Mike Saenz
Encyclopedia
Mike Saenz is a comic book artist and creator of the first digital comic book. He co-created the first comic book produced entirely on the computer
, Shatter
, as well as an early adult video game, MacPlaymate.
As the founder and CEO of Reactor, Inc., Saenz has been a developer and publisher of interactive entertainment on CD-ROM. Reactor produced some of the best selling CD-ROMs of its time, including Spaceship Warlock
, Virtual Valerie, Virtual Valerie 2
, Virtual Valerie: The Director's Cut, and Donna Matrix.
Shatter
was written by Peter Gillis and illustrated on the computer by Saenz. It was initially drawn on a first-generation Macintosh
using a mouse, and printed on a dot-matrix printer. It was then photographed like a piece of traditionally drawn black-and-white comic art, and the color separations were applied in the traditional manner of the period. A breakthrough for both comics and computers, Shatter attracted widespread media attention and set sales records for an independent comic.
After a brief career as a professional comic book
artist for hire, he went solo and continued incorporating comics and computers. He developed Comic Works, the first computer program for creating comics. He later went on to develop Iron Man: Crash (Marvel Comics
, 1988), which was the first computer-drawn graphic novel
. In 1993, Saenz created Donna Matrix, a computer-generated graphic novel with 3-D graphics, published by Reactor Press. This was the first 3-D CGI graphic novel.
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
, Shatter
Shatter (digital comic)
Shatter is a digital comic created by Peter B. Gillis and Mike Saenz, and published by First Comics. A dystopian science fiction fantasy somewhat in the mold of Blade Runner, Shatter was written by Gillis and illustrated on the computer by Saenz....
, as well as an early adult video game, MacPlaymate.
As the founder and CEO of Reactor, Inc., Saenz has been a developer and publisher of interactive entertainment on CD-ROM. Reactor produced some of the best selling CD-ROMs of its time, including Spaceship Warlock
Spaceship Warlock
Spaceship Warlock is an adventure game created by Mike Saenz and Joe Sparks. The game featured arcade action and interactive dialogue, which enabled the player to type whatever he chose. The game was released in 1991 for the Macintosh and in 1994 for Windows. It was graphically ahead of its time...
, Virtual Valerie, Virtual Valerie 2
Virtual Valerie 2
Virtual Valerie 2 is an adult interactive erotic computer game. It had a successful release in 1995. At the "No-Tell Motel" Valerie has virtual sex with the player. The goal is to help Valerie achieve orgasm.*Genre: Virtual Pet type*Game developer: Reactor-External links:*Description *Screenshot...
, Virtual Valerie: The Director's Cut, and Donna Matrix.
Shatter
Shatter (digital comic)
Shatter is a digital comic created by Peter B. Gillis and Mike Saenz, and published by First Comics. A dystopian science fiction fantasy somewhat in the mold of Blade Runner, Shatter was written by Gillis and illustrated on the computer by Saenz....
was written by Peter Gillis and illustrated on the computer by Saenz. It was initially drawn on a first-generation Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
using a mouse, and printed on a dot-matrix printer. It was then photographed like a piece of traditionally drawn black-and-white comic art, and the color separations were applied in the traditional manner of the period. A breakthrough for both comics and computers, Shatter attracted widespread media attention and set sales records for an independent comic.
After a brief career as a professional comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
artist for hire, he went solo and continued incorporating comics and computers. He developed Comic Works, the first computer program for creating comics. He later went on to develop Iron Man: Crash (Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
, 1988), which was the first computer-drawn graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
. In 1993, Saenz created Donna Matrix, a computer-generated graphic novel with 3-D graphics, published by Reactor Press. This was the first 3-D CGI graphic novel.