Webcomics and Flash

I’d like to focus more on how flash can help tell stories by going over three webcomics and how they utilize flash. These are just the tip of the iceberg on how flash can be utilized in comics and storytelling and I will refrain from spoilers in case anyone wants to check out the following comics.

Now, the first comic I’d like to go over is called Ava’s Demon by Michelle Czajkowski. It is a one panel webcomic that has an easy navigation design and occasionally has some simple flash animations.  The comic is put into a framework like a book, and the first thing you see upon going on the site is the cover, which glows as if it were alive.

The next comic I’d like to go over is called Unsounded by Ashley Cope. Unlike Ava’s Demon, there aren’t flash animations and it has more traditional multi-panel comic framework, but where the flash is most utilized is by altering the very framework and even the website page depending on what is happening in the comic.

The last comic I’d like to briefly go over is Homestuck by Andrew Hussie (yes, that is his name). It is a one panel webcomic and it utilizes flash the most out of this trio. The panels themselves can either be typical art or they could be GIFs. Then there could be short interactive panel or even a flash animation thrown into the mix. The dialogue is held beneath the panels and is either all out in the open, or must be open through chat logs.

Flash gives an opportunity for artists to tell their story in a way that traditional media cannot. With flash, a comic can be given music, or a short animation, or even break the borders of it panels. It opens possibilities that many comic artists are taking advantage of.