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Marija Dalbello Comics

Explore the history, artistry, and literacy of comic books through the visual language that transcends time. Learn about fundamental elements, transitions, artists, publishers, readers, and the distinct culture surrounding comic books.

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Marija Dalbello Comics

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  1. Image credit: Victor GAD Marija Dalbello Comics Rutgers School of Communication, Information, and Library Studies dalbello@scils.rutgers.edu http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~dalbello

  2. Comics _______________________________________ History Comic book culture Visual language of comics (Comic literacy) Artists / Publishers / Readers Taxonomies

  3. Comic Book History _______________________________________ Turn of the century (pictorial storytelling) 1940s superhero comics Comic Book Code (Fredric Wertham’s The Seduction of the Innocent (NY: Random, 1954) 1960s adult comics 1980s slump 1990s to date revival; alternative comics (Vertigo); graphic novel boom

  4. Visual Language of Comics • _______________________________________ • Fundamental elements of comics literacy Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art (1993) • Visual iconography established vocabulary of comics • Narrative closure (constructing a continuous unified reality) • Panel layout • Color • Visual conventions (balloons and types of speech, moods) • Arrangement of the panels on the page, size of panels and reading directions • Conscious breaking of rules • Self-reflexivity (convention / innovation) • Innovation: Chris Ware (matrix instead of sequence; unified panel)

  5. Visual Language of Comics • _______________________________________ • Panel-to-panel transition (Puszt, pp. 115-120) • Numbering • Arrows to show progression • Traditional left-to-right reading direction • Action-to-action transitions (single subject in a brief sequence of movement or change; character swinging a fistt) • Subject-to-subject transitions (focuses on a single scene or idea but moves its focus from place to place during the sequence for example showing an anguished face of characters in the same scene) • Scene-to-scene transitions (deductive reasoning because reader fills in the gaps of time and space between the panels; to separate specific sequences; time and space changes) • Aspect-to-aspect transitions (montage of elements reflecting a single place, idea, or mood) • Non sequitur transitions (no logical relationship between panels but they can create “meaning or resonance”)

  6. Artists / Writers • _______________________________________ • Harvey Pekar (writer: American Splendor)(http://www.harveypekar.com) • Chris Ware (innovative visual language) (http://orion.it.luc.edu/~dcihla/ware.htm) • Robert Crumb (http://www.fantagraphics.com/artist/crumb/crumb.html) • Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons (Watchmen-cinematic effects) (http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Studios/3840/watchmen.html) • Neil Gaiman (Death, The Cost of Living, Sandman - horror, supernatural) (http://www.neilgaiman.com) • Art Spiegelman (Mauss - Pulitzer prize) (http://www.iath.virginia.edu/holocaust/spiegelman.html) • DC comics, Vertigo, Marvel, minicomics (Samizdat editions), comix

  7. CW RC Artists / Writers _______________________________________ Watchmen HP NG

  8. Readers • _______________________________________ • Extensive reading / Collecting (“fanboys” / “true believers”) • Reading within a niche culture (in-crowd) • Published letters (interaction between readers and with the writers) • Close relationship with production (readers as participants and producers in the culture) • Male readership (superhero comics; connection to adolescence) • Female readership (alternative comix, manga) • Mainstream vs. Alternative audience • Comic book culture (specialized bookstores, Comicon)

  9. Taxonomies • _______________________________________ • Manga (anime) • Superhero comics (young adult, adult) • Alternative comics (adult) • Genres: action, horror, supernatural, SF

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