Comic+Creation



 ** “COMIC CREATION” **  ** ASSIGNMENT TWO **  ** ERIC N. MADAN **  ** 997117686 **  ** CCT 300H  **  ** PROF: MICHAEL JONES **  ** TUTORIAL SECTION: 0201 **   ** <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;"> DATE SUBMITTED: 04TH November, 2010 ** <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">The comic being presented here does not follow the conventional norms of storytelling. It is a rather abstract concept within which the comic aims to showcase the different personalities and basic human traits that people posses. It is a view into the realism of how people actually are rather than what they portray to society. The comic uses a very mild form of social satire. It is there to remind us about the importance of life and how everything in the end boils down to perspective. There is no right or wrong way to live our life, but then again we need to put it in perspective and see if it’s worth living our lives the way we do. The comic is drawn in black to represent the serious and dark aspect of the issue being discussed.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;"> The comic aims to show a variety of aspects throughout its frames. The characterization used in the comic is varying it does not follow the conventional plot of a story. There is a close attention to detail in the comic where every minute aspect of it has a reason or purpose for being there. The words being spoken by the characters uses different fonts to show the tone with which it’s being spoken. For example the woman speaking in a frame has her words in italics this is done in order to show a soft gentle feminine aspect to her speech. Another detailed aspect of the comic is that many of the characters are drawn in an unconventional way to emphasize on the role they play. An example of this would be the clock face showing the characters obsession with time or the crown speaking emphasising his dominance. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> If we look at the different levels of representation and we take the representation of word in our graphic novel we are able to see a clever use of “Word Specific” been employed here by the artist. What this means is that there exists a combination in which the pictures being illustrated do not significantly add to the text. Now if we were to look at the very first panel of the comic there isn’t really an image for the reader to be able to further analyse or interpret. There just exists words and the text is the only part of that frame which allows the reader to make his own interpretations of what sort of comic they are likely to experience once they get into it. This allows for the reader to take a much more active role in understanding and interpreting the narrative. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> Another representation of word used in the novel is duo-specific, what this means is that words and texts are basically in-sync and are essentially sending the same message. We can see this in the rock and crown panel; the text in this panel speaks of the how the crown is telling the rock that he “rules”. If we look at the image that accompanies this text in the frame we see a crown representing royalty speaking about how he rules. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Now let us look at the second panel with the door and the incessant knocking we see the frame here uses very picture specific combinations. That is the words act as a soundtrack to a visually told sequence. The words used in this page give us the sound track to the knocks on the door in the back ground. This is aimed to give the reader an extremely visual sense of the area within which the frame took place. Also throughout the comic there are a lot of texts describing sounds an example of this can be found in the optimist vs. pessimist panel. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">If are to observe individual frames the imagery does not always match the text. In such a case the imagery used to allow the reader to critically think about the ideas that are being conveyed through the comic. After all that is the main purpose of a comic to provide a visual stimulus to the text in order to push forward the narrative. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> If we are to look at the way in which the graphical presentation of this novel is arranged it would be said to fall under what McLuhan defined as “Cool media”. Throughout the entire text the reader cannot take a passive role. He/she must be actively involved understanding and interpretation of both the text and the images presented. The novel in its entirety presents the reader with many questions but does not really provide them with the answers. It is up to the reader to interpret the art in the way they see it and make sense of the story being told. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">This comic is not a mere tale being told. It is an introspective piece used to awaken the reader senses and question their perspective on life. We can look at the last panel in the comic in two groups either as opportunists and fools or as conniving and sincere. It’s how one looks at it that one understands the true essence of the comic.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;">** __<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">Bibliography: __ ** <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 200%; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">McCloud, Scott. //Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art//. HarperPerennial, 1993. Print. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;">