Upgrade Soul

Like webcomics themselves, digital affordances have also faced a rapid pace of development. On the recent end of webcomic innovation is Upgrade Soul, a serial webcomic created specifically for the iPhone/iPad. Accessed exclusively on the Apple platform, the comic incorporates a wide range of digital affordances such as “fluid navigation, interactive accelerometer-driven 3D effects, and dynamic music”, which can be seen in the above video [1]. In Upgrade Soul, digital affordances are used as more than just a supplement. Webcomics like xkcd and Dinosaur Comics—which don’t follow a continued storyline—use digital affordances to increase the “in the moment” entertainment factor. However, in comics with a storyline, affordances become integral to the story [2]. For example, having dynamic music allows the artist to better elicit the designated feel of the scene—the style and mood of the panels are no longer left up to interpretation. The music can then re-emerge later in the comic to evoke feelings such as continuity or déjà vu. Additionally, the fluid navigation (similar to Scott McCloud’s “infinite canvas” concept) allows the user to not only feel in control and part of the story, but also removes any way of monitoring progress and therefore makes the comic harder to be put down [3]. While no longer available due to compatibility issues with iOS 11, Upgrade Soul’s serial digital affordances move beyond the realm of momentary fun to acting as essential elements of the comic’s emotion and cohesion.

1. Barber, John F. "Digital Storytelling: New Opportunities for Humanities Scholarship and Pedagogy." Cogent Arts & Humanities 3, no. 1 (12, 2016). doi:http://dx.doi.org.prx.library.gatech.edu/10.1080/23311983.2016.1181037. http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.prx.library.gatech.edu/docview/1860813553?accountid=11107.

2. Jacobs, Dale. "Webcomics, Multimodality, and Information Literacy." ImageTexT 7.3 (2014). Accessed February 22, 2019. http://www.sequentialtart.com/article.php?id=850.

3. Ryan, Marie-Laure, Lori Emerson, and Benjamin J. Robertson. "Web Comics." The Johns Hopkins Guide to Digital Media, 521-23. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Universty Press, 2014. http://prx.library.gatech.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=662243&site=ehost-live.