Author(s) Launch date 2012 | Current status / schedule Ongoing | |
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Ava's Demon is a webcomic written and drawn by Michelle Czajkowski. The comic, which has been ongoing since 2012, is known for its painted art style and animations. The first physical publication of Ava's Demon was released in 2013 after a successful Kickstarter project.
Contents
Content
Ava's Demon is set in a universe of interplanetary travel and advanced medical science, where certain people have obtained god-like powers through science. The comic follows Ava Ire, a child that has a personal demon urging her to commit suicide her entire life. When Ava learns about the demon's motives, she accepts a mission from her in order to get a second chance for life.
The comic primarily make use of single panel pages, through which a reader can advance by clicking the "next" button. Furthermore, Ava's Demon infrequently features animation and music streamed through Vimeo.
Development
Czajkowski has known since childhood that she wanted to become a cartoonist. She veered off to 3D animation and worked for both Pixar and Dreamworks. While interning at Pixar, she was taught the process of creating successful stories. Czajkowski started working on Ava's Demon during her spare time while working at Dreamworks – at the time, she did not expect it to make a sustainable career. Ava's Demon was influenced and inspired by The Fifth Element and Alien, as well as films directed by Stanley Kubrick.
In 2013, Czajkowski started a crowdfunding project through Kickstarter to self-publish the first volume of Ava's Demon. Besides a full-color book, Czajkowski offered downloads for the animated comics. The webcomic successfully raised $217,036 USD by June 2013. In 2015, another Kickstarter campaign was launched to publish the second volume of Ava's Demon, as well as to re-print the first volume. Along with donation perks, an animated chapter video would be created by Studio Yotta, known for their animated videos for internet comedy group Starbomb. The campaign was successfully funded.
Reception
Lauren Davis of io9 said that the multimedia experience compliments Czajkowski's sense of humor and that she enjoyed the surreal aspects of Czajkowski's storytelling. Davis described the comic as "gorgeous," but specified that Ava's Demon is "more than just a pretty face." Paste Magazine rated Ava's Demon among the best webcomics of 2014 for the way it combined "gorgeous panels with an intriguing story," and in 2015, Juliet Kahn of Comics Alliance described Ava's Demon as "one of the most luminously lovely comics currently produced."
Kris Straub, creator of various webcomics, praised Ava's Demon for its animation and its painted look.