Comic strip portrays true hurricane tales
Lauren Walck
Issue date: 8/29/07 Section: News
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A comic strip may seem like an unusual way to chronicle the story of Hurricane Katrina, but one serial Web comic pushes the boundaries of the genre as a non-fiction account of five New Orleans residents.
"This is not a comic about superheroes. It's not funny," creator and illustrator Josh Neufeld said. "It's about real people, real events."
"A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge" has been published by "SMITH Magazine" since January 2007, and it can be found on the magazine's Web site at Smithmag.net/afterthedeluge.
Along with the traditional illustrated panels, the site has podcasts of interviews with the characters, links to real-life videos and an often-updated blog.
"'A.D.' kind of takes [the Web comic genre] to a new level with the links and the audio and video component," Neufeld said. He said the main benefit of the Web format is "instant gratification."
With a printed comic book, it can take months and months before Neufeld receives any feedback on his work, he said. The Web comic site allows readers to comment on each new chapter in A.D. under usernames.
In the first chapter, a commenter by the username Cade Roux said on the message board, "NO ONE was thinking about the storm coming to New Orleans until Friday."
Neufeld subsequently changed panels to maintain an accurate timeline.
"Everybody is your fact-checker, your bullshit detector," Neufeld said, "You're relying on the entire community as your research team."
The creative process for A.D. started a year ago when Neufeld met Larry Smith, "SMITH Magazine" editor, at a party.
"I'd been looking for a way to do my experience with Katrina and he came up with the idea of telling the story through five people," Neufeld said.
Those five people were discovered through "old-fashioned legwork," according to the Web site. One character is Leo McGovern, editor of New Orleans music magazine "ANTIGRAVITY," reader of Neufeld's blog and his subsequent book "Katrina Came Calling."
"This is not a comic about superheroes. It's not funny," creator and illustrator Josh Neufeld said. "It's about real people, real events."
"A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge" has been published by "SMITH Magazine" since January 2007, and it can be found on the magazine's Web site at Smithmag.net/afterthedeluge.
Along with the traditional illustrated panels, the site has podcasts of interviews with the characters, links to real-life videos and an often-updated blog.
"'A.D.' kind of takes [the Web comic genre] to a new level with the links and the audio and video component," Neufeld said. He said the main benefit of the Web format is "instant gratification."
With a printed comic book, it can take months and months before Neufeld receives any feedback on his work, he said. The Web comic site allows readers to comment on each new chapter in A.D. under usernames.
In the first chapter, a commenter by the username Cade Roux said on the message board, "NO ONE was thinking about the storm coming to New Orleans until Friday."
Neufeld subsequently changed panels to maintain an accurate timeline.
"Everybody is your fact-checker, your bullshit detector," Neufeld said, "You're relying on the entire community as your research team."
The creative process for A.D. started a year ago when Neufeld met Larry Smith, "SMITH Magazine" editor, at a party.
"I'd been looking for a way to do my experience with Katrina and he came up with the idea of telling the story through five people," Neufeld said.
Those five people were discovered through "old-fashioned legwork," according to the Web site. One character is Leo McGovern, editor of New Orleans music magazine "ANTIGRAVITY," reader of Neufeld's blog and his subsequent book "Katrina Came Calling."
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