Even as a child, I didn't like comics much... I'm a fan of the well-crafted paragraph -- perhaps part of this is that writing is within my reach, whereas drawing is another thing entirely.
But its a visual age we live in, and I'm certainly not a fan of a text-only web, and there's that picture-worth-a-thousand-words thing, too. But do we really need dialog balloons to convey textual information? Art Spiegelman may have let the camel into the tent with Maus, but I mostly find the idiom of 'graphic novels' boring and tedious... even (especially!) if its in the New Yorker, which has been doing comic-idiom pieces for many years now.
So, along comes Chrome, Google's latest foray in the Web-as-OS campaign, and curiously, the comic is one of the main launch communication channels. I nearly winced. Then I read it. It is a convincing and clear explication of why the Web needs a Web browser built from the ground up, and I'll certainly try the browser at the earliest opportunity (later today, apparently, but given that even the comic server is overwhelmed as it seems to be at the moment, how long before it will be possible to slurp down the Chrome code?).
The 38 page comic is remarkable in its clarity on topics such as multi-threaded processes versus multiple-process architecture, garbage collection, testing regimes (and why Google is likely to do this better than most), the virtues of Webkit and virtual machines, intricacies of user Interface choices, privacy, security, and more. I couldn't have been more surprised.
One of the charming aspects of the comic is that it features some of the engineers behind the browser, so there is yet another benefit for working there... you have a chance at becoming a comic book super-hero. They missed an important one, though... the communications wizard who is responsible for this terrific archetype of a new age of documentation.
-----
An early morning thunderstorm from my balcony -- a rare thing in Seattle, and one of the things I miss about Midwestern weather.
thats was intersting fact to know. i have posted my views on launch of Chrome OS, a bit critical though.check out
http://chickymoves.com/2009/07/14/google-takes-a-shot-at-future-and-at-microsoft-with-chrome-os/
Posted by: Rick | July 14, 2009 at 07:50 AM
Yeah, Scott McCloud is awesome, definitely check out his Understanding Comics if you liked the chrome comic. Might even convince Stu that the graphic/comic medium isn't so annoying.
Posted by: Jonathan Rochkind | September 06, 2008 at 08:15 AM
...drawn by Scott McCloud ... who is a well know theorist of graphic novel artist, and theorist. see
http://www.scottmccloud.com/
Understanding Comics.
Posted by: Rick Silterra | September 05, 2008 at 05:27 PM