Skip to main content

How do you understand comics?

In reading the first two chapters of Scott McCloud's Understand Comics: The Invisible Art I was quickly reminded of my initial introduction to the world of comics. Every time my mother took me along to the grocery store, I would pick up a copy of Batman or Spiderman and read it cover to cover before "swinging between the aisles" as if I had been bitten by some radio active spider. However, at such an age, I was not aware of McCloud's definition of comics as a "juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and /or to produce an aesthetic response in the viewer" (9). While the definition might be new, my understanding of it now and then are not that far apart. As I aged and "matured," I was quickly introduced to the Japanese import of manga, and eventually to the much longer and more "intellectual" graphic novel. While my tastes changed (and the direction I read), I never lost my love for the conglomeration of picture and text in a stylized package. Because that is what a comic truly is. Whether it is Robert Crumb , Stan Lee (Fantastic Four, etc.), Alan Moore (Watchman, V for Vendetta, From Hell), Charles Shultz (Peanuts), James O'Barr (The Crow), or Nobuhiro Watsuki (creator of the Japanese manga and anime - Rurouni Kenshin), each comic is founded on a "juxtaposed pictorial... in a deliberate sequence." Panels usually contains characters, setting, dialogue, style, etc. In each panel of a comic, there are hours of sculpting, framing, and stylizing so that when a reader picks up a comic, they understand the movement of time. Depending on the creator, the sequence could be as simple as one kick of the football (Peanuts) or as complex as Dr. Manhattan's chapters in Watchman (1986). In either case, however, the passage of time is deliberately constructed to flow from panel to panel in a series of "juxtaposed pictorial(s)."

So what you might ask is what is a comic and why does it work. Stepping away from McCloud's definition, a comic is a series of panels that make use of abstracted characters in a highly stylized manner that best interprets the creator's vision of reality in a deliberate sequence. Comics work because they fuse the best parts of mass media: television and the novel. While one is dying, the other is thriving, and yet, comics continue to flourish and cross over to the big screen because of their easy accessibility and abstracted reality. By striking the perfect balance between reality and meaning, a comic fuses the best and worst parts of the two mediums and constructs a masterpiece of unrivaled popularity and accessibility.

Comments

J Chambliss said…
Excellent analysis and commentary. Keep it up. As the class move forward, the complexity of the comic experience will be a central theme.
August 26, 2011 at 1:53 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mythology and Superheroes in Comics

Ohhh my goodness... When I decided on trying to analyze the mythological origins and references in superhero comics, I had no idea the can of worms I was opening up... On the one hand, it was awesome to see just how many connections there were between superheroes and psychology/mythology/philosophy, but all the information also made it terribly difficult to distinguish what I should be using and how to tie it all together. When I was talking to one of my sorority sisters about it she said, "Oh yeah, well, research essays are kind of like putting together puzzles..." and I think that really sums up what writing this paper was like for me. Fortunately, I was really interested throughout the whole process and I very much enjoyed writing the paper. Being a psychology major, I was especially interested in reading about the Jungian archetypes that had a lot of parallels with major modern comic books superheroes. I was also able to incorporate Joseph Campbell's "hero cycle...
2 comments
Read more

Why blame comics for societal failure?

Why blame comics for societal failure? Society blamed comics for the societal failures because it was a fairly new industry, and as things seemed to go “wrong” they figured it must be comic books. When a child grew up during the war, his father was probably killing people and the military and his mother was probably making things in factories to help kill the opposition. The only things kids had to “babysit” them was comic books, and they read many different kinds. So when kids starting acting differently in this new generation the figured it must be the comic books. Society didn’t want to believe it may have been the internal and external scars war causes on the soldiers and their families. Also the fact that young unattended children are reading these comics may not be able to differentiate between fantasy and reality. When society fails it always needs a scapegoat then it was comic books next it was rock and roll. Society naturally resist change.
2 comments
Read more

#FUTURES: Tomorrow Idris Elba will be the Last Man Standing

There is some bad buzz around Pacific Rim on the web. I suspect the possibility of a giant robot movie being awesome is too much for some people.  The internet is full of dark corners, but until we see the movie we won't know the box office.  What we can tell right now is that Idris Elba is doing his part to make the movie a success. A standout performer, Elba has made a name for himself in countless productions .  He achieve wide recognition for his turn on the big screen in films such as Thor and on the small screen in the BBC's Luther . Of course, the open question about actors of color in any film is whether not they will help or hurt the box office.  Will Smith recent disappointment with After Earth opens the door for this conversation. His lack of success sparks the question who will be the next "bankable" star of color. There can be only one! See what I did there:-)  These sentiments reflect a Hollywood centric approach that ignores Nolly...
Post a Comment
Read more