In every artistic medium there are moments where things change so exponentially that the medium is never the same afterwards. It may not always be apparent at the time, but without it, the world would not be quite the same without it. In the world of digital comics that moment was the publishing of  Balak’s About Digital Comics published on DeviantArt on February 11th 2009, and so as we reach it’s five year anniversary we look back at this watershed moment courtesy of the team at TurboMedia.

A think piece on how comic book elements like panels and text could be combined on a screen to create a new generation of motion comics he would go on to create the blueprint for ComiXology’s Guided View, Thrillbent, Marvel Infinite, DC2 Interactive and more. He wasn’t the first to invent the idea of bringing motion to a static page, but it was his stunning use of words and pictures that meant he would be one of the people who would popularise and bring to the world of digital comics a new and exciting language for comics – the language we have now come to know as ‘Guided View’. In our Complete Guide to Digital Comics we called him the “Unsung Hero of Digital Comics” and when you look back at the legacy of work which he has helped influence then it is hard to disagree.

To celebrate this milestone, Balak’s Turbomedia associates Geoffo and Mast have created a stunning interactive timeline of the history of digital comics celebrating 5 years of Turbomedia featuring the comics that inspired them and also were inspired by Balak’s thought piece. Alongside familliar faces like Powerplay, Valentine, Marvel Infinite A vs. X, Thrillbent titles like Moth City and the Eighth Seal and DC2’s Batman ’66 there are some obscure gems like Marvel’s cybercomics alongside a host of web comics from around the world.

We’re proud to have brought you our Complete Guide to Digital Comics, however if you want to take it to the next level of detail then this is an essential read! Thank you again Balak for creating a genre!