The interactive comic book for iPad
www.nawlz.com
(For images, videos and additional press assets please visit www.nawlz.com/press.)
Nawlz ipad App is available from the iTunes App Store here and the official trailer can be viewed here Based on the award winning online comic series. NAWLZ is a 14
episode cyberpunk adventure series that pushes comics to a new level
combining animation, interactivity, music and text to create a never
before seen digital panoramic comic format. The story follows Harley
Chambers as he kicks through the futuristic City of Nawlz, engaging in
overlaying virtual realities, mind-bending drugs and other strange
techno-cultures. Nawlz is full of hidden dimensions that require a tap, tilt
and swipe to explore.
Created by Australian illustrator and interactive designer Sutu and first launched in late 2008, the
interactive cyberpunk adventure series broke new ground exploring how the Internet can provide
immersive story experiences. ‘Season 1: Distortion Reigns Supreme,’ consisting of 14
episodes/issues delivered throughout 2008-2009 (providing roughly 2 hours of reading/viewing),
resulted in an FWA award and praise from thousands of viewers around the world. The highly
anticipated Nawlz iPad app was released in September 2011 and has already been regarded as
a ‘Revolutionary Interactive Comic’.
Selected Press Coverage
“Mix funky beats, graffiti inspired cyberpunk artwork, drugs and a sci-fi story, drop it into an
interactive interface, and you have NAWLZ. Blowing the doors off of what an online comic should
be …”- Sublevel7
“Nawlz is about the spectacle. And so far, it’s unmatchable.” – ComixTalk, El Santo
“Weird, dissonant, and relentlessly inventive.” – Scott McCloud
“Revolutionary Interactive Comic.” - Jawbone.TV
The Awards
2010 – Winner Net Art Category, Webby Awards
2010 – Recipient of the Digital Media Prototyping Grant, Film Victoria
2009 – ‘Experimental’ category finalist, SXSW
2009 – ‘Site of the day’ (January 21) from thefwa.com
2009 – ‘Site of the day’ (January 14) from designlicks.com
2009 – Best Multimedia Finalist, ATOM Awards
2008 – Best Digital Media Runner-up, Australian Desktop Create Awards
The Format
The experimental nature of its delivery format is one of the things that makes Nawlz most unique, with
traditional comic panels replaced by animated frames that play out on a panoramic, interactive digital
canvas.
Unlike most digital comics that mimic the static panels and flippable pages of their offline brethren,
each episode of Nawlz is a horizontal digital scroll driven by Sutu's custom built framework that allows
viewers to dictate the pace, swiping horizontally from right to left to progress the story… and tapping
and tilting the iPad to access bonus animation. To truly appreciate the experience, give yourself an
hour or two with the first season. Plop yourself in front of an iPad, jack your headphones and explore.
It’s an entirely new way of engaging with a comic.
The Story
Nawlz depicts a future world of youth culture where technology is so advanced that reality is
augmented with holographic overlays and multi-sensory interactive experiences.
The title of the comic comes from the name of the city in which it takes place, the sprawling yet
claustrophobic metropolis called Nawlz.
The story follows Harley Chambers, a young cyber-graffiti artist trying to ‘cast’ his ’sleeper real’ to
cover the entire city. (A ‘real’ is a sort of technological hallucination, like a mind broadcast, creating a
virtual environment that overlays reality, available for all to experience. Anyone can have a Real and
they can customize and design it to look any way they want. The process of projecting thoughts onto a
Real is known as casting.) Harley’s Real is based on a recurring dream he had when he was a kid, and
the visual style is something he’s been perfecting for years, over which time he has managed to cover
most of Nawlz with it.
The story turns when he encounters a bizarre, tentacled Real that resembles his own work, setting him
on a path to discover the powerful forces behind the hijacking of his vision. He’s harassed by
increasingly bizarre Reals as he tries to unravel the mystery, including a puffer fish, a headless corpse,
and, most ominously, and a giant octopus beast whose tentacles are wrapped about the entire city.
As the story progresses, Harley pushes the limits of mind control with experimental software,
hallucinogenic drugs and surgical upgrades applied directly to his brain, all of which threaten to
permanently dissolve the boundaries between his reality and his imagination.
The Creator
Sutu aka Stuart Campbell is an international award winning illustrator, writer and interactive designer.
He is passionate about technology, sci-fi, telling stories and creating immersive interactive
experiences. His aim is to engage the sensors and rattle some brains. He is currently completing
season 2 of Nawlz. Beyond Nawlz, Stu has created multimedia installations for the Australian National
Museum, pilot training programs for the Australian Defence Force, directed online creative projects for
Honda and Coke and is regularly commissioned to create illustrations for popular youth cultures
including skateboarding, snowboarding and comics.
Contact Info
Press & Biz Development: [email protected]