Argon Zark [Paperback]

Charley Parker (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 12, 1997

Argon Zark! is the "hard-copy" of an all-digital Internet comic, drawn entirely on the computer, steeped in Web jargon and Internet culture, and available only on line... until now.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...the world's funniest supergeek." --Science Fiction Age, May, 1998

"If Dali had done a comic book on the Net, it might have been comething like this" --Netsurfer Digest, January, 1998

"Vusually stunning and glorious in its geekiness, Argon Zark! is our favorite over-the-counter method of escaping reality." --HotWired, December, 1997

From the Publisher

With the release of Argon Zark!, Charley Parker, a cartoonist with a distinct technological bent, may be showing us the future of comics. For over two years, Argon Zark! has been enchanting Web surfers with its dazzling computer-enhanced imagery and outrageous humor. Now, the original electronic comic has been collected and translated into a wonderful new medium - print!

Hilarious and visually dazzling, this Alice in Wonderland for the Pentium crowd careens across the cultural landscape, bouncing from fine art to B-movies to Internet culture like a Web surfer with an itchy mouse finger.

The San Jose Mercury News calls Argon Zark! "a comic for the data age", and couldn't exist in any other. The hero is a brilliant-but-eccentric computer geek, his adversary is information overload and his hilarious companions include a robotic "personal digital assistant" with a defective speech recognition program. The artwork is filled with striking images, dazzling colors and an array of wild visual effects that would have been impossible without the use of modern computer graphics.

Many people have asked Parker how he creates his unique blend of comic drawing and digital image manipulation. He's included a chapter in Argon Zark! in which he unlocks some of the secrets of mixing traditional drawing skills with state-of-the-art computer technology to create this fascinating new kind of comic art.

For the last two years, thousands of Web surfers have been waiting impatiently, checking and rechecking their hotlists each week to see if a new Argon Zark! page has come out. Now, the essential on-line Argon Zark! experience has been compressed into that convenient, portable, non-electric data storage format known as "a book".

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 56 pages
• Publisher: Arclight Pub (December 12, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966053206
• ISBN-13: 978-0966053203
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.3 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,413,114 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book that MUST be read!, November 5, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Argon Zark (Paperback)

ARGON ZARK! is a really well done book. It was originally done to be an all digital on-line comic, but there were so many people saying that it deserves to be something that requires...

No electricity required! No waiting for the server to connect! No download time! No RAM requirements! No software conflicts!

...and something that...

Won't crash or freeze! Is Y2K compliant! Is lightweight, portable, bendable, tactile! Take it on the bus, train, or airship! Read it under the covers with a flashlight!

...so, that is what he did and it turned out great and to be a big success!

Take it from someone who has read it and tried to figure out how he did it so well, you MUST read it! You won't be dissapointed!

-Ovi Demetrian

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It's Pretty Good, But It Needed A Little More, October 28, 1998

By 

Chris Crosby ([e-mail]) (Temple City, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Argon Zark (Paperback)

Why I Kinda Like ARGON ZARK! by Chris Crosby

ARGON ZARK!, overall, was an entertaining read. There was a lot of adventure and excitement packed into it, and the artwork was very colorful and pleasing to the eye. However, after reading it, I felt a little empty. I recommend ARGON ZARK!, but I would have liked to see more realistic character interaction, and more insight into the futuristic world Argon lives in. Still, it's worth a read. THE END.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Argon Goes Offline! Get the Latest on The Badnasty Crash!, October 26, 1998

By 

Deacon Blues "dcnblues" (Martinez, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Argon Zark (Paperback)

It's not every day that you find a printed version of an online comic; usually it's the other way around. But in this case, the print shines as much as the pixels. Charley Parker's "Argon Zark" (along with his courier girlfriend Zeta Fairlight and his "personal digital assistant" Cybert) romps through the pages in such a way that you almost forget that you're not reading it on your laptop. As Dilbert is to disillusioned engineers and programmers, Argon is to web surfers and Internet chatgroup and newsgroup lurkers. We knew all along the Internet was huge, twisted, and chaotic, but this is why it's FUN.