When I am King | |
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Author(s) | demian5 |
Website | http://demian5.com/ |
Genre(s) | Infinite canvas |
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.
Plot
The king of Egypt wakes up, dresses himself in a royal towel and goes for a stroll, but a camel eats his towel. The naked king then returns to the palace but is stopped at the entrance by his two palace guards who don't recognize him, and he finally goes away. Meanwhile, the camel has fallen in love with the king. The naked king is mocked by two women and a group of children. The king finally makes his way to a shop. He does not have enough money to buy underwear, but does buy a cigarette and a match, and meets with the camel again. After a brief fight, the camel rescues the king from the children. Meanwhile, the two women have a threesome with one of the guards in a giant flowerbed.
Darkness falls. The camel carries the unconscious king to safety, and they make peace. After some cactus-induced hallucinations in 3D, the king finds his crown. The characters all sleep, and dream about the events of the day. The next morning, the king retrieves the contents of the camel's intestines, including his royal towel. He goes back to the palace, taking a flower from the guard standing duty. Shortly thereafter, he sees the guard get fellatio from the lovestruck camel, and finds it funny. Meanwhile, the two women have tried to have a second threesome with the same guard as before, but this time they are all attacked and killed in the flowerbed by giant bees.
Reception
When I Am King has been described by Wired magazine as "the amusing, sometimes otherworldly story of an Egyptian royal who ventures out into a bizarre world".[1] 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."[2] The work has also been featured as one of The Independent's "10 Best Sites of the Week"[3] and in Salon's "No laughing matter" about the relationship between traditional comics and webcomics.[4] 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."[5]
demian5's comic Square Fiction has been published in the Zurich Express newspaper as well as on the subscription webcomics site Serializer.
References
- ^ Silverman, Jason (18 June 2001). "Comics in the Post-Peanuts Era". Wired. Retrieved 2005-11-20.
- ^ Brownstein, Charles. "Tape This to Your Cubicle Wall". The Comics Journal. pp. No. 240, p. 56. Retrieved 2005-11-20.
- ^ Pro, Ash. (26 May 2001). "10 Best Sites of the Week". The Independent (London), FEATURES; Pg. 66.
- ^ Cave, Damien. (August 9, 2001), "No laughing matter". Salon.com.
- ^ McCloud, Scott (2006). Making Comics, New York: Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN 0-06-078094-0. Pg. 201