As a fan of Osamu Tezuka, you can imagine that I was quite interested to hear that a comic remake of Dororo is being done as a South Korea-Japan coproduction. However, there was a term that I found surprising given that I had never heard of it before, “Vertical Comic”. As you might imagine, I was immediately intrigued and began to search for information relating to these vertical comics. Therefore, I thought it might be interesting to share what I learned about the format of vertical scrolling comics and, amusingly, why I was unaware of it before.
Let’s start by explaining what a vertical scrolling comic is. Basically, the format developed as a way to display comics effectively on the screen of mobile devices and consists of panels stacked atop each other that you scroll through. If you’re familiar with me and my tastes, you will quickly understand why it was that I was unfamiliar with this format. I primarily consume my media in physical formats and vertical scrolling comics are very heavily associated with webcomics. It makes sense then why I wouldn’t have heard of it before.
In the course of my research, I’ve noticed that vertical scrolling comics are very much associated with manhwa, the Korean equivalent to manga, and an article even worries that manga might become overshadowed by manhwa since it’s presented both in colour and can be easily read by scrolling up and down. I would argue that, given the current growth of manga, this isn’t too much of a concern in the short term although I do understand the dangers of growing complacent.
With regards to the format itself, I can definitely see the benefits beyond ease of use on a screen. The fact that it’s digital allows for the use of techniques not possible in physical formats and the level of engagement from interacting constantly while also hiding upcoming panels can be quite effective. However, I can’t help, as someone who is completely new to this concept, but see the limitations as well. From the few examples that I’ve seen, which isn’t much I confess, it seems that panels are consistently square or rectangular and, for the most part, are pretty basic compared to manga panels. I also struggle to see how easy it is to transfer a vertical scrolling comic to the physical format although we’ll have an example of that soon.
A company called Wattpad Webtoon Studios have announced an imprint called Webtoon Unscrolled that will publish webcomics both digitally and physically. A particularly popular series called Tower of God is going to be their initial release although they’ve got several others lined up as well. I confess that I’m rather curious to see how they’re going to release a vertical scrolling comic in a physical format and whether it’ll remain as appealing as the digital incarnation.
Vertical scrolling comics are a relatively new format but they are certainly interesting and I’ll be eager to see how Webtoon Unscrolled performs. Let me know your thoughts on the interesting format of vertical scrolling comics, which ones you have read and enjoyed, if you’re already aware of a vertical scrolling comic being release physically and, if so, how did they release it and any additional information you might have on the topic.
Hopefully you have found this article interesting and informative and, if you wish to seek any of the works I mentioned, don’t hesitate to use amazon.co.uk and amazon.com for all of your needs!