The Experimental Works of Stu Campbell: The Use of New Media in Creating Online Comics
The Experimental Works of Stu Campbell: The Use of New Media in Creating Online Comics

Summary/Abstract: Literature does not need to be solely confined to text, but can be accompanied by moving images, animation, sound, music, as well as a multi-linear narrative, which has become easier to integrate due to the use of hypertext and augmented reality (AR) technology. One author who readily uses such innovations is Stu Campbell, more widely known by his alias, Sutu. Aside from being a writer, Campbell is also an interactive designer and illustrator who combines art and technology in order to produce unique and experimental works. Campbell is inspired by multiple genres and formats through which he addresses poignant themes, such as memory and its loss, the imminent passage of time, as well as the meaning of identity and reality in our increasingly digital and fast-paced environment. Therefore, this paper discusses the selected works of Stu Campbell in the context of their experimental and technological nature drawing on Paola Trimarco’s discussion of “affordances,” a term originally derived from psychologist James L. Gibson, denoting the opportunities and limitations in certain environments. The works discussed are the following: Modern Polaxis, a multilinear comic in the form of a private journal which depends on AR technology to advance its narrative, Nawlz, a cyberpunk webcomic created on a horizontal interactive digital canvas, and These Memories Won’t Last, a semi-autobiographical webcomic which incorporates music, sound and animation.

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