Media Specificity

 

My Comic Strip: Just Read a Book

http://www.stripcreator.com/comics/jjzgamer/546356

Artist Statement

           Comics are a peculiarity for reading in general. Whether they come as strips or full-blown graphic novels, there is a fine balance of visual and written storytelling that needs to be met. While the art can take the steering wheel on many stories, there needs to be a balance where the words can compliment the visual. Having said that, can a comic work when the words are the dominant driving force? This is what my comic hopes to test for the medium. Though I did use a comic application from the Internet since I cannot draw, the intent of my strip should be clear regardless.

            One of the important elements for this work was making sure that the art had was how it is portrayed here. The generator allowed for all kinds of variations in characters and background, but the point I wanted to make required the art to be stagnant. Is it still a comic if there is no action present in the scene? The words explain everything about his feelings, thereby superseding the tell factor over the show. We have seen comics use dense literary language like Alan Moore’s most famous books or comic strips Calvin and Hobbes, but they also had moving images. So do the words really carry weight when it is just a guy on a bench?

            In a way, this is both praise and criticism to the medium of comic writing. For one thing, comics are somewhat the gateway between movies and literature in that it follows many of their similar principles. It requires multiple layers of storytelling so if you can communicate from both a visual and written standpoint, you get the best of both worlds. Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns, Ghost World and many other comics are powerful because they allow for strong writing on top of vivid, expressive and well-framed images. It creates a world as the writer and artist sees it while allowing enough room for the audience to fill the gaps.

            However, it also shows some of the shortcomings of writing for a comic versus a book or a movie. On one end of the spectrum, many writers shun actual writing to let non-stop kinetic imagery tell the story. Look at any local comic store and you will see many examples of this in the popular trades. On the other hand, some writers have the story take so much precedence you wonder why it wasn’t just a book. I point a finger at Persepolis not that it is a bad comic by any means, but it feels like it could have easily just been a memoir given the subject matter and writing.

            I personally feel comics, like gaming and other “subgenres” or entertainment, can be a serious art medium. When we see how the components of the medium work together, we understand what can be accomplished. I can only hope that Gabe from Penny Arcade is fine with his avatar being used here to help make my point.