Two new downloadable issues of a new comic series, Exile: A New World, fell into our virtual laps recently. The concept of digital comics may not be clear in your mind's eye, because there are a few paradigms out there right now. Before we dig into Exile, a few words about what it is not. It's not a web comic. It lives on your PC or Mac via download, and runs like an application. The benefits of this are many. Second, it's not an e-reader comic. This means you won't be reading it on your phone, your Kindle, or your iPad. The pros and cons of this are debatable, and time will tell if the Exile model is a sustainable one for comic artists and distributors. With that all out on the table, we can say that Exile is an interesting product with an equally interesting business model. Copies of Exile are available online with a "pay what you want" label attached. The variable pricing model (or price-optional model if consumers decide to pay nothing) isn't new to the world of online distribution, but it may be the first time a comic has been offered in this fashion. It's a good thing that companies are experimenting with new means for distribution, and the comics' industry could stand with more technology and business disruptors, to keep things fresh.

The story of Exile: A New World plays out in a future where warp portals have been invented, and are being used for the seemingly inglorious purpose of waste management. That's right, we used the euphemism for garbage collection there... Why, you might wonder, would powerful technology be leveraged for such a mundane end? The reality of Exile is that the portals don't transform our society as much as create a parallel society, populated by our unwanted objects. Nuclear waste, household garbage, and, of course, the inevitable human detritus become fodder in the drive to sterilize society by banishing undesirables to what is labeled Exile. It's actually a pretty inspired narrative, with historical precedents like Australia or Devil's Island, and there's the tie-in to prison dramas like Oz that may keep Exile: A New World fueled for some time. These first two issues (four issues are currently planned for release) build slowly around a central character, Ford, who was banished to Exile for a one-time lapse. It's unclear whether Ford is hero or anti-hero, but he won't be alone. A young girl has entered Exile, leading Ford and some decidedly bad elements toward inevitable confrontation.

Is it a game or a comic? Exile blurs the lines in several ways, because it runs as an application on your computer, and because it requires constant interaction from the reader. This interaction turns readers into players, which isn't a bad thing. The presentation of Exile feels somewhere between a traditional comic and an artist's sketchpad, with items in the margins that give you hints on how to progress from panel to panel by clicking on specific objects. Some of these clicks will unlock special concept art, and even a minigame in the first issue. The offerings in Exile #1 are much richer than in #2; whether this is by design or because of time constraints, we can't say. After you've read the entire comic, you can revisit pages to find objects you missed on the first read. Whether this seek-and-find strikes your fancy will mostly be a matter of personal preference and taste, but it is unquestionably well executed.

We've previously held the opinion that comics are immune to online media trends, but we can feel our position slowly eroding. Our arguments in the past were that the wisdom and guidance traditionally held in local shops, had little chance of being replaced online. Efforts to create a pull-bag concept in the online space also haven't been too successful. The advent of technology like the iPad and excellent reading apps like Comixology haven't replaced the sage advice of the man behind the desk at your local shop, but they sure are making the distribution and pricing of comics more dynamic. Larger screens (at least laptop/tablet size) will prevail, and dynamic reading technology that showcases each panel (or focal elements in each panel) also seems like an enduring trend. Exile is well positioned to take advantage of this shift, and we expect to see more independent creators follow this path. Hopefully, tablet readers will democratize the comics' space, much as MySpace and YouTube have done for user-generated music and video content. In the meantime, grab a piece of the cutting edge, and give Exile a try. If you're a fan of indie comics, you won't be disappointed.