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—GARRY TRUDEAU, NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

“A REMARKABLE NEW BAEDEKER OF THE TOONS.”

A Kitchen Sink Book for

“= HarperPerennial A Division of HarperCollinsPublishers

WRITING AND ART SCOTT McCLOUD

LETTERING BOB LAPPAN

EDITORIAL ADVICE AND SELECTIVE EGO-TRIMMING

STEVE BISSETTE KURT BUSIEK NEIL GAIMAN BOB LAPPAN

JENNIFER LEE LARRY MARDER IVY RATAFIA

EXTRA SPECIAL THANKS WILL EISNER

EDITOR MARK MARTIN

A paperback edition of this book was originally published in 1993 by Kitchen Sink Press. It is here reprinted by arrangement with Kitchen Sink Press.

UNDERSTANDING COMICS: THE INVISIBLE ART. Copyright ©1993 by Scott McCloud. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever with- out written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022.

HarperCollins books may be purchased for educa- tional, business, or sales promotional use. For information please write: Special Markets Department, HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022.

First HarperPerennial edition published 1994.

IS8N 0-06-097625-X (pbk.)

94 95 96 97 98 RIPON 10987654321

ANY SIMILARITY BETWEEN CHARACTERS/INSTITUTIONS IN THIS WORK

TO ACTUAL CHARACTERS/INSTITUTIONS IS UNINTENDED

ENTIRE CONTENTS COPYRIGHT SCOTT McCLOUD UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED UNDERSTANDING COMICS IS A TRADEMARK OF SCOTT McCLOUD

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

The book you're about to read took 15 months to produce and many of the ideas it con- tains had been on the back-burner for over nine years, so acknowledging all of those who have helped in its development may be next to impossi- ble. Furthermore, since its initial publication in the comics industry, I’ve received tremendous support from hundreds of fellow travelers in all corners of the publishing world. My apologies to anyone who is not listed below and should have been.

My deepest gratitude to Steve Bissette, Kurt Busiek, Neil Gaiman, Larry Marder and Ivy Ratafia who all reviewed my original draft in detail and offered many valuable critiques. Their contribution to the project cannot be overstated. | was also for- tunate to receive detailed analysis from the talented Jennifer Lee and beyond-the-call-of-duty proofread- ing and good advice from Bob Lappan. Special thanks are also due to the magnificent (and mag- nanimous) Will Eisner who offered many words of encouragement and excellent advice in the proj- ect’s later stages. Will Eisner’s work has been an inspiration to me, and to thousands of artists, for many years. Eisner's COMICS AND SEQUENTIAL ART was the first book to examine the art-form of comics. Here’s the second. | couldn’t have done it without you, Will. Thanks.

I'm deeply indebted to all of the friends and family who offered their thoughts on the manuscript as it was being prepared. Among this long list are Holly Ratafia, Alice Harrigan, Carol Ratafia, Barry Deutsch, Kip Manley, Amy Sacks, Caroline Woolf, Clarence Cummins, Karl Zimmerman, Catherine Bell, Adam Philips and the legendary Dewan Brothers, Ted and Brian.

In the comics world, special thanks go to Richard Howell, Mike Luce, Dave McKean, Rick Veitch, Don Simpson, Mike Bannon (technical sup- port), Jim Woodring, and all of the wonderful clan at San Diego '92. Thanks also to the numerous pro- fessionals who have lent their support and

endorsements to the project. I'm particularly indebt- ed to Jim Valentino, Dave Sim and Keith Giffen who used their own books as a forum on my behalf. In the retail sector, my thanks to the generous mem- bers of the Direct Line Group, to the many stores which played host during our first tour and espe- cially to the Mighty Moondog himself, Gary Colobuono. Thanks, as always, to Larry Marder, Nexus of All Comic Book Realities, for his tireless efforts on my behalf.

Thank you to the legion of journalists in print, radio and television who have been able to talk about this book without quoting sound effects from the old Batman TV show; especially Calvin Reid and the whole gang at PW.

Early influences on the ideas in this book are harder to trace, but no less important. Kurt Busiek introduced me to comics long ago and was my best guide for many years. Eclipse Editor-in-Chief cat yronwode helped shape my critical faculties over seven years on ZOT! and is one of the very few people in comics who really understood where | was coming from. Art Spiegelman, like Eisner, offered me a role-model for serious inquiry into comics as an art-form and, in his short comics- essay “Cracking Jokes,” clarified comics’ potential for non-fiction and made this book a possibility. Other important early influences include Syracuse professor Larry Bakke, Richard Howell and Carol Kalish.

My thanks to all the fine people at Tundra Publishing, Kitchen Sink Press and HarperCollins.

Without Kevin Eastman this book might have never seen the light of day. Thank you, Kevin.

Without lan Ballantine, you wouldn't be hold- ing it in your hands today. Thank you, lan.

And without you, Ivy, it wouldn't have been much fun. | love you madly. Let’s take tomorrow off.

C Scott McCloud

OF INTRODUCTION SETTING 1 THE RECORD

THE 2 VOCABULARY OF COMICS “s BLOOD IN THE GUTTER 2 TIME me 4 FRAMES ©) LIVING S IN 5 LINE mS SHOW G ie Mao. 138 7 & STEPS A WORD e. ABOUT COLOR ra

PUTTING a IT ALL TOGETHER ae

slice

CSS a “eu*TUR HAA

4 AD

4 =a m m ine)

BA

as

MY OLD PAL MA77 FEAZELL CALLED THE OTHER DAY.

SO, SCOTT, WHAT'S YOUR NEXT PROJECT GOING TO BE NOW THAT YOU'VE FINISHED

“ZOT" 7

YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE DEFINE COMICS, WHAT ARE THE BASIC ELEMENTS OF COMICS, HOW DOES THE MIND PROCESS THE LANGUAGE OF COMICS --THAT SORT OF THING.

WELL, IT’S A BIT HARD

4 TO DESCRIBE, MATT. ITS

SORT OF A COMIC BOOK ABOUT COMICS /

I HAVE A CHAPTER ON

CLOSURE—ALL ABOUT

WHAT HAPPENS THE PANELS, THERE’S ONE ON HOW ZAWE FLOWS THROUGH COMICS, ANOTHER ON THE INTERACTION OF WORDS AND PICTURES AND STORYTELLING.

YOU KIND OF YOUNG TO BE DOING THAT SORT OF THING 7

—t— }}

NOT EXAC7Z™ NO... ALTHOUGH THERE 1S SOME HISTORY WV IT.., 1T’S MORE AN EXAMINATION OF THE ARRT-FOR/49 OF COMICS,

WHAT IT’S CAPABLE OF, HOW IT WORKS.

AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR COMICS AND FOR AR7 /N GENERAL I7

UNDERSTANDING COMICS

COMICS ERE THOSE BRIGHT, COLORFUL READ REAL MAGAZINES FILLED BOOKS, NATURALLY.

WITH BAD ART I WAS MUCH TOO STUPID STORIES OLD For AND Gt/yS /NV COMICS!

La).

WHEN I WAS A LITTLE KID

KNEW

EXACTL

WHAT COMICS

BUT WHEN I WAS IN 8f GRADE A FRIEND OF MINE C WHO WAS A LOT SMARTER THAN IL WAS) CONVINCED ME TO GIVE COMICS ANOTHER LOOK AND LENT ME HIS COLLECTION.

(ORR ae \\ ee A SOON, I WAS HOOKED’

IN_LESS THAN A YEAR, I BECAME TOVALLY

OBSESSED

WITH COMICS/

I DECIDED TO BECOME A COM/CS ARTIST \N JOP4 GRADE AND BEGAN

TO PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!

IF PEOPLE FAILED TO

UNDERSTAND COMICS, IT WAS BECAUSE THEY DEFINED WHAT

COMICS COULD BE

700 NARROWLY,/

I FELT THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING LURAIIVG \N COMICS... SOMETHING THAT HAD

NEVER BEEN DONE.

SURE, I REALIZED THAT COMIC BOOKS WERE USUALLY CRUDE, POORLY-DRAWN, SEMILITERATE, CHEAP DISPOSABLE KIDDIE FARE --

A PROPER DEFINITION, \F WE COULD AD ONE, MIGHT GIVE

LIE TO THE

STEREOTYPES --4

--AND SHOW “THAT THE POTENTIAL OF COMICS 1S LIMITLESS AND EXCITING /

BUT WHENEVER I TRIED TO EXPLAIN MY FEELING, I FAILED AN/SEKABLY,

THE PROBLEM

WAS THAT FOR MOST PEOPLE, THAT WAS WHAT “COMIC 800K”

DON'T GIMME THAT COMIC BOOK TALK, BARNEY’

WHERE OUR JOURNEY

BEGINS.

--WHILE NOT BEING SO BROAD AS TO INCLUDE ANYTHING WHICH 1S CLEARLY NOT COMICS.

ws “COMICS IS THE WORD WORTH DEFINING, AS IT REFERS TO THE MEDIUM /7SELE NOT A SPECIFIC OBSECT AS “COMIC BOOK" OR “COMIC STRIP” DO.

WE CAN ALL VISUALIZE A COMIC.

THE WORLD OF COMICS 'S A HILIGE AND VARIED ONE. OUR DEFINITION MUST_ENCOMPASS ALL THESE TYPES--

E PAGE 216 FOR COPYRIGHT INFORMATION.

MASTER COMICS ARTIST W7ZZ E/SNER USES THE TERM

SEQUENT/AL ART

WHEN DESCRIBING COMICS.

TAKEN IWO/VIDUALLY,

THE PICTURES BELOW

ARE MERELY 7HA7-- FICTURES.

HOWEVER, WHEN PART OF A SEQUENCE EVEN A

NOTICE THAT THIS DEFINITION IS STRICTLY (VEUWU7TRAZL

IS TRANSFORMED INTO SOMETHING MORE: THE ART OF

= COMICS,”

FARTICULAR ARTISTS, PARTICULAR TITLES, PARTICULAR TRENDS.

BuT TO DEFINE COMICS, WE MUST FIRST DO ALITTLE

AND SEPARATE FORIVI FROM CONTENT’

THE ARTFORM --THE ANMED/L/M1 -- KNOWN AS COMICS IS A VESSEZ WHICH CAN HOLD ANY MLMBER OF /DEAS AND /MAGES.

\COM eC) Wilore

ARTISTS Trends GENRES STYLES Subject matter THEMES

>GARKE

SWHEEEEZE

S\CA\F! KAFI

GLUGH- GGuH...

TIME OR ANOTHER VIRTUALLY AZZ THE GREAT MEDIA HAVE RECEIVED CRITICAL

EXAMINATION. IN_AND OF THEMSELVES.

THE “CON7EWN7™” OF THOSE IMAGES AND IDEAS 1S, OF COURSE, UP TO CREATORS, AND WE ALL HAVE DIFFERENT TASTES.

THE 7RYCK IS TO NEVER MISTAKE THE MESSAGE ~~

*EISNER'S OWN COMICS AVP SEQUENTIAL ART BEING A HAPPY EXCEPTION

6

--FOR THE

caraes(")

A

BUT FOR COMICS, THIS ATTENTION HAS BEEN RARE. *

LET'S SEE IF WE CAN HELP REC7/FY THE SITUATION.

THERE EISNER'S LET'S SEE ARE A LOT OF TERM SEEMS IF WE CAN EXPAND DIFFERENT LIKE A GOOD 1T TO A PROPER KINDS OF ART. PLACE TO DICTIONARY-STYLE HOY ABOUT DEFINITION SOMETHING A LITTLE MORE SPECIFIC 7,

AVIA AAAS

\)\\\\)

la ANY

y ‘

7 Uff tt"- “> g 0 lle ~ ISN'T ANIMATED i FILM JUST Y/SUAZ ART IN SEQUENCE: WHAT ABOUT

ANIMATION 7’ BEG PARDON?

SEQUENTIAL (gm

i) ~

SOOO NY

Y j Z Y Z

I GUESS THE BASIC EACH SUCCESSIVE FRAME OF A MOVE 1S DIFFERENCE IS THAT PROJECTED ON EXACTLY THE SAME SPACE --THE ANIMATION IS SCREEN -- WHILE EACH FRAME OF CO/MM/CS MUST SEQUENTIAL IN OCCUPY A DIFFERENT SPACE. i Cr z ; SPA ce SUXTAPOSED™ bS : DOES FOR COMICS COMICS ARE. ts WHAT 77MME DOES

* JUXTAPOSED= ADJACENT, SIDE-BY-SIDE GREAT ART SCHOOL WORD 7

a a a . s° a a” a a: a # a” a

ANYWAY, THIS SHOULD MAKE IT A BIT MORE SPECIFIC.

JUXTAPOSED SEQUENTIAL

gt

PROJECTED, i/ OO)

JUXTAPOSED SEQUENTIAL STATIC IMAGES

—~y)) AS... Now IT Y SOUNDS KIND OF RE;

r a ARBITRARY. |

UU

OH, IT DOESN'T AAVE TO CONTAIN WORDS TO BE COMICS...

JUXTAPOSED STATIC IMAGES

IN DELIBERATE “& SEQUENCE \})

V0, NO.

I MEAN, DOESN'T THAT DEFINITION

DESCRIBE

WORDS 77

DOES IT HAVE TO SAY ‘AR7" 7 DOESN'T THAT IMPLY SOME SORT OF VALUE JUDGMENT 7

OKAY, HOW

JUXTAPOSED

LETTERS ARE S7A7/C IMAGES, RIGHT 7

WHEN THEY'RE ARRANGED IN A

WHAT ABOUT

NO, I MEAN IT/ AND WHAT ABOLIT THE XMEW AND--

M7 ~ OW! = HEY HEY’ “LET CO GLEZ, MEY’

SHOULDN'T IT HAVE BATMAN

JUXTAPOSED

PICTORIAL AND OTHER JUXTAPOSED IMAGES IN eS DELIBERATE aia SEQUENCE

WE'LL JUST TYPE 77 UP, ADD ALITTLE BIT ON THE LISES OF COMICS, AND--

--AND IN MOST CASES,

THIS 1S THE OWMLY

DEFINITION WE'RE LIKELY TO NEED.

com.ics (kom'iks)n. plural in form, used with a singular verb. 1. Juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and/or to produce an aesthetic response in the viewer.

i

BUT,

WITH A SPECIFIC DEFINITION UNDER OUR

BELTS--

--PERHAPS WE CAN SHED SOME WEW L/GHT ON THE AY/S7ORY OF COMICS.

WELL, ANYWAY, THIS ) SHOULD DO FOR /VOW.

L ADMIT, THIS ISN'T THE SORT OF THING THAT COMES UP A LOT IN CASUAL CONVERSATION --

MOST BOOKS ABOUT COMICS BEGIN SHORTLY BEFORE THE TURN OF THE CENTURY, BUT I THINK WE CAN VENTURE A BIT FARTHER THAN THAT.

CS |SEQUENTIAL

ACTUALLY,

ALOT FARTHER!

ESN “aX

ORNS

a

NY \\

\

HERE'S JUST A PIECE OF THE EPIC STORY CONTAINED IN A PRE-COLUMBIAN PICTURE MANLYSCRIPT "DISCOVERED" BY CORTES AROUND /S/9,

THIS B6-FOOT LONG, @RIGHTZLY- COLORED, PAINTED SCREENFOLD TELLS OF THE GREAT MILITARY AND POLITICAL HERO &-DEER “TIGER'S-CLAW.’”*

IS IT COMICS 7 YOU BET IT IS’ WE CAN EVEN READ SOMES

atte se

* OR “OCELOT'S CLAW" DEPENDING ON WHOSE BOOK YOU READ THIS SEQUENCE IS BASED ON A READING BY MEXICANHISTORIAN 10 AND ARCHAEOLOGIST ALFONSO CASO

FIRST, WE SEPARATE WORDS FROM PICTURES.

(A NAME)

8-DEER "TIGER'S CLAW"

11 HOUSE 12 MONKEY (A DATE )

GOD ae des + B 2

(GLYPH FOR PLACE WHOSE NAME WE DON'T KNOW.)

THEN REVERSE IT AND STRAIGHTEN IT OUT © THE ORIGINAL READ RIGHT-TO-LEFT AND Z/IGZAGGED. ) AND &FG//V-

THE YEAR: /OF9 AD THE DATE: MAY 3*

THE PLACE HERES *

@-DEER ALSO CAPTURES THE PRINCE’S OLDER

BROTHERS, /0-DOG "EAGLE COPAL BURNING”

AND 6-HOUSE “ROW OF FLINT KNIVES” AND

PUTS ‘EM ON ICE.

8-DEER KILLS THE OTHER PRINCE, 6-HOLISE "ROW OF FLINT KNIVES” EIGHT DAYS LATER.

OUR HERO, S-DEER "7/GERS CLAW, CONQUERS THE PLACE AND CAPTURES THE 9-Y¥EAR-OLD PRINCE, <-WIND "SERPENT OF FIRE.”

THE FOLLOWING YEAR, 8-DEER AND

( PROBABLY) HIS BROTHER, DISGUISED

AS 7/GERS, ENGAGE IN SACR/FICIAL SLADITORIAL COMBAT \NITH THE PRINCE, /O-DOG, AND ANOTHER WARRIOR DISGUISED AS DEATH.

* WE KNOW THE YEAR; I'M JUST GU/ESS/VG AT THE DATE REPRESENTED BY "12 MONKEY"

11

HUNDREDS OF YEARS

CALL THE BAYELWN TAPES.

BEFORE CORTES BEGAN COLLECTING COMICS, FRANCE PRODUCED THE S7R/IKINGLY SIMILAR \WORK WE TRY.

SY i ie: f

FAR FROM D/SQUAL/IF YING PERENNIAL EXCEPTION W/ZZ EVSVER.

THESE AS COMICS, I THINK MODERN COMIC BOOK ARTISTS SHOULD 7AKE NO7E OF THE POSSIBILITIES OF SUCH WHOLE FAGE COMPOS/TIONS AND HOW FEW ARTISTS HAVE MADE GOOD USE OF THEM

WHICH ONE 1S THE PRINCE

AT FIRST GLANCE, EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS WOULD SEEM TO FIT . OUR DEFINITION

JUXTAPOSED PERFECTLY. PICTORIAL AND OTHER BUT MUCH IMAGES IN DEPENDS ON OUR USE DELIBERATE OF THE WORD

SEQUENCE “PICTORIAL.”

?

TO INDICATE AT LEAST SOME FESEMBLANCE TO THE SUBJECT. BUT THESE GLYPHS

REPRESENT ONLY

SOUNDS, NOT

UNLIKE OUR ALPHAGE7.

THIS 230 FOOT LONG TAPESTRY DETAILS THE NORMAN CONQUEST OF ENGLAND, BEGINNING

IN O66.

SS a ty FINDING 1 COMICS BEYOND

OUR OWN MILLENNILIM IS A BIT TRICKIER.

READING LEF7 70 RIGHT WE SEE THE EVEWV7S OF THE CONQUEST, IN DELIBERATE CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

UNFOLD BEFORE OUR VERY

g

DUKE WI/LLIAS1 REIOVES HIS HELHIET TO RALLT HIS SOLDIERS

THUS, THEIR REAL DESCENDENT

1S THE WRITTEN

WORD AND NOT

COMICS.

‘ses tu baiu abta, hennu-nek batfu amenta"

“FOLLOW THEE, THE SOULS OF THE EAST. PRAISE THEE, THE SOULS OF THE WEST."

I HAD BEEN TRYING TO FIND SEQUFAIVCE IN EGYPTIAN PAINTINGS FOR ¥4ARS WHEN I BEGAN THIS BOOK AND WAS READY TO CALL IT QUITS--

DISCOVERED THAT THE BOOKS I HAD BEEN USING AS REFERENCE--

AS WITH THE MEXICAN CODEX, THERE ARE NO PANEL BORDERS PER SE, BUT THERE ARE CLEAR DIVISIONS OF SCENE

BY SUB/ECT MATTER.

. 468 IGG ge

EGYPTIAN PAINTING |S ANOTHER MATTER. SOME, LIKE THIS, MAY SEEM TO BE CONCERNED WITH SEQUENCE,

BUT ARE ACTUALLY SHOWING

TWO DIFFERENT LOCATIONS,

EVENTS AND CASTS, GROUPED ONLY BY SUBSET.

--HAD ONLY BEEN SHOWING ME FAAR7 OF THE PICTURE {

HERE'S THE

SCRIBE.

STARTING AT THE LOWER LEFT, WE SEE THREE WORKERS REAPING WHEAT WITH THEIR SICKLES-~-

PAINTING TRACED FOR BLACK AND WHITE REPRODUCTION

COMPLETE SCENE * ‘emai PAINTED OVER 7A/R7¥-7WO0 CENTURIES AGO FOR THE TOMB OF "‘MENVNVA; AN ANCIENT EGYPTIAN

AS WOULD BE / DONE 2,700 YEARS

LATER IN MEXICO, THE EGYPTIANS READ THEIR \. COMICS ZIG-ZAG.

* MORE WEARLY COMPLETE, ANYWAY

CANARY ’ ah f KI MANS

WAR Val, b4 tay oe

— = H poe

-- THEN CARRYING IT IN BASKE7ZS TO A 7ARESHING LOCATION.

CIN THE BACKGROUND TWO GIRLS FIGHT OVER BITS OF WHEAT

LEFT BEHIND, AS TWO WORKERS SIT UNDER A TREE, ONE SLEEPING,

ONE PLAYING THE AZL/7E/) / th,

4, | Wii (

THE SHEAVES ARE THEN KAKED OL/T INTO A 7HICK CARPET OF WHEAT.

-- AS LOYAL SCRIBES RECORD THE YIELD ON THEIR TABLETS.

I'LL GLADLY % ADMIT THAT I HAVE VO /DEA WHERE OR WHEN COMICS ORIGINATED.

LET O7HERS WRESTLE WITH

7HAT ONE.

THEN OXEN TREAD KERNELS OUT OF THE HUSKS.

NOW AN OFFICIAL USES A MEASURING ROPE TO SURVEY THE LAND AND DECIDE HOW MUCH WHEAT IS OWED IN

T'VE ONLY SCRATCHED THE SL/RFACE IN THIS CHAPTER... TRAJAN 'S COLUMN, GREEK PAINTING,

SAFANESE SCROLLS...

ALL THESE HAVE BEEN SUGGESTED AND ALL SHOULD BE EXPLORED.

NEXT, PEASANTS SEPARATE THE WHEAT FROM THE CHAFF.

OLD MENNA HIMSELF LOOKS ON-- *

AND AS MENNA WATCHES, FARMERS LATE \N PAYING THEIR TAXES ARE BEATEN.

THERE IS ONE EVENT WHICH LOOMS AS LARGE IN_COMICS HISTORY AS IT DOES IN THE HISTORY OF THE WRITTEN

* FACE GOUGED OUT BY FUTURE GENERATIONS OF LEADERS

THE INVENTION OF

PRINTING.

ART RESTORED FOR CLARITY ~ OTHERWISE UNCHANGED.

WITH THE INVENTION OF PRINTING? THE ART-FORM WHICH HAD BEEN A DIVERSION OF THE X/CA’ AND POWERFUL NOW COULD BE ENJOYED BY EVERYONE”

POPULAR TASTES HAVEN'T CHANGED MUCH IN F7VE CENTURIES. CHECK OUT “JHE 7FORTURES OF SAINT ERASMES,” CIRCA 1460. WORD HAS IT THIS GUY WAS A VERY POPULAR CHARACTER.

THE SOPHISTICATION OF

l THE PICTURE-STORY DID GROW,

HOWEVER, REACHING GREAT HEIGHTS IN THE NIMBLE HANDS OF HERE. IS WILLIAM HOGARTH. A TINY PIECE (ABOUT rt ONE TWENTIETH) OF THE SECOND PLATE FROM HOGARTH'S SIX- PLATE PICTURE-STORY “A_HARLOTS PROGRESS; PUBLISHED IN 1731.

DESPITE THE LOW “PANEL-COUNT.” THESE LUSH, RENDEKED PICTURES TELL A STORY RICH IN DETAIL AND MOTIVATED BY STRONG SOCIAL CONCERNS.

yee A

“MAYBE T SHOULDN'T SAY "INVENT" 16 EUROPEANS WERE A BIT LATE IN DISCOVERING PRINTING

BOTH THE PAINTINGS AND

ENGRAVINGS WERE DESIGNED

TO BE VIEWED SYDE-8)-S1DE --IN SEQUENCES

HOGARTH'S STORIES WERE FIRST EXHIBITED AS A SERIES OF FAIVT/NGS AND LATER SOLD

AS A PORTFOLIO OF ENGRAVINGS.

‘A HARLOTS PROGRESS” THE FATHER OF THE MODERN COMIC IN MANY WAYS

AND ITS SEQUEL "A RAKES PROGRESS” PROVED SO POPULAK, NEW COPYRIGHT LAWS WERE CREATED TO PROTECT THIS NEW FORM.

UNFORTUNATELY, TOPFFER HIMSELF FAILED TO GRASP

AT FIRST THE FULL POTENTIAL OF HIS INVENTION, SEEING IT AS A MERE DIVERSION, A SIMPLE HOBBY...

1S RODOLPHE TOPFFER , HOSE LIGHT SATIRIC PICTURE STORIES, STARTING IN THE MID- 1800's, EMPLOYED CARTOONING AND PANEL BORDERS, AND FEATURED

THE FIRST INTERDEPENDENT COMBINATION OF ORDS AND PICTURES SEEN IN EUROPE.

“IF FOR THE FUTURE, HE [TOPFFER] WOULD CHOOSE A LESS FRIVOLOUS SUBJECT AND RESTRICT HIMSELF A LITTLE, HE WOULD PRODUCE THINGS BEYOND ALL CONCEPTION.”

+ eae (ae POEMS MK AND Ime FuTe

CHEM TIEN ATL OMONG Te HHS

[TRANSLATION BY E. WIESE

EVEN SO, TOPFFER'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF COMICS IS CONSIDERABLE, IF ONLY FOR HIS REALIZATION THAT HE WHO WAS NEITHER ARTIST NOR WRITER-~

~~ HAD CREATED AND MASTERED A FORM WHICH WAS AT ONCE BOTH AND NEITHER.

A LANGUAGE ALL ITS OWN.

7 BRITISH CARICATURE MAGAZINES KEPT THE TRADITIONS ALIVE AND AS THE ZO" CENTURY DREW NEAR, THE COMICS WE CAZZ COMICS BEGAN TO APPEAR AND EVENTUALLY TO 7WRYVE IN A STEADY STREAM OF WAKING DREAMS THAT HAS YET TO ABATE.

BUT EVEN IN y SOME OF THE MOST WVSPVYRED AND /NIVOVATIVE COMICS THIS CENTURY, OF OUR CENTURY HAVE NEVER RECEIVED RECOGNITION A§ COMICS, OUR DEFINITION CAN NOT SO MUCH /WV SfP7Y7E OF THEIR SUPERIOR QUALITIES HELP TO ILLUMINATE , AS BECAL/SE OF THEM.

THE WORKS OF SOME Le UNSUNG HEROES. Shel Silverste’ FOR MUCH OF THIS CENTURY, THE WORD "COMICS" HAS HAD SUCH NEGATIVE CONNOTATIONS THAT MANY OF COMICS MOST DEVOTED PRACTITIONERS HAVE PREFERRED TO BE KNOWN AS iat enn, ILLUSTRATORS, JUXTAPOSED Ce : “COMMERC/AL PICTORIAL ei A tS OR, AND OTHER | ‘ IMAGES IN [H) (7 Te} |, “CARTOONISTS /

SEQUENCE [ol [alle] Mae

AND SO, COMICS’ LOW SELF-ESTEEM |S SELF-PERPETUATING!

THE HISTORICAL

PERSPECTIVE NECESSARY TO COUNTERACT COMICS’

NEGATIVE IMAGE IS OBSCURED @Y THAT NEGATIVITY.

ARTISTS LIKE WARD AND BELGIAN V. THEIR DEFVAVITION FRANS (NASEREEL SAID MUCH THROUGH , OF COMICS, THEN AS THEIR WOODCUTS ABOUT THE POTENTIAL OF | Wow, WAS SIMPLY TOO COMICS, BUT FEW IN THE COMICS COMMUNITY 4 MARROW TO INCLUDE OF THE DAY COULD GE 7WEMESSAGE. SUCH WORK.

QUITE A DIFFERENT CASE 1S MAX ERNST’S SURREAL “COLLAGE NOVEL, A WEEK OF KINDNESS.

THIS 162 PLATE SEQUENCE OF COLLAGES IS WIDELY CONSIDERED A MASTERPIECE OF

20™ CENTURY ARTZ, BUT NO ART HISTORY TEACHER WOULD DREAM OF CALLING IT “COMICS “/

YET, DESPITE THE LACK OF A CONVENTIONAL STORY, THERE 1S NO MISTAKING THE CENTRAL ROLE WHICH SEQUENCE PLAYS

IN THE WORK, ERNST DOESN'T WANT YOU TO BROWSE THE THING,

HE WANTS ‘YOU TO R t WV ie |

or

~ nal § as } ve 4 |

IF WE DON'T EXCLUDE PHOTOGRAPHY FROM OUR DEFINITION, THEN HALF OF AMERICA HAS BEEN IN COMICS AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER.

SSI

YS:

ee

\

IN SOME COUNTRIES, PHOTO-COMICS ARE, IN FACT, QUITE POPULAR.

com.ics (kom'iks)n. plural in form,

used with a singular verb. 1. Juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and/or to produce an aesthetic response in the viewer.

FOR ALL THE DOORS THAT

OUR DEFINITION OFEWS, THERE IS ONE WHICH IT CLOSES.

MEANWHILE, PICTURES IV SEQUENCE BRE FINALLY BEING RECOGNIZED AS THE EXCELLENT COMMUNICATION TOOL THAT THEY

ARE, BUT S77ZZ NOBODY REFERS TO

THEM AS COMICS! "DIAGRAMS"

SOUNDS MORE D/G/VW/FIED,

I SUPPOSE.

FROM SYAIMED GLASS WINDOWS SHOWING BIBLICAL SCENES IN ORDER TO MMOWETS RN SERIES PAINTINGS, TO YOUR CAR OWNER'S MANUAL, CONICS TURN UP ALL OVER WHEN SEQUENTIAL ART IS EMPLOYED AS A DEFINITION.

W ©

THANKS TO MATT FEA

SUCH SINGLE PANELS MIGHT BE CLASSIFIED AS ‘COMIC ART’ IN THE SENSE THAT THEY DERIVE PART OF THEIR WISUAZ

VOCAGULLARY FROM COMICS--

SINGLE PANELS \VIKE 7H/S ONE ARE OFTEN LZUMPED /V WITH COMICS, YET THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A SEQUENCE

“Mommy , why ain't I Juxtaposed?”

BUT I SAY THEY'RE NO MORE COMICS THAN THIS STILL OF HUMPHREY BOGART

THIS SAME SVVGLE PANEL MIGHT ALSO BE LABELLED COMICS FOR ITS JUXTAPOSITION OF WORDS AND PICTURES

tl

“Mommy, why ain't i| Juxtaposed 2?

IF COMICS’

THEY ARE CARTOONS, AS AM Z, AND THERE IS A LONG- STANDING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COMICS AND CARTOONS.

SPECTACULARLY VARIED PIAST \S ANY INDICATION, COMICS’ FY/7U/RE WILL BE VIRTUALLY WYIPOSS/EZE TO

PREDICT USING THE STANDARDS OF THE PRESENT.

2000 : ‘age

BUT OUR DEFINITION CAN OFFER US SOME CLUES.

2020 2030 2040 J i i

A GREAT MAJORITY OF MODERN COMICS DO FEATURE WORDS AND PICTURES IN COMBINATION AND IT’S A SUBJECT WORTHY OF STUDY, BUT WHEN USED AS A DEF/V/770N

FOR COMICS, I’‘VE FOUND IT TO BEA LITTLE TOO RESTRIC7T/VE FOR MY TASTE.

~- BL/7 THEY ARE NOT THE SAWMIE THING / ONE |S AN APPROACH TO PYCTURE-/MIAKING -- A SVOZE, IF YOU LIKE--WHILE THE OTHER 1S A MEDIUM WHICH OFTEN EMPLOYS THAT APPROACH.

MORE ON THIS ZA7ER.

OF COURSE, IF ANYONE WANTS TO WRITE A BOOK TAKING THE OF70S/7% VIEW, YOU CAN BET I'LL BE THE FIRST IN LINE TO BU/Y A COPY’

AND 7A//S$ TIME, THE SECRET IS NOT IN WHAT THE DEFINITION SAYS BUT IN WHAT IT

DOESN'T SKY!

SEQUENTIAL ART

ra FOR EXAMPLE, OUR a" DEFINITION SAYS NOTHING ct ae DONNA AW TIALE Nor HING ; ) Ww BIOGRAPHY ~ HORROR . ABOUT FAW7ASY/ SCIENCE- ROMANCE SURREALISM. FICT) ne, BLANK

HISTORICAL VERSE FICTION

* EPIC -

POETRY on i FOLK TALES

; ENRES ae ARE LISTED IN i Mm OUR DEFINITION, SOCIAL st a EROTICA ' mae =6NO TYPES OF ALLEGORY MYSTERY Ss

yA are ADAPTATIONS RELIGIOUS 7 6. S7iES OF STREAM é ri POETRY OF CONSCIOUSNESS . Ce

' . SATIRE

NOTHING IS SAID ABOUT APER AND INK. NO PRINTING PROCESS IS MENTIONED. PRINTING /7SEZF ISN'T EVEN SPECIFIED’ NOTHING IS SAID ABOUT TECHNICAL PENS OR BRISTOL BQARD : OR WINDSOR & NEWTON FINEST SABLE i SERIES 7 NUMGER TIVO BRUSHES 7

NO MATERIALS ARE RULED OUT ae 6 BY OUR DEFINITION : eae ae, - SEQUE NO 7OOZS ARE ‘ ee ; _ PROHIBITED.

THERE IS NO MENTION OF @LACAE LINES AND FLAT COLORED INK. NO CALLS FOR EXAGGERATED ANATOMY OR FOR HE, RESEN TATIONAL ART

F KI P

ARE BANISHED BY OUR DEFINITION, NO PAVTLOSOPHIES, NO MOVEMENTS, NO WAYS OF SEEING ARE OUT OF BOUNDS/

‘ f NO + oy ~. iia SCHOOLS OF ART “oy Pole (| NSS 4 iN e y =) )

THOSE OF YOU WHO MAKE COMICS FOR A LIVING -- OR WOULD ZL/KE TO, SOME DAY-- PROBABLY KNOW THAT KEEPING UP WITH ALL THE ADVANCES \N TODAY'S COMICS 1S A FULL-TIME JSOSG.

THERE ARE SO MANY COMICS IN PRINT TODAY THAT 1T WOULD TAKE AN ARMY OF READERS TO STUDY THEM ALL.

rs} xs S \

my ATTEMPTS 10 2, (E

EF TV COMICS ARE AN ON-GOING PROCESS WHICH WON'T END ANYTIME SOON.

HOWEVER MUCH WE MAY TRY TO UVDERSTANDP THE WORLD OF COMICS AROUND US, A 74427 OF THAT WORLD WILL ALWAYS LIE IN SHADOW--A MIYS7ERY

A NWEW GENERATION WILL NO DOUBT REJECT WHATEVER THIS ONE FINALLY DECIDES TO oS AND ACCEPT AND TRY SO THEY ONCE MORE TO SHOULD. RE-INVENT COATES.

I'LL DO MY SES7 IN THE FOLLOWING CHAPTERS TO SHED L/GHT ON THAT UNSEEN SIDE, BUT AS WE FOCUS ON THE WORLD OF COMICS AS 7/7 /7S. 1T SHOULD BE KEPT IN MIND AT AZZ TIMES THAT THIS WORLD IS ONLY

ONE --

HERE'S TO THE

CHAPTER TWO

HERE'S A PAINTING i ae THE INSCRIPTION IS IN BY MAGRITTE CALLED “7HE FRENCH. 7RANMSZLA7EZ. JT MEANS TREACHERY OF IMAGES.” "THIS 18 NOT A PIPE”

THIS IS A PAINTING OF A PIPE.

SEE PAGE 216 FOR MORE INFORMATION

WELL, ACTUALLY, THAT’S : ih NOPE. WRONG AGAIN. WRONG. THIS 1S MOT A ouaes Hetl( It's A PRINTED COPY OFA PAINTING OF A PIPE, THIS IS = |= + =\ DRAWING OF A PAINTING A DRAWING OF APAINTING -— = OF A PIPE. OF A PIPE. —s . :

SAX, IF yOu FOLD THE PAGES BACK.

IF YOU DO, HAVE YouR \-

DO YOU te EASE ryt HEAR WHAT I'M “"{ SARS CHECKED, BECAUSE SAYINGZ NO ONE SAID A WORD.

TTS

See

HODBO?

THESE ARE NOT IDEAS. ; THESE ARE NOT PEOPLE.

~ THIS 1S NOT A LEAF

THIS 1S NOT A MAN,

THIS 1S NOT A COUNTRY.

ail THIS IS NOT MUSIC.

WELCOME TO THE S7KANGE AND WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE

THIS IS NOT SOUND.

THIS 15 NOT LAW.

THIS 1S NOT ME.

THIS 1S NOT A PLANET.

THIS IS NOT A CAR.

THIS 1S NOT FOOD. i TUNDRA cn) Cv or

THESE ARE NOT SEPARATE THIS LA oe A MOMENTS.

THIS 1S NOTA COMPANY.

26

NOW, THE WORD Satan SPER UV ear eS SE THAT'S A BIT BROADER /CON MEANS NS : THAN THE DEFINITION MANY THINGS. : FOR THE PURPOSES OF IN MY DICTIONARY, isle THIS CHAPTER, I'M USING THE r BUT IT’S THE CLOSEST ith] WORD ‘7CO/V" TO MEAN ANY }> 1 THING TO WHAT I IMAGE USED TO REPRESENTA >) NEED HERE. i'\. A PERSON, PLACE, THING OR i IDEA. z " SYMBOL" IS A - BIT TOO LOADED FOR ME.

AND FINALLY, THE ICONS WE CALL PICTURES: IMAGES DESIGNED TO ACTUALLY KESE/IBLE THEIR SUBJECTS.

THE SORTS OF THEN THERE

IMAGES WE # ARE THE ICONS USUALLY CAZZ OF LANGUAGE, Swf SYMBOLS ARE 1 SC/ENVCE AND

ONE CATEGORY OF ICON,

COMMUNICATION. |) | HOWEVER. +

AS RESEMBLANCE VARIES, SO DOES THE LEVEL OF ICONIC CONTENT.

THESE ARE THE IMAGES WE USE TO REPRESENT COMCEYTS, IDEAS AND PHILOSOPHIES.

OF THE PRACTICAL REALM.

OR TO PUT IT SOMEWHAT CLEMS/LY, SOME PICTURES ARE JUST MORE ICONIC THAN OTHERS.

IN THE (VO/V- PICTORIAL ICONS, MEANING 1S F/X¥ED AND A@SOZL UTE. THEIR APPEARANCE DOESN'T AFFECT THEIZ MEANING BECAUSE THEY REPRESENT INVISIBLE IDEAS.

WORDS ARE TOTALLY

ABSTRACT \CONS. THAT IS, THEY

BEAR NO RESEMBLANCE AT ALL TO THE REAL M<Cor

IN PICTURES, HOWEVER, MEANING IS FLLIID AND VARTA BLE ACCORDING TO APPEARANCE THEY DIFFER FROM “REAL-LIFE” APPEARANCE TO VARYING DEGREES.

BUT IN PICTURES THE LEVEZ OF ABSTRACTION VAR/ES. SOME, LIKE THE FACE IN THE PREV/OUS PANEL SO CLOSELY RESEMBLE THEIR REAL-LIFE

OTHERS, LIKE YOURS TRULY, ARE QUITE A BIT MORE ABSTRACT AND, IN FACT, ARE VERY MUCH L/VL/KE ANY HUMAN FACE YOU'VE EVER SEEN/

COUNTERPARTS BS TO ALMOST 7R/ICK ; THE EYE,

THERE ARE MANY THINGS THAT SET THESE APART FROM ACTUAL FACES -- THEY'RE SMALLER, FLATTER, LESS DETAILED, THEY DON'T MOVE. THEY LACK COLOR-- BUT AS PICTORIAL ICONS GO, THEY ARE PRETTY “REALISTIC.”

CAN PUT THESE PICTORIAL ICONS IN SOME SORT /% OF ORDER. &

COMMON WISDOM HOLDS THAT THE PHO7OGRAPH AND THE REAL/S7/7C PICTURE ARE THE ICONS THAT MOST RESEMBLE THEIR REAL-LIFE COUNTERPARTS.

SOMEWHAT MORE ABSTRACT 1S TH/S STYLE

ONLY OUTLINES AND A HINT OF SHADING ARE STILL PRESENT, BUT WE EASILY RECOGNIZE THIS ASA HUMAN FACE.

OF DRAWING FOUND IN MANY ADVENTURE COMICS.

WHY. THEN, !S THE FACE ABOVE SO

ACCEPTABLE AS WE CONTINUE TO OUR EYES?

TO ABSTRACT AND WHY DOES IT SIMPLIFY QUR IMAGE, SEEM JUST AS WE ARE MOVING FURTHER REAL AS THE AND FURTHER FROM THE OTHERS?Z “REAL” FACE OF THE PHOTO.

IS THE SECRET OF THE ICON WE CALL--

WHY WOULD AVYOWE, YOUNG OR OLD, RESPOND TO A CARTOON AS MUCH OR MORE

THAN A say pila

DEFINING THE CARTOON WOULD TAKE UP AS MUCH SPACE AS DEFINING COMNCS, BUT FOR NOW, I'M GOING TO EXAMINE CARTOONING AS A FORM OF AMPLIFICATION THROUGH SIMPLIFICATION.

WHY IS OUR CULTURE SO WW THRALL TO THE SIMPLIFIED REALITY OF THE CARTOON 7

WHEN WE ABSTRACT AN IMAGE

THROUGH CAR7OOWING, WE'RE NOT SO MUCH ELIWMMNATING DETAILS AS WE ARE FOCUSING ON SPECIFIC

DETAILS.

BY S7R/IPPING DOWN AN IMAGE TO ITS ESSENTIAL “MEANING,” AN ARTIST CAN AMPLIFY THAT MEANING IN A WAY

THAT REALISTIC ART CAW‘7-

a

SEE PAGE 216 FOR COPYRIGHT INFORMATION.

FILM CRITICS WILL SOMETIMES DESCRIBE \ L/VE-ACTION FILM AS A “CARTOON” TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE STRIPPED-DOWN INTENSITY OF A SIMPLE STORY OR VISUAL STYLE.

REALLY

THOUGH THE TERM 1S OFTEN USED DISPARAGINGLY, \T CAN BE EQUALLY WELL APPLIED TO MANY 77/ME-7ES7ED CLASSICS. SIMPLIFYING CHARACTERS AND IMAGES TOWARD A FLZ/RPOSE CAN BE AN

EFFECTIVE TOOL FOR STORYTELLING IN MY MEDIUM.

CARTOONING ISN'T JUST A WAY OF DRAWING, IT’S A WAY OF

THOUSANDS MILLIONS (NEARLY) ALL

ANOTHER |S THE

LINIVERSAL/7 ¥ OF CARTOON IMAGERY. THE MORE CARTOONY A FACE IS, FOR INSTANCE, THE MORE PEOPLE IT COULD BE SAID TO DESCRIBE.

THE FACT THAT YOUR MIND 1S CAPAGLE OF TAKING A CIRCLE, TW0 DOTS AND A Z/VE AND TURNING THEM INTO A FACE |S NOTHING SHORT OF INCRED/IBLES

ARE YOU

SEEING 7

THE ABILITY OF

CARTOONS TO FOCUS OUR ATTENTION ON AN IDEA IS, L THINK, AN IMPORTANT PART OF THEIR SPECIAL POWER, BOTH IN COMICS

AND IN DRAWING GENERALLY.

BUT I BELIEVE THERE'S SOMETHING MORE AT WORK IN OUR MINDS WHEN WE VIEW A CARTOON-- ESPECIALLY OF A HUMAN FACE-- WHICH WARRANTS FURTHER INVESTIGATION.

BUT STILL MORE INCREDIBLE 1S THE FACT THAT YOU CANNOT AVOID SEEING A FACE HERE. YOUR MIND WON'T LET you!

ASK A FRIEND TO DRAW YOU SOME SHAPES ONA PIECE OF PAPER. THEY SHOULD BE CLOSED CURVES, BUT O7HER- WISE CAN BE AS WE/RD AND /RREGULAR AS HE OR SHE WANTS.

LET'S SAY THE RESULTS LOOK SOMETHING

\

YOUR MIND HAS NO TROUBLE AT ALL CONVERTING SUCH SHAPES INTO FACES, YET WOULD IT EVER MISTAKE 7A/S--

WE HUMANS ARE A

SELF-CENTERED //ie

RACE, a

ADDITION

a --FOR

MNOW-- YOu'LL FIND THAT NO MATTER

WHAT THEY ZOOK

LIKE, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE SHAPES CAN BE MADE INTO A FACE WITH ONE SIMPLE

WE SEE OURSELVES

IN EVERYTHING

*=—2—-—"

WE ASSIGN IDENTITIES AND EMOTIONS WHERE NONE EXIST.

AND WE MAKE THE WORLD OVER IN OUR

THINK OF YOUR FACE ASA

MASK.

FACING OL/7 WARD.

SEEN BY EVERYONE YOU MEET.

WORN FROM THE DAY you WERE BORN.

THAT'S WHAT IT ZS, AFTER ALL

SLAVE TO YOUR EVERY MENTAL COMMAND.

C'MON, NOBODY'S LOOKING,

YOU K/VVOW You SMILED BECAUSE YOU TRUSTED THIS MASK CALLED YOUR FACE TO KESPOND

BUT THE FACE YOU

SEE IN YOUR MW/ND

IS NOT THE SAME AS O7HERS SEE!

ALL SET?

GOOD.

a

Wee:

‘—

GOOD. NOW, WHAT

CHANGED WHEN

YOU SMILEDZ WHAT DID YOU SEE?

NOTHING, RIGHT.

YET, You KVOW YOU SMILED/ NOT JUST BECAUSE YOU FELT YOUR CHEEKS COMPRESS OR THE CRINKLING AROUND

YOouR EYES/

WHEN TWO PEOPLE INTERRACT, THEY USUALLY LOOK DIRECTLY AA7 ONE ANOTHER, SEEING THEIR PARTNER'S FEATURES IN

EACH ONE AZSO SUSTAINS A CONSTANT AWARENESS OF HIS OR

HER OW7V FACE, BUT 7A/S MIND-PICTURE IS NOT NEARLY SO

VIVID; JUST A SKETCHY ARRANGEMENT...A SENSE OF SHAPE... A SENSE OF iene PLACEMENT.

THUS, WHEN YOU

LOOK AT A PHOTO OR

REALISTIC DRAWING OF A FACE--

--YOU SEE IT AS THE FACE OF ANOTHER.

THE CARTOON IS A

VACUYLMN INTO WHICH OUR IDEN7/7¥ AND AWARENESS ARE PULLED...

ms

ar

SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AND AS

BASIC --

BUT WHEN YOu ENTER THE WORLD OF THE CAR 700N--

-- YOU SEE YOURSELF

AN EMPTY SHELL THAT WE INHABIT WHICH ENABLES US TO TRAVEL IN ANO7HER REALM.

WE DON'T JUST OBSERVE THE CARTOON,

WE BECOME '1/

--AS A CARTOON.

I BELIEVE THIS IS THE PRIMARY CAUSE OF OUR CHILDHOOD FASCINATION WITH CARTOONS THOUGH OTHER FACTORS SUCH AS UM/VERSAL IDENTIFICATION, SIMAPLICITY AND THE

CHILDLIKE FEATURES OF MANY CARTOON

CHARACTERS ALSO PLAY A PART.

———————— errr)

4, Se rey ?

THAT'S WHY TL DECIDED TO DRAW MYSELF IN SUCH A SIMPLE STYLE.

YOU HAVE LISTENED TO ME \F L LOOKED LIKE TANS 77

I B71! YOu THE MES. 4

EY TO FULLY RECEIVE THE MESSAGE /”_/

YOU GIVE ME LIFE BY READING THIS BOOK AND BY "FILLING Lip” THIS VERY /COM/C CCARTOONY) FORM.

i}

APART FROM WHAT LITTLE I TOLD YOU ABOUT MYSELF IN CHAPTER ONE, I'M PRACTICALLY A LANK SLATE’

WHO T AM 1S IRRELEVANT. I'M JUST A LITTLE PIECE OF YOU

\T WOULD NEVER EVEN

OCCUR TO YOu To WONDER WHAT MY

POLITICS ARE, OR WHAT I HAD FOR

LUNCH OR WHERE I

GOT THIS SLY OLTFIT /

BUT IF WHO I AM MATTERS LESS,

MAYBE WHAT I SAY

WILL MATTER

SO FAR, WE'VE ONLY DISCUSSED AACES, BUT THE PHENOMENON

OF WOW-VISUAL SEL F- STILL APPLY TO OUR

WOMENS S CAN, 10 A LESSER DEGREE, LE BODIES. AFTER ALL, DO WE NEED

TO SEL OUR HANDS TO KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING?

I'M JUST A LITTLE VOICE INSIDE YOUR HEAD.

A CONCEPT.

THERE'S MORE, TOO’

THE LATE GREAT (MARSHALL IMELUHAN OBSERVED A SIMILAR FORM OF MOW-VISUAL AWARENESS

WHEN PEOPLE INTERACT WITH INANIMATE OBJECTS.

THE WHOLE CAR-- NOT JUST THE PARTS WE CAN SEE, FEEL AND HEAR--IS VERY MUCH ON OUR MINDS AT ALL TIMES.

IF ONE CAR A//7$ ANOTHER, THE DRIVER OF THE VEHICLE BEING S7RUCK IS MUCH MORE LIKELY TO SAY:

THAN "HE HIT My CAR 7"

OR "HIS CAR HIT MY CAR", FOR THAT MATTER.

WHEN DR7V/NG, FOR EXAMPLE, WE EXPERIENCE MUCH MORE THAN OUR F/VE SENSES REPORT.

THE VEHICLE BECOMES AN EX7EWS/ON OF OUR BODY. IT ABSORBS OUR SENSE OF JDEW7/7¥% WE BECOME THE CAR.

OUR IDENTITIES AND AWAREIWVESS ARE INVESTED IN MANY /WAN/IMATE OBJECTS EVERY DAY. OUR CLO7HES, FOR EXAMPLE, CAN TRIGGER WUMEROUS TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE WAY OTHERS SEE US AND IN THE WAY WE SEE OURSELVES.

PIECES OF METAL TO BECOME HANDS...

OUR ABILITY TO EXTEN OUR IDENTITIES INTO INANIMATE OBJECTS CAN CAUSE PIECES OF WOOD TO

AND IN EVERY CASE, OUR CONSTANT AWARENESS OF SE&ZF--

Ih) } VY UT YY

--SO TOO 1S OUR AWARENESS OF 7HESE EXTENSIONS GREATLY SHWIPLIFTED.

PIECES OF PLASTIC PIECES OF GLASS TO BECOME EYES.

>

8” GILG

AND JUST AS OUR AWARENESS OF OUR BIOLOGICAL SELVES ARE SIMPLIFIED CONCEPTUALIZED IMAGES --

sf ALL THE THINGS WE EXPERIENCE |N LIFE CAN BE SEPARATED INTO 7WO REALMS, THE | REALM OF THE CONCEPT -- A>

QUR IDENTITIES BELONG PERMANENTLY TO THE GRADUALLY CONCEPTUAL \WORLD. THEY CAN'T BE SEEM AEARD. WE REACH SMELLED, TOUCHED OR TASTED. THEY'RE MERELY /DEAS. BEYOND AND EVERYTHING ELSE--AT THE START--BELONGS TO OURSELVES THE SEWVSUAL WORLD, THE WORLD OUTSIDE OF US

THE SIGHT, SMELL, in : . — : DISCOVER THAT TOUCH, TASTE AND vaPISMISKPRER UR SCARS ETRE ER ORR ENN OBJECTS OF THE SOUND OF OUR FSAI Ny ese PEER SIS ER Ty PHYSICAL OWN BODIES. ARRAS tS WORLD CAN of iT) ALSO CROSS OVER--

--AND POSSESS ~-WITH THE IDENTITIES LIFE--

OF THEIR

OWN.

pee 2 | THROUGH TRADITIONAL RA | REAL/SM, THE COMICS

--WE ZE/VD BY DE-EMPHASIZING THE AFPEARAVCE ARTIST CAN PORTRAY TO THEM. OF THE PAYYS/CAL WORLD IN FAVOROF & THE WORLD THE /DEA OF FORM, THE CARTOON a WITHOLT--

i

--AND THROUGH WHEN THE CARTOON, CARTOONS THE WORLD ARE USED WITHIN. THROUGHOUT A STORY, THE WORLD OF THAT STORY MAY SEEM TO PULSE WITH

INANIMATE OBJECTS BUT IN EMPHASIZING IF AN ARTIST --REALISM OF

MAY SEEM TO POSSESS THE COMCEPTS OF WANTS TO PORTRAY SOME SORT |S

SEPARATE /DENTITIES OBJECTS OVER THEIR THE BEAUTY AND GOING TO PLAY A SO THAT IF ONE PHYSICAL APPEARANCE, COMPLEXITY OF THE

JUMPED UP AND MUCH HAS 0 BE PHYSICAL ee STARTED SYVGING OMITTED. WORLD-- Fares —= Ze Ta 4

IT pore hoe GANT A Hert | it

WHEN DRAWING THE FACE AND FIGURE, NEARLY AZZ COMICS ARTISTS APPLY AT LEAST SOME SMALL MEASURE OF CARTOONING. EVEN THE MORE

REALISTIC ADVEWV7URE ARTISTS--

STORYTELLERS IN AZZ MEDIA KNOW THAT A SURE INDICATOR OF AUDIENCE INVOLVEMENT--

“1S THE DEGREE TO WHICH THE AUDIENCE IDENTIFIES WITH A STORY'S CHARACTERS.

ON THE OTHER HAND, NO ONE EXPECTS AUDIENCES TO IDENTIFY WITH BRICK WALLS OR LANDSCAPES AND /VDEED,

BACKGROUNDS TEND TO BE SLIGHTLY MORE REAL/S7/C.

--ARE A FARK CRY FROM FHOTO-REALISTS

AND SINCE WEWER-/(DEN7IFICATION IS A SPECIALTY OF CARTOONING, CARTOONS HAVE HISTORICALLY HELD AN ADVANTAGE 'N BREAKING N70 WORLD POPULAR CULTURE.

IN SOME COMICS, THIS SPLIT 1S FAR MORE PROWVOLINCED. THE BELGIAN “CLEAR-LINE” STYLE

OF HERGES 7/NV7/N COMBINES VERY ICONIC CHARACTERS WITH UNUSUALLY REAL/S7/C BACKGROUNDS,

TINTIN © EDITIONS CASTERMAN

THIS COMBINATION ALLOWS READERS TOMA SK THEMSELVES IN A

<a

*

IN THE WORLD OF ANIMATION, WHERE THE EFFECT HAPPENS TO BE A PRACTICAL NECESSITY, DISNEY HAS USED IT WITH IMPRESSIVE RESULTS

FOR OVER SO YEARS/

CHARACTER AND SAFELY ENTER A SENSUALLY

IN EOROPE IT CAN BE FOUND JN MANY POPULAR COMICS, FROM AS7ER/X TO 7/N77N OQ WORKS OF SACQUES TARDI.

IN JAPAN, ON THE OTHER HAND, THE MASKING EFFECT WAS, FOR A TIME, VIRTUALLY A WA7/ONAL STYLES

ART © HAYASI! AND OSIMA

TIMULATING WORLD.

YS ee

ea

ONE SET OF LINES TO SEE. ANOTHER SET OF LINES 10 &E.

IN AMERICAN COMICS, THE EFFECT 1S USED FAR LESS OF7E/WV, ALTHOUGH JT HAS CREPT UP IN THE WORKS OF ARTISTS AS DIVERSE AS CARL BARKS, JAIME HERNANDEZ AND IN THE TEAM OF DAVE S/M AND GERHARD.

THANKS TO THE SEMINAL INFLUENCE OF COMICS CREATOR

OSAML TEZUKA, JAPANESE COMICS HAVE A LONG, RICH HISTORY

OF ICONIC CHARACTERS

BUT, IN RECENT| DECADES JAPANESE FANS ALSO DEVELOPED A TASTE FOR ALASHY, PHOTO- REALIS7/C ART.

CEREBUS © DAVE SIM

SOON, SOME OF THEM THE RESULTANT HYBRID STYLES BUT REALIZED THAT THE HAD TREMENDOUS ICONIC RANGE, FROM JAPANESE OBSECTIF YING POWER EXTREMELY CARTOONY CHARACTERS 10 COMICS ARTISTS OF REALISTIC ARTS NEAR-PHOTOGRAPHIC BACKGROUNDS. TOOK THE IDEA COULD BE PUT TO

A STEP OTHER USES as fa

FURTHER. —

"MONA GOES TOKYO'

FOR EXAMPLE, WHILE --OTHER CHARACTERS MOST CHARACTERS WERE DRAWN MORE ; WERE DESIGNED REALISTICALLY IN ORDER LIKE THIS SWORD TO THE “LIFE” SIMPLY, TO ASSIST IN TO OBSECTIFY THEM, MIGHT BE VERY IT POSSESSES AS READER-IDENTIFICATION-- EMPHASIZING THEIR CARTOONY \N ONE AN EXTENSION OF “OTHERNESS” FROM SEQUENCE-- MY CARTOON THE READER IDENTITY/

ART © HAYAS! AND OSIMA.

IN JAPANESE COMICS, THE SWORD MIGHT VOW IN THIS AND IN O7HER BUT BECOME VERY REAZL/S77C, NOT ONLY TO SHOW US WAYS, COMICS IN SUPPOSE THE DETAILS, BUT TO MAKE US AWARE OF THE JAPAN HAVE EVOLVED I NOTICE SOME SWORD AS AN OB /EC7, SOMETHING WITH WEIGHT, VERY DIFFERENTLY MYSTERIOUS TEXTURE AND PHYSICAL COMPLEXITY. FROM THOSE IN THE WEST. WRITING CARVED i‘ : 7

ON THE SWORD'S Zz HILT. LAA

WE'LL RETURN TO THESE DIFFERENCES SEVERAL TIMES DURING THIS BOOK,

SEE PAGE 216 FOR COPYRIGHT INFORMATION. - -

MAUS © AND T.M. ART SPIEGELMAN. rise SES 125575; =

I L/KE THE MASKING EFFECT, PERSONALLY, BUT IT’S JUST ONE OF MANY POSSIBLE APPROACHES TO COMICS ART.

AS I WRITE THIS,

IN 1992, AMERICAN AUDIENCES ARE JUST BEGINNING TO REALIZE THAT A SIMPLE STXZE DOESN'T NECESSITATE

A SURVIVORS rate

art spiege/man—

AND 2/KE THE ATOM, GREAT POWER IS LOCKED IN THESE FEW SIMPLE LINES.

RELEASEABLE ONLY BY THE READER'S MIND.

MANY OF MY FAVORITE ARTISTS USE IT VERY

THE PLATONIC IDEAL OF THE CARTOON MAY SEEM TO OMIT MUCH OF THE AMBIGL/TY AND COMPLEX CHARACTERIZATION WHICH ARE THE HALLMARKS OF MMODERIV LITERATURE, LEAVING THEM SUITABLE ONLY FOR CH/LOREN.

STILL, I HOPE THE JAPANESE PERSPECTIVE ON CARTOONING HELPS DEMONSTRATE THAT ONE'S CHOICE OF STYLES CAN HAVE CONSEQUENCES FAR BEYOND THE MERE “LOOK” OF A STORY.

BUT SIMPLE ELEMENTS

CAN COMBINE IN

COMPLEX WAYS, AS

ATOMS BECOME

MOLECULES AND

MOLECULES BECOME LIFE.

THERE'S A LOT MORE TO

CARTOONS THAN MEETS THE EYE’

THE SCALE SHOWS SEVERAL

SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT

PROGRESSIONS. LET’S CONCENTRATE ON OWE AND SEE IF WE CAN TAKE IT ANY FURTHER.

IMI

I SAY JHE ANSWER

HERES A PART OF THE SOLUTION,

OBJECTIVE—> SuBLECTIVE |—

REDUCED THIS FACE TO 7WO DOTS ANP 7WO LIVES. \S OUR ICONIC ABSTRACTIOV SCALE COMPLETE 7

CAN ANY CONFIGURATION OF VK ON PAPER BE MORE ABSTRACTED FROM ‘REALITY *--

SPECIFIC———> UNIVERSAL

--YET STILL REPRESENT A FACE AS CLEARLY AS T?/S ONE 7

JUST DRAW A LINE S7KA/IGHT DOWN FROM EACH OF THE DOTS TO THIS HEIGHT FOR THE ANSWER.

ca

MOST AMERICAN COMICS, NOTABLY COMIC BOOKS, HAVE LONG EMPHASIZED THE DIFFERENCES

BETWEEN WORDS

JR SCORE AND SEVEN YEARS AG a a a p CK

MEANING RETAINED.

WHY IS CHOCOLATH

ETAL BOLTS AND OTHER SUBS

IVING A GRAY PLYMOUTH RELI.

NEW FRIEND UNDERNEATH MY PI ITLED THE STORY OF MARGERI MISTOOK HIS WIFE FORA HAT

AND PICTURES.

Se:

--ARE THE ULTIMATE ABSTRACTION.

-- AND "GOOD" COMICS WORDS, PICTURES AND

Me RTTING : AB THOSE he OTHER ICONS ARE THE WIN OF AEE SEEN AS : Jee Rls - A get iste Ae DISCIPLINES, FORMS OF EXPRESSION COM ic Ss. WRITERS AND 1S THOUGHT TO BE ARTISTS AS HARMONIOUS.

EPARKAT: SORELDS-

BUT JUST HOW

A SINGLE WITHOUT SEVERAL dy Lite. \| | f Teer WILL LA NGUAGE 10 LMP ALONG AGAINS7 Comics smceunen ]| |i gy eee || || Ronen | | ous VOCABULARY. WORDS AND IDENTITY INSTINCTS.

PICTURES. IT WEEDS.

BOTH ARTIST AND WRITER BEGIN, HANDS JOINED ACROSS THE GAP, WITH A COMMON

PURPOSE: TO MAKE COMICS OF ‘QL/AL/7Y”

IN MUSEUMS AND IN LIBRARIES, THE ARTIST FINDS WHAT HE'S LOOKING FOR. HE STUDIES THE TECHNIQUES OF THE GREAT MASTERS OF WESTERN AR7, HE PRACTICES MGH7 AND DAY.

SHE 700 FINDS WHAT SHE'S LOOKING FOR, IN THE GREAT MASTERS OF WESTERN LITERATURE. SHE READS AND WRITES CONMSTANTLY, SHE SEARCHES FOR A VOICE UNIQUELY HERS.

THE ARTIST KNOWS THAT THIS MEANS MORE THAN JUST S7/CK-FIGURES AND CRUDE CARTOONS. HE SETS OFF IN SEARCH OF A HIGHER PARI.

THE WRITER KNOWS THAT THIS MEANS MORE THAN JUST OOF’ POW! BLAMS AND OWE-A-DAY GAGS. SHE SETS OFF IN SEARCH OF SOMETHING DEEPER.

FINALLY, THEY'RE READY. BOTH HAVE MASTERED THETR ARTS. HIS BRUSHSTROKE IS NEARLY /VV/S/6ZE_ IN ITS SUBTLETY, THE FIGURES PURE M/CHAELANGEZO. HER DESCRIPTIONS ARE DAZZL/NG THE WORDS FLOW TOGETHER LIKE A SHAKESPEAREAN SONNET.

THEY'RE READY TO JOIN HANDS ONCE MORE AND CREATE A COMICS MASTERPIECE.

TWOEYES, => ONE NOSE, => Pibligg<

ONE MOU. 9 6725 ze07

OUR NEED FOR A UNIFIED LANGUAGE OF COMICS SENDS US TOWARD THE CENTER WHERE WORDS AND PICTURES ARE LIKE TWO SIDES OF OWE

WHEN PICTURES ARE MORE ABSTRACTED FROM “REALITY! THEY REQUIRE GREATER’ LEVELS OF PERCEPTION, MORE LIKE WORDS.

pictures ARE RECEIVED

INFORMATION. WE NEED NO FORMAL EDUCATION 10 ‘GE7 7HE MESSAGE.” THE MESSAGE IS INSTANTANEOUS.

BUT OUR NEED FoR SOPHISTICATION IN COMICS SEEMS TO LEAD US OUTWARD, \NHERE WORDS AND PICTURES ARE MOST SEPARATE.

wreitinec 1s PERCE/VED INFORMATION. IT TAKES TIME

AND SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE 70 DECODE THE ABSTRACT SYMBOLS OF LANGUAGE.

BOTH ARE WORTHY ASPIRATIONS. BOTH STEM FROM A LOVE OF COMICS AND A DEVOTION TO ITS FUTURE.

CAN THEY BE RECONCILED 7

WHEN WORDS ARE BOLDER, MORE DIRECT, THEY REQUIRE LOWER LEVELS OF PERCEPTION AND ARE RECEIVED FAS7ER, MORE LIKE PICTURES.

I SAY THE ANSWER 1S YES, BUT SINCE THE REASONS BELONG IN A DIFFERENT

CHAPTER, WE'LL

HAVE TO COME BACK TO THIS LATER.

ICONIC ABSTRACTION IS ONLY OWE FORM OF ABSTRACTION AVAILABLE TO COMICS ARTISTS.

TWO EYES, Tig yates 4 e pb naa © om 90g oe peeks on! now

USUALLY THE WORD “ABSTRACTION” REFERS TO THE THE TYPE OF MNON-ICONIC VARIETY, WHERE ART WHICH OFTEN NO ATTEMPT IS MADE TO CLING PROMPTS THE QUESTION: TO RESEMBLANCE OR MEANING. “WHAT DOES 1/7 MEAN >”

EARNING THE REPLY “IT MEANS’ WHAT IT

THIS 1S BELOW ME,

THe REALM OF. THE : The site AREA DESCRIBED r Y THESE 3 VERTICES-- COLORS CAN BE us REPRESENTS THE TOTAL THEMSELVES AND PICTORIAL VOCABULARY NOT PRETEND van OF COMICS OR OF AVY OTHERWISE OC) OF THE VISUAL me /, e \ / / * : / " \ / se \ / \ / \ / £= \ 4 ay \ \ \

MOST COMICS ART LIES NEAR THE B0770M-- THAT 1S, ALONG THE /COM/C ABSTRACTION SIDE WHERE EVERY LINE HAS A MEANING.

NEAR THE LINE, BUT NOT NECESSARILY ON IT! FOR EVEN THE MOST S7KA/GA7- FORWARD LITTLE CARTOON CHARACTER

HAS A’MEANINGLESS’

LINE OR TWO/

IF WE INCORPORATE LANGUAGE AND OTHER ICONS 70 THE CHART, WE CAN BEGIN TO BUILD A COMPREHENSIVE MAP --

TWO EYES, ONE NOSE, ONE MoUm

-- OF THE UNIVERSE

1. MARY FLEENER at her most abstract. 2. MARISCAL's Piker, 3. DAVE McKEAN employing one of the many styles found in his series CAGES. 4. MARC HEMPEL's GREGORY. 5. MARK BEYER. 6. LARRY MARDER's Beanish from TALES OF THE BEANWORLD. “Resembling” nothing ever seen (hence all the way to the right), Marder’s beans walk the line from design to meaning. 7. SAUL STIENBERG. 8. PENNY MORAN VAN- HORN from THE LIBRARIAN. 9. LORENZO MATTOTI in FIRES (© Editions Albin Michel S.A.) combines deeply impressionistic lighting with iconic forms and strong, design-oriented compositions. In other words, he’s a hard one to place. 10. ALINE KOMINSKY-CRUMB. 11. PETER BAGGE's Chuckie-Boy from NEAT STUFF. Compare to 39. 12. KRISTINE KRYTTRE. 13. REA IRVIN. THE SMYTHES © Field Newspaper Syndicate. 14. STEVE WILLIS's Morty, 15. PHIL YEH'’s FRANK THE UNICORN. 16. JERRY MORIARTY's “Jack Survives”. Based closely on real world light and shadow, but decomposed into rough shapes. Similar effects are found in no.s 8,18,19,20 and 34. 17. JEFF WONG's art for Scott Russo's JIZZ. 18. ROLF STARK's expressionistic RAIN. 19. SPAIN's TRASHMAN. 20. FRANK MILLER’s THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS. Batman © D.C. Comics. Batman created by Bob Kane. 21. WILLIAM MESSNER-LOEBS’s Wolverine MacAlistair from JOURNEY. 22. DON SIMPSON's MEGATON MAN. Beginning trom a

ALL COPYRIGHTS HELD BY THE CREATOR UNLESS OTHERWISE

7 —E 7 fc 4 Keep in mind that aay 4 these are my copies of J the original drawings.

PLEASE NOTE: ARTISTS IN THIS CHART ARE NOT NECESSARILY CHOSEN FOR ARTISTIC MERIT. SOME VERY IMPORTANT CREATORS ARE NOT INCLUDED.

tealistic anatomical base, Simpson distorts and exaggerates M.M.'s features to the brink of abstraction. 23. MICHAEL CHERKAS from SILENT INVASION, © Cherkas and Hancock. 24. RICK GEARY. 25. PETER KUPER. 26. GARRY TRUDEAU's DOONESBURY. 27. LYNDA BARRY. 28. SAMPEI SHIRATO. 29. CHARLES BURNS's BIG BABY. 29 1/2. (Whoops) CLIFF STERRETT. The character pictured here (from POLLY AND HER PALS) might belong a bit lower, but Sterrett's art, like Fleener's often heads upward toward the wildly abstract. P.A.H.P. is © Newspaper Features Syndicate, Inc. 30. SERGIO ARAGONES'’s GROO THE WANDERER. Simple, straightforward, but with a strong gestural quality that always reminds us of the hand that holds the pen (also true of 14,28,31,41). 31. ROBERTA GREGORY's Bitchy Bitch from NAUGHTY BITS. 32. DAVID MAZZUCCHELLI from BATMAN: YEAR ONE. Commissioner Gordon © D.C. Comics. 33. JOSE MUNOZ trom “Mister Conrad, Mister Wilcox”, © Munoz and Sampayo. 34. CAROL

SWAIN. 35. CHESTER GOULD's DICK TRACY © Chicago Tribune-New York Syndicate, Inc. 36. JACK KIABY's Darkseid, © D.C Comics. 37. BOB BURDEN. 38. DANIEL TORRES's Rocco Vargas from TRITON. 39. PETER BAGGE's Buddy Bradley from HATE. Compare to 11. 40. SETH. 41. MARK MARTIN. 42. JULIE DOUCET. 43. EDWARD GOREY. 44. CRAIG RUSSELL's Mowgli from Kipling’s THE JUNGLE BOOKS. Russell's characters are as finely observed and realistically based as Hal Foster's or Dave Stevens’ but with an unparalleled sense of design that draws them toward the upper vertex. Lately, Russell has been moving a bit higher and toward the right in some cases. 45. GOSEKI KOJIMA from KOZURE OKAMI

("Wolf and Cub") © Koike and Kojima. 46. EDDIE CAMPBELL's ALEC. Realistic in tone, but also gestural and spontaneous. The process of drawing isn't hidden from view. 47. ALEX TOTH. Zorro © ZorroProductions, Inc. Art © Walt Disney Productions. (Zorro created by Johnston McCulley). 48. HUGO PRATT's CORTO MALTESE © Casterman, Paris-Tourmai 49. WILL EISNER from TO THE HEART OF THE STORM. 50. DORI SEDA. 51. R. CRUMB swings between realistic and cartoony characters, usually staying about this high but occasionally venturing upward, 52. STEVE DITKO. 53. NORMAN DOG. 54. VALENTINO’s NORMALMAN sits a bit to the right and up from his current SHADOWHAWK (whose iconic mask made him a bit harder to place). 55. ROZ CHAST. 56. JOOST SWARTE's Anton Makassar. 57. ELZIE SEGAR's POPEYE © King features Syndicate, Inc. 58. GEORGE HERRIMAN's “Offissa Pupp" from KRAZY KAT. © International feature Service, Inc. 59. JIM WOODRING's FRANK 60. NEAL ADAMS. from X-MEN © Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. (X-Men created by Lee sod Kirby). 61. GIL KANE from ACTION COMICS © D.C. Comics, Inc. 62. MILTON CANIFF's STEVE CANYON. 63. JIM LEE. Nick Fury appearing in X-MEN © Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. 64. JOHN BYRNE. Superman © D.C. Comics, Inc. (Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster). 65. JACQUES TARDI from LE DEMON DES

GLACES © Dargaud Editeur. 66. JEAN- CLAUDE MEZIERES. Laureline from the VALERIAN series. © Dargaud Editeur, 67. BILL GRIFFITH's ZIPPY THE PINHEAD. 68. JOE MATT. 69. KYLE BAKER trom WHY | HATE SATURN.70. TRINA ROBBINS's

MISTY. © Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. 71. RIYOKO IKEDA's Oscar from THE ROSE OF VERSAILLES. 72. GEORGE McMANUS. BRINGING UP FATHER © International Feature Service, Inc. 73. CHARLES SCHULZ's Charlie Brown from PEANUTS © United Features Syndicate, Inc. 74. ART SPIEGELMAN from MAUS. 75. MATT FEAZELL's CYNICALMAN 76. The company Logo. The picture as symbol 77. Title Logo. The word as object. 78. Sound Effect. The word as sound, 79. TOM KING's SNOOKUMS, THAT LOVABLE TRANSVESTITE, a photo-comic. 80. DREW FRIEDMAN. 81. DAVE STEVENS. 82. HAL FOSTER. TARZAN created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. 83. ALEX RAYMOND. Flash Gordon © King Features Syndicate, Inc. 84. MILO MANARA. 85. JOHN BUSCEMA. The Vision © Marvel Entertainment Group. 86. CAROL LAY’s Irene Van de Kamp from GOOD GIRLS. A bizarre character, but drawn in a very Straightforward style. 87. GILBERT HERNANDEZ. 88. JAIME HERNANDEZ. 89. COLIN UPTON. 90. KURT SCHAFFENBERGER, Superboy © D.C.

Comics. 91. JACK COLE’s PLASTIC MAN, © D.C. Comics. 92. REED WALLER’s OMAHA THE CAT DANCER © Waller and Worley. 93. WENDY PINI's Skywise from ELFQUEST. © WaRP Graphics. 94. DAN DE CARLO. Veronica © Archie Comics. 95. HAROLD GRAY's LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE. © Chicago Tribune- New York News Syndicate. 96. HERGE's TINTIN © Editions Casterman. 97. FLOYD GOTTFREDSON. Mickey Mouse © Walt Disney Productions. 98. JEFF SMITH's BONE. 99. Smile Dammit. 100. COLLEEN DORAN ’s A DISTANT SOIL. 101, ROY CRANE's CAPTAIN EASY © NEA Service, Inc 102. DAN CLOWES. 103. WAYNO. 104. V.T, HAMLIN'’s ALLEY OOP © NEA Service, Inc. 105. CHESTER BROWN. 106. STAN SAKAI's USAGI YOJIMBO. 107. DAVE SIM's CEREBUS THE AARDVARK. 108. WALT KELLY's POGO © Selby Kelly. 109. RUDOLPH DIRKS's HANS AND FRITZ © King Features Syndicate, Inc. 110. H.C. “BUD™ FISHER's Jeff from MUTT AND JEFF © McNaught Syndicate, Inc. 111. MORT WALKER's Hi AND LOIS © King Features Syndicate, Inc. 112. OSAMU TEZUKA's ASTROBOY. 113. CARL BARKS. Scrooge McDuck © Walt Disney Productions. 114. CROCKETT JOHNSON's Mister O'Malley from BARNABY © Field Newspaper Syndicate, Inc, 115. PAT SULLIVAN’s FELIX THE CAT © Newspaper Feature Service. 116. UDERZO. ASTERIX by Goscinny and Uderzo © Dargaud Editeur

VINTCALMAN © MAI! roACELL.

MOST OF THE EACH CREATOR PRECEDING EXAMPLES EMPLOYS A KAWVGE WERE PLACED ON OUR OF STYLES, THOUGH, CHART BASED ON THE AND MANY OCCUPY DRAWING STYLES USED SEVEKAL PLACES ON

ON SFECIF/C THE CHART DURING A

CHARACTERS. GIVEN PROJECT.

THE COMBINATION OF EX7KEMELY /COM/C CHARACTERS AND EMV/RONMENWV7TS, MIXED WITH SWMPLE, DIRECT LANGUAGE AND A

SOUND EFFECT OR TWO WOULD GIVE US A SHAPE SOMETHING LIKE 7A7S.-

(/ . . (| view

ART © EDITIONS CASTERMAN

54

| The ] AMAZING

SOME, LIKE MATT FEAZELL’S

CYNICAL MAN.

KEEP TO ONE

AREA

CONSISTENTLY.

WE'VE ALREADY

DISCUSSED THE © RANGE OF HERGE AND OTHERS WHO CONTRAST /CONWIC CHARACTERS WITH

REALISTIC BACKGROUNDS.

oY OTHERS RANGE \' CONSIDERABLY FROM ONE END

OF THE CHART /’,

\.TO THE OTHER, AZ’:

HERGE STRETCHES NEARLY FROM LEFT 70 R/GH7-- FROM REAL/SM TO CARTOON/IVG -- BUT VENTURES VERY Z/77ZLE INTO

THE LPPER WORLD OF VON- ICONIC ABSTRACTION.

MARY FLEENER, ON THE OTHER HAND, VARIES ONLY SZ/GH7LY IN HER LEVEL OF /CONIC CONTENT, WHILE THE LEVEL OF NONGICONIC ABSTRACTION GOES NEARLY FROM 70? 70 BO7TOM/

ART © MARY FLEENER.

THAT'S RIGHT IF HE'S STILL IN THE MID-SIXTIES, JACK OO ATLL HAPPEN KIRBY, ALONG WITH S7AN LEE, 3 STAKED OUT A MIDDLE GROUND OF ICONIC FORMS WITH A SENSE OF THE REAL ABOUT THEM, BOLSTERED BY A POWERFUL DESIGN SENSE.

\) > pe = a al ee ART: JACK KIRBY AND JOE SINNOTT (MY FACSIMILE) SCRIPT: STAN LEE.

f

TODAY, MANY AMERICAN MAINSTREAM COMICS STILL FOLLOW KIRBY’S LEAD FOR STORYTELLING, BUT THE DESIRE FOR MORE KEAZL/S77C ART AND MORE ELABORATE SCRIPTS HAS PUSHED ART AND STORY FURTHER AFAR7T \N MANY CASES.

ART FROM COLOR PANELS TRACED FOR REPRODUCTION. ART: JIM LEE AND SCOTT WILLIAMS (FACSIMILE) © MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT GROUP, INC. 55 SCRIPT: CHRIS CLAREMONT.

IN THE EIGHTIES AND NINETIES,

MOST OF THE COUNTERCULTURE OF INDEPENDENT CREATORS, WORKING MOSTLY IN BLACK AND WHITE, STAYED TO THE R/GA7

OF MAINSTREAM COMICS ART WHILE COVERING A BROAD RANGE OF WRITING STYLES

THIS FOLLOWS THE LEAD OF IRONIC THAT THE THE POST-KURTZMAN GENERATION ¢ TWO BASTIONS OF OF UNDERGROUND CARTOONISTS WHO CARTOONY ART ARE USED CARTOONY STYLES TO PORTRAY fact YNDERGROUND AND ADULT THEMES AND SUBJECT MATTER > CHILDRENS COMICS!

PRETTY FAR AFART AS GENRES GO/

SEE PAGE 216 FOR COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

SOME ARTISTS, SUCH AS THE OTHERS, SUCH AS DAVE MSKEAN. IRREPRESSIBLE SERG/O AKAGOWNES, ARE FOREVER OW 7HE MOVE, STAKED THEIR CLAIM ON A PARTICLILAR EXPERIMENTING, TAKING CHANCES, AREA ZOMG AGO AND HAVE BEEN WEVER SATISFIED.

QUITE HAPPY SINCE.

SERGIO AND GROO © SERGIO ARAGONES ART (LEFT) © DAVE McKEAN, (RIGHT) © D.C. COMICS.

WHEN AN ARTIST IS DRAWN THOSE WHO APPROACH TO ONE END OF THE CHART OR THE LOWER LEF7, ANOTHER, THAT ARTIST MAY BE

THOSE AT THE 7OP FOR EXAMPLE, ARE BY THE

REVEALING SOMETHING ABOUT HIS PROBABLY ATTRACTED

BEAUTY OF OR HER STRONGEST VALLES AND BY A SENSE OF THE ART. LOYALTIES \N ART. BEAUTY OF WA7ZE

a

~46 re

FOR COMICS TO WA7LRE AS A MEDIUM, \T MUST BE CAPABLE OF EXPRESSING EACH

ARTIST'S IVVERMOS7T WEEDS AND /DEAS.

BUT EACH ARTIST HAS LYFFERENT INNER NEEDS, DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW, DIFFERENT FASSTONS, AND SO NEEDS TO FIND DIFFERENT FORMS OF EXPRESSION. *

AND THOSE ON THE RIGHT

BY THE BEAUTY OF JDEAS.

THE ENTIRE HISTORY OF VISUAL ARTS AND NEARLY BELONGS IN THIS SPACE EVERY MOVEMENT OR MONET SET UP HIS EASEL MANIFESTO PLANTED ITS ALONG THE ZEF7 FACE, FLAG AND LOUDLY PROCLAIMED MONDRIAN AT THE 7OF THE DISCOVERY OF THE REMBRANDT LOWER LEFT, ONLY PATCH OF GROUND MATISSE RIGHT ABOVE

WORTH BUILDING ON. WHERE 1’M STANDING,

* CHECK OUT WASSILY KANDINSKY'S TERRIFIC I9I2 ESSAY, "ON THE PROBLEM OF FORM’

57

BY DRAWING SORDERS AROUND THE VOCABULARY OF COMICS, L HOPE I HAVEN'T MADE IT

SEEM SUNT ER THAN

COMICS ARTISTS HAVE A UMIVERSE OF ICONS TO CHOOSE

IT’S EXPANDING ALL THE TIME!

SOCIETY IS INVENTING VEW SYMBOLS REGULARLY, JUST AS COMICS ARTISTS DO.

AS THE 7WEN7T>— FIRST CENTURY APPROACHES, V/SUAZ /CONOGRAPHY MAY FINALLY HELP US REALIZE A FORM OF UNIVERSAL

COMMUMCATION.

ICONS DEMAND OUR PARTICIPATION TO MAKE THEM

WORK.

ITS YOUR JOB TO CREATE AND RECREATE ME MOMENT BY MOMENT, NOT JUST THE CARTOONIST’S.

THERE 1S NO LIFE HERE EXCEPT THAT WHICH YOU GIVE TO IT.

IT’S BEEN OVER 7WEWTY YEARS SINCE MSLUHAN FIRST OBSERVED THAT THOSE PEOPLE GROWING UP IN THE LATE TWENTIETH CENTURY DIDN'T WANT GOALS SO MUCH AS THEY WANTED ROLES,” AND THAT'S WHAT VISUAL

> ICONOGRAPHY 1S ALL ABOUT,

| AS IT HAPPENS, ONLY | 7WO POPULAR MEDIA

WERE IDENTIFIED BY MELUHAN AS "COOL" MEDIA-~- THAT JS, MEDIA WHICH COMMAND AUDIENCE INVOLVEMENT THROUGH ICOIVIC FORMS.

\'

Wh. li my in

ONE OF THEM TELEV/S/ON. HAS REACHED INTO THE LIVES OF EVERY HUMAN BEING ON

--AND FOR BETTER OR WORSE, ALTERED THE COURSE OF HUMAN AFFAIRS FROM HERE ‘TIL

THE FATE OF THE

O7HER ONE,

DOOMSDAY. COMICS --

SEQUENTIAL ART

WHEN I WAS VERY YOUNG, I HAD A RECURRENT DAYDREAM THAT THE WHOLE WORLD WAS JUST A SHOW PLT ON FOR MY BEWVEFI/7, THAT UNLESS I WAS PRESENT TO :

SEE THINGS, THEY JUST-- press eQrrg cee

hp SW

LATER \N LIFE, L FOUND OTHERS WHO HAD SYLAR DAYDREAMS AS CHILDREN. NONE OF US EVER REALLY BEL/JEVED THESE THEORIES, BUT WE HAD ALL BEEN : FASCINATED BY THE FACT THAT THEY COUL USPROVED,! -

a

Rh Sew IE tig?

EVEN ZODAY AS I WRITE AND DRAW THIS I'VE NEVER BEEN I'VE NEVER SEEN PANEL, I HAVE WO GLUAKANTEE THAT TO MOROCCO, BUT THE EARTH FROM ANYTHING EXISTS OUTSIDE OF WHAT MY I TAKE IT ON FA/7¥ SPACE FIRSTHAND, FIVE SENSES REPORT TO ME.* 44 THAT THERE JS'A YET I TRUST THAT S—— MOROCCOS THE EARTH IS

I'VE NEVER BEEN IN THIS PANEL IN THE HOUSE YOU CAN'T EVEN ACROSS THE STREET, SEE MY ZEGS, YET I ASSUME IT YET YOU ASSUME HAS AN /W7ER/OR, THAT THEY'RE THAT IT ISN'T JUST THERE. SOME BIG MOVIE

* NOT TO SAY OUR SENSES ARE ANY KIND OF GUARANTEES

ALL OF US PERCEIVE THE WORLD AS A WHOLE THROUGH THE EXPERIENCE OF OUR SENSES.

EVEN THE MOST W/DELY TRAVELLED MIND CAN ONLY SEE SO MUCH OF THE WORLD IN THE COURSE OF A LIFE.

YET OUR SENSES CAN ONLY REVEAL A WORLD

THAT IS FRAGMENTED AND /NCOMPLETE.

OUR PERCEPTION OF "REALITY" IS AN ACT OF FAITH, BASED ON MERE

FRAGMENTS.

-..- a

J.

AS VFANTS, WE'RE LIVABLE

THE GAME ‘FEEK-A-&B00" PLAYS TO COMMIT THAT ACT OF FAITH.

ON THIS IDEA. GRADUALLY, WE ALL IF WE CAN'T SEE IT, HEAR IT, LEARN THAT EVEN THOUGH THE SYGAY7 SMELL IT, TASTE IT OR TOUCH NT, OF MOMMY COMES AND GOES,

IT ISN'T 7HEREZ MOMMY KEMAINVS.

THIS PHENOMENON OF OBSERVING THE PARTS BUT PERCEIVING THE WHOLE HAS A MAME.

IT'S CALLED

CLOSURE.

SOME FORMS OF CLOSURE ARE DELIBERATE INVEIV7/ONS OF STORYTELLERS TO PRODUCE SUSPENSE OR TO CHALLENGE AUDIENCES.

IN RECOGN/ZING AND RELATING

70 OTHER PEOPLE, WE ALL DEPEND AHEAV/ZY ON OUR LEARNED

ABILITY OF CLOSURE,

IN OUR DAILY LIVES, WE OFTEN COMMIT CLOSURE, MENTALLY COMPLETING THAT WHICH IS

OTHERS HAPPEN AUTOMATICALLY, WITHOUT MUCH EFFORT,,, PART OF BUSIVESS AS USUAL.

he 6s

IN AN INCOMPLETE WORLD, WE MUST DEPEND ON CLOSURE FOR OUR VERY

SURVIVAL.

CLOSURE CAN TAKE MANY FORMS. SOME SIMPLE, SOME COMPLEX.

SOMETIMES, A MERE SHAPE OR OUTLINE \S ENOUGH TO TRIGGER CLOSURE.

EVERY TIME WE SEE A FHOTOGRAPH REPRODUCED IN A NEWSPAPER OR MAGA ZIIVE, \NE COMMIT CLOSURE.

OUR EYES TAKE IN THE FRAGMENTED, BLACK-AND-WHITE IMAGE OF THE “HALF -TONE”

PATTERNS-- roe

we im, Ly ja re

THE MENTAL PROCESS DESCRIBED IN CHAPTER TWO WHEREBY THESE LINES BECOME A FACE COULD BE CONSIDERED CLOSURE

y --AND Pay OUR MINDS & a TIZANSFORM IT 8 --OF THE INTO THE PHOTOGRAPH,’ "REALITY --f, >

da / IN FULM, CLOSURE TAKES PLACE CON7IVUOUSLY-- ELECTRONIC O}f TWENTY-FOUR TIMES PER SECOND, IN FACT-- AS OUR oT Cone | MINDS, AIDED BY THE PERSISTENCE OF VISION, ON ae” FA TRANSFORM A SERIES OF S7/ZL PICTL/RES INTO POWERING / _A STORY OF CONTINUOUS MOTION. ‘Zt iS = sy = =

A MEDIUM REQUIRING EVEN (MORE CLOSURE 1S 7TELEV/S/ON, BETWEEN SUCH WHICH, IN REALITY, IS JUST A S/NGLE POINT OF L/GHT, AUTOMATIC RACING ACROSS THE SCREEN SO FAS7 THAT IT'S DESCRIBED ELECTROMC MY FACE HUVDREDS OF TIMES BEFORE YOU CAN EVEN SWALLOW CLOSURE AND THE

THAT CORN CHIP IT" : SIMPLER CLOSURE / OF EVERYDAY

LIFE--

-- THERE LIES ... A MEDIUM WHERE THE AUDIENCE IS

A MEDIUM OF A WILLING AND CONSCIOUS COLLABORATOR COMMUNICATION AND CLOSURE IS THE AGENT OF CHANGE, AND EXPRESSION 77ME AND (10770N.

WHICH USES CLOSURE LIKE WO O7HER...

* MEDIA GURU TONY SCHWARTZ DESCRIBES THIS 65 AT LENGTH IN HIS BOOK MEDIA, THE SECOND GOD, ANCHOR BOOKS, 1983.

SEE THAT SPACE BETWEEN WHE PANELS? THAT'S AFICIONADOS HAVE

NAMED “7HE GLUT TER”

ITS UNCEREMOMIOUS 7ITLE, THE GUTTER PLAYS HOST TO MUCH OF THE MAGIC AND MYS7ERY THAT ARE AT THE VERY AVEART

HERE IN THE Z/M&O OF THE GUTTER, HUMAN IMAGINATION TAKES TWO SEPARATE IMAGES AND 7RAWS- FORMS THEM INTO

ELIE = el

m ih

h li

INEAAAUNANHAI in

1

fll

" l

NOTHING \S SEENV BETWEEN

THE TWO PANELS, BUT EXPERIENCE -A-Boo! aoa TELLS YOU SOMETHING Peek-A-Boo! Peek-A-Boo! MUST BE THERE!

COMICS PANELS FRACTURE BOTH Z/ME AND SYACE, OFFERING A JAGGED, STACCATO RHYTHM OF LIVCONNECTED MOMENTS.

BUT CLOSURE ALLOWS US TO COMWVECZ THESE MOMENTS AND MIENWTALLY CONSTRUCT & CONTINUOUS, UMIFIED REAL/ITM

\—F VISLIAL AND SINCE OUR ~- THEN, IN A ICONOGRAPHY \s DEFINITION OF VERY REAL SENSE, THE VOCABULARY OF COMICS HINGES ON COMICS I$ COMICS, CLOSURE |S THE ARRANGEMENT CLOSURE’

ITS GRAMMAR. OF ELEMENTS--

ICONOGRAPHY

THE CLOSURE OF BUT CLOSURE IN COMWCS JS ELECTRONIC MEDIA FAR FROM CONTINUOUS AND IS CON7TINLOUS, LARGELY ANYTHING BUT /VVOLUNTARY” INVOLUNTARY AND

VIRTUALLY IMPERCEPTIBLE.

x

EVERY ACT COMMITTED TO PAPER BY THE COMICS ARTIST 1S AIDED AND ABETTED BY A SENT ACCOMPLICE.

I MAY HAVE DRAWN AN AXE BEING RAISED IN THIS EXAMPLE, BUT IM ALL OF YOU AN EQUAL NOT THE ONE WHO LET It DROP PARTICIPATED PARTNER OR DECIDED HOW HARD THE BLOW, IN THE MURDER. HHO SCREAMED, OR WHY. IN CRIME st es a THE AXE AND KNOWN AS

oe CHOSE YOUR SPOT. READER.

-

LN a Ly ‘

THAT, DEAR READER, WAS YOUR SPECIAL CRIME, EACH OF YOU COMMITTING IT IN YOUR OWN §7}7ZE.

sane

68

TO KILL A MAN BETWEEN PANELS IS TO CONDEMN

PARTIC/PATION IS A POWERFUL FORCE IN AVY MEDIUM. FILMMAKERS LONG AGO

HIM TO A REALIZED THE IMPORTANCE THOUSAND OF ALLOWING VIEWERS f

DEATHS.

TO USE THEIR

IMAGINATIONS.

BUT WHILE FZZAV MAKES USE OF AUDIENCES’ IMAGINATIONS FOR OCCASIONAL EFFECTS, COMICS MUST USE IT

FAR MORE Q°7EN7

CLOSURE

IN COMICS FOSTERS AN INTIMACY SURPASSED ONLY BY THE WR/77EVV WORD. A SHENT, SECRET COVV7RACT BETWEEN

CREATOR AND

AUDIENCE.

HOW THE CREATOR HONORS THAT CONTRACT

IS AMATTER OF BOTH AR7 AND CRAFT.

FROM THE 7OSSIVG OF A BASEBALL TO THE DEATH OF A PLANET, THE READER'S DELIBERATE, VOLUVTARY CLOSURE |S COMICS’ FRIVARY MEANS OF SIMULATING 7/ME AND MOTION.

LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT THE

CRAF7-

MOST PANEL-7O-PANEL TRANSITIONS IN COMICS CAN BE PLACED IN ONE OF SEVERAL DISTINCT CATEGORIES. THE F/RST CATEGORY -—- WHICH WE'LL CALL MOMEN7-70 MOMEN7--REQUIRES VERY L/77LE

CLOSURE

NEXT ARE THOSE TRANSITIONS FEATURING A SINGLE SUB/ECT \N DISTINCT AC7/ON-TO-AC7/ON PROGRESSIONS.

THE WEXT TYPE TAKES US FROM SUBISECT-T0-SUBSECT WHILE STAYING WITHIN A SCENE OR IDEA. NOTE THE DEGREE OF READER INVOLVEMENT NECESSARY TO RENDER THESE TRANSITIONS MEANINGFUL.

DEDUCTIVE REASONING \S OFTEN REQUIRED IN READING COMICS SUCH AS IN THESE SCEIVE~ -7O-SCENE TRANSITIONS, WHICH TRANSPORT US ACROSS SYGM/FICANT DISTANCES OF 7IME AND SPACE.

HE CAN'T OUTRUN US FOREVER!

NO ONE COULD HAVE SURVIVED THAT CRASH! A

A FIFTH TYPE OF TRANSITION, WHICH WE'LL CALL ASPEC7-TO-ASPEC7, BYPASSES 7/ME FOR THE MOST PART AND SETS A WANDERING EYE ON DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF A PLACE, IDEA OR MOOD

AND FINALLY, THERE’S THE MON-SEQU/TUR, WHICH OFFERS NO LOGICAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PANELS WHATSOEVER /

THIS ZAS7 CATEGORY SUGGESTS AN INTER- ESTING QUESTION. IS [T POSSIBLE FOR ANY SEQUENCE OF PANELS TO BE

TOTALLY LNRELATED TO EACH OTHER?

SUCH TRANSITIONS MAY NOT MAKE "“SEMSE” IN ANY TRADITIONAL WAY, BUT STILL A RELATIONSHIP OF SOME SORT WILL INEVITABLY DEVELOP.

HOWEVER DIFFERENT THEY HAD BEEN, THEY NOW BELONG TO A SINGLE ORGANISM.

PERSONALLY, I DON'T 7A/VK SO.

NO MATTER HOW DISS/MVI/LAR ONE IMAGE MAY 8E TO ANOTHER, THERE IS A KIND OF--

FN

--ALCHEMY AT WORK IN THE SPACE BETWEEN PANELS WHICH CAN

HELP US FIND

MEANING OR KESONAIVCE IN EVEN THE MOST VARRING OF

COMBINATIONS.

BY CREATING A -- OVERR/IDING SEQUENCE WITH IDENTIT, AND

TWO OR MORE FORCING THE VIEWER IMAGES, WE ARE

TO CONSIDER THEM ENDOWING THEM WITH AS A WHOLE. A SINGLE--

CLOSURE FOR BLOOD,

ART © MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT GROUP, INC.

4 MOMENT- Y 70- | MomENVT

eae ASPECT- “WEE 70- 4 ASPECT

6.

NON- WES Ry aelba7 4

18, ee OE AA

BY FAR, THE MOST COMMON TYPE OF TRANSITION IN KIRBY'S ART IS AC7/ON- -TO-AC7TION. I COUNT S/X7¥-7WO OF THEM IN THIS STORY-- ABOUT SYY7>- FIVE PERCENT OF THE TOTAL NUMBER

[TRACED AND SIMPLIFIED FOR CLARITY'S SAKE]

THIS SORT OF CATEGORIZATION IS AN JVEXACT SCIENCE AT BEST BUT BY USING OUR TRANSITION SCALE AS A ZOOL -- -- WE CAN BEGIN TO UNRAVEL SOME OF THE MYSTERIES SURROUNDING THE INVISIBLE ART OF COMICS S7ORY TELLING /

MOST MAINSTREAM COMICS |N AMERICA EMPLOY STORYTELLING TECHNIQUES FIRST

INTRODUCED BY SACK KIR8Y, SO

LET’S START BY

ALTOGETHER, I COUNT NINETY-FIVE PANEL-TO-PANEL TRANSITIONS. LET'S SEE HOW THEY BREAK DOWN PROPORTIONATEL Y,

EXAMINING THIS LEE-KIRBY COMIC FROM \966.

SUBSECT-TO-SUBIEC7T TRANSITIONS ACCOUNT FOR AN ADDITIONAL V//VE7EEW-- ABOUT 7WEN7Y PERCENT OF THE TOTAL NUMBER.

AND SINCE AZZ OF THE REMAINING TRANSITIONS ARE FROM SCENE-TO-SCENE, WE HAVE THE FOLLOWING BREAKDOWN.

APPARENTLY WO7/ HERE’S A GRAPH OF PANEL TRANSITIONS IN HERGE'S V/A/77/V

AND THE PROPORTION ARE VERY SIMILAR TO KIRBY'S

A RANDOM SAMPLING OF

AS A BAR GRAPH IT WOULD LOOK SOMETHING LIKE 7TH.

NOW, HERGE’S AND KIRBY'S STYLES ARE WO7 SIMILAR’ IN FACT, THEY'RE RADICALLY DIFFERENT 7

“HEARTBREAK SOUP”

THIS EMPHASIS ON ACTION-TO-ACTION STORY TELLING SUITS MOST PEOPLE'S IDEAS ABOUT K/REY, BUT IS HE UM/QUE IN THIS RESPECT?

1S THERE SOME KIND OF UMIVERSAL PROPORTION AT WORK HERE, OR IS THERE ANOTHER COMMON LINK MAYBE A SIMILARITY OF GENRES 7

BETTY 2 VERONIA

VARIOUS AMERICAN COMICS SHOWS THIS SAME PROPORTION PRETTY COMSISTENTLY.

FIRANK IN THE RUVER

=}

@ Z G. HERNANDE?

A CONTRACT WITH GoD

DOYLE £DECARLO

DONAW DUCK

sd _ —

Yd EISNER

SQUERK THE MOUSE ASTERIX

WELCOME TO AFLOLOL

THE LONG TOMORROW

A SURVEY

OF WELL-KNOWN EUROPEAN ARTISTS YEILDS SIMHAR, IF NOT QU/7E AS UNIFORM,

RESULTS.

MANARA

ARE THESE THREE TYPES OF TRANSITIONS ALL ANYONE SHOULD EVER NEED TO TELL A STORY

IN COMICS 7

TYPES 2-4 SHOW THINGS AHAPPEMING IN CONCISE, FFFICIENT VVAYS.

SHOWS AC7/0"VS LIKE TYPE 2, BUT IT TENDS TO REQUIRE SEVERAL FANEZS TO DO WHAT TYPE 2 DOES IN 7Wwo--

SORAR NEST &

JOOsT SWARTE

IF WE CHOOSE TO SEE STORIES AS CONNECTED SERIES OF EVENTS, THEN THE PREDOMINANCE OF TYPES 2-4 ARE EASILY EXPLAINED

~~ WHILE IN THE FIFTH TYPE, BY DEFINITION, NOTHING “HAPPENS” AT ALL!

SOME EXPERIMENTAL COMICS, LIKE THOSE OF ART SPIEGELMAN'S EARLY PERIOD, EXPLORE A FULL RANGE OF TRANSITIONS --

--THOUGH GENERALLY IN THE SERVICE OF EQUALLY RADICAL STORIES AND ———}_ _ia STORIES FROM SPIEGELMAN'S SUBJECTS. ANTHOLOGY BREAKDOWNS:

“DON'T GETAROUND INTRODUCTION “MAUS” MUCH ANYMORE” (ORIGINAL)

“SKINLESS “PRISONER ONTHE “CRACKING PERKINS" HELL PLANET” JOKES"

FRONT AND “ACE-HOLE,MIDGET "REAL BACK COVERS DETECTIVE’ OREA/"I975

Sige yy...)

BUT BEFORE WE CONCLUDE THAT TYPES 2-4 HAVE A MONOPOLY ON S7KAIGHTFORWARD STORYTELLING, LET'S TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AT OSAMU JEZUKA

FROM JAPAN.

AND, OF COURSE, NON-SEQUITURS ARE UNCONCERNED WITH EVE/V7S OR ANY NARRATIVE PURPOSES OF ANY

TEZUKA IS AFAR CRY FROM THE

EARLY SPIEGELMAN.

HIS STORYTELLING IS CLEAR AND STRAIGHTFORWARD.

“il red P<

JUST WHAT IS GOJVG OW HERE?

‘WINZAL NINYSO 9 LHV

ASWAWSsa LO ASVd AIOHL LO T34L\

ART © OSAMU TEZUKA.

ACTION- sy) IN FACT, SUBSEC7-70- -7O-ACT/ION S : SUB/ECT TRANSITIONS TRANSITIONS = 4 ACCOUNT FOR NEARLY STILL DOMINATE AS MANY AS AC7/0N.

THOUGH THE LATTER TYPE ONLY ACCOUNTS HERE ALSO WE SEE FOR FOUR PERCENT OUR FIRST EXAMPLES OF THE TOTAL, SUCH OF MOMEN7-70-MOMENT SEQUENCES CONTRAST TRANSITIONS. STRIKINGLY WITH THE WESTERN TRADITIONS EXEMPLIFIED BY KIRBY AND HERGE.

BUT, MOST STRIKING OF AZZ 1S THE SUBSTANTIAL PRESENCE OF THE AIF 7H 7YPE OF TRANSITION, A TYPE RARELY SEEN IN THE WEST.

ART © OSAMU TEZUKA.

ASPECT- -AS.

TRANSITIONS HAVE BEEN AN INTEGRAL PART OF JAPANESE MAINSTREAM COMICS ALMOST FROM THE VERY SEGINNVING.

THAN ACTING AS A BRIDGE BETWEEN SEPARATE MOMENTS, THE READER AEKE MUST ASSEMBLE A SIVGLE MOMENT USING SCA7T7ERED FRAGMENTS.

PeEcT

MOST OFTEN USED TO ESTABLISH A A400D OR A SEMSE OF PLACE, TIME SEEMS TO STAND S77ZZ IN THESE QUIET, CONTEMPLATIVE COMBINATIONS.

EVEN SEQUENCE, WHILE STILL AN ISSUE, SEEMS FAR LESS IMPORTANT HERE THAN IN OTHER TRANSITIONS.

a J

‘DINZIN NYSOIHS O Lov

rH

‘OLVS ‘HO LuV

IN EXAMINING SEVERAL JAPANESE ARTISTS, WE FIND SIMILAR

PROPORTIONS TO TEZUKA'S, INCLUDING A HIGH INCIDENCE OF THE -F/F7H 7YPE.

750 River CaRvex?)

LENGTH MAY BE ONE OF THE FACTORS AT WORK HERE. MOST JAPANESE COMICS FIRST APPEAR IN ENORMOUS AW7AOLOGY TITLES WHERE THE PRESSURE ISN’T AS GREAT ON ANY ONE INSTALLMENT TO SHOW A LOT “AAFPFENMING.”

BUT I DON'T THINK LONGER STORIES ARE THE OWZY FACTOR, OR EVEN THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE.

AS SUCH, DOZENS OF PANELS CAN BE DEVOTED TO PORTRAYING SLOW CINEMATIC MOVEMENT OR TO SE77TING A MOOD.

WOLF RCUB KOIKE 2 KOJIMA

Z

FATHER 2 som HAYAS) BOSIMA

C1BQ0RG OO4 SHOTARO ISHirto

EN aa, ashes Lu i) PS

WHEN INDIVIDUAL FEATURES ARE COLLECTED, THEY MAY RUN FOR HOUSANDS OF PAGES.

z | Thy: i

I BELIEVE THERE'S SOMETHING A BIT MORE ALWZAMENTAL TO THIS PARTICULAR EAST/WEST SPLIT.

I SSORRE

Pr Xo oe Lf 6 7 a NN LS, aos A ‘ , 2 ‘

.

(YW

‘B

+) (\) i

3° 3 h se ) : Oth

i

=

JAPANESE COMICS MAY BE HE/RS TO THIS TRADITION, IN THE WAY THEY SO OFTEN EMPHASIZE BEING THERE OVER ING THERE.

THROUGH THESE AND OTHER STORYTELLING TECHNIQUES, THE JAPANESE OFFER A VISION OF COMICS VERY DIFFERENT FROM OUR OWN.

TRADITIONAL WESTERIV ART AND LITERATURE DON'T WANDER MUCH. ON THE WHOLE, WE'RE

A PRETTY GOAL-ORIENTED CLLTURE. :

MORE THAN ANYWHERE FLSE, COMICS

IS AN ART--

BUT, IN THE EAS7, THERE'S A RICH TRADITION OF CYCLICAL AND LABYRINTHINE WORKS OF ART.

- +, THE IDEA THAT ELEMENTS = : OMITTED FROM A WORK OF ART INTERVALS. }* ARE AS MUCH A PART OF THAT WORK mF AS THOSE IWCLUDED HAS BEEN A SPECIALTY OF THE EAS7 FOR CENTURIES.

IN THE GRAPHIC ARTS THIS HAS MEANT IN MUSIC TOO, WHILE THE WESTERN A GREATER FOCUS ON F/YGURE/GROLUIND CLASSICAL TRADITION WAS EMPHASIZING RELATIONSHIPS AND “WEGATIVE SPACE.” JHE COW7IVLUOLS, CONNECTED WORLDS OF MELODY AND HARMONY, EASTERN CLASSICAL MUSIC WAS EQUALLY CONCERNED WITH THE ROLE OF SLLENWCE”

“THE GREAT WAVE OFF KANAG’AWA" BY HOKUSAI (.1629) C TURN THIS PICTURE UPSIDE DOWN TO SEE THE O7HER WAVE OF NEGATIVE SPACE...NATURE'S Y/N AND YANG.)

IN THE LAST CEW7U/RY OR TWO, AS FROM DEBUSSY TO STRAVINSKY TO WESTERN CULTURAL INFLUENCES SWEPT COUN7 BASIE, WESTERN MUSIC HAS THE FAS7, SO TOO HAVE FAS7ER/VV AND GRADUALLY INCORPORATED A STRONG AFRICAN \DEAS OF FRAGMENTATION AWARENESS OF THE POWER OF AND KHY7HM SWEPT THE WES7. FRAGMENTATION AND IV7TERVA

IN THE VASVAZ ARTS, THE IMPACT OF EASTERN IDEAS WAS BOTH POWERFUL AND LASTING.

THE TRADITIONAL EMPHASIS IN WESTERN ART UPON THE PRIMACY OF FOREGROUND SUBJECTS AND CONTINUOUSNESS OF JONES

GAVE WAY TO FRAGMENTA7/ON AND A NEW AWARENESS OF THE PICTURE PLANE.

WHAT pO YOU THINK THIS * PAINTING BY AL HELD IS CALLED? *

FACSIMILE

OF “FIGURE”

BY PABLO PICASSO 1948

IN THEATRE, THE (DEA THAT — THE MASTERY OF AVY MEDIUM "LESS (8 MORE” HAS REAL PRACTICAL s(( USING MINIMAL ELEMENTS HAS IMPLICATIONS. ONE OF THE MOST LONG BEEN CONSIDERED A MOBLE SUCCESSFUL SHOWS IN HISTORY IS ASPIRATION.

THE FANTASTICKS -- A PLAY WHOSE ENTIRE SE7 CAME IN 7HREE PIECES--

A TATTERED BANNER, A STICK iI AND A CARDBOARD MOON.

"ANSWER: “THE BIG '‘N" [SEE PAGE 216]

PROMISE ME YOU I BETTER WON'T DRINK AND GO NOW/ DRIVE, CARL. y = 4, Y A = % $ ; A

OKAY. THEY'RE N MY PURSE a,

i WJ

I'LL TAKE A SHORT-CUT7”

DARN TRAFFIC ¥ SLOWDOWN. A beg (7A

I'M SORRY, CARL, BUT I CAN'T GO OUT WITH YOU TONIGHT

TOMORROW IT 1S/

) 4

SAY, DO You KNOW BILL'S LAST NAME?

Oo

i he

THAT'S WHAT I'M ¥ | I DON'T KNOW ASKING YOU. ANY "BILLS"

ral

i ca ! 5 C) U am 3s

v

PROMISE ME YOU WON'T DRINK AND DRIVE, CARL.

PROMISE ME YOU WON'T DRINK AND DRIVE, CARL.

I'M SORRY, CARL, BUT I CAN'T GO OUT WITH YOU TONIGHT

=

I'LL BUY SOME L SEERS. ie :

“

THE ART * SS FINDING THE

OF COMICS 1S BALANCE BETWEEN AS SUBTRACTIVE 700 MUCH AND AN ART AS ITIS 700 LITTLE \S

ADDITIVE. CRUCIAL TO

COMICS CREATORS THE WORLD OVER.

acl PROMISE ME YOU B WON'T DRINK AND DRIVE, CARL.

TO STRIKE THAT BALANCE, CREATORS REGULARLY MAKE ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT FAA] THEIR READERS’ EXPERIENCES. 3HT FI (2! TAHT TW2I00 JOUSIQUA SOME SEEM PRETTY SAFE, QV VASA TAR LIKE THE ASSUMPTION THAT NABAN THIS WILL BE PERCEIVED By AUDIENCES AS ANEYE CLOSING.

WE ASSUME AS READERS THAT WE WILL AS CLOSURE BETWEEN PANELS BECOMES

KNOW WHAT ORDER TO READ PANELS IN, MORE INTENSE, READER INTERPRETATION

BUT THE BUSINESS OF ARKANG/IVVG THOSE BECOMES FAR MORE EZAS7/C. PANELS 1S ACTUALLY QUITE COMPLEX.

SO COMPLEX, IN FACT, THAT EVEN SEASONED PROS WILL SOMETIMES BLOW 17.

AND MANAGING \T BECOMES MORE COMPLICATED FOR THE CREATOR.

SOME ARTISTS CAN BE

CLOSURE CAN BE A POWERFUL DELIBERATELY AMBIGUOUS.

FORCE WITHIN PANELS AS WELL AS OF COURSE, AND OFFER US NO STRICT BETWEEN THEM, WHEN ARTISTS CHOOSE

ss TO SHOW ONLY A SMALL PYECE

INTERPRETATION TO GO ON.

OF THE PICTURE,

BY

SHOWING OFFERING

ARTIST CAN LITTLE OR ONLY CLUES To TRIGGER ANY VAGUE ABOUT NOTHING

WHAT IT

THE READER-- NUMBER OF

OF A GIVEN IMAGES IN SHOWS SCENE -- THE READER'S IMAGINATION.

READERS FACED WITH PANELS LIKE 7AESE WILL HAVE SU/@S7ANV77ALLY DIFFEREN7 \NTERPRETATIONS.

UH-- JUST AS READERS COMPLETE

AN ACTION OR IDEA BETWELWV--

~-AN ACTION OR--

OW! OW!

STOP THAT!

BY CONSTRUCTING WHOLE MAGES BASED ON THESE FRAGMENTS, READERS ARE

PERFORMING CLOSURE,

JUST AS--

>AHEMS.= 1 SHY, JUST AS READERS COMPLETE --

WHATEVER THE MYSTERIES WITHIN EACH PANEL, IT'S THE POWER OF CLOSURE BE 7WEEN

PANELS THAT I FIND THE MOST INTERESTING.

WE ALREADY KNOW THAT COMICS ASKS THE MIND TO WORK AS A SORT OF IN-BETWEENER -- FILLING IN THE GAPS BETWEEN PANELS AS AN AW/MATOR MIGHT-- BUT I BELIEVE THERE'S STILL MORE TO IT THAN THAT.

“THERE'S SOMETHING STRANGE AND WONDERFUL THAT HAPPENS IN THIS BLANK RIBBON OF FAPER.

LET'S TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AT THE F/F7H TYPE OF TRANSITION, THE ONE SO POPULAR IN JAPAN.

HERE'S A FOUR- PANEL ESTABLISHING SHOT OF AN OLD-FASHIONED KITCHEN SCENE,

NOW, MOST OF YOU SHOULD HAVE NO_ TROUBLE PERCEIVING THAT YOU'RE IN A KITCHEN FROM THOSE FOUR PANELS

AND WHAT ABOUT THE CHOPPING SOUND 7 DOES THAT ONLY LAST A PANEL OR DOES IT PERSIST 7 CAN YOU SMEZLZ THIS KITCHEN ¥ FEEZ IT? ZASTE IT?

a wan 9 / \+"_ WN

/

BUT ALL IN ALL, I(T IS AN ZACLLS/VELY

TSUAL REPRESENTATION.

WITH A AGH DEGREE OF CLOSURE, YOUR MIND 1S TAKING FOUR PICTURE FRAGMENTS AND CONSTRUCTING AN ENTIRE SCENE OL/T OF THOSE FRAGMENTS.

BUT THE SCENE YOUR MIND CONSTRUCTS FROM THOSE FOUR PANELS IS A VERY DVIFFERENT PLACE FROM THE SCENE CONSTRUCTED FROM OUR TRADITIONAL ONE-FANEZL ESTABLISHING SHOT/

COMICS IS A MONO-SENMSORY MEDIUM. IT RELIES ON ONLY ONE OF THE SENSES TO CONVEY A WORLD OF EXPERIENCE.

BUT WHAT OF THE OTHER

FOUR 7

WITHIN THESE PANELS, WE CAN ONLY CONVEY INFORMATION VISUALLY.

PANELS, NONE OF OUR SENSES ARE REQUIRED AT ALL.

LOOK AGAIN.

YOU'VE BEEN IN KITCHENS BEFORE, YOU KNOW WHAT A POT ON THE BOIL SOUNDS LIKE; DO YOU ONLY HEAR IT IN THAT F7RS7-

WE REPRESENT

SOUND THROUGH DEVICES SUCH AS WORD BALLOONS.

WHICH IS WHY AZZ OF OUR SENSES ARE ENGAGED!

SEVERAL TIMES ON EVERY PAGE THE READER IS FELEASED-- LIKE A TRAPEZE AR 7I§7-- INTO THE OPEN AIR OF /MAG/NATION...

THE READER MIGHT LEARN

SHEN CALGA7 BY THE OUTSTRETCHED AKMS OF THE EVER- PRESENT NEXT

FAWEL ‘

CAUGHT QUICKLY BUT IS IT POSSIBLE SO AS NOT TO LET THAT CLOSURE CAN THE READER FALL BE SO MANAGED IN INTO CONFUSION SOME CASES--

OR BOREDOM. innards

IN CHAPTER TWO, WE DISCUSSED VARIOUS TYPES OF ICONIC AND NON-ICONIC DRAWING STYLES

DO THESE AFFECT CLOSURE?

SINCE CARTOONS ALREADY EXIST AS CONCEPTS FOR THE READER, THEY TEND TO FLOW EASILY THROUGH THE CONCEPTUAL TERRITORY SBE7WEEY PANELS.

<) ies

IDEAS FLOWING INTO ONE ANOTHER SEA/ILESSL™”.

BUT KEZAL/S77C IMAGES HAVE A BUMPIER RIDE. THEIRS 1S A PRIMARILY V/SU/AZ EXISTENCE WHICH DOESN'T PASS EASILY INTO THE REALM OF IDEAS.

AND SO, WHAT SEEMED LIKE A CONTINUOUS SERIES OF MOMENTS IN THE LAST EXAMPLE, HERE LOOKS A LITTLE MORE LIKE A SERIES OF S722 YCTURKES...

SIMILARLY, I THINK WHEN COMICS ART VEERS CLOSER TO CONCERNS OF THE PYC7TL/RE PLAIVE, CLOSURE CAN BE MORE DIFFICULT TO ACHIEVE, THOUGH FOR DIFFERENT REASONS.

NOW IT'S THE LIMIF YING PROPERTIES OF DESIGN THAT MAKE US MORE AWARE OF THE PAGE AS A jJWAOLE, RATHER THAN ITS INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS, THE PANELS.

-- THEN CLOSURE IS [ PROBABLY NOT ‘| HAPPENING .\\ WITHOUT SOME

WOOO,”

TIN | > q : IS f i] 7 ie, |S 2.

“10 MEN ANYWAY. THESE THINGS ARE ALL

SUBJECTIVE’ },

A GOOD RULE OF THUMB IS THAT IF READERS ARE PARTICULARLY AWARE OF THE ARTIN A

GIVEN STORY--

OF COURSE, MAKING THE READER WORK A LITTLE MAY BE JUST WHAT THE ARTIST IS 7RYVVG TO DO. ONCE AGAIN, IT'S ALL A MATTER OF FERSONMAL TASTE.

THE COMICS

CREATOR ASKS US TO JOIN IN A SILEVVT

THIS DANCE IS L/MWW/QUE TO COMICS. NO OTHER ARTFORM GIVES SO MUCH TO ITS AUDIENCE WHILE ASKING SO MUCH FROM THEM AS WELL

THIS IS WHY I THINK IT’S A MISTAKE TO SEE COMICS AS A MERE AYG6R/D OF THE GRAPHIC ARTS AND PROSE FICTION.

BETWEEN THESE PANELS IS A KIND OF MAGIC ONLY COMICS CAN CREATE.

|

|

(|

HERE IN = THIS STUDIO, I'VE Tr Y THAT PROCESS AND USE IT TO MAKE

B, \

Y’ BUT L

i / CAN ONLY PO/NT h HE ~

A

(ll

|

{

I

f WA. (| CAN'T TAKE YOU I ANYWHERE YOU

DON'T WANT TO CS. fat

wl

TT

Ht Mn

nlf

il

= —*

>

|

ALL I CAN DO IS MAKE ASSUMP7/OMS ABOUT YOU AND HOPE THAT THEY'RE

CORREC7--

-- JUST AS WE AZZ ASSUME, EVERY DAY, | | ALL I ASK OF You THAT THERE'S MORE TO LIFE THAN MEETS = IS A LITTLE THE EYE, Ss FAITH --

--AND A WORLD OF IMAGINATION.

CHAPTER FOUR

SO/ LET'S SEE: AND BETWEEN

EACH PANEL OF A THOSE FROZEN

COMIC SHOWS A MOMENTS -- BETWEEN

SINGLE MOMENT \ THE PANELS-- OUR IN TIME. | MINDS FILL IN THE

INTERVENING MOMENTS, |)" CREATING THE ILLUSION OF VIME ANP MOTION.

LIKE A LINE DRAWN BETWEEN TWO POINTS.

ueanooues | K\\

WEIRDER THAN \ THAT 7 " an ! mh

DP @

‘i? (7 ia Li:

WELL, IF OL' HENRY IS GONNA HAVE MUCH JVIORE FUN, WE MAY HAFTA LOCK UP THE \ \. WINE CELLAR. SURE YOU

Le CHECKS _{ WANT TO Move

OH, HEV PUT THAT CAMERA AWA» WILL

YOu?

Fe

LET HIM

BE, MOM. HE'S JUST

AAGH/ THAT FLASH IS BL/NZING,

UNCLE HENRY!

THERE,

LIKEWISE, THE NEXT

SINGLE

EVEN THE BRIEF SOUND OF A FLASA- BULB HAS ACERTAIN DURATION, SHORT TO BE SURE, BUT NOT INSTANTANEOLS £

FAR SLOWER |S THE DURATION OF THE AVERAGE WORD. UNCLE HENRY ALOWE BURNS UP A GOOD SECOND IN THIS

BALLOONS COULD HAVE ONLY FOLLOWED THE BURST OF THE FLASHBULB, THUS ADDING STILL MORE TIME.

PANEL, ESPECIALLY SINCE “SMILE /” UNDOUBTEDLY PRECEDED THE FLASH.

AAGH! THAT FLASH 1S BLINDING,

UNCLE HENRY!

JUST AS PICTURES AND THE INTERVALS BE7WEE/WV THEM CREATE THE ILLUSION OF TIME THROUGH CLOSURE WORDS \NTRODUCE TIME BY REPRESENTING THAT WHICH CAN ONLY EXIST JV TIME --SO“W 2.

WITH ALL ITS AC7/0NS AND REAC77ONS, A PANEL SUCH AS THIS COULD LAST A GOOD HALF MIMLTE OR SO.

BUT HOW COULD THIS BE ANYTHING BUT A SWVGLE MOMENT 7 OUR EYES HAVE BEEN WEZZ-7RAIVED BY THE PHOTOGRAPHY AND BY REPRESENTATIONAL ART TO SEE ANY SINGLE

CONTINUOUS IMAGE AS A SIVELE IVSTAIVT IV TIME.

IM

BUT THE ACTIONS THAT WE SEE OCCURRING SEEMINGLY AT THE SAME

TIME OBVIOUSLY CAM'7 8E/ WAY TO LOOK AT

IT: LET'S THINKOF }]|| TIME ASA

r]

SUCH A ROPE SIMPLIFIED AND SINCE EACH EACH INCH MIGHT BE SAID OF COURSE, FACE AND FIGURE REPRESENTS A JO WIND SOME- SINCE EACH IS DRAWN TO MATCH BALLOON HAS HIS/HER OWN ITS OWN TWISTS AND TURNS.

AAGHS THAT FLASH 1S BLINDING,

-- THOSE FIGURES,

FACES AND WORDS

.| ARE MATCHED IN 7TIME AS WELL.

la

Bae aa ||

THE PROPERTIES OF THE SINGLE PORTRAYING TIME ON A LINE MOVING

CONTINUOUS J/MAGE, MEANWHILE, TEND

TO MATCH EACH FIGURE WITH EVERY LEFT 70 RIGHT,

OTHER FIGURE. THIS PUTS ALL THE JINMAGES ON THE SAME VERTICAL AXIS.

SINGLE "WAGE.

SINGLE

\ Ag

PERHAPS WE'VE BEEN TOO CONDITIONED BY PHOTOGRAPHY TO PERCEIVE SINGLE IMAGES AS S/VGZLE

MOME/V7'S. AFTER ALL, IT DOES TAKE AN EYE 7/ME TO MOVE ACROSS SCENES IN KEAL LIFES

EACH FIGURE IS ARRANGED FROM LEFT 70 RIGHT IN THE SEQUENCE WE WILL “READ” THEM, EACH OCCUPYING A DISTINCT 7/ME

IN SOME RESPECTS THIS PANEL BY ITSELF ACTUALLY F77S OUR DEFIN/T/ION OF COMICS/ ALL IT NEEDS IS A FEW GLU/77ERS THROWN IN TO CLARIFY THE SEQUEIVCE.

Y OH, HENRYS PUT THAT CAMERA AWAY, WILL You? JVIORE FUN, WE MAY HAFTA LOCK UP THE WINE CELLAR_J

IF SOUND A | IS INTRODUCED, HE'S GIVING Qn THIS CEASES TO BE THIS ALZ, TRUE--

NOT AZZ PANELS ARE LIKE THAT, OF COURSE.

A SILENT PANEL SUCH AS THIS COULD INDEED BE SAID TO DEPICT A SINGLE MOMENTS

HE WAS GIVING IT HIS AZZ, WHEN--

EMU ME mn ere no

THESE VARIOUS SHAPES WE CALL FANELS HOLD IN THEIR BORDERS ALL OF THE ICONS THAT ADD UP TO THE VOCABULARY OF COMICS.

AN OTHERWISE SILENT CAP7/0VED PANEL, THE SINGLE MOMENT CAN

ACTUALLY BE

FOR JUST AS THE

BODY'S LARGEST ORGAN --§O TOO IS THE PANEL /7SELE --OUR SK/NV-- OVERLOOKED AS COMICS’ MOST

IS SELDOM 7HOUGHT IMPORTANT /CO/V,7

OF AS AN ORGAN--

THESE ICONS WE CALL PANELS OR en

N OR ABSOLUTE MEANING, LIKE THE ICONS OF LANGUAGE, SCIENCE AND COMMUNICATION.

PANEL SHAPES VARY CONS/DERABLY THOUGH, AND WHILE

DIFFERENCES OF SHAPE DON'T AFFECT THE SPECIFIC "YFA/VIVES”

OF THOSE PANELS VIS-A-VIS TIME, THEY CA/AV AFFECT THE READING EXPERIENCE.

NOR IS THEIR MEANING AS AZL//D AND MALLEABLE AS THE SORTS OF

ICONS WE CALL

PICTURES.

ol

Of

EISNER DISCUSSES THIS UNDER THE HEADING “FRAMING TIME“ IN COMICS AND SEQUENTIAL ART

99

THE PANEL ACTS AS A SORT OF GENERAL INDICATOR THAT 7/ME OR SPACE IS BEING DIVIDED.

THE DURATIONS OF THAT 77ME AND THE DIMENSIONS OF THAT SPACE ARE DEFINED MORE BY THE COW7ZENTS OF

THE PANEL THAN BY THE PANEL /7SEZLFE *

i HE WAS GIVING IT

i HIS AZZ, WHEN-- i TE ae y = Ved |

ja EEE Hal,

WHICH BRINGS US TO THE STRANGE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TIME AS DEPICTED |N COMICS AND TIME AS PERCEIVED BY THE READER.

IN LEARNING TO READ COMICS WE ALL LEARNED TO PERCEIVE TIME SPATIALLY, FORIN AG WORLD OF COMICS, TIME AND SPACE ARE OWE AND THE SAME.

THE PROBLEM \S THERE'S NO CONVE:

THE FEW CENTIMETERS WHICH TRANSPORT US FROM SECOND 70 SECOVO INONE SEQUENCE COULD TAKE US A

AIUNDRED MILLION YEARS IN ANOTHER.

IN MOST CASES IT’S NOT HARD TO MAKE AN EDUCATED GUESS AS TO THE DURATION OF AGIVEN SEQUENCE, SO

LONG AS THE ££ EMENW7S OF THAT

SEQUENCE ARE FAM/L/AR TO US.

T ALWAYS FIGURED MARY-ANNE WOULD GO FOR GILLIGAN.

100

SO, AS READERS, WE'RE LEFT WITH ONLY A VAGUE SENSE THAT AS OUR EYES

MOVING THROUGH TIME -- WE JUST DON'T KNOW BY HOW MUCH

itz it

FROM A £/FETIME OF CONVERSATIONS, WE CAN BE SURE THAT A “FALSE ” PANEL LIKE THIS LASTS FOR NO MORE THAN SEVERAL SECONDS.

BUT IF THE CREATOR OF THIS SCENE WANTED TO LEMG7HEN THAT PAUSE, HOW COULD HE OR SHE DO SOY ONE OBVIOUS

SOLUTION WOULD BE TO ADD MORE PANELS, BUT IS THAT THE ONLY WAY?

IS THERE ANY WAY TO MAKE A WE'VE SEEN HOW SINGLE SILENT PANEL LIKE THIS ONE TIME CAN BE SEEM LOVGER,7 HOW ABOUT WIDENING CONTROLLED THROUGH THE SPACE BETWEEN PANELS 7 THE CONTENT OF ANY DIFFERENCE 7 PANELS, THE WUMBER OF PANELS AND CLOSURE BETWEEN PANELS, BUT THERE'S STILL OVEMORE.

AS UNLIKELY AS IT SOUNDS, THE PANEL SHAPE CAN ACTUALLY MAKE A D/FFERE/VCE IN OUR PERCEF7/O/VV OF TIME. EVEN THOUGH THIS LONG PANEL HAS THE SAME BASIC "MEANING" AS ITS SHORTER VERSIONS, STILL IT HAS THE FEELING OF GREATER LENGTHY

THAT MADONNA, MAN, SHES ONE HOr

101

THE PAVEL BORDER EVER NOTICED HOW THE WORDS “SHORT” OR “LONG” CAN REFER EITHER TO THE FIRST DIMENSION

IN A MEDIUM |

WHERE TIME AND SPACE MERGE SO COMPLETELY, THE

DISTINCTION OFTEN

VAM'SHE S/

AS MENTIONED, MOST OF US ARE SO USED TO PANELS COME IN THE STANDARD REC7ANGULAR MANY SHAPES AND FORMAT THAT A“BORDERLESS” SIZES, THOUGH THE PANEL SUCH AS THIS CAN TAKE CLASSIC RECTANGLE ON A ZIMELESS QUALITY.

IS USED MOST OF 7EN.

WHEN THE COW7ZENWT ae to! 1 BECAUSE OF ITS AND ITS PRESENCE A | | QWRESOLVED NATURE| | MAY BE FELT IN SUCH A PANEL MAY THE PANELS WHICH ZINGER \N THE FOLLOW IT. READER'S MIND.

GATE

Seok oN LASSE ——_ “¥ eee.

SSA Vas =

THIS

IS_A TECHNIQUE USED MOST OFTEN

—7

ONCE AGAIN,

MALLS SASS

== UNI:

TIME IS NO LONGER CONTAINED BY THE FAMILIAR ICON OF THE CLOSED PANEL,

== oN —j/ 29 =| 58 | Sy ek ax =P

By

USED -- L.E., WHEN A PANEL

IN COMICS, AS IN F/ZM, TELEVISION AND ‘REAL LIFE,” IT IS ALWAYS NOW.

THIS PANEL AND 7S. PANEL ALONE

ANY PANEL BEFORE THis-- THAT LAS7 ONE,

FOR INSTANCE-- REPRESENTS THE FAST.

LIKEWISE, ALL PANELS S7/ZL 70 COME--THIS MEXT PANEL, FOR INSTANCE--

REPRESENT THE

FUTURE.

BUT LIVL/KE OTHER MEDIA, IN COMICS, THE PAST IS MORE THAN JUST MEMORIES FOR THE AUDIENCE AND

THE FUTURE IS MORE THAN JUST

POSSIBILITIES /

LIKE A S7ORM FRONT, THE EYE MOVES OVER THE COMICS PAGE, PUSHING THE WARM, HIGH-PRESSURE F2/7U//RE AHEAD OF IT, LEAVING THE COOL, LOW-PRESSURE PAST IN ITS WAKE.

REPRESENTS THE PRES:

A h-

; te " a ALISS SIN | MA AT

NIALL

Wic4 P |

40 8m &

WHEREVER YOUR EYES ARE FOCUSED, THAT'S AVOW._ BUT AT THE SAME TIME YOUR EYES TAKE IN THE SURROUNDING LANDSCAPE OF PAST AND FUTURE/

FUTURE ARE REAL AND VISIBLE AND

WHEREVER THE EYE HITS LAND, WE EXPECT ¥ IT TO BEGIN MOVING FORWARD

ONE BEER WON'T HURT.

THE IDEA THAT THE READER MIGHT CHOOSE A DIRECTION IS STILL

CONSIDERED EXO7/C.

I'LL Just co HOME NOW. =|

BORNEO

I'LL JUST DRIVE

OH My GoD/IM AROUND AWHILE

IN THE PWRONG

HOUSE/ mae ae TE

ae

WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE 77

bg

+

“1 _—

HMM... A FORK. TO THE RIGHT IS THE W/DEO STORE.

SOSH, I JUST DO YOU HAVE WANTED TO RENT CARNIVAL OF ANOTHER VIDEO, SOULS?

NAAHS I'LL GO LEFT.

THIS MAY, IN PART, CONDITIONED AS WE ARE TO READ LEFT-TO-RIGHT AND L/P-7O-DOWN, A MISCHIEVOUS CARTOONIST CAN PLAY ANY NUMBER OF 7R/CKS ON US.

THE THE END oF Itt JusT INCREDIBLE] THE MONTH...

MY ComPLIMENTS

Ho THE CHEF ANDRE! THE CHECK, PLEASE

COMICS READERS ARE ALSO CONDITIONED

“REAL TIME” OF EVERYDAY LIFE TO EXPECT A VERY L/NEAR FROGRESS/OM. JUST A S7KAIGHT LIVE FROM POINT A 10 POINT &. BUT 1S THAT NECESSARY 7

FOR NOVY, THESE QUESTIONS ARE THE TERRITORY OF GAMES AND STRANGE LITTLE EXPERIMENTS.

BUT WEWER HOW COMICS FARTIC/FAT/ONMV ADDRESSES THIS IS ON THE VERGE ISSUE-- OR FA/LS OF BECOMING AN TO--COULD PLAY A FIVORMOL'S /SSUE CRUCIAL PART IN IN OVHER MED/A. DEFIIV/NG THE ROLE OF COMICS IN THE NEW CENTUR™

| AAA

AS MENTIONED EARLIER, 7IME AND SFHACE IN THE WORLD OF COMICS ARE CLOSELY L/NKED.

AS ARESULT,

SO TOO ARE THE ISSUES OF 77ME ||| AND MO7/0N. {|||

y

--USUALLY BY TRANSITION TYPES OWE 7WO...BUT LET'S NOT at INTO

Ret a wiiiea Wieden eet did

AS DISCUSSED IN CHAPTER THREE, MOTION IN COMICS IS PRODUCED BE7TWEEWV PANELS By THE MENTAL PROCESS CALLED CLOSURE --

ALT | TA (line

Re RNS

DESPITE COMICS’ 7AKEE ZFHOL/SANMD VEAR HISTORY, \T WASN'T UNTIL WITHIN TOPFFER’S (W/D-/800$ DOODLINGS A FEW YEARS, THAT SFYEC/F/C MOTIONS WERE HOWEVER, PORTRAYED IN COMICS IN THE NOW- MOTION WAS A FAMILIAR FAWVEL-70-PANMEZ FORM.

O7- INDEED!

How, 1 A SUPERIOR MAK Es4 , SKE, ONE SUMPS UP WITH A ROAR OF LAUGHTER Sense ;N Gevuerat.

LAST QUARTER OF THE MINETEENV7H CENTURY IT SEEMED LIKE EVERYONE WAS TRYING TO CAPTURE MOTION

EVENTUALLY

BY #880, INVENTORS THE WORLD OVER KNEW THOMAS EDISON,

THAT "MOVING PICTURES” WERE JUST AROUND THE CORNER. EVERYONE WANTED TO BE F/RS7/

MY S7TROBOSCOPE \S SUPERIOR (NV EVERY WAY 70 THE OBSOLETE ZOETROPE’

FILED THE FIRST PATENT ON A PROCESS USING STRIPS OF CLEAR PLASTIC PHOTOS AND F/ZM WAS OFF AND RLUNMING/

4 |) rl

AS THE MOVIVG PICTURE BEGAN ITS SPECTACULAR RISE, A FEW OF THE MORE RADICAL RAIVIERS OF THE DAY EXPLORED THE IDEA THAT MOTION COULD BE DEPICTED BY A SIWVGZE IMAGE ON CAMIAS.

TAE FUTURISTS \N \TALY AND MARCEL DLUCHAMP IN FRANCE BEGAN THE SYS7EMA7IC DECOMPOSITION OF MOVING IMIAGES IN A STA7/C MEDILIM.

BAD IDEA!

Girl Running on a Balcony - : by Balla Nude Descending a Staircase #2 by Duchamp

108

THAT OLD SCALLYWAG,

\ ANVO7HER MEDIUM, LESS COMSFYCLUOL SLY,

IF YOU'RE

GOING TO -- FILLED

WITH

DUCHAMP SOON MOVED ON, THE FUTURISTS

DISGANDED AND FINE ARTISTS GENERALLY

LOST INTEREST IN THIS OTHER TYPE OF "MOVING PICTURE.”

BUT THROUGHOUT THIS SAME PERIOD

HAD BEEN INVESTIGATING THIS SAME AREA.

109

~-THEN BE PREPARED

I'M SURE

YOU CAN ALL

GUESS WHICH MEDIUM TI

COPIED FROM PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN BY EADWEARD MUYBRIDGE

DUCHAMP, MORE CONCERNED WITH THE /DEA OF MOTION THAN THE SEMSATION, \NOULD EVENTUALLY REDUCE SUCH CONCEPTS AS MOTION TO A

AND IN COMICS, UNLIKE PAINTING, IT WAS MORE THAN JUST A THEORETICAL

FROM ITS EARLIEST DAYS, THE MODERN COMIC HAS GRAPPLED WITH THE PROBLEM OF SHOWING MOTION IN A S7A7/C MEDILM.

HOW DO YOU SHOW THIS ASPECT OF TIME IN AN ART WHERE 77VE STANVOS S77L2 7

THOUGH SEQUENTIAL ART SURVIVED FOR MANY CENTURIES HOV7HOL/T DEPICTING MOTION, ONCE THE GENIE WAS OUT OF THE BOTTLE IT WAS PERHAPS INEVITABLE THAT MORE AND MORE EFFICIENT MEANS WOULD BE SOUGHT.

AT FIRST, THIS SEARCH CENTERED ON MILZ7/PLE IMAGES IN SEQUENCE.

SOMEWHERE BETWEEN THE FUTURISTS’

BUT JUST ASA DYNAMIC MOVEMENT AND DUCHAMP’S

SINGLE PANEL CAN

REPRESENT A SAV

OF TIME THROUGH SOLIND --

--SO TOO CAN A SINGLE PANEL REPRESENT A SPAN OF TIME THROUGH PICTURES /

DIAGRAMMATIC COVCEPT OF MOVEMENT LIES COMICS’ POTION LINE.”

AEE ENES

IN THE BEGINNING, MOTION LINES--OR “2/7-R/8BONVS” AS SOME CALL THEM-- WERE WILD, MESSY, ALMOST DESPERATE ATTEMPTS TO REPRESENT THE PATHS OF MOVING OBJECTS THROUGH SPACE.

DIE | Foo. THAT You ARE, TO MATCH “TOUR STRENGTH AGAINST THAT OF THE REDOUBTABLE BRACGO THE MONK!

OVER THE YEARS, THESE LINES BECAME EVENTUALLY, IN THE HANDS OF AERO/C MORE KEFIVED AND S7XZ/ZED, EVEN FANTASY ARTISTS LIKE B/LL EVERETT DIAGRAMMATTC. AND JACK K/RGY--

Non VA Js) if) ) % \\; Ay

“POPEYE“AND “BRAGGO THE MONK” © KING FEATURES SYNDICATE, INC.

~-THOSE SAME LINES BECAME §0 STYLIZED AS JO ALMOST HAVE A L/FE

AND FHYXS/CAL PRESENCE ALL THEIR OWN,

ART (CENTER AND ABOVE RIGHT) © D.C. COMICS. (LEFT AND RIGHT) © MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT GROUP INC.

111

SPECIALTY FOR XEARS. ;

IN THIS APPROACH, BOTH THE MOVIVG OBJECT AND THE SACKGROUNOS ARE DRAWN IN A CLEAR,

be eget OTHER ARTISTS TRIED

Vm ADDITIONAL EFFECTS SUCH

AS MULTIPLE IMAGES OF THE SUBJECT, ATTEMPTING TO

YW jd

WY

TY

MOTION IS IMPOSED OVER THE SCENE.

Ui

A

STILL OTHERS, SUCH AS — \ peppers

MARVEL'S GEWE COLANV, BEGAN INCORPORATING PHOTOGRAPHIC STREAKING EFFECTS WITH SOME INTRIGUING RESULTS IN THE SIXTIES AND SEVENTIES.

* MULTIPLE IMAGES CAN BE FOUND IN THE WORK OF KRIGSTEIN, INFANTINO AND 112

COLAN, WHO WAS ALSO A FZLM-BUFF, WAS OF COURSE AWARE THAT WHEN A CAMERA'S SHUTTER SPEED IS TOO SLOW TO FULLY FREEZE A MOVING OBJECT’S IMAGE,

AN INTERESTING BLUKRIVG EFFECT OCCURS.

MOH EIEL CESS

|

BUT \F THE CAMERA MOVES Y/TH THE MOVING OBJECT, ARTISTS TOOK THAT OBJECT WILL REMAIN FOCUSED WHILE THE LITTLE OR NO INTEREST BACKGROUND WILL NOW BE S7REAKED. IN THIS KIND OF

AND IN E&/ROPE WHERE MOTION LINES WERE USED ONLY SPARINGLY IT WAS LIKEWISE IGNORED.

PHOTOGRAPHIC TRICKER™.

BUT IN {AKAN ONCE AGAIN, A VERY D/FFERENT — | COMICS CULTURE EMBRACED ——__—_—_ THIS VERY DIFFERENT a CONCEPT OF MOTION AS AW——————_—

OS Oe ee

“SUBSECTIVE MOTTON, AS IT CALL IT, OPERATES ON THE ASSUMPTION THAT IF OBSERVING A MOVING

OBJECT CAV BE INVOLVING, BEING THAT OBJECT SHOULD

BE MORE SO.

JAPANESE ARTISTS, STARTING IN THE LATE 60%, BEGAN PUTTING THEIR READERS “/V THE DRIVER'S SEAT” WITH PANELS LIKE 7AESE.

AND STARTING IN THE MID -EIGHTIES,

A FEW AMERICAN

ARTISTS BEGAN TO ADOPT THE EFFECT JN THEIR OWN WORK, UNTIL BY THE EARLY NINETIES \T HAS BECOME FAIRLY COMMON.

ARE THESE

THE OWLY WAYS

WE CAN PORTRAY MOTION IN A

OQsH# W247?

MEDIUM WHERE TIME AND SPACE MERG:

DIFFERENT SET OF RULES THAN IN : MOST GRAFAIC

IF THE COMPOSITION OF A SINGLE PANEL IS TRULY PERFECT,” DOESN'T THAT IMPLY THAT IT CAN--OR EVEN Se SAND

--THE STORYTELLER HAS SOME UNUSUAL TOOLS AT HIS/HER DISPOSAL--

BY INTRODUCING TIMAE |NTO THE EQUATION, COMICS ARTISTS ARE ARRANGING THE PAGE IN WAYS NOT ALWAYS CONDUCIVE TO TRADITIONAL PICTURE-MAKING,

~-SUCH AS THE POLYPTYCH, WHERE A MOVING FIGURE OR FIGURES --

HERE, THE COMPOSITION OF THE PICTURE 1S JOINED BY THE COMPOSITION OF CHANGE, THE COMPOSITION OF

THE WATURAZL WORLD CREATES GREAT

GEAUTY EVERY DAY, YET THE ONLY RULES

OF COMPOSITION IT FOLLOWS ARE THOSE OF FLINCTION AND CHANCE.

~ :

-- AND THE COMPOSITION }f OF MEMORY. |i

COMICS, AT ITS BEST, SHOULD DO

NO LESS.

AS WE'VE SEEN, THE INTERACTION OF 7WME AND COMICS GENERALLY LEADS US TO ONE OF TWO SUBJECTS: SOUND OR MOTION.

aig (YO ty

BOTH TYPES ADD TO THE DL/RA7T/ONV OF A PANEL, PARTIALLY THROUGH THE NATURE OF SOUND /7SE&Z AND BY INTRODUCING ISSUES OF AC7/O/VV AND REACTION.

MOTION ALSO BREAKS DOWN INTO TWO SUBSETS. THE FIRST TYPE-- PANEL-TO-FANEL CLOSURE -- WAS IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO MERIT ITS OWN CHAPTER.

THE O7HER TYPE -- MOTION KOV7A/V PANELS --CAN BE FU/R7HER DIVIDED INTO SEVERAL DISTINCT S7*ZES. I'VE COVERED THE ONES .Z KNOW, BUT THERE MAY BE MANY O7HERS. TIME WILL TELL.

THE WORKINGS OF TIME IN COMICS SHOULD BE AS SIMPLE AS--

116

||| I'VE BEEN TRYING 0 euRe our | : WHAT MAKES COMIC “ FOR YEARS AND I'M STILL AMAZED NO_MATTER HOW

BY THE S7RANGEIVESS OF IT ALL. prance bla

IN COMICS IS--_4

7 PRESENTS: OF SIMPLE I TO THE READER--] NORMALITY.

OR THE ALL ILLUSION OF IT, DEPENDS ON ANY WAY. YOUR FRAME OF MIND.

4 >| u

Z =

ee es IS THIS ANGER 7

a

CAN EMOTIONS

INTIMACY?

rs 4 4% lu IE path

CAN ONE th SENSE SPEAK FOR )/” ALL FIVE 7

QUIET?

SI Ce ne

THE IDEA THAT A PICTURE CAN EVOKE AN EMO7/ONAL OR SENSUAL RESPONSE IN THE VIEWER IS VITAL TO THE ART OF COMICS.

IN CHAPTERS JAREE AND FOUR WE INVESTIGATED THE VARIOUS WAYS TIME AND egies COULD BE PORTRAYED, BOTH PBEFWEEWV PANELS, THROUGH CLOSURE --

HOW. CAN A WE'VE SINGLE (MAGE TOUCHED UPON THE REPRESENT THE FORMER CATEGORY SENSES AND IN CHAPTER THREE. EMOTIONS AND BUT WHAT ABOUT HOW DOES THIS

THE LAT7ER 7 IDEA APPLY TO COMICS 7

121

THE INVISIBLE WORLD OF SENSES AND EMOTIONS CAN ALSO BE PORTRAYED EITHER

BETWEEN OR WITHIN PANELS.

CAN TURN TO THE WORLD OF “FINE ARTS” FOR SOME IDEAS.

IN THE WORKS OF EQVARD MLINCH

AND WINCENT VAN GOGA/L, THE

OBJECTIVE STUDY OF LIGHT SO PRIZED

BY THE (MPRESSIOMIST MAIVSTREAM

WAS BEING ABANZOVED IN FAVOR OF A

NEW, FRIGHTENINGLY SL/BSECTIVE APPROACH

—.~ ~

IN THE ZA7E

ZARLY TWENTIETH CENM/LRIES, SOMETHING KIND

OF SCARY

WAS GOING ON...

x ) z > c 3 > 2 rT) > 2 z= $ 2 c 2 wv 3 x < 2 y a ¥ Fs ‘

EXPRESSIONISM, AS IT CAME TO BE CALLED, DIDN'T START AS A SCTENV77F/IC ART, BUT RATHER

NO SOONER HAD THE HUFPRESS/ONISTS FINALLY CONVINCED THEIR PEERS THAT THE WORLD 7HEY SAW WAS THE WORLD

AS IT IS 7RUZLY

SEEN --

--THAN ANOTHER | |

UNSEEN |

WORLD BEGAN TO MAKE ITSELF

VISIBLE.

SC/EMCE OF IT WASN'T FAR BEHIND THOLUGH/

AS THE VEW CENTURY GOT UNDER WAY, COOLER HEADS SUCH AS WASS/ILY KANDINSKY TOOK GREAT INTEREST IN THE POWER OF LIVE, SHAPE AND COLOR TO SUGGEST THE INNER STATE OF THE ARTIST AWVD TO PROVOKE THE F/VE SENSES.

ANGRY REDS...

PLACID BLUES... ANXIOUS ZEXTURES... LOUD SHAPES... QUIET Z/VES... COLD GREENS...

THESE WERE STRANGE (DEAS IN I9IZS

KANDINSKY AND HIS PEERS WERE SEARCHING FOR AN ART THAT MIGHT SOMEHOW SMITE THE SENSES --

-- AND IN DO/NG SO, UNITE THE DIFFERENT ARTFORMS WHICH APPEALED TO THOSE DIFFERENT SENSES.

Ne Sse,

NoT SwRPRISING, |"Art does not TIDEAS were. | reproduce the visible; rather,

ART HISTORIANS HAVE GENERALLY HELD THAT

it prakes WHILE PANV7ERS, MUSICIANS AND FIELDS SUCH AS isible.” POETS HAVE GRAPPLED WITH SUCH RICHARD WAGNER vis1Die. IDEAS, PRACTITIONERS OF THE

AND THE FRENCH POET BAUDELAIRE.

"LOW" ART OF COM/CS HAVE REMAINED &2L/SSFULLY (GWORANT OF THEM.

7

1880 1890

IN SURVEYING A CENW7URY OF COMICS, ONE FINDS CREATORS LIKE THE UNDERGROUND'S KORY HAYES, W ARE SLATAIV/LY EXPRESSION/STIC, BUT SUCH ARTISTS ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN.

HO

CAN WE SAY, THEREFORE, THAT ONE OF THESE TWO CREATORS IS EXPRESSING MOOD AND EMOTION AND THE OTHER 1S (VO7-7 OR DOES THE DIFFERENCE LIE IN WZAAT |S BEING EXPRESSED?

IF THESE LINES ARE EXPRESSIVE OF FEAR, ANXIETY AND (MADNESS --

-~THEN COULDN'T THESE LINES BE SAID TO PORTRAY CALM, REASON AND IVTROSPECTION 7

124

MOST HAVE WORKED IN A FAIRLY STRAIGHTFORWARD STYLE. ICONIC, MAYBE, BUT NOT FILLED WITH THE EXPRESSIVE LINES OF A MUNCH OR THE COLORS OF A VAN GOGH.

IN TRUTH, DON'T AZZ LINES CARRY WITH THEM AN EXPRESSIVE POTENTIAL?

PEANUTS REPRINTED BY PERMISSION OF U.F_S., INC.

BY D/REC7T/ONV

PASSIVE AND TIMELESS --

--OR WARM AND GEW7LE--

--OR HONEST AND 2/REC7.

<1 By ITS DYNAMIC SHAPE, \T CAN BE UNWELCOMING

AND CHANGING & AND SEVERE --

--OR BY ITS --OR WEAK

RATIONAL CHARACTER AND LIVS7ASLE -- AND IT MAY SEEM

CONSERVATIVE. SAVAGE AND

\ DEADLY --

THE MOST BLAND FAFRESS/ONMLESS” AND WHILE FEW LINES ON EAR7A CAN'T HELP BUT COMIC ARTISTS MAY CHARACTERIZE THEIR SUBJECT CONSIDER THEMSELVES IN SOME WAY. THAT THEY CAN'T TELL OWE LINE FROM ANOTHER (

125

SEE PAGE 216 FOR COPYRIGHT INFORMATION. &

IN DICK TRACY, FOR EXAMPLE, CHESTER

| GOULD USED BOLD

LINES, OBTUSE ANGLES AND HEAVY BLACKS TO SUGGEST THE MOOD OF A GRIM, DEADLY WORLD OF ADULTS --

USED DYNAMIC BUT FRIENDLY LINES ALA KIRBY/SINNOTTI-

IN JOSE MUNOZ'S WORK, DENSE PUDDLES OF JNK AND

-- WHILE THE GENTLE CURVES AND OPEN LINES OF CARL BARKS’ UNCLE SCROOGE CONVEY A FEELING OF WHIMSY, YOUTH AND /VNOCENCE.

BUT WHEN MARVEL'S READER BASE GREVY INTO THE ANX/ETIES OF

OF A ROB LIEFELD STRUCK A MORE RESPONSIVE CHORD.

-~-WHILE J/OOS7 SWARTE'’S CRISP ELEGANT LINES AND JAZZY

DESIGNS SPEAK OF COOL

SOPAISTICATIONVV AND /RONY.

IN & CRUMB'S WORLD, THE CURVES OF /VVOCEIVCE ARE BETRAYED 8Y THE NEUROTIC QUILL-LINES OF MODERW ADULTHOOD, AND LEFT PA/NFLLLY OUT OF PLACE --

FOR DECADES OF COLOR COMIC BOOKS, THE S/GWATURE STYLES OF INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS LIKE WICK CARDY HAVE INFUSED PERSONAL EXPRESS/O INTO EVERY STORY --

IN SPIEGELMAN'S “PRISONER ON THE HELL PLANET,” DELIBERATELY EAPRESSIONM(S77C- LIVES DEPICT A 7RUE-LIFE HORROR

-- WHILE IN KRYSTINE KRYTTRE'S ART, THE CURVES OF CHILDHOOD AND THE MAD LINES OF A MUNCH CREATE A CRAZY TODDLER LOOK.

~- WHILE JULES FETFFER'’S UNEVEN LINES DID BATTLE WITH THEMSELVES IN A FAN7TOMIME OF THE /WVER STRUGGLES OF MODERN LIFE.

AND IN EISNER’S

MODERN WORK

A FULL

OF LINE STYLES

CAPTURE A FULL RANGE OF MOODS AND

EMOTIONS.

IN FACT, WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN THE Z/V/NG LIVES OF THESE PICTURES IS THE PRIMORDIAL S7L/FF FROM WHICH

DISTINCTION BETWEEN PICTURES AND

OTHER TYPES OF

ICONS LIKE

NOw, IF PICTURES CAN, THROUGH THEIR RENDERING,

LANGUAGE WHICH

AS EMO7/0NS SPECIALIZE

AND THE IN THE INVISIBLE OTHER MAY SEEMA

BIT BLURRX

SENMSES--

I'LL GIVE LET'S SAY I WANTED TIS A TLITAT

TO SMOKE WITH A MATCH THIS PYPE -- LIKE $0:

NOW, LET'S SUPPOSE

THAT MY PIPE AND I

HAVE GONE FOR A LITTLE WALK--

DESPITE THEIR SUPERFICIAL RESEMBLANCE,

THESE ARE TWO VERY DIFFERENT SETS OF

LINES. ONE REPRESENTS A W/S/@LE

PHENOMENON, SMOKE, WHILE THE OTHER

REPRESENTS AN JVV/S/BLE ONE, OUR SENSE OF SMEZLZ.

NOW, YOU'LL NOTICE 7 COWGH = 7 AHEM = you’LL NOTICE A FEW WAVY LIVES RISING FROM THE PIPE.

COME ACROSS AN OVERTURNED GARGAGE

CAN.

fg Pao Poe,

NOT REALLY A PICTURE ANYMORE, THESE LINES ARE MORE A VW/SU/AL

THIS IS THE ARTISTS CARTOONY WAY OF TELLING YOU THERE'S SMOKE COMING FROM THE PIPE, YOU'VE ALL SEEN IT BEFORE, RIGHTY

THE STRONG SMELL OF RO7TEN GARGAGE CAN'T BE SEEW, YET HERE’S AWO7THER PRETTY SIMILAR SET OF WAVY LINES,

SYMBOLS ARE THE BASIS OF LANGL

TAKEN OUT OF THEIR OR/G/NVAL CONTEX7,

THEY CAN NOW BE APPLIED AWYWHEKE

AND THE READER WILL INSTANTLY KNOW WHAT THEY MEAN.

IF ENOUGH ARTISTS BEGIN L/SING THE SYMBOL, IT WILL ENTEK THE LANGUAGE FOR GOOD--

--AS MANY HAVE THROUGH THE YEARS.

EVEN THE AZ/ES HAVE OVER THE YEARS BEEN APPROACHING THE ABSTRACT STATUS OF LINGLIST/C SYMBOLS.

WHENEVER AN ARTIST INVENTS A NEW WAY TO REPRESENT THE INVISIBLE, THERE IS ALWAYS A CHANCE

BUT WHEN SUCH IMAGES BEGIN TO DRIFT OL/7 OF THEIR VISUAL CONTEXT --

FN

SOME INDICATORS OF EMOTION ARE ALSO VISUALLY BASED, SUCH AS THE FAMILIAR SWEAT BEAD.

THE CARTOON FACE IS AN ABSTRACT, BUT IT 1S BASED UPON VISUAL DATA.

IN DEALING WITH THE FACE /7SELF, THE LINE BETWEEN THE V/S/6LE AND

INVISI@LE WORLDS BECOMES

EVEN ZESS

--THEY DRIFT /V70 THE IVV/S/BLE WORLD OF THE SYMBOL.

THIS DRIFT FROM V/S/BLE TO JVVIS/BLE HAS BEEN THE BASIS OF ALL WRITTEN LANGUAGES

SINCE CIVILIZATION BEGAN.

130

SUMERIANS IN

ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA

GOT THINGS ROLLING OVER 000 YEARS AGO WHEN A NEED WAS FOUND TO RECORD C ERTAIN COMMODITIES.

THE LONGER ANY FORM OF ART OR COMMUNICATION EXISTS, THE MORE SYMBOLS IT ACCUMULATES.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A LANGUAGE EVOLVES IN MORE THAN ONE DISTINCT

CULTURE AT

A TIME?

THESE FIRST SYMBOLS -- CARTOONS, REALLY-- GRADUALLY EVOLVED AWAY FROM ANY RESEMBLANCE TO THEIR SUBJECT, TOWARD THE HIGHLY ABSTRACTED FORMS OF MODERN LANGUAGES...

THE MODERN COMIC

IS A YOUNG LANGUAGE,

BUT IT ALKEADY HAS AN

IMPRESSIVE ARRAY

OF RECOGNIZABLE SYMBOLS.

AND THIS W/SU/AL VOCABULARY HAS AN YNMLIMNITED POTENTIAL FOR GROWTH.

THE ANSWER, OF COURSE,

IS THAT MORE THAN ONE

SET OF SYMBOLS WILL EVOLVE!

SO IT WAS, ONCE AGAIN,

DEVELOPED FOR YEARS IN RELATIVE /SOLA7TION FROM THEIR WESTERN COUSINS,

ANGER

. “AND EVENTUALLY

TO OUR ZO7ALLY ABSTRACT SOUND- BASED SYSTEM.

WITHIN A GIVEN CULTURE THESE SYMBOLS WILL QUICKLY SPREAD UNTIL EVERYBODY KNOWS THEM AT

ee GLANCE. ae

DEMENTIA

BACKGROUNDS CAN BE ANOTHER VALUABLE TOOL FOR INDICATING /NV/S/BLE IDEAS... PARTICULARLY THE

\ > CERTAIN \ PATTERNS CAN if PRODUCE AN ALMOST

FA YSIOLOGICAL EFFECT IN THE VIEWER.

INTERNAL fFFECTS ARE, OF COURSE, BEST SUITED TO STORIES

ABOUT /V7ERNAL MATTERS.

EVEN WHEN THERE IS LITTLE OR NO DISTORTION OF THE CHARACTERS INA GIVEN SCENE, A DISTORTED OR EXPRESSIONISTIC BACKGROUND WILL USUALLY AFFECT OUR "READING* OF CHARACTERS’ INNER STATES.

BUT FOR SOME REASON, READERS WILL ASCRIBE THOSE FEELINGS, NOT TO THEMSELVES, BUT TO THE CHARACTERS THEY /DENTIFY WITH,

WHEN A STORY HINGES MORE ON CHARACTERIZATION THAN COLD PLO7, THERE MAY NOT BE

A LOT TO SHOW EX7ERNALLY--

--BUT THE LANOSCAPFE OF THE CHARACTERS’ MINDS CAN

THIS PRINCIPLE 1S EVIDENT IN MANY EUROPEAN COLOR COMICS AND IN AFANESE ROMANCE COMICS WHERE EXPRESSIONISTIC EFFECTS

HAVE BEEN DEVISED FOR

ALMOST ANY EM0770/V IMAGINABLE *

-

Zz ¢ EXPRESSIONISM ae AND SYNAESTHETICS ARE

DISTOR7T/VE BY THEIR MATURE. IF STRONG ENOUGH, THEIR

EFFECTS CAN O8SCUKE THEIR SUBJECTS.

CREATORS WHO

AYA 7?) NYE \

ES SN USE THESE EFFECTS

SN MAY NEED TO CLAR/FY WHAT IS BEING SHOWN

NN) NGS NN es, RWS Kh

N

BUT A LACK OF CLARITY

CAN ALSO FOSTER GREATER

PARTIC/FPATION BY THE READER

AND A SENSE OF /WVOLVEMENT J": \. WHICH MANY WRITERS AND _/. 33°

ARTISTS PREFER.

EITHER THROUGH THE CON7ZENT OF SURROUNDING SCENES OR, OF COURSE, THROUGH WORDS.

“|

SEE PAGE 216 FOR COPYRIGHT INFORMATION.

OVER THE YEARS, COMICS CREATORS HAVE STRUGGLED WITH DOZENS OF VARIATIONS BY FAR, IN THEIR DESPERATE THE MOST WIDELY-LUISED, ATTEMPTS * TO DEPICT MOST COMPLEX AND MOST SOUND 'N A STRICTLY VERSATILE OF COMICS’ MANY VISUAL MEDIUM. SYNAESTHETIC ICONS IS THE EVER-PRESENT, EVER-POPULAR WORD BALLOON’

VARIATIONS IN BALLOON SHAPE ARE MMAVY AND WHILE /VS/DE THOSE BALLOONS, SYMBOLS NEW ONES ARE BEING INVENTED EVERY DAY. ARE CONSTANTLY BEING APPROPRIATED OR EVEN /VWVENV7ED TO COVER THE

VON-VERBAL. I WILL BE--

EVEN THE VARIATIONS OF LETTERING S7YZES, BOTH IN AND OUT OF BALLOONS, SPEAK OF AN OWGO/IVG STRUGGLE TO CAPTURE THE

VERY ASSENWCE OF SOUND. AND

AS FOR THE

ESSENCE OF

THOUGHT..._5

MAAY-BEE : 8 I DON'T EVEN

LGBT

SHRIMP FOR

DINNER

a 1

1 34 * FISNER DESCRIBES THE WORD BALLOON AS A “DESPERATION DEVICE

OF COURSE WORDS = THEMSELVES, MORE THAN ALL THE \® OTHER VISUAL SYMBOLS, HAVE THE POWER TO COMPLETELY DESCRIBE THE /VV/S/BLE REALM! OF

SENSES AND EMOTIONS.

a0 SAT BY THE OPEN WINDOW, HOPING TO CATCH A WHIFF OF THE OLD CHARCOAL GRILLS. FROM NEXT DOOR CAME THE OTHERWORLDLY HUM OF TELEVISION. THE OLD CLOCK STRUCK A LAZY EIGHT.

WORDS, ON THE OTHER HAND, OFFER THAT SPECIFICITY, BUT CAN LACK THE IMMEDIATE EMOTIONAL CHARGE OF PICTURES, RELYING INSTEAD ON A GRADUAL COUMULAT/VE EFFECT,

WORDS CAN TAKE EVEN SEEMINGLY NEUTRAL IMAGES AND INVEST THEM WITH A MEAL7TH OF FEEL/IVGS AND

EXPERIENCES.

or NOTED, PICTURES CAN INDUCE

STRONG FEEL/NGS IN THE READER, BUT THEY CAN ALSO LACK THE SPECIFIC/7T Y OF WORDS.

BUT WE'LL GET TO THAT IN THE NEXT CHAPTER.

AND PICTURES CAN WORK MIRACLES.

BUT WE MAKE

PERHAPS : pie 7 I1’STOO MUCH TO X: “- THAT PROCESS WORK ASK OF OWE SENSE -] BY BRINGING THE FULL THAT IT BE POWER OF OUR OWN \tty EXPERIENCES TO BEAR ON THE WORLD OUR

RESPONSIBLE FOR

CONVEYING SUCH A :

WIDE WORLD OF /.- ey EYES REPORT. EXPERIENCES. 7 -

i

|

IN THIS CHAPTER, WE'VE DEALT WITH THE INVISIBLE WORLDS OF SEVSES AND ZMOTIONS, BUT IN FACT AZZ ASPECTS OF COMICS SHOW IT TO BE AN AR7 OF THE INVISIBLE.

SHRIMP FOR DINNERS

WHAT You SEE 1S SELDOM WHAT YOU GET IF ALL YOU'RE SEEING (SEEING EVEN OW) IS JUST JVC AND PAPER.

136

37

1

& SHOW AND TELL. f-

WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR ROBOT, TOMMY 7

(TS

UH...I LIKE GOT ONE OF IT ‘CAUSE... TA

. ‘CAUSE, UH... THINGS. /

138

[ THEHEAD *\ FLIPS BACK.

Y >—<q]

CAN DO JAIS AND IT GOES L/P AND YOU FLIP TAIIS.

7 WE ALZ STARTED OuT X IT'S CONSIDERED LIKE THIS, DIDN'T WE 7 NORMAL \N THIS USING WORDS AND IMAGES SOCIETY FOR CHILDREN

R CHANGE: : TO COMBINE WORDS DIDN'T REALLY MATTER AND PICTURES, SO WHICH WE USED, SO LONG LONG AS THEY

AS |\T WORKED. GROW OU7 OF (7.

TRADITIONAL THINKING HAS LONG HELD THAT TRULY GREA7Z™ Dow WORKS OF ART AND LITERATURE ARE ONLY POSSIBLE WHEN THE Z +

so SH)

2sPwHo>

WORDS AND PICTURES JOGE7TAVER ARE CONSIDERED, AT BEST, A DIVERSION FOR THE MASSES, AT WORST A PRODUCT OF

AS CHILDREN, OUR FIRST BOOKS HAD FICTURES GALORE

AND VERY FEW WORDS BECAUSE THAT WAS "EASIER"

CRASS COMMERCIAL KSM.

THEN, AS WE GREW, WE WERE EXPECTED TO GRADUATE TO BOOKS WITH MUCH MORE TEXT AND

ONLY OCCAS/OWVAL PICTURES --

--AND FINALLY TO ARRIVE AT “REAL” BOOKS -- THOSE WITH NO PICTURES AT ALL.

OR PERHAPS, AS IS SADLY THE CASE THESE DAYS,

bps AND PICTURES ARE

AS POPULAR AS EVER, BUT THIS MEANWHILE, WORDS AND MOVING i {4 WIDESPREAD FEELING THAT THE PICTURES HAVE HALF THE WORLD f COMBINATION IS SOMEHOW SASE IN THRALL TO THEIR CHARMS, Uf OR SWMPLIS7/C HAS BECOME A BUT MUST STRUGGLE TO MAKE

THEIPe POTENTIAL UNDERSTOOD.

od | !)

wer Ki com

AS NEAR AS WE CAN TELL, PICTURES PREDATE THE ROOTS OF WRITTEN WORD BY A LARGE THIS ATTITUDE MARGIN. HERE ARE SOME BIG RUN PRETTY HITS FROM THE GOLDEN AGE DEEP OF CAVE PAINTING, ABOUT 15,000 YEARS AGO.

Sty

Ss sa eR Ate

SOME OF THIS ART SHOWS ; si] BUT OTHERS WERE VERY /COM/C,

a4 CONSIDERABLE ATTENTION TO : #1 ACTING AS YMEOLS RATHER THAN

3) DETAIL, VERY MUCH CONCERNED ; i PICTURES ~~ MORE LIKE A WITH PICTORIAL REPRESENTA : PRIMITIVE LANGUAGE’

¢ . &, 4° Fate

AS MENTIONED IN ¥ OUR LAS7 CHAPTER,” THE EARLIEST WORDS

\. WERE, IN FACT,

S7YL/ZED

AS SEEN, MOST OF THESE EARLY WORDS STAYED CLOSE BY THEIR PARENTS, THE PYCTURES.

IT DIDN'T TAKE ZOVG, THOUGH -- RELATIVELY SPEAKING -- BEFORE ANCIENT WRITING STARTED TO BECOME MORE ABS7KACT.

SOME WRITTEN LANGUAGES SURVIVE TO THIS DAY, BEARING TRACES OF THEIR ANCIENT PICTORIAL HERITAGE.

*« SEE PAGE 127. 142

BUT, IN TIME, MOST MODERN WRITING WOULD COME TO REPRESENT SOUN'WD Y AND LOSE ANY LINGERING RESEMBLANCE

TO THE icasegie sti Oo

THE INVENTION OF PRINTING, THE ted WRITTEN WORD TOOK JREREIRT?

A GREAT LEAP £ rt FORWARD--

WORDS AND BUT 7HOS PICTURES DID STILL INSTANCES WERE COEXIST AT THIS BECOMING THE STAGE IN WESTERN EXCEPTION,

CIVILIZATION * NOT THE

RULE.

Im wero permit lu- Dim et aera Naabin 3 nepdu. A843 ec challuim de Bnbilittiyn 2 capthu aan Wao genuit fone TH Mierticum quog; Un of antdreey rt geegeleum ‘aracheum 2 afineum ara: Dium gud: et famareum ec emathe- ure. sFiltj ferwt : ela ec allure . Fr arfa- rad-et lud 3 aram. jFily aramchues

SS ite cepie elle 1D- rvs tee

“IN ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS, FOR EXAMPLE. 143

Dein (laff ull id werfumen/ Wilt da lautere Die rock ; r

Wol auf du mb dae bettraumen. Wirtfdoffe wirfl da did vermegen, 8 Dab me bergen eens fin. 7) Go maflve ger enbi3ifet (elt D Tid foll no} meman™ mobens aa fag vee Groffen mdtens Wie foll i mid nun began/ ' Clement alle fament war/

Lo if nod gar vil 5G febpen, mich hongere 1Sdien, 8 {TG teh von meinen fpinnen lan.

} Se will midy endldffen gar.

— > = > Fherill Dein flat mit fess” -- ‘ Das id der garfl dsrinn md,

bose. jemevouen /IPORTANTLY.

______ ff WHEN THEY WERE

ra ey COMBINED, AS JN THIS f 81) GERMAN COMIC

s/\) FROM THE 1400's,

\1 WORDS AND PICTURES STAYED SEPARATE,

REFUSING TO MIx-- LIKE OL AND

THE WRITTEN WORD WAS BECOMING MORE SPECIAL/ZED, MORE ABS7KAC7, yf LESS AND MORE EZ ABORATE-- LESS LIKE PICTURES. /

= Tuerfid,

Fh verdirg mid du findefl mid nit, Binderbelffencallercdens

Dd ih mein led muige (Hechen,

FACSIMILE DETAILS OF PORTRAITS BY DURER

(1519) REMBRANDT (1660) DAVID (1788) AND INGRES 144 (1810-15).

FACSIMILE OF JEAN-BAPTISTE-CAMILLE COROT'S “A VIEW NEAR VOLTERRA"(1838).

John Keats 1819 Ode on a Grecian Urn

1 Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness, Thou foster-child of silence and slow time, Sylvan historian, who canst thus express A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme:

What leaf fring’d legend haunts about thy shape

Of deities or mortals, or of both, In Tempe or the dales of Arcady? What men or gods are these? What maidens loth? What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape? What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?

EARLY 1800's, WESTERN ART AND WRITING HAD DRIFTED ABOUT AS FAR APART AS WAS POSS/BLE. THE OTHER RICH IN ONE WAS INVISIGLE OBSESSED WITH ; TREASURES, RESEMBLANCE, ; SENSES, EMOTIONS, Z/GHT AND COLOR, 7] SPIRITUALITY, ALL THINGS i PHILOSOPHY...

VISIBLE...

PICTURES

AND WORDS, ONCE 7OGETHER IN THE CENTER OF

OUR ICONIC ABSTRACTION CHART, HAVE AT

7A/S POINT DRIFIED TO

OPPOSITE

145

FIRST STANZA OF KEATS’ POEM.

IN A WAY, PICTURES AND WORDS HAD REACHED THE END OF A 5,000 YEAR JOURNEY. IF THEY WERE TO CONTINUE MOVING, WHERE COULD THEY GO?

PICTURE PLANE

RESEMBLANCE

UVIPRESSION/SM SENT WESTERN ART TOWARD THE A®S7RACT VERTEX, BUT IN A WAY THAT CZU’VG TO WHAT THE EYE SAW,

SOON AFTER CAME THE EXFZOS/ON/ EXPRESSIONISM, FUTURISM,

DADA, SURREALISM,

FAUVISM, CUBISM,

ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM, NEO-PLASTICISM,

CONSTRUCTIVISM,

EVERY WHICH WAY BUT

146

FOR PICTURES, THERE WAS ONLY £477

MEANING

IMPRESSIONISM, WHILE IT COULD BE THOUGHT OF AS THE FIRSTJMODERINV MOVEMENT, WAS MORE A CLLMINATION OF THE OLD. THE LLIMIATE S7UOY OF L/GHT AND COLOR.

ee PS =)

STRICT REPRESENTATIONAL STYLES WERE OF LITTLE IMPORTANCE TO THE NEW SCHOOLS. A&S7KAC7/0N, BOTH ICONIC AND MVO/V-ICONIC MADE A SPECTACULAR COMEBACK”

FACSIMILE DETAILS OF PORTRAITS BY PICASSO, LEGER AND KLEE.

FACSIMILE DETAIL OF “A SUNDAY AFTERNOON THE ISLAND OF

LA GRANDE JATTE” BY GEORGES SEURAT.

SOME ARTISTS HEADED LPHARD TO THE SUMMIT OF THE PICTURE PLANE, WANTING NEITHER RESEMBLANCE NOR EXTERNAL “MEANING.”

MEANWHILE, THE WRITTEN WORD WAS ALSO CHANGING, POETRY BEGAN TURNING AWAY FROM THE ELUSIVE, TWICE-ABSTRACTED LANGUAGE OF OLD TOWARD A MORE 2/REC7Z7 EVEN

, COLLOGQLIIAL, STYLE.

John Keats 1819 Ode on a Grecian Urn 1 Thou still unravish'd bride of quietness, Thou foster-child of silence and slow time, Sylvan historian, who canst thus express A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme. What leaf fring'd legend haunts about thy shape - Of deitiesor mortals,-or of both, / NY In Tempe or she dales of Aready? Whatwien op Sedsee thesel Whac maidens doth. -

Walt Whitman 1890 Facing West from California’s Shores

Facing west, from California’s shores, Inquiring, tireless, seeking what is yet unfound, 1, a child, very old, over waves, towards the house of maternity, the land of migrations, look afar Look off the shores of my Western sea, the circle almost circled:

f] For starting westward from Hindustan,

61 from the vales of Kashmere, From Asia,

#4 from the north, from the God, the sage,

my and the hero, From the south, from the

fy flowery peninsulas and the spice islands,

fA Long having wandered since, round the

fa earth having wandered,

a Now | face home again,

Ba very pleased and joyous;

4 (But where is what I started for,

@ so long ago? And why is it yet unfound?)

BUT THE MA/V THRUST WAS A RETURN TO MEANING | ART, AWAY FROM RESEMBLANCE, BACK TO THE REALM OF

IDEAS.

RESEMBLANCE

IN PROSE, LANGUAGE WAS BECOMING EVEN MORE DIRECT, CONVEYING MEANING SYMPLY AND QUICKLY,

MORE LIKE FICTURES.

MEANING

"MEANING" WAS NOT ABANDONED BY ANY MEANS, BUT AUTHORS

WERE DEFINITELY MOVING LEF7--

-- AND HEADED FOR

A COLLISION’

RESEMBLANCE

147

MEANING

H’*tre per MIISHEL | Porsit de TRISTAN TZARA

#225

par

FRANCIS PICABIA

AND VARIOUS INOIVIDUAL ARTISTS OF THE MODERN ERA BREACHED THE FRONTIER BETWEEN APPEARANCE,

AND MEANING 4

Saonitsve?

LLUsiOoNs

DADA POSTER FOR THE PLAY “THE BEARDED HEART"

WHILE SOME ARTISTS ADDRESSED THE

PAINTINGS INCREASINGLY TOOK ON ia PO NS a SYMBOLIC, EVEN CALLIGRAPHIC. ! MEANINGS...

’

Sm St A

Ai

A Zz

— ZB

FACSIMILE OF “ORIENTAL SWEETNESS" (1938) BY PAUL KLEE.

THESE IDEAS WERE

AND \N POPLAR CULTURE THE TWO FORMS COLLIDED AGAIN AND AGAIN WITHOUT ANY PRETENSES OF A/GH” ART.

28 x

UP TO THAT POINT, EL/ROPEA/V BROADSHEETS HAD OFFERED REMINDERS OF WHAT WORDS AND PICTURES COULD DO WHEN COMBINED.

I'M SURE THAT --BUT THE FACT

THAT THE MODERN

THE AURTHEST THING FROM TOPFFER'S MIND WHEN HE

PUT PEN 70 PAPER--

COMIC WAS BORN JUST AS ART AND WRITING WERE PREPARING TO CHANGE DIRECTION IS AT LEAST INTRIGLING.

NOWHERE IS THIS COLLISION MORE THOROUGHLY EXPLOKED THAN THE MODERN COMIC. AND IT’S

LET’S GO BACK TO THE EARLY [800's BEFORE ANY OF THIS HAPPENED, WHEN WORDS AND PICTURES HAD DRIFTED AS FAR APART AS FOSSIELE.

BUT AGAIN IT WAS KRODOLFHE TOPFFER \NHO FORESAW THEIR INTERDEPENDENCY AND BROUGHT THE FAMILY BACK TOGETHER AT LAST.

ve FD

) xX

PARIS E

AND PERHAPS THIS COMMON THREAD OF LINIFICA7T/ON DID GROW OUT OF A SHARED INSTINCT OF THE DAY...

©AN INSTINCT WHICH SAID THAT WE HAD REACHED

THAT IT WAS TIME AT LAST TO AZAD FOR HOME.

TRANSLATION BY E. WIESE.

o UNFORTUNATELY FOR NO SOONER HAD THE FINE ARTS RED/SCOVERED J... Raed DAUGHTER CAN PAI THE LINK BETWEEN WORDS /.....:| p. N° BETTER THAN THAT, AND PICTURES -- oe Poe Si ae Je bee's ek B eee DO cae PEOPLE --THAN £2. i ie. ; REALLY PAY MODERN ART \om.*.- /TSELF BECAME

TO THE AVERAGE VIEWERS

IN FACT, THE GENERAL PUBLIC’S PERCEPTIONS OF "GREAT" ART AND "GREAT" WRITING HASN'T CHANGED MUCH IN 150 YEARS.* ANY ARTIST WISHING TO DO IN OTHERS GREAT WORK IN A MEDIUM 248%VG WORDS AND AND IN PICTURES WILL HAVE TO COW7END WITH THIS THEMSELVES... ATTITUDE. Thou still unravish’d bride Thou foster-child of sile Sylvan historian, who cang A flowery tale more sweetl What leaf fring’d legend h¢ Of deities or mortals, or In Tempe or the dales What men or gods are t What mad pursuit? What s

Din and ub re

“BECAUSE, DEEP DOWN INSIDE, MANY COMICS CREATORS STILL MEASURE ART AND WRITING BY DIFFERENT STANDARDS AND ACT ON THE FAITH THAT “GREAT” ART AND “GREAT” WRITING WILL COMBINE HARMONIOUSLY BY VIRTUE OF QUALITY ALONE.

TWOEYES, = s— => ONE NOSE, => willy

ONE MOUTH. 07> meu,

* NOT AS MUCH AS WE LIKE TO THINK Vt HAS, ANYWAY. 150

THE ART FORM OF COMICS IS MANY CENTURIES OLD, BUT IT’S FERCE/VED AS A RECENT INVENTION

AND SUFFERS THE CURSE

THE CURSE OF BEING JUDGED By THE STANDARDS OF

THE OLD.

OF AZZ NEW MEDIA,

ak

EACH NEW MEDIUM BEGINS ITS LIFE BY IMITATING ITS PREDECESSORS. MANY EARLY MOVIES WERE LIKE FILMED S7AGE PLAYS, MUCH EARLY CAREFUL, 7ELZEV7IS/ON WAS LIKE KAD/O W/7H JACOB! IF you FICTURES OR REDUCED MOVES. KEEP DOING THIS, 8 a YOU'LL STOP S/ GS) USING YOUR

EVER SINCE THE INVENTION OF THE WRITTEN WORD, NEW MEDIA HAVE BEEN AW/SUNCERSTOOD.

ak

SHUR

At te

AND AGAIN, AS LONG AS WE VIEW COMICS AS A GENRE OF WRITING OR A S7YZE OF GRAPHIC ART THIS ATTITUDE MAY MEVER DISAPPEAR.

FAR TOO MANY COMICS CREATORS HAVE NO HIGHER GOAL THAN TO MATCH THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF OTHER MEDIA, AND VIEW ANY CHANCE TO WORK IN OTHER / MEDIA AS A S7EP LJ

wy

Te

“AA

WORDS AND PICTURES IN COMBINATION MAY NOT BE MY DEFINITION OF COMICS, BUT THE COMBINATION HAS HAD TREMENDOUS INFLUENCE ON ITS GROWTH.

com.ics (kom’'iks) used with a singulay Juxtaposed pictoréa images in deliber intended to conv and/or to prods

AND /WDEED, WORDS AND PICTURES HAVE GREAT POWERS TO TELL STORIES

WHEN CREATORS FULLY £3felcj-¢\ aang EXPLOIT THEM S077. A

POETRY

SOCIAL ALLEGORY

ADAPTATIONS STREAM

OF CONSCIOUSNESS ‘ . SATIRE

AS CHILDREN, WE "SHOW AND TELL" W7EKCHANGEAELY, WORDS AND IMAGES COMBINING

TO TRANSMIT A COMVMETTED SERVES OF /DEAS.

152

A HUGE RANGE OF HUMAN EXPERIENCES CAN BE PORTRAYED IN COMICS THROUGH EITHER WORDS OR PICTURES.

Te) 1:40) SURREALISM HISTORICAL FICTION FOLK TALES EROTICA MYSTERY

144 (ele) BS) TOPICS

DIFFERENT WAYS IN WHICH WORDS AND PICTURES CAN COMBINE |N COMICS

IS VIRTUALLY UNLIMITED.

AS A RESULT--AND DESPITE ITS MANY OTHER POTENTIAL USES -- COMICS HAVE BECOME FIRMLY IDENTIFIED WITH THE ART OF STORYTELLING.

SO FAR, WE'VE ONLY SEEN THE

7/P OF THE

(CEBERGS

TO BREAK IT DOWN INTO SOME DISTINCT CATEGORIES,

FIRST, WE HAVE THE WORD SPECIFIC COMBINATIONS, WHERE PICTURES ILLUSTRATE, BUT DON'T SIGNIFICANTLY ADD TO A LARGELY COMPLETE

WE STUMBLED BACK TO THE APARTMENT SHORTLY BEFORE DAWN, VOMITING EVERY 20 YARDS.

JUDY GAVE ME HER KEYS AND SMILED.

~ \ill

THEN THERE ARE PICTURE SPECIE COMBINATIONS

WHERE WORDS DO LITTLE MORE THAN ADD A SOUNDTRACK TO A VISUALLY

TOLD SEQUENCE,

AND, OF COURSE, DUO-SPECIHIC PANELS IN WHICH BOTH WORDS AND PICTURES SEND ESSENTIALLY

THE SAME

ORIM-FACED, GEORGE LIFTED HIS LOLLYPOP.

THE LWITED STATES

CONSTITUTION WAS

ADOPTED BY THE

SECOND CONTINENTAL

CONGRESS |N \787

AND bil INTO EFFECT 9

(BUT THE CAPTAIN'S MIGHTY BLOW VIISSES /78 INTENDED TARGET! _

—

|| q

ANOTHER TYPE IS THE

ADDITIVE COMBINATION WHERE WORDS AMPLIFY OR ELABORATE ON AN IMAGE OR VICE VERSA.

IN FARALLEL COMBINATIONS, WORDS AND PICTURES SEEM TO FOLLOW

VERY DIFFERENT

COURSES-- WITHOUT INTERSECTING.

STILL ANOTHER OPTION IS THE

MONTAGE WHERE WORDS ARE TREATED AS INTEGRAL FARTS OF THE PICTURE.

MY HEAD FEELS LIKE A SMASHED PUMPKING

1S THIS THE Z SAME SUP/TER |. OF MY YOUTH?

Ca

SS eo LJ “THE 7ES7 RESULTS CAME WHY?" BACK. ALL NEGATIVE."

: all RY |

8 «REALLY 7 THAT'S GREAT

[cexen

PERHAPS THE MOST COMMON TYPE OF WORD/PICTURE COMBINATION IS THE II7ER- DEPENDENT, WHERE WORDS AND PICTURES GO HAND /N HAND TO CONVEY AN IDEA THAT NEITHER COULD CONVEY ALONE.

INTERDEPENDENT COMBINATIONS AREN'T ALWAYS AN FQL/AL BALANCE THOUGH AND MAY FALL ANYWHERE ON A SCALE BETWEEN TYPES ONE AND TWO,

LI ASK YOu, DOES THIS GUY LOOK LIKE A

"AFTER COLLEGE, I PURSUED A CAREER IN A/GH FINANCE.”

GENERALLY SPEAKING, THE MORE IS SAID WITH WORDS,

THE MORE THE PICTURES CAN BE FREED TO GO EXPLORING AND VICE VERSA.

a, IN COMICS AT ITS BES7 = NEPe>—] Ia WORDS AND PICTURES ARE LIKE \ 5. PARTNERS IN A DANCE AND FA‘ WHEN SO7H PARTNERS TRY TO LEAD, EACH ONE TAKES TURNS a THE COMPETITION CAN SWBVERT LEADING. THE OVERALL GOALS...

el

... THOUGH A LITTLE PLAYFUL COMPETITION CAN SOMETIMES PRODUCE FN/OYABLE RESULTS.

--COMICS CAN MATCH AWY OF THE ART FORMS IT DRAWS SO MUCH OF ITS STRENGTH FROM.

WHEN PICTURES, CARRY THE WEIGHT OF CLARITY IN A SCENE, THEY FREE WORDS TO EXPLORE A WIDER AREA.

AUT VJ

My, i

if mi ne If h i | Ay y mM

WISIN

ain

/// / / i/ |

wis

fh y} f. fi; TAIT UTR ULE Dep aa S CV

157

yy “t IY LET'S SAY I SHOW YOU A WOMAN WALKING ACROSS THE STREET IN THE RAIN, BUYING A PINT OF ICE CREAM AND EATING IT IN HER APARTMENT--

--ALL IN _ PICTURES.

WMMALL IL LLL LLL LALO

Pay, TU BLUE Li (7) wee JL/0/11 Le

Pa —_, a a

—,

7] a te atl ( S

‘ a ie

A PRET ER

WHEN A SCENE SHOWS YOU ALL YOU “WEED” TO KNOW, LIKE 74/8 ONE,

THE LATITUDE FOR SCRIPTING GROWS E/VVORMOLISLY.

Oram cmracsant

- 1 a Sn

‘ — { v7 en Saal | y 1 PRESETS.

PERHAPS SOMETHING WILDLY /NCONGRUOUS I MAY BE ALONE LIKE THIS FOR A VERY LONG TIME. IT COULD REARS BECOME AN INTERNAL

MONOLOGLE. MISSION CONTROL, MISSION

CONMTROL, DO YOU READ ME"

(INTERDEPENDENT)

( PARALLEL)

MAYBE IT’S ALL JUST A BIG OR A CHANCE TO RUMINATE ON ADVERTISEMENT? BROADER TOPICS.

THIS |S THE

WAY THE

WORLD ENDS... =—

THIS IS THE —2 WAY THE

ett ey

CINTERDEPENDENT »

(INTERDEPENDENT )

158

Vile ON THE O7#ER HAND, IF THE WORDS MAA tH | Mee LOCK IN THE “MEA/V/ING” OF A SEQUENCE, | PANAMA AAT OH He THEN THE PICTURES CAN REALLY TAKE OFF | |!/|\)/!)/|) SAME HHA an ‘lf SCENE NOW, mun BUT THIS TIME ALL IN WORDS/

E ia

I CROSSED THE I FOUND THE LAST PINT OF

STREET TO THE CONVENIENCE STORE. CHOCOLATE

THE RAIN SOAKED CHOCOLATE CHIP INTO MY BOOTS. IN THE FREEZER.

THE CLERK TRIED TO PICK ME UP. I SAID /VO THANKS. HE GAVE ME THIS CREEPY LOOK...

I WENT BACK TO JHE --AND FINISHED IT ALL IN AN HOUR. APARTMENT-~

ALONE

AT LAST.

159

NOW, ONE COULD JUST COMBINE THE FICTURES FROM PAGE 157 WITH THE WORDS

FROM PAGE 159 --

--BUT WHAT ARE SOME O7HER OPTIONS 7

I CROSSED THE STREET TO THE CONVENIENCE STORE THE RAIN SOAKED INTO MY BOOTS

I FOUND THE LAST PINT OF

CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CHIP IN THE FREEZER . TT meeX —— See

THE CLERK TRIED TO PICK ME UP I SAID VO THANKS. HE GAVE ME THIS CREEPY LOOK

~- AND FINISHED IT ALL IN AN HOUR

Scam 16, Md FORM 4 tee AT LAST, SOT 22 SUS" = fore!

SOO ee ( ‘

<A a

OR MOVE TOWARD GREATER LEVELS OF ABS7RAC7/ONV OR

I CROSSED THE STREET TO THE CONVENIENCE STORE THE RAIN SOAKED INTO MY BOOTS

IF THE ARTIST WANTS TO, HE/SHE

EXPRESSION.

CAN NOW SHOW ONLY FRAGMENTS OF A

SCENE.

THE CLERK TRIED TO PICK ME UP. I SAID.

© WORD SPECIFIC)

C AMPLIFICATION »

PERHAPS THE ARTIST CAN GIVE US SOME IMPORTANT E£M07/O/VAL INFORMATION.

OR SHIFT AHEAD OR BACKWARDS IN TIME.

--AND FINISHED IT ALL IN AN HOUR.

TMENT--

i) i)

CINTERDEPENDENT ) ( WORD SPECIFIC )

160

THE PICTURE PLANE

RESEMBLANCE

HOWEVER MUCH WE MAY CHART THESE

THE MIXING OF WORDS AND PICTURES 1S MORE ALCHEMY THAN SCIENCE.

THINGS, THEY'RE

ALL LL7T/MATELY BEST LEFT TO THE CREATOR'S

SOME OF THE SECRETS OF THOSE F/RS7 ALCHEMISTS MAY HAVE BEEN LOST IN THE ANCIENT PAST.

THIS JS AN EXCITING TIME TO BE MAKING COMICS, AND IN MANY WAYS TI FEEL VERY LUCKY TO HAVE BEEN BOR WHEN LI WAS.

STILL, I DO FEELA CERTAIN WAGLE LONGING FOR THAT TIME OVER 30 CENTURIES AGO --

INSTINCTS.

7 THE RICHNESS OF MODERN LANGUAGE IS Vf AN /RREPLACEABLE

COMMODITY’ din

-- WHEN TO TELL WAS TO SHOW--

--AND TO SHOW WAS TO 7EZZ.

>

me THE SIX STEPS. AY ; A

a*

L2e in?

‘

COMICS IS JUST OVE OF MANY FORMS OF SELF-EXPRESSION AND COMMUNICATION AVAILABLE

SO FAR, WE’VE MOSTLY DEALT | 5 BUT THERE WITH THE SPAIQUE PROPERTIES ARE PROPERTIES OF COMICS. "“ THAT COMICS SHARE Mitt — . rt A WITH AZZ O7HER eed we | ART FORMS.

tee Maer ~ 3 i %,

THOUGH IT SEEMS INNOCUOUS ENOUGH VOX THERE WAS A TIME WHEN SUCH A SIMPLE IDEA WAS RIDICULED. --I'M SORRY-- EVEN 7ODAY, THERE ARE THOSE WHO ASK THE QUESTION, A REALLY "CAN COMICS S7LIPID BE AR7 7" QUESTION’

BUT ESPECIALLY IF WE MUST IF YOUR ANSWER IT, THE DEFINITION OF ART IS AS BROAD AS MINES

163

R7, AS I SEE IT, IS ANY HUMAN ACTIVITY WHICH DOESN’T GROW OUT OF EVTAHIER OF OUR SPECIES’

TWO BASIC INSTINCTS: SURVIVAL AND REPRODUCTION/

) { niTatt || TT Me: | ik a9 Tit

ole WAHT]

PEP aT Ads 9 Cu { . \ =a “7 - =

~

iat eS ed

S

eh CHIT ArT)

He 4 3

HAS =

LA

wre

EXAMPLE: HERE'S MALE Cheeine A GS PREHISTORIC FEMALE. WITH ONLY ONE THING ON HIS MIND -- REPRODUCTION:

SO S7RKONG |S THIS INSTINCT THAT IT GOVERNS HIS EVERY MOVE’ NOT ONE STEP IS WASTED IN THE PURSLIT OF HIS GOAL’

THE Fé LE--AFRAID FOR HER Z-- MANAGES TO ADE. | NOW, DEPRIVED OF HIS GOAL, THE MALE STANDS /MDECTSIVE.

ees SELMA

= Pe od

oT ha ane Pp

Sir ae:

=

\

\

VOW ALL OF HIS AGAIN HIS LEGS

THOUGHTS AND PROPEL HIM rScisea mar | | Sapatinauinn R EFFICIENC >,”

TRAPPED ON THE EDGE OF A CLIFF, HIS MIND CAN

3 4 y/o PK t=

HIS NEXT MOVE MIGHT BE TO LOOK FOR FOOD (SURVIVAL) OR PERHAPS ANOTHER FEMALE (REPRODUCTION?

AND SURVIVES. i) Fh

IVS A SAPPY FACT OF HUMAN EXISTENCE THAT. WE SIMPLY CAN’T SPEND OUREVER. WAKING HOUR EATING AND HAVING SEX/ NO MATTER HOW FRANTICALLY WE PURSUE OUR GOALS, THERE WILL /WEV/7A8LY BE TIMES WHEN WE J/U/S7 DON'T AAVE A THING 7O DO’ :

WHAT MAY LOOK LIKE A TRIBE SEE THAT OLD TODAY SHE HAS A

or) pan MY OF BORED, INACTIVE CAVE-DWELLERS \~

WOMAN WITH THE STOMACHACHE AND HER LINES

BELOW US IS, IN FACT, A 7HR/VING IRT COLONY

AND OVER 7HERE NEARBY, A BOY A MAN BEATS A SIMPLE RHYTHM WITH A FAIR OF STONES. HE DOESN'T KNOW WHY, BUT THE SOUND AZEASES HIM.

1! Py | || TT Me HAL } |! ||

AND D/RT AND WITH HIS F/S7-

BECAUSE OF ITS INDEPENDENCE FROM OUR EVOLUTION-BRED INSTINCTS, ART IS THE WAY WE ASSERT OLR IDENTITIES AS IVDIVIDUALS AND

BREAK Ol/7 OF THE WARROW

FOLES NATURE CAST LIS IN.

KICKS UP PEBBLES FPUNMIMELS THE AIR

& S7ICK 7? NOTICE THE

LIVES SHE'S MAKING IN THE 2/R7 7

TODAY HE LOST A FIGHT WITH HIS BROTHER. NOW ALL HE CAN DO IS DANCE AWAY HIS FRUSTRATION.

OF COURSE, THE GENIUS OF “MOTHER NATURE" |S SUCH THAT EVEN 7HESE THINGS DO HAVE THEIR USES FROM AN

EVOLUTIONARY

S7ANDPOIN]-

ARE 77GH7T AND ANGULAR. YESTERDAY SHE FELT BE7TER

AND HER LINES

WERE OFEN AN

WHILE OVER HERE,

A LITTLE GIRL

SINGS HER SONG OF YOUTH”

Dooe? °? RRoo oov* Nest

YB- BIP- Bip. IP!

SECOND. THEY PROVIDE AN OU/7LE7 FOR EMOTIONAL IMBALANCES, AIDING IN THE RACES MEN7AL

FIRST, THEY PROVIDE EXERCISE FORK MINDS AND BODIES NOT RECEIVING OU7S/DE S7TIMILLLS.

ART AS SELF EXPRESSION, THE

ARTIST AS HERO; FOR MANY, ITS AVGHES7 PURPOSE.

THIS FUNCTION WOULD ALSO BE PERFORMED IN LATER CENTURIES BY SPORTS AND GAMES.

A LOT HAS CHANGED IN HALF A MILLION YEARS, BUT SOME THINGS WEVER CHANGE.

ssi UU OH NO/ I'M

GONNA BE LATE FOR THAT JOB /N7TERVIEWS

--TO USEFUL DISCOVERIES

THIRD AND PERHAPS MOST /MPORTANTLY TO OUR SURVIVAL AS A RACE, SUCH RANDOM ACTIVITIES OFTEN

ART AS DISCOVERY AS THE PURSUIT OF 7RUTH, AS EXPLORATION; THE SOUL OF MUCH (MODERN ART AND THE FOUNDATIONS OF ZANGLAGE, SCIENCE AND FPAILOSOPHY.

THE PROCESSES ARE MORE COMPLEX NOW,

BUT THE INSTINCTS*REMAIN THE SAME.

SURVIVAL AND REPRODUCTION STILL HOLD THE L/PPER HAND.

* ALONG WITH THEIR MANY RELATED FEELINGS AND CUSTOMS.

YET IN ALMOST

EVERY THING WE DO THERE IS AT LEAST AN ELEMENT

PERHAPS A LITTLE UNNECESSARY

CHOREOGRAPHY ON THE ASSEMBLY

LIVE.

| a imam.

IN SOME OCCUPATIONS, THE LATITUDE FOR SELF-EXPRESSION IS GREATER.

SURVIVAL -- MAKING A LIVING -- GOES HAND IN HAND WITH CREATIVE DESIRE.

Z Zz Z Z Z Z Z

ASS

fU/7 10 PROCLAIM, AS SO MANY SO OFTEN L—

DO, THAT--

OR THE PER SONAL STYLE OFA

BICYCLE MESSENGER.

I THINK IT’S FAIR TO SAY THAT SOME ACTIVITIES HAVE MORE ART JV THEM THAN OTHERS.

RARE IS THE PERSON IN AMY OCCUPATION WHO

EXPRESSES

NVOTHING..,

OR JUST THE WAY WE SIGN OUR

LIFE 1S A SERIES OF

MINUTE DECISIONS,

SOME MOTIVATED BY

SURVIVAL, SOME NOT,

AND PROPORTIONS DO VARY

... AND RARE IS THE AR7/S7 WHO CARES NOTHING

FOR SL/ICCESS,

LE, SURVIVAL

BUT THE JDEAZ OF THE LATTER IS ALIVE IN THE HEARTS OF MANY ARTISTS WHO MAY AYOFE FOR SUCCESS, BUT WON'T ALTER THEIR WORK TO O&87A/W/ IT.

IN O7HER’ WORDS: “MY ART HAS NO PRACTICAL VALUE

WHATSOEVER!”

"BUT IT’S IMPORTANT!”

"PURE" ART IS ESSENTIALLY TIED TO THE QUESTION OF PURPOSE -- OF DECIDING WHAT YOU WANT OUT

THE “AVVE ART/ST*--THE PURE AR7/IS7-- SAYS TO THE WORLD: "I DIDN'T DO THIS FOR MONEYS I DIDN'T

DO THIS TO MATCH THE COLOR OF

YOUR COUCHES/

"I DIDN'T DO THIS TO GET LA/D/ I DIDN'T DO THIS FOR FAME OR POWER OR GREED OR ANYTHING ELSES I DID THIS FOR ARTS"

AND SOMETIMES IT 4S’, THOUGH IT MIGHT TAKE A CENTURY OR TWO FOR THE RES7 OF THE WORLD TO FIND QUT/

THIS IS AS TRUE IN COMICS AS IT IS _IN FA/N7T/ING, WRITING, THEATRE, FILM, SCLULLPTURE,

OR ANY O7HER FORM...

... BECAUSE THE CREATION OF Y WORK IN ANY MEDIUM WILL ALWAYS FOLLOW A CERTAIN FATH.

169

I

IDEA/ PURPOSE

I

IDEA/ PURPOSE

es A

2 AP.

THE /MIPULSES, THE IDEAS, THE EMOTIONS, THE PY/LOSOPHIES, THE

PURPOSES OF THE

WORK...THE WORK’S

“CONTENT.”

THIRD: THE “SCHOOL” OF ART, THE VOCABULARY OF S7ZES OR GESTURES OR SUBJECT MATTER,

THE GENRE THAT THE WORK BELONGS TO... MAYBE A GENRE OF ITS OWN.

ATH CONSISTING OF pone STEPS.

170

SECOND:

THE FORM? 'T WILL TAKE... WILL IT BE A BOOK” A CHALK

DRAWING? \ CHAIR?

A POT HOLDER,” A COMIC BOOK”

FOURTH: FUTITING 17 ALL ZTOGETHER... WHAT TO MCLUDE, WHAT TO LEAVE OL/7.. HOW TO ARRANGE, HOW TO

COMPOSE WORK

FIFTH: SIXTH: CONSTRUCTING FRODUCTION THE WORK, APPLYING VALVES, FINISHING... SA/LLS, FRACTICAL THE ASPECTS MOST SURFACE APPARENT ON FIRST

SUPERFICIAL EXPOSURE TO THE WORK.

Ww,

IN ALL THE ARTS IT’S THE SURFACE THE LATEST “FAN FAVORITE” OFTEN THAT PEOPLE APPRECIATE MOST ZAS/Z LOOKS BETTER AT A GLANCE THAN THE LIKE AN APFFZE CHOSEN FOR ITS OLDER ARTISTS WHO HAD THE /DEAS SHINY SKIN. AND CREATED THE /D/JOMS, BUT WERE SURFACE LESS INTERESTED IN SURFACES.

~

TSA CYCLE AS OLD AS ART ITSELF.

BUT OFTEN IF WE &/7E /IVTO THAT

SEPPLE CRUE

2,0

YOUNG READERS D/SCOVER COMICS FOR THE FIRST TIME AND IN A FEW CASES, BEGIN TO DEVELOP A LOVE FOR COMICS THAT WILL LAST A LH E7/ME/

IN THIS EARLY STAGE, THESE READERS ARE EXPERIENCING THE CHARACTERS, IDEAS, EVENTS AND EMOTIONS OF THE STORY DIRECTLY

COMICS IS ACTING AS AN IV7ERMED/ARY BETWEEN STORYTELLER

AND ALDIENCE,

Ta

i

BUT IN SOME, AN AWARENESS OF THE FORM BEGINS TO DEVELOP, AN AWARENESS THAT ALL COMICS ARE JUST INK ON PAPER--

-- THAT MAKING THEM ONLY REQUIRES CERTAIN SKILLS --

--AND THAT THOSE SKILLS

CAN BE LEARNED/

ONE OF THEM--FULL OF 8/6 /DEAS-- MAKES THE &/G DEC/S/ON.

I'M GONNA MAKE COMICS }, WHEN T (GROW

~ UP! &é

MORE LIKELY HE POSTPONES HIS OWN

IDEAS AND BEGINS TO STUDY THE CRAFT

OF O7HER ARTISTS IN HIS ATTEMPT TO BECOME A PROFESSIONAL.

HE BUYS THE “RIGHT” BRUSH, THE "K/GH 7” PENS AND THE ‘RIGHT ” PAPER AND BEGINS TO PRACTICE.

BUT WHEN HE BRINGS THE WORK TO A KEAZL PROFESSIONAL AT THE LOCAL CO/V:

/ _.. ANATOMY IS VERY POOR... SEE HOW THAT MUSCLE CONNECTS ?,. AND THAT PERSPECTIVE, YEESA/7,.DO YOU KNOW WHAT A VAMISHIVG POINT \S7 ..AND AS FOR FACES...

HE’S OFF TO ALOGICAL START. HE HAS THE /DEAS AND HE'S CHOSEN COMICS AS HIS FORM OF EXPRESSION. MAYBE NOW HE’LL CONSIDER WHAT 7¥PES OF COMICS ARE RIGHT FOR HIM.

oe BUT PRO

LOOK, JACKS I CAN DRAW AS WELL AS A PROFESSIONALS

SO HE BUYS SOME BOOKS ON AMATOMY AND PERSPEC7/VE, STUDIES A VARIETY OF DRAWING TECHNIQUES AND PRACTICES, FRACTICES, PRACTICES FOR MONTHS.

BUT SOMEHOW, IT NEVER QUITE ‘CZ/CKS” FOR HIM. MAY8E HE JUST DOESN'T HAVE ENOUGH SAK7ZZ,.. MAYBE HE LOSES INTEREST... MAYBE LIFE JUST GETS /V THE WAY...BUT FOR WHATEVER REASOW--

HAVE UNDERGONE SIMILAR EXPERIENCES AND AAVEM'7 GIVEN UP YET?

-- HE LEAVES HIS DREAMS A A OF MAKING COMICS BEA//IVD. GAZAAA

aie

= —

ONE OF THEM 1S NOW READY TO TAKE

THE WEXT STEP/ SHE'S STUDIED HER

CRAFT ALL THE WAY THROUGH HIGH <I THINK I’VE SCHOOL AND INTO COLLEGE REALLY MADE A

BREAKTHROUGH T>

BUT WHEN [ < YOU'RE A SKILLED SCR/PTER HER SKILLS CAM GET HER WORK AT SHE SHOWS| AND DRAF7SPERSON, BUT THIS POINT, BUT ONLY AS AN ASS/YS7TANVT HER WORK | YOUR S7ORY7ELZL/NG ISN'T JO OTHERS. UNTIL SHE UNDERSTANDS THE GOOD ENOUGH, YOU HAVE NO STRUCTURE OF COMICS BEIVEATH THE SENSE OF FACING,,, THESE CRAFT, THIS IS AS FAR AS SHE CAN GO. LAYOUTS ARE VERY MLU/DDY.,, YOU HAVE TO COMPOSE YOUR STORIES,,,>

BUT MAYBE THIS IS ENOUGH FOR THIS PARTICULAR ARTIST, ENOUGH TO JUST BE PART OF THE AR7, BUSINESS, |AND COMMLUNM/TY OF COMICS WITHOUT NECESSARILY CALL/ING THE SHOTS.

HE SPENDS HIS EVERY WAKING HOUR WORKING OUT THE DIFFICULT PRINCIPLES OF COMICS COMPOS/TION AND STORYTELLING, THE KIND THEY 20N'7 TEACH IN BOOKS /*

HE LEARNS TO SEE @EWEATH THE CRAFTS OF DRAFTSMANSHIP AND SCRIPTING “IO SEE THE WHOLE PICTURE -- PACING, DRAMA, AUMOR, SUSPENSE, COMPOSITION, THEMATIC DEVELOPMENT, (RON Y-- SOON THEY’RE ALL AT HIS CUMMAND/

* WELL, OKAY, OVE BOOK! EISNER’S, AGAIN

BUT ELSEWHERE, ANOTHER CREATOR HAS BEEN THROUGH THE SAME SORT OF

PROCESS AND HE WANTS MORE’

HE DISCOVERS THAT HIS JAVOR/7TE AR7/ST WAS ACTUALLY JUST A WA7ZERED-DOWIV VERSION OF AN OLDER, LESS-POLISHED ARTIST WHOM HE HAD ALWAYS 7AKEN FOR GRANTED.

Mbir»~ thors a C Vx? Pm /

Gh,

175

AND LET'S SAY IT’ WORKS HE DOES LAND HIS OWN BOOK AND SOON IS ESTABLISHED AS A CREATOR OF GREAT SA/ZZ. HE UNDERSTANDS COM/CS STORYTELLING BETTER THAN MOST,

< THAT GUY'S ART IS ALL JUST '‘SURFACE7>

NA/& A Tt it | —

BUT ANOJHER AR7787 HAS MADE IT THROUGH THE SAME SORTS OF HURDLES AND REACHED THE SAME LEVELS OF

SHE BELIEVES THAT THERE’S SOMETHING MORE--SOME PIECE OF THE PUZZLE -- THAT SHE S7/LL HASNT FOUND.

SURFACE

HIS WORK ISN'T PARTICULARLY OR/G/NALZ,

THE CRITICS DON'T PAY MUCH ATTENTION

TO HIM, BUT HE MAKES A DECENT LIVING

FOR HIMSELF AND HIS FAIVIILY AND THAT'S ENOUGH FOR HIM...

..ENQUGH THAT FOR

WHAT HE DOES, HE’S ONE OF THE BEST.

SHE WONDERS IF HER SUCCESS REALLY MEANS ANYTHING WHEN THERE ARE SO MANY OTHERS DOING THE SAME 7H/INGS IN THE SAME WAYS. SHE WANTS AN JDEW7/7T¥

~. (ss

SHE BEGINS TO INVENT WEW WAYS OF SHOWING "7HE SAME OLD THIIVVG.” SHE DEVELOPS /WWOVATIVE NEW TECHIVIQUES. AND STARTS DOING AWAY WITH "THE SAME OLD THING" AL7TOGE7HERS

es oytyer

AS SHE CREATES HER OWN PERSONAL /DIOM OF COMICS, SHE FINDS THE WHOLE OF HER WORK CHANGING TO SY//7 THAT IDIOM.

YOUNG ARTISTS BEGIN TO IW1/7A7E HER STYLE, BUT MOST OF THEM ONLY SEEM TO APPRECIATE THE “SURFACE.”

BUT ELSEWHERE, ANOTHER CREATOR HAS MADE IT TO THIS SAME PLACE AND STILL FEELS DISSATISFIED. HE FEELS THAT SOMETHING

VERY /MPORTAIV7 HAS BEEN NEGLECTED,,.

LET'S SAY THAT FXVANCIAZL SUCCESS AND THE RESPECT OF HER PEERS SOON FOLLOW.*

I WANT TO THANK ALL OF THOSE WHO HELPED ME TO ACHIEVE

* HOSTILITY, REJECTION AND POVERTY ARE ALSO POSSIBLE, OF COURSE.

AND MAYBE SHE'LL BE SA7/SFVED WITH THAT KIND OF SUCCESS, SECURE IN _ THE KNOWLEDGE THAT WHATEVER SHE DOFSW'7 KNOW, SHE'S ON T

FIND OUT.

«SOMETHING ALIVODAMENTAL, SOMETHING

AT THE CORE OF WHO HE IS AS AN ARTIST.

WITH THESE THOUGHTS ON HIS MIND, IT’S ONLY

A MATTER OF 7/ME BEFORE HE ASKS THAT ONE SIMPLE QUESTION:

4/5] 6

STRUCTURE} CRAFT | SURFACE

IDEA/ STRUCTURE} CRAFT | SURFACE PURPOSE uN

— :

Y AND NOW, THE BIGGEST QUESTION V/

\{ OF ALL: DOES THIS ARTIST WANT TO SAY

\\ SOMETHING ABOUT LIFE 7HROUGH HIS ART

\\ OR DOES HE WANT TO SAY SOMETHING ABOUT ART /7 SELF 7

ANYTHING TO SAY AT ALLY

ASSUMING HE DOESN'T LET 7AAT STOP HIM, HERE'S WHAT THESE

PERSONALLY, I TWO CHOICES COULD MEAN...

THINK WE AZZ HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY TO THE WORLD.

THE

REAL QUESTION

IS "WILL ANYONE LISTEN 7” AND UNFORTUNATELY

THERE'S NO WAY

TO KNOW THAT

IN ADVANCE. 1

IDEA/ PURPOSE

178

AND HIS ART WOULD NOT ZACK FOR /DEAS OR FOR A PURPOSE.

BY CHOOSING FORM,

HE'D BE SETTING UP TO BECOME AN

EXPLORER. 1 6 HIS GOAL: PURPOSE rier TO DISCOVE: ALL ‘THAT THE ART FORM IS

HIS ART WOULD JUST BECOME HIS PURPOSE AND THE IDEAS WOULD ARRIVE IN TIME TO GIVE IT SUBSTANCE

CREATORS WHO TAKE THIS PATH ARE OFTEN PIONEERS AND REVOLLUTIONARTES-- ARTISTS WHO WANT 10 SHAKE TH/NGS UP CHANGE THE WAY PEOPLE 7A/VK> QUESTION THE FLUUNDAMENTAL LAWS THAT GOVERN THEIR CHOSEN ART.

CIN O7HER ART FORMS: STRAVINSKY, PICASSO, VIRGINIA WOOLF, ORSON WELLES, ETC.>

NOW “7EZLING THE STORY” COR IN THE ON THE CASE OF WON-FICTION, "DELIVERING THE OTHER HAND, IF MESSAGE”) TAKES PRIORITY OVER HE CHOOSES THE INVENTION. FIRST STEP AS HIS GOAL, THEN HIS ART BECOMES A 7O0L.

ART WILL RELY ON THE POWERS OF THE IDEAS WITHIN.

BUT TELLING A STORY AS EFFECTIVELY AS POSSIBLE MAY REQUIRE SOME \NVENTION. IT OFTEN DOES.

179

THIS IS THE PATH OF GREAT S7ORY7EZLERS, CREATORS WHO HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY THROUGH COMICS AND DEVOTE ALL THEIR ENERGIES TO COV7ROLLING THEIR MEDIUM, REFINING ITS ABILITY TO CONVEY MESSAGES EFFECTIVELY

y ; 'G 7 A

CIN OTHER ART FORMS: CAPRA, DICKENS, WOODY GUTHRIE, EDWARD R. MURROW, ETC.)

FORTUNATELY, THIS CHOICE NEVER HAS TO BE FPERMAIVEN7.

IT CAN CHANGE AS OFTEN AS AN ARTIST CHANGES PROJECTS {

CREATIVE SPECIALIZATION HAS "SCRIPTERS;/ "PENCILLERS AND IVKERS” ALL WORKING AT CKOSS-FURPOSES IN THEIR ATTEMPTS TO GET NOTICE:

(O WORK OF ART CAN BE ZO7AZLY WITHOUT “CONV7EWV7” ANY MORE THAN IT CAN EXIST WITHOUT A FORM’ BUT T DOES HELP TO SET SOME PRIORITIES.

~

—~

NO,7M DRIVING’

DANIN« NEEDED TO HAVE SOME MORE DIALOGUE HERE, BUT I REALLY WANT TO DRAW THAT SNAZZY

NOT THAT WE “CREA7OR/WRITER/ARTIS7” TYPES NEVER RUN INTO THIS PROBLEM...

180

THE MORE AN ARTIST DEVOTES HIM/HERSELF TO EITHER OF THESE TWO FOCAL POINTS, THE MORE DRAMATIC THE CHANGE IF HE/SHE DECIDES TO SW/7CH,

IOAN

Ts

PEKHAPS IF STRIPPED DOWN FAR ENOUGH, MOST ARTISTS’ ULTIMATE GOALS ARE NOT THAT DIFFERENT FROM ANYONE ELSE'S. EVEN FOR THOSE WITH A/G