com-ics (kom•iks)

n. plural in form, used with a singular verb. 1. Juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence, intended to convy information and/or to produce an aesthetic response in the viewer. (McCloud)

 

 

 

Storyboard due: Nov. 1/3

Draft due: Nov. 8/10

Finished version due: Nov. 15/17

 


 

Background

Today the possibilities for comics are—as they always have been—ENDLESS...[They offer] range and versatility with all the potential imagery of film and painting plus the intimacy of the written word. —Scott McCloud

As you read in Understanding Comics, graphical fiction has long had a reputation for being a kid's art or an underground-ish hobby of kid-like adults. This reputation, however, has been changing (however slowly) for quite some time. Not only are comics a very, very old art form, they are increasingly being written (and read) as serious literature and used for serious subjects that range from Kierkegaard to Statistics. After all, there's no inherent reason why "juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence" can't be used for just about anything—in just about any field!

And not only that: they're fun.

These are comics that opened my mind, pointing and pushing the medium in new and interesting directions, whether through formal experimentation, uncompromised subject matter, uniquely experessed mood, deeply felt theme, inventive drawing, or sheer craft. They are comics that possess an internal life, a creative spark, an impishness at their core—or as Paul Klee called it, "dynamic equilibrium," a feeling of order and balance that teeters on the verge of chaos and imbalance. (Brunetti on An Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons, and True Stories.)

Instructions

Drawing on Scott McCloud's definition of comics, answering his call to explore the possibilities of this art form, and taking the experimental, "alt" lead of our Ivan Brunetti and Maira Kalman texts, create a work of graphic fiction or graphic non-fiction.

The range of modes within the larger form of comics is very wide, so you will need to decide on your own exact purpose and audience. You might consider doing something linked to your major field of study, for example: a graphical how-to or informational text for students, or even an essay in the form of comics. Or you might do something more personal, such as graphical memoir. You might try a work which defies standard categories and straddles many modes, such as Kalman's The Principles of Uncertainty. And of course you can do a traditional piece of graphical fiction, in which you invent characters and tell a story.

Whatever you decide, you will need to apply specific information from throughout McCloud's Understanding Comics.

Use any software you like, as long as the work is easily viewed and posted to Bb. As you work, be aware of file size; you'll likely need to optimize your images so that they whole piece will load in Bb before the next millenium!

Feel free to borrow and paste images of any kind (rather than draw them yourself, if you feel your skills are limited). Nothing says that you can't use any KIND of images you like—notice how varied the images are in our comics anthology text! (You'll see everything there from crayon stick figures to complex realistic portraits to intensely stylized manga to almost total abstraction.) Just be sure that your work in total has a unified overall aesthetic.

And feel free to make this a collaborative venture with one or more classmates, making best use of your individual skills.

Length

Because this project is so open and tailored to each individual student's needs, it's impossible to dictate an exact length. Size and scope will be negotiated by working closely with me and your peers, but figure (roughly) on a minimum of 10 pages and 40 frames (a "page" here meaning standard 8 x 11' paper.) Difficulty, complexity, and experience of course could alter those numbers. Please stay in close touch with me as you work.

Purpose

The purpose of this assignment is to explore both the past and future of a particular verbal-visual art: graphic fiction. You will learn about this ancient form while also practicing it yourself, pushing and challenging its live boundaries and uses. You will thus gain experience, once again, in writing which employs both word and image, enhancing skills you may need in your personal life or major field of study, and building on the kind of literacy we all need in an increasingly visual world. You will also get to be part of the forward-guard in visual writing, helping to "make up" new forms and determine the future of visual communication.

Your specific purpose, within the project itself, will depend upon your specific mode. If you are doing graphical non-fiction, for example, your purpose may be to objectively instruct your readers in some subject. If you are doing a "traditional" comics narrative, your purpose may be to provoke an aesthetic response in your readers. Purpose, like length, will be something we work out together.

Audience

Your audience depends on the mode you chose, and, again, will be negotiated with me and your peers.

Process

Be sure to read about McCloud's "six steps," pp. 162-184 (170-171 in particular). Your own work should follow his lead by starting with idea/purpose, then on through form, idiom, structure, craft, and surface.

In the structuring phase, it's best to use what's called "storyboarding": creating a sketch of your comic's graphical arrangement. This accomplishes what outlines do for writing, which is to help the writer visualize the whole work in advance, as well as to organize it, identity its fundamental parts and their various functions, and heed transitions between those parts.

Be aware that storyboards should be used as guides, not straightjackets. It helps to have a preview of one's overall project, but if ideas emerge or issues ensue in the actual production, you can always modify the storyboard. And it can be wonderful to wind up someplace you never expected to be.

Supplemental Notes or Letter

As with your previous project, you will include a Supplemental Notes or Letter, which helps me to understand what you were attempting to do in your project, any technical difficulties you faced, how much experience you had from the start, and so on. This letter is also a good chance to show me very specifically what you are learning. You might, for example, address some or all of these questions:

  1. What kinds of text-image combinations did you use (drawing on McCloud's categories)?
  2. How are form and content negotiated in your piece (drawing, again, on McCloud's discussion)?
  3. How have you used "the line," as discussed by McCloud?
  4. What determined the length of your panels? What effect were you after? (Again, again, again: see McCloud on this issue.)
  5. In what way is your work Western? In what way Easter? (McCloud)
  6. Etc.

Your Supplemental Notes or Letter should be a minimum of 1 page, typed and double-spaced. You may simply attach it to your project, or include it as a final page.

Your audience for the letter is obviously me, and your purpose is to a) to help me evaluate your project fairly; b) to show that you've been reflecting on course materials; and c) to give you some further practice writing just plain, old-fashioned, WORDS.

Grading Rubric

    1. Project represents a month's worth of planning, work, complexity. _______
    2. Purpose is specific & clear. Targeted audience is specific & clear. _______
    3. Highly creative, innovative; helps us to see what graphic fiction/nonfiction can be. _______
    4. Reads clearly from panel to panel without confusion. Panel transition types, based on McCloud, are clear. _______
    5. Relationships between text and image are clear, based on types outlined by McCloud._______
    6. Panel content and point of view are varied, engaging. _______
    7. Panel length is appropriate, based on McCloud's discussions of time.
    8. Text is readable, edited for concision and clarity, and proofread for mechanical errors. _______
    9. Aesthetic pieces are free of sentimentality, pat themes, cliches. _______
    10. Informative and persuasive pieces make clear claims, backed by plenty of specific details, reasons, principles, sources. Counter arguments are acknowledged and refuted. Attention to ethos, pathos, logos. _______
    11. Instructional pieces are exceptionally clear in their text, panel transitions, and panel content.
    12. Pieces whose images, text, and/or overall design and purpose are relatively "easy" are correspondingly lengthier or include additional chapters or parts._______
    13. Achieves purpose. _______
    14. Supplemental notes are included. _______
    15. Sources are cited, if necessary, in a separate document. _______

 

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