Randall Munroe Finally Finishes His 3,099 Panel xkcd Magnum Opus “Time”

Dang, yo. That's a lot of panels.
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Webcomics typically adhere to the classic newspaper funny pages formats of a either a single frame, or a few panels laid out in sequence, but they don’t have to.  Online comics can have a limitless number of panels, or just be comprised of one big “Infinite Canvas.” xkcd creator Randall Munroe finished a single massive story of the strip comprised of 3,099 panels, and Geekwagon put it all together in an easy to view slideshow/animation that’s worth checking out.

“Time” follows an adventure of the two xkcd stick figures as they journey to understand everything. Which like a 3,099 panel comic strip is an ambitious task. They build a sandcastle, and things kind of take off from there as they explore the simple black and world trying to first understand sea levels, and then everything else.

The story, world, and art get more complex as they go along. The Geekwagon compilation of “Time” is put together in a way that places it somewhere between animation and comic strip that’s not quite a motion-comic. You can set it to play back at certain speeds, and automatically pause on “special frames” which are usually the ones with words on them. It’s more like watching a flipbook than it is a cartoon, and like most of xkcd, it’s really enjoyable.

You can read/watch/love “Time” on the Geekwagon site.

(Geekwagon via Boing Boing, image via Maria)

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Glen Tickle
Glen is a comedian, writer, husband, and father. He won his third-grade science fair and is a former preschool science teacher, which is a real job.