O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim: "Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life" by Austin Davenport

The story of Scott Pilgrim is divided into six separate volumes, so we will focus on volume one, “Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life”.  The artwork in the Scott Pilgrim series is very cartoonish and simplistic.  The faces of the characters are not very detailed, but the reader is still able to distinguish which character is which.  I resembles the template of the Charlie Brown series, where all the faces are the same, but certain details like hair or clothing show the differences between characters.  The feeling this artwork gives off is one of normalcy.  It is has a typical cartoon feel to it.  It has some aspects of “superhero” comics to it with the fight scene towards the end of the book, as it has lines in the background showing movement and words used to show sounds like “kpok” and “swok”.  The story is of a normal guy who wants to date a normal girl who has some not so normal ex-boyfriends.  Due to the fact that the main character is a “normal” guy, the artwork, to suit this tone of being “normal”, is itself a very “normal” looking cartoon style.

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Miller/McNiven's Marvel Civil War by Dylan Perkins

 1.               For being a novel about superheroes, Civil War is drawn in a very realistic way. All of the characters and backgrounds are drawn with a large amount of detail, and even the characters that are of mutant/alien nature look believable. Even the fight scenes are realistically detailed, with injuries remaining consistant from panel to panel, as well as rips and tears to character clothing. Overall, this has to be the most realistically drawn superhero novel I have read.

2.               I don't believe this story would work in any other format for the simple fact that there is just too much going on in many of the frames. Without the ability to take your time and look at each individual frame, an enormous number of detailes would be lost. Not to mention how difficult it would be to cast so many different superheroes and villains. And as far as translating it to a purely written format: I wouldn't even want to begin describing a battle between 30+ superheroes with words alone. It would be nearly impossible to keep track of!

3.               There is no real narrator for this story. Different scenes focus on different characters, and while some are featured more prominently than others, you never get to see what the characters are thinking, only what they say out loud. The only exceptions to this are the notes left by Susan Richards and Reed Richards to each other at different points in the story, where they each narrate their inner thoughts and feelings about the conflict that is occuring. For a story with so many different characters and so many different viewpoints on the central topics, this is a very interesting narrative style that allows the reader to always be in the know while never quite knowing what is going to happen next.

4.               To me, the most significant scene is where Thor kills Goliath, causing Susan Richards to betray her comrades in order to help the rebels escape. This scene greatly emphasizes the central moral conflict the characters face throughout the novel: Just how far are they willing to go to fight for what they believe is right, and if it causes others to die, is it really right in the first place? Artistically the scene is very cinematic, with rain pouring down as Dagger, Cage, and Daredevil watch in shock and horror as Goliath slowly falls to the ground. This scene also occurs almost in the center of the novel, which I think is fitting since it completely changes the way many of the characters view the conflict.

Gaiman/Russell's Coraline by Ali Siweckyj

1.      1. Coraline’s illustrations are realistic with just a hint of cartoon to them. Detail is given to characters and background alike, but not an inordinate amount like we saw with Blankets. This book is done in color, which is important to the storyline. In the story, Coraline travels back and forth from the real world to a world created by her “mother”. The alternate world is supposed to look just like her real world even though it is “evil”. The colors are not darker in this alternate world like one would expect them to be, and that makes it all the creepier. This story is supposed to be scary, and the illustrations only add to that.

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Superman: Red Son by Chris Zellner

 Superman: Red Son. “The Great American Icon… Reimagined as a Soviet Hero”.

How Superman: Red Son is illustrated:

Superman: Red Son is drawn in a traditional, cartoony, comic book style. Some scenes in the graphic novel are brightly colored while other scenes are heavily shadowed and colored in darker tones. The colors of the scenes almost dictate the atmosphere and attitude of the settings. The early scenes from flashbacks to the Cold War are depicted as you’d imagine Cold War scenes would be, and as the story progresses through time the settings are drawn more and more futuristic.

Superman: Red Son as a Graphic Novel:

Superman: Red Son is a play on the traditional story of Superman. As if in an alternate universe, the premise of the book is that Superman crash landed as a baby on a collective farm in communist Russia and was raised by peasant farmers. The graphic novel is a great format to explore this alternate universe and allows the writers to re-imagine the story and characters. A fun and interesting example is how the writers explain where other superheroes fall into this parallel world. Batman, for example, is introduced as an anarchist opponent of Superman and as a “force of chaos” representing “the dark side of the Soviet Dream.” (p.68). Batman has a similar, traditional appearance, but because he is in Russia he has a fur tuft above the eyes on his mask for warmth. (CLICK BELOW FOR MORE...)

Eisner's Last Day in Vietnam by Teresa Buretta

Last Day in Vietnam: A Memory by Will Eisner

How is the work illustrated?

The graphics are cartoonish but detailed drawings. The book has a “Beetle Bailey” look and tone to it. The colors and even the paper it is printed on are sepia-tone. Backgrounds are coarsely textured in most frames and the paper is almost as thick as low-grade construction paper. Interspersed between each story is an actual photo taken in Vietnam to remind the reader that this is not just a fictional work.

Why was this story written as a graphic novel?

Will Eisner is a well-known cartoonist. This is a short collection of stories of his experiences and stories told to him during the Vietnam War. The graphics, although drawn comic paper style, put the reader into Vietnam with the writer. Along with being similar to “Beetle Bailey”, the stories and art have a “M.A.S.H.” tone also. You can see and feel the camaraderie among the troops and see both the tough soldier and the softer, more human side of the same person.

Who narrates the story?

Each story has a different narrator. The first narrator is a guide (probably for Will Eisner) who is scheduled to leave Vietnam that day. The second narrator is a young Vietnamese boy watching soldiers drinking on the terrace of a local hotel. The other stories are third person narratives written to show a side of the main character that they themselves could or would not show the world.

Describe one scene in the novel.

On page 42 the top frame shows a war correspondent with his head lying on a table on the terrace, The narrator tells the reader that the correspondent has just come from the field where he had found and identified the body of his son blown to bits. The unrealistic graphics are incongruously juxtaposed with the harsh reality of what really happens in a war.

Class Continues Tomorrow...

Despite the dusting of snow and ice we got yesterday, I think we'll be safe to return to school tomorrow.  Most of it will melt today and the roads seem passable in town already.  If you are commuting and deem it unsafe to come on Thursday, please use your own judgement.  Otherwise, I'll see you all back at 9:00 tomorrow for our discussion of Blankets.  Remember to post your questions on-line as a 'comment' if you haven't yet posted any comments...and start thinking about your outside graphic novel!  I'll give you a slight extension on that assignment from Friday to next Monday, just to be nice. 

See you soon!

For Thursday: Thompson's Blankets

 Remember, we have no class again until next Thursday, December 27th!  During the break, read Craig Thompson's Blankets and answer the template questions (your last ones!).  Also, remember that if you have not posted on-line yet, this is your last chance to do so (it's a required part of your participation grade).  Start thinking about your 6th graphic novel as well...e-mail me if you have any questions or concerns.

For more information about Thompson, check out his personal blog, where he discusses his latest projects and his past works: http://www.dootdootgarden.com/