Out this month from Markosia, Contraband has been reviewed by me here. TJ Behe sat down and answered ’10 Questions With’ about digital comics.
Who are you and what are you working on right now? (2 questions in 1, I know!)
TJ Behe and I’m working on a follow up to my first graphic novel, entitled Contraband:
Christiania
What drew you to digital comics?
My first title had some previews on a webcomic site called Eye Melt (love the name). The first
4 chapters were essentially cut and pasted from the print version.
Webcomics or digital comics?
Both webcomics and digitalcomics are excellent. Most smart webcomic chapters are
essentially one or two pages from digital (or print) comics – but sometimes these artists have
to be a little more rapid-fire, straight to the point. Digital comics let readers sit back quite a
bit more – and most webcomic-loving kids usually move into them anyway…
What do you think works with digital comics?
Action / hero comics can really tap into the light / effects of users devices – notably tablets. I
think more and more the colourist will need put lots of thought into how to best illuminate
the pages.
Can digital comics replace print comics?
Not sure they will. Radical tree-huggers are focusing more on fighting industry practices
these days (Coke is making paper bottles!) versus books – and the general public like
renewables. Let’s hope they don’t go after the ink…
How can print comics work with digital comics?
Hand and hand – if you really like the digital comic enough you’ll then buy the print version
too. The print keepsake bit is still SO strong.
What don’t you like about digital comics?
Nope, nothing. I do really like them.
What digital comics/webcomics do you read?
All the Dark Horse, Image, Fantagraphics titles I didn’t get but wanted from the 90’s are now
digital and are now on my tablet
Where do you see digital comics going from here?
Upward and onwards. Illumination and clever viewing techniques will enhance the
enjoyment of looking at them. This is probably the interim thing before VR becomes a
mainstream thing.
Who do you think we should look out for in digital comics?
Aggregators and maybe a few clever indie comic labels. Someone will tap into the advancing
technical / visual experience opportunities and the big guys will then probably follow…
Thanks to TJ Behe for the answers – I recommend checking out Contraband and if you want to find out more, please check out the website here.
