What does this comic gain from the strange layout of otherwise regular squares? I got frustrated of trying to figure out where the next square was as I scrolled down.
It's about chess; it moves horizontally, vertically, diagonally, like moves on a chessboard. The individual panels have black and white backgrounds, like a chessboard, which combined with the movement, gives him the chance to affect the mood; if he sticks to diagonal moves on black, you get a sequence of dark, moody frames.
My fourth online comic seemed to strike a chord
with many readers, despite requiring side-scrolling
as well as down-scrolling (which I'll admit, can be
pretty annoying).
It sounds like this was something experimental; remember, this was the early days of webcomics. He was experimenting with what you could do in a new medium. It turns out that this choice was kind of annoying; but it was a nice experiment, and it's a good comic despite the somewhat annoying scrolling.
I've read Scout McCloud's series about comic books and I can understand why he did this - he's fascinated in how to challenge the status quo and existing norms in comics. Besides the obvious parallel to chess moves that is. He's kind of a in a position to do it too, given he's already accomplished a lot in the comic world.
They are like squares on a chess board. They even match the colors correctly when moving diagonally or vertically/horizontally. I liked this little detail.
I also wouldn't be surprised if there's some hidden meaning to some of the movements.
McCloud is playing with the compositional rhythms allowed by the web. Normally a comics artist is constrained by whatever page size she's using for the book; McCloud is completely and utterly fascinated* by the possibility of breaking that long-standing constraint.
The repetition of regular squares sets up rhythms, that he then violates for purposes of mood, emphasis, timing, etc.
*seriously, his second comic about comics, "Reinventing Comics", basically boils down to "the Internet will transform the finances behind comics via micropayments" (right on the transformation, wrong on the micropayments) and "the Internet will transform the layout of comics by freeing us from the constraints of a particular page size".
"... What does this comic gain from the strange layout of otherwise regular squares? ..."
Scott McCloud wrote a whole book explaining why, "Reinventing Comics: How Imagination and Technology Are Revolutionizing an Art Form" ~ http://www.amazon.com/Reinventing-Comics-Imagination-Technol... a quick summary: he's trying to redefine & elevate comics from being mere cartoon strips in newspapers or the plastic covered, pulp superhero "comix" you find in dingy comic book stores to a higher art-form through new technology & imagination ~ http://www.scottmccloud.com/2-print/2-rc/index.html
