characters that blend almost seamlessly with live-action characters and real or imaginary environments. The twenty first century has witnessed a number of commercially successful film releases such as Spider-Man (Raimi 2002), and the more recent Avengers Assemble (Whedon 2012). Produced and distributed according to the Hollywood system, these ‘blockbusters’ have arguably created a greater demand for comic book derived narratives across various media platforms, such as film, television, the Internet and digital tablets and smartphones. Marvel’s Agents of Shield (2014) and their upcoming Defenders Netflix series exemplify the influence of comic books and media convergence. While the comic book medium has already been adapted into various film franchises, televised cartoons, webcomics and interactive experiences, the emergence of the motion comic has further transformed the relationship between the comic book medium and moving image culture. It does so by directly appropriating the narrative and ‘static’ comic book artwork from the original source material (the hypotext), which is then manipulated by animation software such as Adobe’s After Effects to create an impression that is similar to paper-cut animation. Early examples of the form include the episodic web-based Broken Saints (Burgess and Kirby 2001), as well as Saw: Rebirth (Shuter and Viney 2005), an adaptation from a one-off comic book title that acted as a prequel to the Saw narrative in the live-action films. The release of a motion comic adaptation of Dave Gibbons and Alan Moore’s Watchmen (Hughes 2008) on the iTunes store and DVD brought the motion comic field to public attention more than any other title up to that time. By adapting such a high profile graphic novel, it signified that the motion comic had become part of a broader effort to bring the comic book medium into new and emerging forms of digital media. To date, the series has been generally well received, despite some criticisms of the voiceover: Craig Smith, ‘Motion Comics’ Writing Visual Culture 7 (2015) 3 The dialogue, provided entirely by Tom Stechschulte, is really quite good, especially when voicing Dr. Manhattan, though there are a few major exceptions, namely the fact that he also provides the voices for the female characters (dvdtalk.com 2009). The widespread influence of the motion comic also extends into contemporary transmedia practices, enabling content creators to extend existing franchises beyond their native mediums and distribution networks in a bid to reach a wider spectrum of consumers. Motion comic titles, such as the aforementioned SAW: Rebirth enable content producers to augment existing franchises with additional exposition, which often takes the form of a prequel to a popular film or television series. Furthermore, the accessibility of digital animation software has encouraged a growing number of amateur or 'fan-made' motion comics of popular titles. Recent adaptations include The Death of Spiderman (Bates 2011), which has achieved over 1,000,000 views on YouTube, and Angry Birds: The Motion Comic (Kareranta 2011), which has achieved over 800,000 views on YouTube. These figures indicate a growing acceptance of the field as a conduit for fan participation and remediation. As with many new forms of moving image or digital culture, motion comics currently polarise opinion among comic book readers, animation critics, audiences and the popular press, as illustrated by some of the following comments and reviews: I'm with you, dude. I'm an old comic book geek from way back and I think that "digital" or motion comics are for gomers. Gimme an old fashioned physical comic any day. Nothin' like crackin' open an old issue and smelling that aged newsprint!! Yeeeeaaaaaah..... (FatFreddysCat 2012) With Marvel Comics' new Stephen King's N joining DC's Watchmen and Image's Invincible series for MTV, everyone seems to be jumping on the animated adaptation bandwagon. We have only one question to ask: Has no-one told any of these people that these cut-price cartoons kind of suck? (McMillan 2008) The previous statements, and many other online comments and discussions, obscure the motion comic field within a subjective area of public discourse. Many such comic book readers exhibit a fear or distrust of digital media and what it possibly means for the printed comic book medium. One could argue that their concerns are the equivalent of a rallying cry from a distinct subculture of comic book fans that oppose contemporary digital modes of comic book narrative Craig Smith, ‘Motion Comics’ Writing Visual Culture 7 (2015) 4 and entertainment. Their devotion to the analogue printed comic book medium lies in direct conflict with the commonly held perception of convergence culture, as posited by Henry Jenkins: By convergence, I mean the flow of content across multiple media platforms, the cooperation between multiple media industries, and the migratory behaviour of media audiences who will go almost anywhere in search of the kinds of entertainment experiences they want (Jenkins 2006, 2). This article argues that the motion comic is part of a strategy to cross-pollinate new and existing comic book content with moving image culture via screen-based devices and digital distribution channels such iTunes, YouTube and mobile apps. The following section will consider the various forms of motion comic by analysing the distinct production practices that motion comic directors employ to adapt a comic book scene into a motion comic. MOTION COMIC AESTHETICS A motion comic appropriates original comic book narrative and artwork as the primary source of visual material for its creation. The unique hand-drawn artwork of the comic book artist is typically scanned and converted into a digital image format. The artwork from each panel is often separated into distinct visual layers, which can be animated separately from one another to give an impression of speed/time, camera movement and spatial depth. A variable combination of comic book speech balloons, narrated voiceover, individual character voiceover and soundtrack score typically accompany the moving image.