Hypercomics
Whether or not Andrew Hussie consciously made the decision to follow in the footsteps of previous hypertext authors, hypercomics have a place in Homestuck’s technological genealogy. Just like comics have a place because they introduced the conventions for storytelling through sequential art, the creation of hypertexts and hypercomics using the affordances provided by the Internet paved the way for Homestuck's existence. For more information on hypercomics, you can visit the wikipedia or read the posts (here and here) by Sam Keeper about Homestuck’s relationship with hypercomics on Storming the Ivory Tower ( @stormingtheivory ).
In the first of the aforementioned Storming the Ivory Tower posts, “Hyperstuck: Homestuck, Kickstarter, and Experimental Comics,” Keeper examines Homestuck’s place in the hypercomic genre and its use of hypertext tools, many of which we mention in this genealogy, such as multimedia affordances and the benefits of reader participation. Hypercomics, by definition, utilize these or similar elements of the Internet to make texts that are fundamentally tied to the Internet. Hypercomics cannot be printed without altering the experience of reading the text. Homestuck falls into this category, although as Keeper and other comic theorists point out (in this post, for instance), other elements of Homestuck make it difficult to categorize as a comic at all, which complicates attempts to couch it within a genre. But Homestuck’s flexible nature, both in its obstinate refusal to stick to the conventions of one genre and its experimental use of Internet affordances, are significant factors that distinguish it from other texts, even those that may have anticipated its existence. Although Homestuck is following in the footsteps of other hypercomics, it does so in a way that blazes a new path for itself, refusing to limit itself to previously established conventions and sometimes even its own. Keeper provides a deeper analysis of Homestuck’s experimental nature and Hussie’s artistic and technological choices in making Homestuck in “[S]A6:A6:I1: Homestuck vs Tech Demos, or How To Write Hypercomics Like A Boss.”
Another point of interest in Keeper’s articles is their examination of the role pop culture references play in Homestuck’s success as compared to other hypercomics. Since part of the goal of our genealogy is to identify and discuss these references, it is interesting to note how they factored into Homestuck’s notable success. This observation is in line with our discussion of the cultural elements of remixing at play in Homestuck, which draws on significant cultural shifts in media-making and the nature of creativity and storytelling. As this cultural shift is also directly tied to the Internet and its role in reestablishing R/W culture, it seems fitting that this aspect of Homestuck would take it beyond other hypercomics as a text that fully embraces the Internet in its creation.
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