Literature of Comics and the Graphic Narrative

A Contract With God A powerful work of storytelling. Even with how little it visually showed and verbally explained about that time period, the simple yet effective storytelling techniques shed a powerful light into the world of the thirties.   The layout and information on each page stayed true to the essential items needed to convey the story at hand, while the expressions and designs of each character involved were perfectly fitted to that characters particular nature. The flow of the stories themselves was also really interesting. It starts off very regal and true, then gradually starts to slip down into degradation, whizzing past horrible defiling moments, building up into this final orgiastic climax, and then finally ending with one boy “Willie” standing on the edge of his balcony, pausing after being given his new set of family expectations, and reflecting on all that happened over the summer. Blankets I love how expressive and powerful Thompson...

I was actually surprised by the diversity of both the artwork and content, that was beginning to arrive on the scene as comics started to appear in book format. The colors may have been simplified when compared to Windsor McCays shimmering hues, but the content was much more involved and graphic. Some of the plots seemed blatantly violent, which is understandable giving the nature of the time period, but It made me understand why the Comics Code Authority may have reacted to some of the subject matter the way that they did. It was also interesting to read super hero stories like Superman, in the context of the time they were created. Despite the fact that the artwork, plot, and dialogue may have been lacking, the character of the Superman felt a lot more at home helping Indians, fighting crooks, and lifting cars in the world of the 1930’s, than he does watching over the world of today from a space station, wearing the same blue spandex and underwear. Out of all the action stories I rea...

It's pretty fascinating to see where comics as we know them originated, and how far they've come over the last hundred years or so. It was also really great exploring the medium before the popular notions of what a comic should be like or how they should read were set into stone. The sheer lack of regularity was awesome to see, and it was great that artists and writers were exploring a multitude of styles and techniques so early on, and that everything from Krazy Kat to Peanuts was executable and available. That being said, there were definitely times when some of the storytelling techniques made it extremely difficult for the reader to stay in the flow of the story. Like Windsor McCay's lengthy word explanations of what was happening to Little Nemo, as its happening to Little Nemo. I will say however that the artwork and humor in Little Nemo far outshines any and all awkward writing conventions.

Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud was a fantastic explanation of the mechanisms behind comics and how we the viewers process sequential imagery. I loved his explanation of why more realistic images tend to be more particular and therefore less relatable to the viewer, and how we as humans tend to project ourselves into more relatable characters. I also loved his breakdown of how we process time in a medium like comics, and all of the potentiality that the medium has. Not only was the information in the book fascinating, it was also a highly effective, visually appealing comic in and of itself. Strangely the book was published in 1994, and i feel like the only graphic novel I've read that really pushes the concepts he elucidates to the max, is Promethea by Alan Moore. Promethea goes above and beyond the artistic call of duty, stretching time, space, and the readers mind, with its graphic storytelling techniques. Ensuring that what is being read is both felt and experienced by th...

I was really blown away by how moving "The Arrival" was by Shaun Tan.  Not only was the piece visually stunning, but Tan really did a really amazing job of orchestrating the visual flow of the narrative by varying panel size, and the amount of detail/information in each one. I also loved his use of juxtaposed art styles. Both the historical and imaginative imagery creates an aesthetic that is simultaneously fantastically alien, and charmingly nostalgic. Another artist we explored this week, whose juxtaposed art styles create a world which is both alien and familiar is Jim Woodring. I've been a huge fan of his style and storytelling techniques for a while, and it was really refreshing to dive back into them both this week after reading Shaun Tan. I'm basically a sucker for line work and psychedelic imagery, so when I first saw "Frank" on the shelves i was immediately drawn in. Woodrings Line work seems to vibrate on the page, while his allegorical silent stor...