Respond to each new novel (and your outside novel) using the following template. Though the questions are the same, your answers will be completely different with each new work and author. The responses are due on the day we discuss a given work; for example, on Tuesday we will discuss Superman: Red Son, so bring your responses to class with you on Tuesday AND post one of the questions (any of the 4 below) as a “comment” on the blog. I’ll show you how to do this in class.
THE
QUESTIONS
1.
How is the work illustrated? Be specific: would you characterize it as sketchy, realistic, cartoony, artistic,
ornate, spare, expressionistic, tight, loose, etc.? What is the overall feel of the artwork, and
what kind of tone does it create for the reader? Do you feel it is the uniquely suited to the story being
told? Consider the differences between
Crumb and Cavey’s illustrations for Pekar’s American
Splendor.
2.
Why was this story written as a
graphic novel? What might this story
lose if translated to a novel, short story, or even a film? What elements of the story almost require
the juxtaposition of words and images? In other words, what does the comic
format allow us to see and experience that a traditional novel wouldn’t? Again, be as specific as possible.
3.
Who narrates the story?
One person? More than one? How
do they do this? Traditionally, narration
is told from either a third-person or first-person perspective; how does a
graphic novel challenge this approach?
Consider how the form of comics ‘tells’ a story and allows us to see
multiple points of view within a single narrative frame.
4. Describe one scene in the novel,
either a single frame or a single of frames, that you feel is particularly
significant. Why is this moment so
important? Do you admire this passage
more for its narrative (the words) or its art (the images)—or both? Make sure we can not only see what’s going
on here, but we see how it relates to the story at large.
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