Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 11373813

    Uploaded by

    David Espín
    10 views65 pages

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Report this Document

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    10 views65 pages

    11373813

    Uploaded by

    David Espín

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 65
    ee 4 s+ r\ >) ts “A REMARKABLE NEW BAEDEKER OF THE TOONS.” ae ata aCe au Use eee ad A Kitchen Sink Book for HarperPerennial L——— A Division of HarperCollinsPublishers| 4 ne a, | 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 ©1999 by Scott McCloud. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may bbe 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. ISBN 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 COMCS IS A TRADEMARK OF SCOTT McCLOUD ALL RIGHTS RESERVED he 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 baok-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. I 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. 0g Scott McCloud CONTENTS OY INTRODUCTION PRP AGP POPOL I iN & SETTING 1 THE RECORD 9 STRAIGHT 2 THE 2 VOCABULARY A OF COMICS 24 BLOOD IN THE GUTTER 60 TIME FRAMES 94 5 LIVING © LINE eS SHOW } : 6 1 ees TELL tz ne oe sy o 0 ||N >> : Ca a") © Ess] Tr TOGETHER 193 My OLD PAL_ MATT FEAZELL CALLED THE OTHER DAY. SQ, SCOTT, WHAT'S YOUR NEXT PKQUECT GOING TO BE NOW THAT YOU'VE FINISHED INTRODUCTION WELL, IT'S A BIT HARD TO DESCRIBE, MATT. ITS SORT OFA COMIC BOOK’ Ie N_ABOUT COMICS! YOU MEAN LIKE A. 1\ HISTOR YZ, M a NOT EXACTLY, NO... ALTHOUGH THERE 1S SOME HISTORY 7 TT...1T’S MORE AN EXAMINATION OF THE ART-FOR/4 OF COMICS, WHAT IT’S CAPABLE OF, HOW IT WORKS. + 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 CLOSURE. CHAPTER ON ALL ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS SE7PVEEW THE PANELS, THERE'S ONE ON. HOW Z7ME FLOWS THROUGH COMICS, ANOTHER ON THE INTERACTION OF WORDS AND PYCTURES AND STORYTELLING. ne CREATIVE PROCESS: —] LEVEN PUT TOGETHER A NEW (PREHENSIVE THEORY | AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR COMICS AND FOR ART /N GENERAL IT AREN'T YOU KIND OF YOUNG 7O BE DOING THAT SORT OF UAE UTR RUT LZ oo TAY) WHEN TWAS A LITTLE KID icNEW. 7LY WHAT COMICS /ERE. BUT WHEN T WAS IN &f% GRADE A FRIEND OF MINE _C WHO WAS A LOT SMARTER THAN TWAS) CONVINCED ME TO GIVE COMICS ANOTHER LOOK AND LENT ME HIS COLLECTION: CORREA) IN_LESS THAN A. % PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICES ij IF PEOPLE FAILED TO UNDERSTAND COMICS, IT WAS. BECAUSE THEY DEFINED WHAT COMICS COULD BE 700 NARROWLY, { h\ A H y | | BUT WHENEVER T TRIED TO EXPLAIN I FELT THAT MY FEELING, I THERE WAS SOMETHING FAILED M/SERABLY| LURKING IN COMICS... ‘SOMETHING THAT HAD. NEVER BEEN DONE: THE PROBLEM WAS THAT FOR MOST" PEOPLE, THAT WAS, WHAT “Contic Book” MEANT, SURE, I REALIZED THAT COMIC BOOKS DON'T_GIMME THAT COMIC BOOK TALK, BARNEY A PROPER DEFINITION, \- WE COULD 7D ONE, OMUST ENCOMPREe ALT THESE PCS ~-COMICS: 7 wy MASTER. COMICS ARTIST W7ZE EISNER USES THE TERM TAKEN (INDIVIDUALLY, THE PICTURES BELO ARE MERELY 7Ha7-~ PICTURES. HOWEVE! R, NOTICE THAT MUCH HAS ALREADY EEN WRITTEN Of Tie Vazious Sovooes OF COMIC ART; ON PARTICULAR ARTISTS) PARTICULAR TITLES, PARTICULAR TRENDS. SURGER: AND SEPARATE FORTY FROM CONTENTS THE ARTFORM -~THE MEDIL/M-- KNOWN AS COMICS IS A VESSEZ WHICH CAN HOLD ANY MUMBER OF /DEAS AND IMAGES. Eases ie THE "CONTENT" OF THOSE IMAGES AND IDEAS 1S, OF COURSE, UP TO CREATORS, AND_WE ALL HAVE DIFFERENT a SWHEEEEZE (KAP! KAFI2 GLUGH- Gou THE TRICK IS TO NEVER MISTAKE THE MESSAGE AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER VIRTUALLY AZZ THE GREAT MEDIA RAVE RECEIVED CRITICAL EXAMINATION, IN_AND OF. THEMSELVES. FEISNER'S OWN COMNCS AWD SEGUENTIAL ART BEING A HAPPY EXCEPTION. 6 =-FOR THE MESSENGER. BUT. FOR COMICS, THIS ATTENTION HAS BEEN RARE * LET'S SEE IF WE CAN HELP REC7IFY THE SITUATION. EISNER'S, TERM SEEMS LIKE & GOOD PLACE TO SEQUENTIAL VISUAL ART cS I GUESS THE BASIC DIFFERENCE IS THAT ANIMATION IS, SEQUENTIAL IN TIME BT NOT SPATIALLY YUKTAPOSED" DS COMICS ARE. SED= AD.) GREAT ART SCHOOL We LETS SEE ARE A LOT OF \F_WE CAN EXPAND DIFFERENT IT_TO A PROPER KINDS. OF ART. DICTIONARY-STYLE HOW ABOUT DEFINITION SOMETHING A. THERE LITTLE MORE ISN'T ANIMATED. FILM JUST V/SUAL MEY, AR? ii Sequence MMATION?, WMIATION?? AM HMM. Soon Bown EACH SUCCESSIVE FRAME OF A MOVIE 1S PROJECTED ON EXACTLY THE SA/ME SPACE --THE SCREEN WHILE EACH FRAME OF COMM/CS MUST OCCUPY A DIFFERENT SPACE SP voes on Bones NT, SIDE-BY-SIDE ORD. 7 i C8 DOES IT HAVE TO SAY “AR7"7 DOESN'T THAT IMPLY SOME SORT OF MAKE IT A BIT VALUE JUDGMENT?) MORE SPECIFIC. JUXTAPOSED SEQUENTIAL VISUAL or OKAY, HOW ABOUT 729-7, JUXTAPOSED Iuxtaposen SEQUENTIAL aces STATIC DELIBERATE IMAGES BN asreuence OH, IT DOESN'T AVE TO CONTAIN WORDS TO BE COMICS. LETTERS ARE STATIC IMAGES, RIGHT? WHEN THEY'RE g a WE'LL JUST TYPE 77-UP, BOD ALITTLE BIT ON THE 28S: ‘OF COMICS, AND-- --AND IN MOST CASES, DEFINITION WE'RE LIKELY TO THIS 1S THE OMLY iS |SEQUENTIAL JUXTAPOSED PICTORIAL AND OTHER IMAGES IN DELIBERATE SEQUENCE WHAT ABOUT BATMAN ‘SHOULDN'T VT HAVE BATMAN paxtaroseo cron sno orner ‘cts No, 1 MEAN IT! AND WHAT ABOUT THE AMEN AND-- LOW! EHEYIHEY, LE7 GO oe A | Di 5 WELL, ANYWAY, THIS SHOULD DO FOR WOW. com-ies (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 response BUT, WITH A SPECIFIC DEFINITION UNDER QUR produce an aesthetic in the viewer. Foetsta nibar =-PERHAPS WE CAN SHED SOME WEW LIGHT ‘ON THE A/S7ORY OF COMICS. I ADMIT, THIS ISN'T THE SORT OF THING THAT COMES UP A LOT IN CASUAL KCOMVERSATION- MOST BOOKS ABOUT COMICS BEGIN SHORTLY BEFORE THE TURN OF THE CENTURY, BUT I THINK WE CAN VENTURE A BIT FARTHER THAN eee | | ACTUALLY, ii T T eed sete} a HERE'S JUST A PIECE OF THE ERLE STORY CONTAINED THIS 36-FOOT LONG ERIGHTLY- COLORED, PRINTED Aue Te Re MANET SCREENFOLD TELLS OF THE GREAT "DISCOVERED" BY CORTES: MILITARY AND POLITICAL HERO AROUND 7579. S-DEER "TIGER'S-CLAW.”* 1S. IT Comics you BET IT 1S/ WE CAN EVEN 84D SOME! ‘OR"OCELOTS CLAW" DEPENDING: WHOSE BOOK YOU READ. ‘THIS SEQUENCE |S BASED ON A READING BYMEXICANHisToRIAN = 1 ‘AND ARCHAEOLOGIST ALFONSO CASO. FIRST, We SEPARATE | | THEN RAVERSE IT WORDS FROM PrcTuReS.| | AND STRAIGHTEN IT OUT CTHE ORIGINAL READ RIGHT-TO-LEFT BND ZIGZAGGED ) AND SEG/V- THE YEAR: JO AD (anawe) THE Date: nays tone, a Z TTHOUSE 12 MONKEY (A Date ) sop, Xipe's BUNDLE (aura FoR PLACE wHose NAME WE DONT KNOW) JHE FOLLOWING YEAR, B-DEER AND. B-DEER ALSO CAPTURES THE PRINCE'S OLDER C PROBABLY) HIS BROTHER, DISGUISED BROTHERS, /0-DOG "EAGLE COPAL BURNING | AND_6-HOUSE "ROW OF FLINT KNIVES” AND PUTS “EM ON ICE @-DEER KILLS THE OTHER PRINCE, 6 FLINT KNIVES” EIGHT DAYS LATER. SWE KNOW THE YEAR) I'M JUST OUESSIMG AT THE DATE REPRESENTED BY “12 MONKEY WW OF YEARS. BEGAN COLLECTING THIS 230 FOOT LONG HUNDRE) BEFORE CORTES TAPESTRY DETAILS THE COMICS, FRANCE PRODUCED THE NORMAN CONQUEST OF STRIKINGLY SIMILAR WORK WE ENGLAND, BEGINNING CALL THE BAYEUN TAPESTRY, IN 7066. PSBTy Be SSA BR? a PARCEL \ FAR FROM D/SQUALIEYING THESE AS COMICS, I THINK MODERN COMIC BOOK ARTISTS SHOULD 7AKE NOTE OF THE POSSIBILITIES OF SUCH WHOLE PAGE COMPOSITIONS AND HOW FEL ARTISTS HAVE MADE GOOD USE OF THEM SINCE JuxraPoseD SEQUENCE 2 AT FIRST GLANCE, EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS WOULD SEEM TO FIT OUR DEFINITION PERFECTLY. PICTORIAL BUT MUCH REPRESENT ONLY AND teen DEPENDS ON OUR USE NDS, Not | “YVW\ euserute CONE ALPHABET, - 7 Ss of, Bal PN zee ec PM, PERENNIAL EXCEPTION HULZ EVSNER, (7 FINDING, COMICS BEYOND ‘OUR OWN MUILLENNILA AC ISA BIT TRICKIER. USING IT. To INDICATE AT LEAST SOME RESEMBLANCE TO THE SUBJECT. BUT THESE GLYPHS 12 READING LEFT 70 RIGHT WE SEE TRE FYEW7S OF THE CONQUEST, IN DELIBERATE CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER UNFOLD BEFORE OUR VERY AS WITH THE MEXICAN CODEX, THERE ARE NO PAWEL BORDERS PER SE, BUT THERE ARE CLEAR DIVISIONS OF SCENE BY SUBVECT MATTER. THUS, THEIR REAL DESCENDENT. 1S THE WRITTEN WORD AND NOT COMICS, ges fu batu abla, hennu-nek vatu amenta FOLLOW THEE, THE SOULS ‘OF THE EAST. PRAISE THEE, THE SOULS OF THE WEST.” EGYPTIAN PAINTING 1S 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 SUBLET. I. HAD BEEN TRYING TO FIND SEQUENCE IN EGYPTIAN PAINTINGS FOR Y£4KS_ WHEN I BEGAN THIS BOOK AND WAS READY TO CALL IT QUITS ~~ -UNTIL I DISCOVERED THE BOOKS I HAD BEEN USING AS REFERENCE-- ~-HAD. ONLY BEEN SHOWING ME FART OF THE THAT PICTURE! HERE'S THE | W COMPLETE SCENE* * PAINTED OVER SL TTC < CENTURIES. AGO FR THE TOMB OF “EW WA, | GOING AN ANCIENT EGYPTIAN UP SCRIBE, THIS TIMES 7 AS WOULD BE === = DONE 2,700 YEARS — LATER IN MEXICO, THE EGOPTIANS READ treme COMICS ZIG-ZAG. he Tela * MORE EARLY COMPLETE, ANYWAY STARTING AT THE = THEN CARRYING IT IN BASKETS TO A 7HRESHING LOCATION, LOWER LEFT, WE CIN THE BACKGROUND TWO GIRLS FIGHT OVER BITS OF WHEAT LEFT BEHIND, AS TWO WORKERS SIT UNDER A TREE, ONE SLEEPING, REAPING WHEAT WITH] | ONE PLAYING THE AZU/7E/) THEIR SICKLES-- Pat SEE THREE WORKERS % \W \ v PAINTING RACED FoR BLACK AND WHITE REPRODUCTION 14 THE SHEAVES ARE THEN RAKED OUT INTO A 7HICK CARPET OF WHEAT THEN OXEN TREAD KERNELS OUT OF THE HUSKS. \ RN, Rak NEXT, PEASANTS SEPARATE THE WHEAT| FROM THE CHAFF. OLD MENNA HIMSELF LOOKS ON-- * iz LeeMks) FA =- AS LOYAL SCRIBES. RECORD THE YIELD ‘ON THEIR TABLETS, NOW AN OFFICIAL USES A MEASURING ROPE TO SURVEY 7HE LAND MND DECIDE HOW MUCH WHEAT IS OWED IN TAXES. AND AS MENNA WATCHES, FARMERS LATE IN PAYING THEIR TAXES ARE BEATEN. TLL GLADL ADMIT THAT 1 HAVE VO IDEA WHERE OR WHEN COMICS ORIGINATED LET O7HERS: WRESTLE WITH THAT ONE. TIVE ONLY SCRATCHED THE SURFACE IN THIS CHAPTER. TRAJAN'S COLUMN, GREEK FAINTING, BLT THERE 1S OME EVENT WHICH LOOMS AS LARGE IN_COMUES HISTORY JAPANESE SCROLLS... ‘ALL THESE HAVE BEEN’ SUGGESTED AND ALL ‘SHOULD BE EXPLORED. AS TT DOES IN THE HISTORY OF THE WRITTEN WORD, VE. THE INVENTION OF FACE GQUGED OUT BY FLTURE GENERATIONS OFLFADERS WITH "THE INVENTION OF SAINT ERASIMUS,” CIRCA 1460. WORD HAS IT THIS GUY WAS A VERY, POPULAR CHARACTER, ART RESTORED FoR CLARITY ~ OTHERWISE UNCHANBED. THE SOPHISTICATION OF THE PICTURE-STORY DID y HOWEVER, REACHING GREAT HEIGHTS IN THE NIMBLE HANDS OF HERE. IS WILLIAM HOGARTH. A TINY Plece (ABOUT ONE TWENTIETH) OF THE SECOND PLATE FROM HOGARTH'S ‘SIX-PLATE PICTURE-STORY “A _HARLOTS PROGRESS” PUBLISHED IN 1731 DESPITE THE LOW “PANEL-COUT.” THESE LUSH, RENDEKED PICTURES TELL A STORY * MAYBE 1 SHOULDN'T SAY "INVENT" 16 were HOGARTH'S STORIES WERE FIRST EXHIBITED AS A SERIES OF PAINTINGS AND LATER SOLD ‘AS A PORTFOLIO OF ENGRAVINGS. BOTH THE PAINTINGS AND ENGRAVINGS WERE DESIGNED TO BE VIEWED SYDE-BY-SIDE =-IN SEQUENCES 1A HARLOTS PROGRESS AND ITS SEQUEL A RAKE'S PROGRESS” PROVED SO POPULAR, 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 TTAS AMERE DIVERSION, A SIMPLE HOBBY. THE FATHER QF THE MODERN COMIC IN MANY WAYS IDOLPHE TOPE FER , WHOSE LIGHT SATIRIC PICTURE STORIES, STARTING IN THE MID- 1800's, EMPLOYED CARTOOMING AND PANEL BORDERS, AND FEATURED THE FIRST INTERDEPENDENT COMBINATION OF RDS AND PICTURES SEEN IN EUROPE. Is ROE 1 FO! UTURE HE [TOPFFER] WOULD CHOOSE A LES’ FRIVOLOUS SUBJECT AND RESTRICT HIMSELF A LITTLE, HE WOULD PRODUCE INGS BEYOND ALL -PTION.” EVEN $0, TOPFFER'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF COMICS IS CONSIDERABLE, 1F ONLY FOR HIS. REALIZATION THAT HE WHO WAS NEITHER ARTIST NOR WRITER-~ TRANSLATION BY E. WIESE } =~ HAD CREATED AND MASTERED A FORM WHICH WAS AT ONCE BRITISH CARICATURE MAGAZINES KEPT THE TRADITIONS ALIVE AND AS THE ZO™ CENTURY DREW NEAR, THE COMICS WE CALL COMICS BEGAN TO APPEAR AND EVENTUALLY TO 7#R/VE IN A STEADY STREAM OF WAKING DREAMS THAT HAS YET TO ABATE. BUT EVEN IN TALIS. CENTURY, OUR DEFINITION CAN HELP TO ILLUMINATE THE WORKS OF SOME UNSUNG HEROES. JUXTAPOSED PICTORIAL AND OTHER IMAGES 18 DELIBERATE SEQUENCE SOME OF THE MOST /MSP/RED AND INNOVATIVE CONICS OF OUR CENTURY HAVE NEVER RECEIVED RECOGNITION AS COMICS, NOT SO MUCH 71V SP/7E OF THEIR SUPERIOR QUALITIES AS BECAUSE OF THEM. Shel Sil serd| FOR MUCH OF THIS CENTURY, THE WORD "Comics" oat HAS HAD SUCH t A] NEsATIVE connorarions \ Al] THAT MANY OF Comics MOST | DEVOTED PRACTITIONERS HAVE PREFERRED TO BE KNOWN AS ~ "ILLUSTRATORS," r A AensTsee. RT| (oe) . fairey | cares AT 8EST, (4) BT1g) |, “sees a “CARTOONISTS? alate} rH fae rar Gnas 5 HEART AND $0, COMICS’ LOW SELF-ESTEEM IS SELF-PERPETUATING!| THE HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE NECESSARY TO COUNTERACT CONICS’ NEGATIVE IMAGE IS OBSCURED BY THAT NEGATIVITY, Ta rear GODS MAN, WOODCUT ARTIST ZYVD WARD 1S ONE SUCH ANISSING LIVE. WARD'S SILENT “WOODCUT NOVELS” ARE POWERFUL MODERN FABLES, NOW PRAISED BY COMICS ARTISTS, BUT SELDOM RECOGNIZED AAS COMICS. ae ARTISTS LIKE WARD AND BELGIAN VW THEIR DEFINITION FRANS MASEREEL SAID MUCH THROUGH) OF COMICS, THEN AS THEIR WOODCUTS ABOLIT THE POTENTIAL OF ) WOWZ WAS’ SIMPLY TOO COMICS, BUT FEW IN THE Comics Community A MARZO TO INCLUDE OF THE DAY COULD GET 7HE MESSAGE. SUCH WORK FROM FRANK MASEREELS FASS/ONATE JOURNEY, 1919. QUITE A DEFERENT CASE IS MAX ERNST’S SURREAL “COLLAGE WOVEL? A WEEK OF KINDNESS. THIS 182 PLATE SEQUENCE OF COLLAGES (S WIDELY CONSIDERED A MASTERIIECE OF 20™ CENTURY ART, 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 70 ROWSE THE THING, IF WE DON'T EXCLUDE PHOTOGRAPHY FROM, OUR DEFINITION, THEN MEANWHILE, PICTURES. HALF OF AMERICA IN SEQUENCE ARE FINALLY BEING HAS BEEN IN COMICS RECOGNIZED AS THE EXCELLENT ‘AT ONE TIME OR COMMUNICATION TOOL THAT THEY ANOTHER, ARE, BUT S77ZLL NOBODY REFERS TO THEM AS COMICS! “DIAGRAMS” SOUNDS MORE DIGM/FIED, I SUPPOSE. FROM SVAMED GLASS WINDOWS SHOWING BIBLICAL SCENES IN ORDER TO MONET'S SERIES PAINTINGS, 10 YOUR CAR OWNER'S MANUAL, CONICS TURN UP ALL OVER WHEN SEQUENTIAL ART 1S EMPLOYED AS A DEFINITION GS: COS IN SOME COUNTRIES, PHOTO-COMICS ARE, IN FACT, QUITE POPULAR. ‘com.ies (kom'iks)n. plural in form, SINGLE SUCH SINGLE PANELS i , MIGHT BE CLASSIFIED used with a singular verb. 1. (PANELS LIKE Ree AREF” Juxtaposed pictorial and other ZHIS ONE ARE Re arenas ieee images in deliberate sequence, IN WITH COMICS, THEY DERIVE PART intended to convey information YET THERE'S NO. OF THEIR VISUAL and/or to produce an aesthetic SUCH THING AS VOCABULARY = i ceonieNce FROM COMICS: ponse in the viewer. SeOWEr FOR ALL THE DOORS THAT aN OUR DEFINITION OPENS, C THERE IS ONE WHICH ¢ IT CLOSES. 2 c 5 s “Mommy, why ain't I tI \ “luxtapased?” BUT I SAY THEY'RE Brg, They ARE ENR oe CARTOONS, =- BUT THEY ARE NOT HUMPHREY BOGART | AS AMZ, THE SAME THING! ONE'S AN AND THERE IS A cone EERE es APPROACH TO PYCTURE-MAKING-- A S7YZE, 1F YOU LIKE --WHILE THE OTHER RELATIONSHIP: 1S A MEDIUM WHICH OFTEN EMPLOYS BETWEEN. THAT APPROACH. COMICS AND CARTOONS, MORE ON. THIS ZATER, THIS SAME SYWELE A GREAT MAJORITY OF MODERN COMICS OF COURSE, IF PANEL MIGHT ALSO DO FEATURE WORDS AND PICTURES IN ANYONE WANTS TO BE LABELLED Comics |_| COMBINATION AND IT'S A SUBJECT WORTHY OF| | WRITE A BOOK FOR ITS JUXTAPOSITION STUDY, BUT WHEN USED AS A DEFIV/77ON TAKING THE OPP0S/7¢ OF WORDS AND FOR COMICS, I'VE FOUND IT 70 BEA LITTLE VIEW, YOU CAN BET TLL BE THE FIRST IN LINE TO BUY A copy? TOO RESTRICTIVE FOR MY TASTE J\_Pecrures IF Col 4 AND 7H/S TIME, SPECTACULARLY VARIED THE SECRET IS NOT IN PAST \S_ANY INDICATION, WHAT THE DEFINITION comics. Cortes WL) oe SAYS BUT IN WHR I VIRTUALLY IO DO! " PREDICT USING THE ANT” SP: STANDARDS OF THE BUT OUR DEFINITION CAN OFFER US SOME CLUES. ar Bi a rr er ec) n iu fi i i é ING 7 0 7% OES. Oi . 4 FUNNY ANIMALS Nov BIOGRAPHY - HORROR . NOU, KAN TASII SCIENCE: bo Te Tem) FICTION OR READER AGE. peels HISTORICAL = Veet ]| FICTION a” aia ao a ‘ GENRES F OUR DEFINIT! SOCIAL ben aa EROTICA ‘ NO. TYPES O} ALLEGORY Loa -o4 g sussECT CNL NIT btm col EC} COP EES oF : rol dred 08 BAe OF CONSCIOUSNESS, Nl S SAID ABOUT PAPER NO PRINTING PROC TIONED. PRINTING 77SELE EVEN. SPECIFIED / NOTHING (5 SAID ABOUT TECHNICAL PENS OR BRISTOL BARD OR WINDSOR & NEWTON FINEST SABLE 3 SERIES 7 NUMBER TWO BRUSHES mareriacs Ti Be ‘ Niel ARE RULED OUT 5 h 8Y OUR DEFINITION. Sea Bate f ey lane NO 7OOLS ARE PROHIBITED. THERE 1S NO MENTION OF BLACK LINES AND FLAT COLORED INK. NO. CALLS FOR EXAGGERATED ANATOMY FOR REPRESENTATIONAL ART OF ANY KIND. No SCHOOLS OF ART ARE BANISHED hs ae BY OUR DEFINITION, a y NO PHILOSOPHIES, NO MOVEMENTS, NO WAYS OF SEEING ARE OUT OF BOUNDS / THOSE OF YOU WHO MAKE COMICS FOR ‘A LIVING ~~ OF WOULD 2728 10, SOMEDAY-- PROBABLY KNOW THAT KEEPING UP WITH ALL THE ADVANCES \N TODAY'S COMICS 1S A FULL-7ME YOR. THERE ARE $0 MANY COMICS IN PRINT TODAY THAT IT WOULD TAKE AN ARMY OF READERS TO STUDY THEM ALL ATTEMPTS 10. DEFINE COMICS ARE AN ON-GOING PROCESS: WHICH WON'T END ANYTIME ‘SOON HOWEVER MUCH WE MAY TRY TO UNDERSTAND THE WORLD OF COMICS AROUND US, A 74z7- THAT WORLD WILL ALWAYS LIE IN SHADOW--A MYSTERY. Many POSSIBLE WORLDS/” A NEW GENERATION WiLL NO DouBT REJECT| WHATEVER THIS ONE FINALLY DECIDES TO E MORE TO REINVENT comics. Z'LL DO My BEST IN THE FOLLOWING CHAPTERS TO SHED Z/GHTON THAT UNSEEN SIDE, BUT AS WE FOCUS ON THE WORLD OF, COMICS AS /T-AS: TT SHOULD BE KEPT’ IN MIND AT AZZ TIMES THAT THIS WORLD IS ONLY ONE-- HERE'S TO THE HERE'S A PAINTING : THE INSCRIPTION 1S IN By MAGRITTE CALLED “7HE FRENCH. 7RANSZA7ED, \T MEANS TREACHERY OF IMAGES.” THIS 1S NOT A PIPE!” JhIs Is A FAINTING OF A PIPE ‘SEE PAGE 216 FOR MORE INFORMATION 24 web Tu TTS. ING OF A PIPEY TRIS 1S RAVING OF KYBINTING A PIPE. eat ING AGAIN. wero! 1s PRINIED COPY OF A DRAWING OF A PAINTING OF A PIPE. 7X, IF YOU. FOLD THE PAGES COPIES, ACTUALLY, — Chk es jas he pape ia =r SAYING? A Coos 0 rs we ape IF YOU DO, HAVE YouR, EARS CHECKED, BECAUSE NO ONE SAID A WORD. EEE 25 ASDHIMA gle THESE ARE NOT IDEAS. THIS 1S NOT SEAS THESE ARE NOT PEOPLE. WELCOME TO THE STRANGE AND WONDERFUL OED eS THIS 1S NOT\ [my voice. THIS IS NOT SOUND. THIS 15 NOT LAW. ZOE. THIS IS NOT A CAR. sis 1S/NOT FOOD. Lh & TUNDRA CTH ios THESE ARE NOT SEPARATE THIS Is NOT A MOMENTS: ‘THIS 1S NOT A. ‘COMPANY. 26 NOW, THE WORD 7CON MEANS MANY THINGS. THs 13 PAPER z HATS A BIT BROADER ‘THAN THE DEFINITION IN MY DICTIONARY, BUT IT'S THE CLOSEST THING TO WHAT I NEED HERE. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS CHAPTER, I'M USING THE WORD ‘7CONV" TO MEAN ANY IMAGE USED 10 REPRESENT A 4 PERSON, PLACE, THING OR IDEA. "SYMBOL" IS A BIT T00 LOADED FOR ME. ‘THE SORTS OF IMAGES WE USUALLY CAZL SYMBOLS ARE ONE CATEGORY ‘OF ICON, HOWEVER, THESE ARE THE IMAGES WE USE TO REPRESENT CONCEPTS, (DEAS SND PHILOSOPHIES. THEN THERE ARE THE ICONS OF LANGUAGE, |] SCIENCE AND COMMUNICATION. AND FINALLY, THE ICONS WE CALL P/C7URES: IMAGES DESIGNED TO ACTUALLY RESEMBLE THEI SUBJECTS. AS RESEMBLANCE VARIES, SQ DOES THE LEVEL OF ICONIC. CONTENT. OF THE PRACTICAL REALM. 08 70 PUT IT SOMEWHAT CLUMS/LY. ‘SOME PICTURES ARE JUST MORE ICONIC THAN OTHERS, 27 IN THE VOWV- PICTORIAL ICONS, MEANING 15 F7XED AND ABSOLUTE. THEIR APPEARANCE DOESN'T AFFECT THEIR. MEANING BECAUSE THEY REPRESENT INVISIBLE MWDEAS. IN PICTURES, HOWEVER, MEANING IS FLUID AND VARTABLE ACCORDING TO APPEARANCE. THEY DIFFER FROM “REAL-LIFE” APPEARANCE TO_VARYING DEGREES. WORDS ARE TOTALLY ABSTRACT \CONS. THAT IS, THEY BEAR NO RESEMBLANCE AT ALL TO THE REAL MECOY. BUT IY PICTURES THE LEVEL OF ABSTRACTION VARVES. SOME, LIKE THE FACE IN THE PREVIOUS PANEL SO CLOSELY RESEMBLE THEIR REAL-LIFE COUNTERPARTS BS TO ALMOST ZRICK™ OTHERS. LIKE YOURS TRULY, ARE QUITE A BIT MORE ABSTRACT AND. IN FACT, ARE VERY MUCH LIVE KE ANY HUMAN FACE ‘YOU'VE EVER SEEN/ LET'S SEE IF WE CAN PUT THESE PICTORIAL /CONS: IN SOME SORT £2) OF ORDER. &

    You might also like