Class Notes 9/28/09

Frederic Wertham and the Comics Code

• Environment and social background have major effects on psychological development.
• Concern over the negative effects of mass media.
• Seduction of the Innocent 1954

Carl Barks

• Wrote Uncle Scrooge

Jack Kirby and Stan Lee

• Wrote amazing fantasy,
• fantastic four,
• captain america,

Underground Comics

• Jesus meets the armed services
• Freak Brothers
• Middle Class
• Abortion Eve
• Black Laughter

Herge

• European Artist

Will Eisner

• Comics legend and godfather of the graphic novel, Eisner brings together the visual techniques of films like Citizen Kane with storytelling approach of classic American writers like Jack London or O’Henry.
• The Spirit
• A Contract with God
• Always a visionary of the narrative possibilities of the comics as an art form, Eisner finally devotes himself to making a long work of graphic narrative he calls a “graphic narrative.”
• Until his death in January of 2005 at the age of 87, Eisner authors a series of graphic novels at the pace of at least one a year.  The novels explore social conditions, human, behavior and Eisner’s life and experience.
• As Eisner began publishing his graphic novels in the early 1970’s, a number of cartoonists who had been members of the underground commix movements of the 1960’s adapted the same experiments in form and content to making longer work in more “literary” formats. 

Craig Thompson

• Wrote Blankets in 2003
• Inspired by the death of his daughter
• Coming of age novel

Shaun Tan- The Arrival

The Arrival by Shaun Tan is a perfect example of a wordless graphic narrative.  His transitions between the frame and illustrations where masterfully blended together and formed a story line in which carried ones imagination into a fictional wonderland.  He describes the path of a traveler leaving the safety of a familiar land on a boat towards an uncertain world.  Upon landing, he is shocked by the cultural difference in which he finds himself immersed in.  The terrain, language, and animals all hold a sense of uncertainty among them, which implores the reader to inquire the following pages.  I am amazed on how he was able to convey a real life issue in such a fictional story without making it seem over realistic.  Having moved around myself, I am able to relate to the story in a way I never though possible.  Upon finishing this book, I quickly checked out The Red Tree and The Lost Thing, all by Shaun Tan.

Understanding Comics - McCloud Post

      To be quite honest, I regarded comics/ graphic narratives as nothing more than images and words on a page.  I felt that a comic's sole purpose was to engage the reader and create a figment of the imagination in which the reader could escape reality and enter a world full of non-realism and adventure.  I stand quite corrected after reading Scott Mclouds "Understanding Comics".  I was unaware to the fact that the word "comic" reached over a broad spectrum of writings and drawings including Pre-Columbian picture manuscripts, The Bayeux Tapestry, and Egyptian Hieroglyphics dating back some 2,700 years ago.  No longer do I envision a comic as just a comic, but far more than the definition can describe.  

     There are a number of factors that go into making a comic, much more than the writing and imagery aspect.  The icon, one of the many parts of a comic, is defined as a sign or likeness that stands for an object by representing it concretely or by analogy.  Not only is the comic hard to describe in a single sentence, so are the parts that go into making a comic intricate as well.  Comics can also twist our perception of reality through the use of the human senses.  People tend to perceive that their knowledge is adequate enough to judge the difference between reality and fictionalism, but on the contrary, our senses divulge only a portion of the world around us.  In my opinion, no matter how much an individual may travel, there is no humanly way possible to experience every culture, food, or landmass in the world.  We must acknowledge that even if we don't know about it, it still can exist.  Comics help bridge that gap of uncertainty by introducing us to the unknown world in which we inhabit on a day-to-day basis from birth till death.  

     I will gladly admit that after reading this book, my perception of the individual word "comic" has drastically changed from a narrow minded definition to a broad descriptive phrase encompassing all the factors that go into making a comic from drafting and story boarding to drawings and imagery selection.  A great deal of research must be undertaken in order to create a successful comic, even for the ones an individual may read in the newspaper.   I look forward to dissecting the word comic and its many different strips and books it inspired.