Slide 1

Slide 1 text

Superhero comics are fine for adolescents and young adults, but they overshadow the image of comics as a whole.

Slide 2

Slide 2 text

Comics isn't a genre, it's a medium. Beyond superheroes there are many fantastic comics for adults. Love and Rockets, Jaime Hernandez, Fantagraphics/Titan

Slide 3

Slide 3 text

Comics have a practically unlimited budget. Imagination can make rich fantasy scenes. Epileptic, David B, Jonathan Cape

Slide 4

Slide 4 text

(The words used to illustrate the rain are from an Arabic poem about rain) Habibi, Craig Thompson, Faber and Faber

Slide 5

Slide 5 text

There are many diverse styles, from the Arabic calligraphy & design of Craig Thompson's Habibi to the faux-woodcuts used by Andre Diniz. R: Picture A Favela, Andre Diniz, Self Made Hero

Slide 6

Slide 6 text

Cartoony styles to give sympathy to difficult topics; Jason's misanthropic animals. Athos in America, Jason, Fantagraphics

Slide 7

Slide 7 text

Art as meta-narrative. Two opposing styles, angular & sketchy, combine to make a whole when the relationship starts. Asterios Polyp, David Mazzucchelli, Alfred A. Knopf

Slide 8

Slide 8 text

Comics allow you to linger in a way film & books don't. A lot of time can pass in a single frame. Like narrating over a photo. Footnotes in Gaza, Joe Sacco, Jonathan Cape

Slide 9

Slide 9 text

Gives good creators scope to try clever things. Chris Ware's work incorporates information design. Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Boy on Earth, Chris Ware, Jonathan Cape

Slide 10

Slide 10 text

Things which are impossible in other media, like this infinite loop. Characters can hear themselves elsewhere on the loop. Promethea, Alan Moore & JH Williams III, America's Best Comics/Wildstorm/Titan

Slide 11

Slide 11 text

Although not all creators use it, sound can be vital to comics. Sound treated as a visual. Love & Rockets is up there with the great modern literary works IMHO. Love & Rockets

Slide 12

Slide 12 text

Sound can be used for comic effect, or tragic; a disdainful laugh becomes a physical thing in a failing relationship. Mister Wonderful, Daniel Clowes, Jonathan Cape

Slide 13

Slide 13 text

Word balloons also tell a story, like here where marital status is shown in a state of uncertainty. The Italian name for comics is 'fumetti', meaning 'little puffs of smoke', named after word and thought balloons. Asterios Polyp

Slide 14

Slide 14 text

In this sequence the speech balloon is shown coming from somewhere else, from somewhere dark and elsewhere beyond the body. City of Glass, adap. of Paul Auster by Paul Karasik & David Mazzucchelli, Faber and Faber

Slide 15

Slide 15 text

Panels can be cleverly used like here where toilet pipes indicate panels. Brazilians call comics 'historias in quadrinhos', or stories in little panels. Alan's War, Emmanuel Guibert, First Second

Slide 16

Slide 16 text

Large panels slow things down, acting as punctuation at the end of a sequence. Pyongyang, Guy DeLisle, Jonathan Cape.

Slide 17

Slide 17 text

Having the panels also allows you to break them, deconstructing the grid to show a mental breakdown. City of Glass

Slide 18

Slide 18 text

Unique to comics, panel size can vary to signify time and speed. Here a long series of events are compressed into a short sequence, using repetition to convey the story. ACME Novelty Library #19, Chris Ware, Drawn & Quarterly

Slide 19

Slide 19 text

Removing the panels entirely suggests more quiet, easy times. The Little Man, Chester Brown, Drawn & Quarterly

Slide 20

Slide 20 text

To understand the language of comics as a unique medium, this is the place to start. Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud, HarperCollins.