The Future of Comics - W14

This week I read "Trash Mountain" by Kelton Sears. This was definitely the most strange comic I have read thus far.  The format was certainly necessary for what the narrative was trying to depict and it really accentuated the abstraction and eccentric qualities of the comic. There was no dialogue, but it was not really needed since the GIF format spoke for the narrative. The addition of some sound effects throughout the pages were interesting because they were not really for specific panels and as a result, the sounds moved with the animated panels. The plot is pretty simple in the beginning which starts with the main character's home being taken over by construction. This It becomes more abstract when the protagonist goes to meditate and we take a sort of  weird mental journey with him. The narrative focuses mostly on the subject of spirituality and our attitudes towards the world around us.
Not only were the illustrations animated GIFs but Sears combined illustration with collage as well as some photography which made this comic that much more unique than just illustrations. This piece really seems to push the boundaries of what comics are and will become. It also walks that fine line between comics and full animation pretty successfully. I think that a lot of comics will be engaged with in an online format in today's world, especially with experimental formats like this one, but there is still a lot of readers that would probably prefer the reading of a physical copy.