Comics: A Better Means To An Artistic End Essay

The superhero comic landscape during the Golden and Silver age of comics was saturated with comics that were very similar in structure. In The Revisionary Superhero Narrative, Geoff Klock points out that comics like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman followed an established set of conventions where each issue only mechanically added another story to their respective folklores (117). It would not make much of a difference what order they are read in because they do not take into account the history of the character or what lasting impact their actions will have on the world. The complexity of these comics do not go far beyond commercial literature, and they only seek to prolong their lifespan. However, author Alan Moore challenges this view of superhero comics by creating Watchmen, a revisionary comic series that redefines the purpose of the superhero and explores how superheroes can greatly impact the world in a political and social context. By incorporating these ideas in Watchmen, Moore effectively creates a more realistic, and ultimately a more novelistic, depiction of the superhero figure.

Why are comics not appreciated as much as the dry narratives of novels in the literary world? A comic is composed of symbols to express concepts shared by all people in their own social environment, and provide more tools than conventional art to truly show artistic intention.

Comics allow for a unique type of learning through the combination of prose and images. Not only does the reader have the ability to take away meaning from the text, but the images offer clarification and small details that one might miss when reading a novel or short story. “The Mixed Up Files”, a comic by Gabrielle Bell about how literature affected her life, and “Superman and Me”, an article by Sherman Alexie regarding comic books, include information about their childhoods. However, due to the ambiguity and the detail of the pictures and text in “The Mixed Up Files”, more information about Bell’s childhood is available to the reader.

Every comic has a unique style that makes the comic to stand out to readers. A comic’s style is made up different pieces that come together and give the comic the uniqueness that the readers fall in love with. Comic writers have to decide what type of framing style, transitions, emanata, layout and cartooning style they need to have in their comic to fit the story. Ella Cinders by Bill Conselman and Charlie Plumb has a very interesting narrative and cartooning style that fits well with the story the comic portrays. Throughout this paper I am going to explore the narrative and cartooning styles in Ella Cinders to understand why the styles were chosen and how they enhance the story.

“Okay, so now you know that I'm a cartoonist. And I think I'm pretty good at it, too. But no matter how good I am, my cartoons will never take the place of food or money. I wish I could draw a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or a fist full of twenty dollar bills, and perform some magic trick and make it real. But I can't do that. Nobody can do that, not even the hungriest magician in the world”(7).

Right from the start of “All-Star Superman,” we are introduced to colorful panels that integrates the use and symbolism of colors. Throughout written literature, from “Red Wheelbarrow” to “The Yellow Wallpaper,” color has been a consistently used technique to add extra meaning to subjects. The use of that symbolism in the comic book medium makes sense, since color can be shown instead of conveyed.

“I wanted to sort out the fragments of what I’d experienced from the media images that threatened to engulf what I actually saw, and the collage like nature of a newspaper page encouraged my impulse to juxtapose my fragmentary thoughts in different styles” This quote from the author enables the responder to develop further insight into Art’s reasoning behind how he has structured the comics, and why he chose to create them. The time period after September 11 in which the comic was devised and then published was the beginning of a very invasive media presence. The way in which the media dramatized its information, and bombard its audience with it, made it very hard for one to distinguish between the facts of events, and the images the media would present us with. This is very much evident in Art’s somewhat satirical and cynical representation of the media.

The marvelous men of comic book writers have found their way into the homes and

In the essay, “In Defense of Graphic Novels”, Kathryn Strong Hansen explains the different opinions about using graphic novels in a classroom. When most people hear of a graphic novel, they assume it’s a comic book and that it has no relevance in a classroom. Because they have pictures, they also assume that they are meant for children. Hansen explains, however, that students can analyze graphic novels the same way they would a prose-only novel. She also states that low level reading students could benefit from reading graphic novels. Because they can be used to help struggling students, students who are doing well believe that graphic novels are too easy of a read. It could also

In this dissertation I will discuss how DC Comics have developed and improved the design of their comic books since their establishment in 1937. I will compare comics from past and present and talk about the different styles of comic books that have been released from the company. I will also talk about how the artwork from the comic books have influenced character and costume design in recent DC Comic films. I will do this by studying the history of the company and researching the designers behind the comic books. I will thoroughly research in detail the characters and the designs of their costume and equipment and compare them to the different films that have been released over the years. The main character I will look into is Batman. I will study the origins of the character, the man behind the character, the reason behind Batman’s creation, how he has changed over the years, the development of other characters in the series, the famous villains that Batman has had to face, the different costumes he has had over the years and I will also be researching and studying how Batman has become a national icon in American society, and the effects the character has had on people living in the country. Batman

The number of movies adapted from comic books has, in recent years, become more and more popular, and more comic book films are being released now than in the past. In this essay I will explore the reasons why this pattern has emerged and potential reasons for 'the prevalence of comic book adaptations in post 9/11 cinema'.

Specific Purpose: I want to inform my audience more about the history of comic books and what they have become.

Ever thought how dumb comic books or graphic novels were growing up? Why such avid readers were called (myself included) nerds? Yet were smarter than you? Think back to how geeky their way of speaking was and they touched on such complexities even for a book! Shortly, reasoning will tell you why comic books are the best. Over the years, from the 20th to 21st century, research and documentation has been stacking up to prove that comic books make their readers smarter. Comics make you want to read, and they use complex language which progresses verbal intelligence. Like steroids for the mind, comics can take struggling readers and make them stronger!

When comics were first coming out, they were not all that popular but in todays’ world, they have become very popular and well known. Several of these comics have been turned into films, which is one of the many reasons why the popularity has been rising over the years. One of the most well known comics is Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. This comic was composed and released in 1986 by Frank Miller. With the usage of Frank Miller’s powerful, intense lines and the artwork done by Klaus Janson’s and Lynn Varley’s it has elevated this comic up to the very top of mainstream comics. In Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, the skillful illustrations on the pages successfully create the thought that there are underlying meanings, which makes the atmosphere a very intense one throughout the comic. The work of art that is presented on the pages in this comic are embedded in such a way that the pages become the continuum for the meaning. One of the main themes that are imbedded on the pages through the artwork in this book is the ideological struggle between Bruce Wayne and Batman.

From an early age I loved to read. At just two years old I would beg my mother to enroll me into school. I watched as my older sister meticulously picked out her outfit each night in preparation for the next school day. At such a young age I somehow knew that this thing called “school” was the answer to something spectacular. My home was chaotic and reading became an escape and helped distract me from the unpleasant family dynamic.