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One of my favorite pieces of serial fiction, and one of the indirect influences on Sin Titulo, is the tv series Lost. One of the things that Lost does exceptionally well, and which I am trying to emulate, is to advance the story while continually opening new narrative avenues, and to end each episode with a really exciting cliffhanger that hopefully keeps the audience hooked. One of the other things I enjoy about Lost is reading all the various theories that have been proposed about What’s Really Going On. Some of them make sense, some of them are really unlikely, and I’m sure that very few of them are what the writers actually have in store for us. So to that end I’d encourage readers of Sin Titulo to post their theories here – what do you think is happening? Where is the beach? Who is the woman in black? What happened in Room #3?
March 2nd, 2008 at 1:43 pm
I think that Room 3 and the people behind it are not of this world. Perhaps not angels or demons but they are collecting dreams and memories to either understand how /why Humans dream or to comfort people near the end of their lives.
March 2nd, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Cliffhangers? Now that you mention it, I kinda noticed that. ;P
March 2nd, 2008 at 2:51 pm
I love it. The plot gets creepier and creepier. Good work!
March 2nd, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Hey,
In my humble opinion and solely based on the accumulation of what has gone before, I’d say this is a catholic guilt TRIP in every sense and permutation of the word. Whether it be subliminal, literal, metaphorical or what have you, these are the manifestations of a severely guilt-ridden main character and by extension the author for not having found closure with his grandfather before his death.
But, that’s what’s great about art and it’s many trappings. It allows you to explore your neuroses to the nth degree. It’s also quite cathartic. Glad you’re working out your demons productively and publicly.
So tell me: How is your relationship with your mudder, hhmmm?
All analysis and kidding aside, great stuff.
March 2nd, 2008 at 4:31 pm
i think you’ve done really well with constantly adding to the plot while still making it coherent, which adds a really visceral element to the story line– things aren’t sequential, but the complexity grows and swells organically. yum my yummy.
i’m reminded of both kafka and cormac mccarthy when i read these- the sepia tones and environments where individual expression are repressed kinda echo back to and solicit feelings of isolation and just this eery, cold secrecy. its super super well done.
while the not-of-this-world theory is interesting, i tend to think that all of this is so much more sublime. none of the characters are unusual looking, there’s nothing in the art to give way to anything supernatural going on (besides the monster in his memories shown in room #3). The more i think about it, the more i realize we have no fucking clue what the hell is going on.
Super amazing job, cameron. and sorry for the essay.
March 2nd, 2008 at 5:56 pm
I dunno, I was bouncing around theories and I liked the idea that the guy was given some kind of drug. It’s like a twist of Jacob’s Ladder, A Scanner Darkly and the Matrix. What the guy is seeing is a twisted version of his memories, hallucinations and reality. The woman is the person who administered the drug, her remembers her, but he also hallucinate-remembers her as a lover.
March 3rd, 2008 at 12:56 am
masterpiece!!! i am really really involved with this story now. i take it to bed with me and wonder what is going to happen. i have had so much enjoyment and all the intense moments, it is driving me crazy! good work and i am thankful your work exists. Be well, Cheers -L
March 3rd, 2008 at 3:57 am
Apologies, but I’d just like to say that I’m kinda disappointed with what you just said. I don’t like Lost – I believe that it’s a sensationalist, cliffhanger-oriented way of telling a story. Lost selectively gives you information in order to make you feel that you have made incorrect assumptions about events and characters. There is nothing wrong with this in principle – a narrative twist seldom performed in order to pique interest. But when it is performed over and over the emotional investment you have placed in the characters starts to wane.
I’m not an expert on these things, and I’m obviously in the minority, but there are some who will not be as pleased as you hope. If some people are frustrated with a weekly hour-length show, how frustrated will they be with a weekly eight-panel comic?
March 3rd, 2008 at 7:49 am
Well, I know who’s on the beach with him. It’s Jesus telling him to wait up.
March 3rd, 2008 at 1:52 pm
I think it’s the liberal media that’s hypnotizing people to accept the status quo. Think for yourself! Question authority! Ron Paul 2008!
March 3rd, 2008 at 1:54 pm
I’m afraid I have to agree with “Sorry” in that there’s a limit to how much being jerked around is fun. At first, Lost was one of my favorite shows, because it gave you the feeling that there was an explanation to hte whole show that the characters, (and us) were slowly figuring out, but eventually it felt like the writers were just adding more and more complexity to keep the story going.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the way the story is going. I just hope you know when to end it. You don’t even have to explain, as long as you end it when the time is right.
March 3rd, 2008 at 2:31 pm
I think he’s in a nut-house. A nut-house where they’re trying new therapies, so he has these semi-normal experiences interspersed with the madness of his confines, Wesley, etc.
There’s definitely a connection between him and Wesley, which also suggests the woman in the photo too.
Wouldn’t surprise me if Vacek is a creation of some experiment this asylum is up to.
Personally, I’m just waiting for the Polar Bear and a stubbled Walt.
Keep it up.
March 3rd, 2008 at 2:32 pm
By the way, I never EVER follow web-comics.
Damn you, sir.
March 3rd, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Hey everyone, thanks for the comments.
Muro and Sorry, I can definitely understand where you’re coming from, and your reservations about Lost are exactly the kind of pitfalls I’m trying to avoid when working on Sin Titulo. With such a vast amount of media competing for your attention, however, I feel that it’s of paramount importance for me to keep the reader engaged in the story, or even remember that it exists at all, particularly when delivered in such small increments. I brought up Lost only because I’ve found that even through it’s worst moments (and it has had a few of them), it does still consistently manage to keep me engaged, and it does so by reliably providing compelling – though yes, undeniably sensational – finishes to each episode. It may not be great art but I have to give credit where it’s due for keeping me interested, and that reader engagement is what I’m trying to accomplish each week in Sin Titulo. As for knowing where to end it, I will absolutely end the story where I feel it’s appropriate and not tread water or prolong it needlessly – Lost is a large-budget television show that generates a lot of revenue for ABC, so they have a commercial motivation for drawing out the story beyond whats’s reasonable or necessary – I do Sin Titulo purely for myself, I don’t make any money from it, so I have no need to prolong it. My motives for doing this strip are purely artistic.
Anyway, regardless if you agree with my reasoning here, I hope that you’re still finding the story interesting and enjoyable and I do sincerely hope that you stick around.
To Imojen – Kafka and Cormac McCarthy are hugely flattering comparisons and I thank you for them. I just recently finished reading No Country For Old Men and was struck by McCarthy’s ability to evoke a feeling of cold desolation and so I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s somehow wormed its way into my own work.
Thanks for everyone who’s commented – interesting theories, all!
March 3rd, 2008 at 6:44 pm
I don’t have any real theories so far, but I’m hoping that it’s not going to turn out to be a sci fi or fantasy story. What I really like about Sin Titulo is the gritty realism — I mean, it starts out with a guy who didn’t know his grandfather had died until a month after the fact. The story feels very much like a psychological film noir to me, and I’m hoping it’ll continue in that vein. The scene in Room 3 especially seemed like a psychotherapy session.
I guess we’ll see, which is the best part! You’re doing well keeping up the suspense without making it feel like cliffhangerer after cliffhanger for no reason, though, so good job there.
March 3rd, 2008 at 9:07 pm
He’s his own grandfather!
He’s his own grandfather!
March 3rd, 2008 at 9:30 pm
Well, it’s working. I’m hooked; every week I come back for more, knowing that it’ll just frustrate me, wanting it to come faster. Some webcomics I read (Sam Logan’s Sam and Fuzzy for example) I can just put down for a month or two, wait till the story’s progressed, then go catch up, archive binging. Every week, I say I’m going to bookmark this, and let it sit for a few weeks, and every week, I come back.
Remember how room #3 didn’t have a video camera at the point where it should have? I think that’s a clue that the whole thing’s taking place in his head. Wesley, the woman in black, the memories, they might be real, but it’s all in his head. They can muck with reality not because they’re angels, daemons, or aliens, but because they’re in his brain, screwing with him. For the purpose of… the purpose of… well, screwing with him. We’ll get to that later.
March 4th, 2008 at 5:58 am
I’m really enjoying this webcomic. I found it through Transmission X, because I read a number of others linked there, and when I gave this one it’s chance, I took the entire thing in in about a day, reading back to the beginning. I haven’t done that with many webcomics, but this one was worth the effort.
I can’t say I fully understand what is going on, but I have ideas. To me, the woman in black is Death, the ultimate character in black. Aside from Johnny Cash. Her initial is “D”, she is seen at the graveyard, and when the main character’s grandfather only wanted to die, he was the happiest he had been in a long time once they met.
The memories, room #3, I have fewer assumptions on, but they would all have to link back to the woman being Death itself. Perhaps she is collecting their memories so they will never be lost. Wesley could be her agent, or another side of her, the crueller side of death, if you will.
Even if I am way off the base, I still love the comic.
March 4th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
As far as the Lost debate goes, in some cases sensationalism and cliff-hangers don’t always have to be bad. Look at Dickens, his stories always end on cliff-hangers and even though he manages to weave everything together, sometimes there are just amazing loopholes that take some suspension of disbelief, and I looove Dickens.
March 4th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
his chapters* excuse moi.
March 4th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
My one big guess as far as theories go is that Vacek is in fact his grandfather and that Wesley and the woman are part of a secret organization that helps people fake their deaths and move on to some second life.
March 6th, 2008 at 7:28 am
I’d just like to say: Dickens?! *shudder*
March 6th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
You’ve got to be kidding!
March 8th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
So far, at least, you’ve been striking a good balance, Cameron — I’m not a TV watcher, but I know the plotting errors the other posters are talking about, and I think you’re avoiding them. If there are too many loose ends to keep track of, we’ll get frustrated by the poor effort/payoff balance and lose interest. If there are too few mysteries, we’ll get bored and lose interest.
I’ll save my personal theories on where you’re headed (particularly since there’s an update tomorrow), but suffice it to say it’s all pretty amorphous for now, I’ve got a decent grasp on the current loose ends, and I’m trusting you!
@Roo: sometimes it’s worth it to revisit some of those dreary novels you slogged through so painfully in high school. The literature itself doesn’t change, but you do, and I’ve been startled at how much the 17-year-old me totally missed.