Augmented Reality and comics should go together but the big players won’t commit. Most of Marvel’s attempts are shallow, merely adding sound effects and not even bothering to mass market them. Madefire also had plans to truly push the technology to its story telling limits. But with its properties in limbo, those plans aren’t going anywhere. So only the indie scene is brave enough to do what the mainstream’s too scared to do. This brings us Neon Wasteland by Rob Shields to truly showcase AR comics’ potential.
Augmented Reality In Comics
Augmented Reality is basically Virtual Reality and real world’s lovechild. Its purpose is to enhance the real world with a virtual layer. Most people’s experience with it is Pokémon Go and Instagram filters. But there’s plenty of other uses including making museum tour guides obsolete. Uh… what was I talking about? Oh right!
For comics, this tech has the potential to make them feel more lively. This includes animations, sound effects, and a layer of interaction that’s digital and physical friendly. But… so far nobody really takes the time to develop this technique other than as a gimmick. Or at least nobody in the mainstream; seriously Marvel, how do BMW and retailers get ahead of you? And your idea to improve them is with NFTs? Yet another technology the big players don’t know how to use right. Look on Interpop if you don’t believe me!
Nowadays more publishers are using AR including Mad Cave’s newly acquired Papercutz. But even this is just gimmicky advertisement.
How Neon Wasteland Defines AR Comics
Now that the rant’s out of the way, let’s go into Neon Wasteland. On the surface it’s your pretty typical cyberpunk: greedy corporations lording over, people struggling to get by, and tech ruling people’s lives. It just happens with the AR apps, readers actually see that people barely try to hide it. You know like the sunglasses from They Live, but the characters already know and don’t care. That’s the perfect encapsulation of cyberpunk; there’s no point trying to fight consumerism when it’s already won.
See the 1% of the population are barely human anymore, they downloaded their minds into a Dead Net. It’s a VR space where they can’t die and their lives are stuck on repeat. Everyone else on Earth lives out their lives in a factory city where human cyborgs are created to be slaves. They’ve essentially surrendered to this status because the rest of the world is a wasteland.
Characters
Next we have our protagonists. The first is an advanced android trying to break out of the Dead Net, and she’s getting help from someone. Next is R@881t/Rabbit, a grifter hoping to live off the grid with her found family. She’s taking care of a kid named Brandy who holds a unique power. So when her body’s destroyed in a freak accident, Rabbit is driven to get her back. Only problem is it looks like the Dead Net has its own plans for Brandy. Yeah, apparently the data dumping gave it its own personality and wants to use Brandy’s hacking skills to delete the corporate memories. Or maybe Brandy’s just bait so that the android can find Rabbit.
There’s only three issues I can’t tell where its going on the comics alone.
Neon Wasteland vs. Other AR Comics
So with that setup, how is it compared to other indie AR Comics? Honestly I’m going off on a limb here. There are so far only two other comic series that come up.
First there’s Modern Polaxis, a comic in the form of some guy’s journal. The AR hides notes he leaves behind in a time-traveling mystery as the protagonist goes through a mental breakdown. It’s an empathetic experience that ties into the paranoia of a world that someone can’t recognize.
Then comes Imperator Interactive’s Ophidian. In this horror series, two people are hunting down a monster that killed their friend. But this quest for vengeance turns into something even bigger, enough to consume our “heroes”. Readers get a sense of how dire through the App using 3D imagery, providing an uncanny valley in something familiar.
What does Neon Wasteland have in interaction that these guys don’t? It’s a gamified comic.
AR and Gaming
Video games are some of the most interactive mediums out there. Even bad ones don’t put me to sleep like a growing number of comics do. So why don’t I blog about games? I’ll save that for the newsletter.
As for Neon Wasteland, there are various points where readers turn into players. The motorcycle mini-game that was also on Itch was just the tip of the iceberg. The real play time comes from revisiting the inside of the comic by looking for unlockables. This allows players to experience a new perspective and make a few subtle changes. Nothing to change the story, but just enough to keep people hooked with a good ending. Plus Shields found a way to make sure players don’t cheat by not adding a typing mechanic. Okay that’s in part 2 but that’s how well designed it is.
Neon Wasteland and the Future of AR Comics
Neon Wasteland is probably the gold standard when it comes to augmented reality comics. When large publishers just see a trend they think they can easily capitalize on, Rob Shields is one of the few to put in the effort to make it worthwhile. By blending AR tricks like hidden messages with cyberpunk elements, readers feel how immersive the experience is. Not that other creatives don’t use other techniques. But by combining these with video game puzzles, readers can interact with the story to change the outcome.
The ink’s not dry yet on Neon Wasteland or AR comics so keep an eye out. Thanks for coming to the end.