Comments | mizkit: comic book storytelling

mizkit

comic book storytelling

Aug 09, 2006 09:03

The ideal of a comic book is to tell a story so well wedded between words and pictures that it's incomplete without one of those aspects. More or less any comic book does that as a run of the mill storytelling aspect, with occasional forays into all-silent issues or, in Terry Moore's case, periodic breaks into actual prose when there's too much ( Read more... )

writing, fanboy, comics

Comments 14

rfrancis August 9 2006, 14:08:56 UTC

I have no opinion about JLA #0. I'm just here to take issue with the idea that comics are incomplete without words!

I agree with the notion put forward by Eisner and McCloud (amongst others, but they made books about it) that the fundamental nature of comics is a deliberate sequence of images (yes, yes, Scott, juxtaposed so we're not including film here.) This is not to say that words aren't a perfectly legitimate part of the comics form, since they are, but I dispute that "words + pictures = comics."

And I come bearing new evidence! http://normallife.livejournal.com/81110.html

(Note that saying that comics don't necessarily need words doesn't mean that they don't need a writer. If all a writer did was make neat-sounding words...)

mizkit August 9 2006, 18:43:34 UTC

I was practically certain somebody would take issue with my thesis statement there. :) I probably should've expected it to be you ( ... )

rfrancis August 9 2006, 19:17:42 UTC

I think that in fact my position is that words shouldn't be regarded as NOT visual storytelling (unless, I guess, they're played in audio from the book!) -- they just aren't representational art. But then -- neither are some drawings! If this seems facetious, consider the "emotive bubbles" you mention -- a good example of how the area is all really a lot greyer ( ... )

mizkit August 10 2006, 12:15:07 UTC

both are in service to the greater artistic creation

That's a nice way of putting it. Yeah. Like that. *pretends I said that* :)

mostlymaylone August 9 2006, 14:38:59 UTC

Why must you write such a tantalizing description. Now I will have to go into the ONLY shop up here and pick up JLA #0. The problem being that while I'm there I might as well pick up some others while I'm in there. Oh, and some more dice, not that there's a game I'm invol - Oh, shiny. *cough* The last time I went on a whim and picked up a book you recommended I ended up with six others following me home. This time as funds have gone to more important things I shall have to resort to thievery. The dice will be easy as they end up in my mouth anyway, but the comics...once I add the plastic wrap and backer the will no longer fit on my person. (at least not with the gut I've developed) They MUST NOT be bent! So the only alternative is to run and thus renew my life of crime. You will have successfully destroyed eight years of artful_dabbler's hard work. Then again, I need someone to drive the get away mini-van.

mizkit August 9 2006, 18:44:07 UTC

You could stand in the comic shop and read the comic without buying anything. :)

mostlymaylone August 9 2006, 18:57:21 UTC

I suppose so, but that kind of would get rid of the whole Mr & Mrs Smith mini van chase scene I was looking forward to.

mizkit August 10 2006, 12:13:03 UTC

Would this be a bad time to tell you that artful_dabbler is Jewish?

hzatz August 9 2006, 17:04:17 UTC

I agree. JLA #0 was a fine comic book.

I'm not quite as much of a JLA fanatic as a Superman fanatic; I only own about 400 JLA's as opposed to about 1600 Superman books. But I appreciated that every small section got the characterization right, even in sync with what the characters' attitudes towards each other were or would be at the time.

Now, if you're looking for another fine comic book, go out and get the latest Astro City special. Busiek, as always, does a fine job of capturing the best elements of the medium.

mizkit August 9 2006, 18:45:05 UTC

I'm not a fantatic of either, but wow, they did a nice job of characterization through all of that. I thought the ... what, 4th to last or so page, where they're all converging, was just heartbreakingly beautiful.

I haven't read any Astro City. I take it I should?

hzatz August 9 2006, 18:53:36 UTC

Probably. As I've said, they're very well executed.

I'd loan you a copy, but the handoff would be a bit tricky.

mizkit August 10 2006, 12:13:56 UTC

*laugh* I could probably borrow it more locally, or even stand around in a bookstore and read it. :)

Thread 5

JLA anonymous August 9 2006, 20:39:21 UTC

I was never a fan JLA/ DC comics mostly Marvel for me. I imagine it must be difficult to write this stuff because so much has gone on before. Besides cracking into DC/Marvel as a writer is tough especially in an established series. In other fanfic like Star Trek etc, the novels in most cases stand alone. Comic books have too many plot cross overs.

Jim