In
Art School with Stewart, Maguire and Paquette, the question was the effect that the "digital age" has changed storytelling mechanics in comics. Cameron Stewart (Batman & Robin) explains that "double page spreads" don't work when read digitally, since you only have the size of the one screen/page. You could scroll around or flip back and forth, but you lose a lot of the grandiose and the feel achieved from the "double page spread." And, if you zoom out, you loose a lot of the detail, with such a smaller image. He further stated that double page spreads were something that has traditionally worked, but that has diminished. He mused that eventually, the "paper" comic will change into the digital format, which will affect how artists approach layouts. Kevin Maguire (of Justice League International) indicated that, while he hasn't done anything digital, yet, he thinks it will have an effect on the way storytelling is done.
Stewart pointed out that digital comics can be more interactive, controlling when word balloons appear, for example. He says digital will have an impact, but it needs to become more common.
During Art School with Phil Jimenez, the question of iPads, specifically, was brought up, when an audience member asked Phil what effect he thought iPads and digital distribution would have on printed comic books... would printed comics cease publication?
Phil was actually quite excited about comics on iPads. He explained that with iPads and a digital format, you can "tell a story in a thousand ways." He hinted at new ways to tell stories, such as a "Choose your own adventure"-styled comic where you could follow a storyline and then, if you found some character in the background interesting, you could branch off and follow their story, instead, returning to the original story later, seeing the same story through different points of view.
As for the double-page spread, Phil Jiminez says the iPad hasn't "killed" it, but it will modify it. He's curious to see how people will take to a new form of double page spread which fits the iPad.
Another effect of fast-paced, high-tech times, Jiminez stated, is that long-form storytelling is going to be harder, as audiences are less patient in a world where they're used to everything being instant. "People like things fast and in smaller chunks," Jiminez explained, "This opens up opportunities."
