Myths and Legends Story Creator

Registration: Registering for Myths and Legend Story Creator is a little tricky. There is no place to register, however once a user begins creating and goes to save the comic, it is then that the site requests a user name and password. This site is not quite public. It was originally created for a contest for several schools to participate in. When registering, there is a list of schools presented, and if the user is not from any of these schools, he/she can click on "other."

Background: There is a multiple of backgrounds ranging from inside and outside of buildings, earth and water landscape. Most of the backgrounds have some sort of motion in them (fireplace has flickering flames, volcanic action represented in erupting smoke, or falling rain).

Body Language: Body language, posture or gestures are very limited. There is a diversity of character templates (children to adults). The detail of the templates are very simplistic. The one differentiating factor

is that there is motion with some of the characters (the mouth of a baby moving back and forth to show it crying).

Clothing: Clothing is pre-determined on template characters and cannot be changed.

Devises: It is with this area that Myths and Legends comic creator is rather unique. Rather than providing speed lines, or an action lines, this comic creator provides characters that already have animated motion as a part of their make-up. Sound devices are not present but actual sound effects are provided or can be uploaded as a part of the story.

Lettering: Lettering is all uppercase, one font, one size and even stays the same size when the speech balloons are made large or small.

Speech Balloons: There is some variety in this area. There are speech balloons that represent narration (box at the top or bottom of page), effects, talking and thinking balloons. Speech balloons can be made large or smaller but the lettering within stays the same size.

Gutters: Gutters are non-existent in this comic creator. This particular comic creator is a mix of motion picture and comic.

Panels: Panels are singular. When looking at the storyboard, panels are present but for the duration of the strip, there is only one panel.

Focus: Focus is limited to adjustable speech balloons sizes and characters. There are no angle shots or zoom features. The background cannot be manipulated. Actual sounds, no representation sounds, can be added the story.

Stereotypes: Since this is a myths and legends story creator, the characters and backgrounds are stereotypical. Young heroes are identifiable by their clothing, warriors by their posture and gear, infants and children by their postures and plenty of mythical creatures.

Accessibility: Access is limited to printing the story onto paper or download to one's personal computer. The only access to the story is through the website.

Intended User: This comic creator is aimed at children, specifically school children. Several of the features suggest teacher assistance, and the fact that this website was created as a part of storytelling contest is a dead give away to who the intended participants are. There is a setup feature that allows teachers and students to send and receive messages from one another. Librarians can recommend this online resource as an activity for children constantly online during library hours.

Summary: Part comic and part animation, this comic creator is unique. Although the style is different and the selection broad, the presentation is not quite professional. Teachers may want to use this comic creator since there is no advertisements, no place to comment from other users, cannot be accessed through email, social networking sites, or embedded coding. This site is easy to get about, flexible and creative with its backgrounds and character choices, however access is definitely restricted.