Stephen King’s New Web Series is 'N.'-Believable

Editor’s note: We are thrilled to have another entry from Alec McNayr, of Space Shank Media, contributing as a guest author to Tubefilter News. Look for more from Alec on a semi-regular basis as he lends us his experienced eye for quality as we follow the episodic web television scene.

I’m not going to lie: I got a little freaked out watching a web series alone in my living room today.

In what seems to be an avalanche of motion comics debuting online these days, Stephen King’s new web series N. tops them all, and, to boot, it’s the creepiest online series I’ve seen (and I’ve seen a lot).

Each episode delivers a slow, yet deliberate look into what promises to be a multi-layered story: a woman reads the notes of a psychiatrist counseling a patient with insight into a dark, other-worldly secret. It alludes that the doctor himself will go mad with this information (which will climax into something scary about two weeks from now, I’m guessing!).

The real achievement of this series is the sweeping, tense music score, which brings terror to a new level. It’s the same haunting style you hear in major motion pictures. The marriage of music, sound effects, narration, and story-telling animation make for a great experience. The series, produced by Marvel Entertainment, is shot in the “pan and scan” format, complete with comic book-style graphics, making it feel a bit like a graphic novel. It’s drawn by award-winning comic-book artist Alex Maleev, who’s work you might have seen NBC’s Heroes.

When a big name like Stephen King steps into the online market, it makes news. But when his series is this good, it’s worth checking out. It’s already 5 episodes into its 25-day run (culminating on August 29 with the release of King’s new novel Just After Sunset), so what are you waiting for?

You can view N. at www.nishere.com, on YouTube, iTunes ($3.99 for a season pass), your Verizon mobile phone, or across the CBS online network (which distributes to AOL, MSN, etc.).

Alec McNayr is a writer-producer at Space Shank Media, and the co-creator of the online mockumentary Flipper Nation, an official honoree of the 2008 Webby Awards. He also writes a regular column on new media entertainment in Final Draft’s Script Magazine.