The first-ever fully computerised comic book 'Shatter Special' was published 40 years ago, a milestone that should not be ignored. — Photos: First Comics
Back in 1985, Mike Gold, president of First Comics said: “The world really is moving faster than a speeding bullet, and all communications media are changing every day. Even comics: better paper, better colour, better inks, improved reproduction techniques... the Superman of 1938 would hardly recognise today’s books.”
But in the past 45 years, the methods of producing the stories themselves haven’t changed very much. Better brushes and a wider range of photographic effects ... all in all, comics stories are produced in much the same manner Joe Shuster used to draw those first Superman stories. As R. Crumb (American comic book artist and social satirist who created Fritz The Cat and Mr Natural) once said: “It’s all just lines on paper.”
The above-mentioned statement was published in the editorial page of Shatter Special (June 1985) – the first fully computerised comic book, published by First Comics. The brainchild of artist Michael Saenz and Peter B. Gillis, this comic book was created on an Apple Macintosh, from drawing, lettering, logo designing, advertising, to even the editorial page, a remarkable feat back then, as the technology 40 years ago is a far cry from today’s supercharged computers. Well, almost fully, as there was still one aspect of comic creating that was too cumbersome to do back then – colouring!
Shatter Special, the first fully computerised comic book, was published in 1985.
With all the hullabaloo about Artificial Intelligence (AI) affecting or replacing today’s comic book artists’ role, I thought it would be worthwhile to revisit the early impact of computers on comic books.
Coincidentally, I managed to score a copy of Shatter Special during a flea market run at a bargain price of just RM5, which sadly should not be a reflection of a such significant comic milestone.
For the record, Shatter’s first appearance was in a computer magazine – Big K #12 (March 1985). Consequently, it made its first comic book debut via the Shatter Special, which was sold out (all 60,000 printed copies).
This was followed by backup features in the Jon Sable, Freelance (#25-#30) title.
It then earned a regular series that lasted 14 issues.
The themes around Shatter always revolved around its computer-production roots, and only after that, the story. Concept wise, Shatter is about a part-time cop named Sadr al-din Morales (nickname Shatter) who has the abilities to absorb other people’s talents with his mind.
Set in a dystopian cyberpunk future (think Blade Runner), the crux of the plot revolved on black market DNA smuggling.
I seriously doubt any comic fan would have bought Shatter for its plot but Saenz’s art was definitely revolutionary (then), despite the pixelated images and repetitive usage of some backgrounds and panels.
The story was about a part time cop nicknamed Shatter, who has the abilities to absorb other people’s talents with his mind.
Technically, Shatter was drawn on a Macintosh Plus via the MacPaint software (subsequently FullPaint). The process was labour intensive, as each page’s data had to be stored on an external 800K floppy disk drive, and the drawings were difficult to manage due to the limited 9” 72ppi monochrome screen (512 × 342 pixels) allowing for only about two-thirds of the page to be worked on at a time – a major pain point for artist Charlie Athanas, who stepped in for Saenz for issues #8 to #14.
Approximately, half of the issues were drawn using the standard Macintosh mouse (!) (as graphics tablet pen type digitisers were not created yet). Having personally tried drawing a portrait with a mouse back in 1990, I can attest to the difficulty level of this feat.
The printing was initially done via an Apple dot-matrix printer, before being upgraded to a LaserWriter, which helped cater for more font types, and made the illustrations smoother and less pixelated.
Sadly, after Saenz’ departure (issue #3), the remaining issues #4 to #7 were drawn traditionally (on a board which was later scanned into the computer). It was business as usual, when Charlie Athanas came in for issues #8 to #14 (finale) as the artwork returned to a nearly all digital work.
To expedite the production process, rough pencil drafts were used to start the process which enabled editors to approve layouts and writers to begin creating the stories.
While the pixelated images look dated today, Shatter Special offered a glimpse of the future for comics. — Photos: First Comics
Despite leaving Shatter after (just) three issues in 1986, Saenz went on to create the first personal digital publishing/comics creation software system – aka ComicWorks for software company Macromind. After several mergers, the software ended up in the Adobe Systems stable in 2005.
Post-Shatter, Saenz’s other notable comics work included Iron Man: Crash (1988), the first computer-generated graphic novel, for Marvel Comics.
Shatter’s impact to the world of comics was more of a sampler, as the entire ecosystem then was still pretty primitive. Fast forward to today, the advent of AI is now opening up an entire new dimension when it comes to using technology in comic book creation (as it offers a cheaper and faster alternative).
On this topic, I reckon there are still “bugs” to be ironed out (such as the ability to properly recreate toes and fingers), but if the example of Shatter is anything to go by, I get the feeling that AI is inevitable, and will be a serious player in the comics business sooner rather than later.
