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.

Chapter One, Episode Three - The King meets The Camel.

[edit] 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.

[edit] References