Weird webcomic thought du jour

[g33x0R]

This one really doesn't belong in the recent `Suggestion' thread, or even in the main discussion forum, but that is where I got the idea.

I'm not exactly a webcomic junkie, but there are a few that I follow closely. With each of them, I've noticed how the flow of the story changes suddenly, as soon as I catch up on the artist's previous work and start waiting for new installments -- eg, reading as it's written instead of at my own pace. And with each of them, I've considered bookmarking it, leaving it for a few months, and then coming back to read at my own pace again later [with the exception of XKCD, since it has no overall story arc -- recurring characters, but no arc].

But no, I keep checking in regularly for updates, and have no trouble keeping track of several parallel stories at once -- even this one, which has several subplots bubbling along in it. Strange, because that's not how I read books at all. I read *one* book from beginning to end before opening the next one, sometimes for 24 hours at a stretch if it's really good [books *do_not* help me get to sleep, btw]... Or put it down unfinished if it's not so good.

Anyway, webcomics. The thing is, *nobody* can draw a comic as fast as most people will read it, even if a reader takes the time to savour every detail and consider where such-and-such plot point might lead [without skipping ahead, of course. That's cheating in any genre, not just murder mysteries].

But then I was thinking; what about the Japanese approach to animation? Huge, truly massive crews of animators produce these movies much faster than Western studios, without sacrificing quality. Seems like an organizational nightmare, but it actually works.

Reminds me a little of a construction project I heard about once, in which an entire condominium was built, from foundation to roofing to wiring to cabinets and trim, in one day. Not a normal construction contract by any means, just demonstrating that it could be done. More of a PR stunt really, but people actually lived there the next day.

Anyway, I could see someone trying that with a webcomic, if they had the story already plotted out and a massive crew of artists ready to go. Another organizational nightmare, certainly not practical, just a weird idea.

But then, I already told you that, right there in the subject line. ;-)



Cheers,

Patrick.

EDIT: I also blame Linux and its widely distributed open-source software projects for this one.