Comics

Well, I did it. I finally made an important decision, one of the most significant decisions of my life. It's one of those choices that signals a rite of passage, a growing into maturity while threatening to totally disrupt life as we've known it. No, I'm not getting married, or starting a business, or moving away or (knock on wood), quitting this column.

I bought a computer.

The decision did not come easy. For years, I staunchly resisted plugging in, proudly declaring my independence from the technomania that seemed to be infecting everyone around me. I rather enjoyed watching people's eyebrows raise when I coolly informed them that I had no e-mail address and if they wanted to contact me they would have to do it the old-fashioned way, by phone or letter. I shunned cybersilliness like smileys, chat rooms, McPaint and Windows 3-point-whatever.

But then came word of the Information Superhighway and the Internet, offering a world wide web of possibilities for information access. This appealed to the information junkie in me. Then I started getting mailbombed with computer disks and offers to explore (for free) various on-line services like Prodigy, CompuServe and America On-Line. Still I resisted, reasoning that my life was already too complicated. But gradually my resistance wore down. One afternoon an on-line friend took me for a spin on the Internet and gave me a peek at the hundreds of fascinating newsgroups and bulletin boards, including ones related to comics. That did it. I was hooked. Then an opportunity came up to purchase a colleague's used computer. Now I'm the two-week-old possessor of an electronic spaceship which sits on my desk and beckons me to go cruising the cybercosmos. (Rule #1: Don't even turn on the machine if you have other things to do.)

Welcome to the real world.

The first computer-drawn comic was Shatter, a Bladerunner influenced dystopian fantasy. It appeared in 1984 as a backup feature in the book Jon Sable (#25-30), then spun off into its own series for 15 issues. Shatter was created by technowhiz Mike Saenz on a first generation Macintosh. Hailed as an innovative breakthrough for both comics and computers, Shatter attracted widespread media attention and set sales records for an independent comic. Energized by its success, Saenz continued breaking digital ground, melding comics and computers. He developed Comic Works, the first computer program for creating comics. He also consulted on Kaleidoscope (Pixel Craft), a trailblazing method of computer-coloring comics that expanded the traditional four-color funnybook range of 64 colors to a virtually unlimited palette of colors, shades and special effects.

In 1988, Saenz created Iron Man: Crash ($12.95), the first computer-drawn graphic novel. Another futuristic fantasy, the comic documented the progression computer graphics had made, smoothing out the rough edges and harsh pixellated look that afflicted Shatter.

Not wanting to be left in the digital dust, in 1990 DC Comics published the hardcover graphic novel Batman: Digital Justice ($24.95). Yet another dystopian fantasy, the story envisioned a future Gotham City wired together and controlled by a centralized computer system. This "Net" was long ago infected by a computer virus which has been diabolically reprogramming things in an attempt to become the world's first digital dictator. When the policeman grandson of Commissioner Gordon discovers the "Joker" virus, he decides to recreate a hero from the past and Batman is reborn, digitized into a cyberpunk avenger. Digital Justice was created by Pepe Moreno, an internationally-renowned comics illustrator and "bohemian technocrat." Moreno used a state-of-the-art Mac II, 3-D modeling, Raster and Vector draw/paint programs and a color palette offering 16 million color combinations, and created a dazzling breakthrough comic. Gone was the rough texture and static poses. Digital Justice was to Shatter what Pac Man was to Pong. In my opinion, it still looks great and is a very satisfying read (though unfortunately it's out of print).

In 1992 DC published The Hacker Files. This 12-issue maxi-series tried to capitalize on the explosion of interest in personal computers. The comic starred Jack Marshall, a burned-out, hippie-ish, freelance keyboard jockey code-named Hacker. It was written by Lewis Shiner, a cyberpunk sci-fi writer whose background in computer culture and vast memory storage of technolore ground the comic in (virtual) reality. Lewis took his cues from the headlines, spinning cyberyarns abut the Pentagon's vast computernet, the Tiananmen Square massacre, Justice Department raids on computer bulletin boards, global software piracy and artificial intelligence. The comic featured eye-grabbing computer-created covers, and the last two issues incorporated computer-generated graphics into the storyline. You didn't have to be computerlit to enjoy this comic, which these days shows up with regularity in comics shop bargain boxes.

Mike Saenz returned to comics in 1994 with Donna Matrix (Reactor Press), a sexy sci-fi story about a renegade "pleasure android" cutting a swathe of violent destruction while searching for a way to get release from her kinky programming. Another breakthrough, Donna Matrix was the first digitally-created comic. The crisp, clean, highly-detailed graphics create the illusion of a photorealistic world, and make Saenz' earlier work look like it was drawn on an Etch-A-Sketch. Unfortunately, only one issue has been published to date.

These days, computer-created comics are appearing more frequently. And it's not just a technology for the big boys anymore. Many of these books are coming out from small press publishers and independent comics creators. Two recent books show just how far computer comics have come in 12 years and hint at possibilities for the future.

Cyber Reality Comix (Cyber Reality Pub; quarterly, color, 32 pages, $3.95). This colorful, imaginative, visually stunning anthology looks like no other comic. Each issue features three ongoing storylines. "The Game Guys" are a pair of volunteers helping test a new virtual reality game program. Once inside cyberspace, they discover that the dangers they face can kill them for real. In "Remyoz," an obsessed young man sets off on a quest to find his wife Leah, who ran off with her lover. There's just one catch. The wife's new significant other is other-worldly, a grotesque non-human alien, and to find them he'll have to travel to another planet. This one contains some fine, thoughtful writing and potent imagery. The third tale , "4 of the Fury," is more light-hearted. It stars an intergalactic music quartet who become stranded on a desolate planet and start bickering for their lives. Cyber Reality Comix reminds me of Disney's Toy Story movies. Both use computer imaging to transport you into a fantastic universe. As does . . .

El Bizarro (Meridian Communications; frequency unknown, color, 32 pages, $2.95). Welcome to the Dataplane, a virtual reality of info bits and cyberconstructs like Technopolis, a living information system pulsing with binary entities. Life in Technopolis can be chaotic. You never know when companions might get downloaded or a virus might derezz your best friend. If you've got a problem that can't easily be solved with online assistance, then you'd better call El Bizarro, a color-coded bitpack with attitude (byte me!). Ramm and Spyk (rambunctious renegades from a wild accounting software program) tend to overshadow the soft-spoken Romm. They're ramrodded by the hard-driving head cheese, Surg. Together, these cybernetic ghostbusters set out to recover a missing offbyte lost in Darkpark, a virus laden, static-bombed no-go zone. Imagine the Animaniacs cavorting in the cyberworld of Disney's Tron and you'll have a feel for what this fanciful, fun comic is like.

Also worth a look-see: Shotgun Mary; Raw City; Taoland.

Peace, love and : ) : ) : )