SXSW Interactive · 2012
Reinventing the Graphic Novel for the iPad
Launching Operation Ajax, and the case for reinventing the graphic novel on the iPad.
Operation Ajax
Reinventing the graphic novel for the iPad
Overview
An award-winning interactive graphic novel on the 1953 CIA-backed coup in Iran, the origin of modern U.S. led regime change. Built over four years, it reinvented what a graphic novel could be.
Problem
Western audiences had little understanding of the 1953 coup and its long shadow over U.S. foreign policy, a critical piece of history most people had never encountered in an engaging way.
Solution
An interactive iPad graphic novel that made a pivotal, under-known story easy to understand, genuinely engaging to read, and open to deeper historical exploration.
Approach
Reinvent the format, don’t port it.
Most digital comics were scanned print pages on a screen. We started from the medium itself and asked what a comic could do on glass that it never could on paper. The answer was a story that moves, sounds, and opens onto the real history behind it, without ever pulling the reader out of the page.
Cinematic Sound and Animation
Subtle motion and a reactive score bring every panel to life, like a film you read at your own pace.
Historical Newsreels
Archival footage from 1953 is woven into the story, grounding the drama in real history.
The Work
The iOS App
A first-of-its-kind reading experience combining illustration, motion, and sound.
The Web Rebuild
Rebuilt after iOS support ended in 2017. 210 interactive pages, playable on any device.
The Print Edition
A full color graphic novel, now used in college level curriculum.
“One of the coolest media experiences I’ve seen on the iPad.”
The New York Times
As featured in
Original Artwork
210 pages of original artwork, all hand-drawn and hand-animated.
Every panel was illustrated by hand, then brought to life with subtle motion, so each chapter reads like a film you move through at your own pace.
140K+
downloads worldwide
4.9
★★★★★ on the App Store
210
interactive pages
10+
years in circulation
Outcome
A project significant enough to be rebuilt twice, first for the open web, then in print, rather than left behind as a one-time app. More than a decade later, it’s still being read and taught.
Recognition
Featured by The New York Times, Wired, BBC, Democracy Now, HuffPost, and The Rachel Maddow Show. Talks at SXSW, Comic-Con, and IDFA Doc Lab.
Talks
Storycode
Failure as Part of the Creative Process
An honest look at what didn’t work, and what building Operation Ajax taught me.
