When I Am King
Encyclopedia
When I am King is a wordless infinite canvas
webcomic
by Swiss artist demian5 about an Egyptian king's travels through a desert. It has an unusual visual style that makes heavy use of oranges and reds, uses arrows to emphasize horizontal movement, and has occasional GIF
animation.
as "the amusing, sometimes otherworldly story of an Egyptian
royal who ventures out into a bizarre world". The Comics Journal
writes that it "treats the underground staples of sex, low humor, and drug experiences with wit and artistic virtuosity. ... Demian 5's work seems to be influenced by the graphics of rave cards
and the culture of techno music. ... The story scrolls like an electronic codex
, moving horizontally across a minimalist landscape for much of the narrative and is peppered with animation throughout. ... The story's climax in Chapter 4 is an experimental tour de force that begins the falling action with a descending scroll and includes some outstanding 3-D rendering and animation." The work has also been featured as one of The Independent
's "10 Best Sites of the Week" and in Salon
's "No laughing matter" about the relationship between traditional comics and webcomics . When I Am King was nominated for 2 Web Cartoonist's Choice Awards, Best Infinite Canvas Comic & Best Use of the Digital Medium, winning the latter award.
Scott McCloud
gives demian5 as an example of a "native digital artist [who has] pushed the limits of vector stylization and other forms of digital art."
demian5's comic Square Fiction has been published in the Zurich Express newspaper as well as on the subscription webcomics site Serializer
.
Infinite canvas
The infinite canvas is the idea that the size of a digital comics page is theoretically infinite, and that online comics are therefore not limited by conventional page sizes. An artist could conceivably display a complete comics story of indefinite length on a single "page"...
webcomic
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
by Swiss artist demian5 about an Egyptian king's travels through a desert. It has an unusual visual style that makes heavy use of oranges and reds, uses arrows to emphasize horizontal movement, and has occasional GIF
GIF
The Graphics Interchange Format is a bitmap image format that was introduced by CompuServe in 1987 and has since come into widespread usage on the World Wide Web due to its wide support and portability....
animation.
Reception
When I Am King has been described by Wired magazineWired (magazine)
Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...
as "the amusing, sometimes otherworldly story of an Egyptian
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
royal who ventures out into a bizarre world". The Comics Journal
The Comics Journal
The Comics Journal, often abbreviated TCJ, is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels...
writes that it "treats the underground staples of sex, low humor, and drug experiences with wit and artistic virtuosity. ... Demian 5's work seems to be influenced by the graphics of rave cards
Flyer (pamphlet)
__notoc__A flyer or flier, also called a circular, handbill or leaflet, is a form of paper advertisement intended for wide distribution and typically posted or distributed in public place....
and the culture of techno music. ... The story scrolls like an electronic codex
Codex
A codex is a book in the format used for modern books, with multiple quires or gatherings typically bound together and given a cover.Developed by the Romans from wooden writing tablets, its gradual replacement...
, moving horizontally across a minimalist landscape for much of the narrative and is peppered with animation throughout. ... The story's climax in Chapter 4 is an experimental tour de force that begins the falling action with a descending scroll and includes some outstanding 3-D rendering and animation." The work has also been featured as one of The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
's "10 Best Sites of the Week" and in Salon
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
's "No laughing matter" about the relationship between traditional comics and webcomics . When I Am King was nominated for 2 Web Cartoonist's Choice Awards, Best Infinite Canvas Comic & Best Use of the Digital Medium, winning the latter award.
Scott McCloud
Scott McCloud
Scott McCloud is an American cartoonist and theorist on comics as a distinct literary and artistic medium...
gives demian5 as an example of a "native digital artist [who has] pushed the limits of vector stylization and other forms of digital art."
demian5's comic Square Fiction has been published in the Zurich Express newspaper as well as on the subscription webcomics site Serializer
Serializer
serializer.net is a website featuring many free and subscription-based alternative comics created especially for the web. It was launched in October 2002 by Publisher Joey Manley, Editor Tom Hart, and approximately 20 professional cartoonists...
.