the SERIOUS Business of Graphic Novels

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the SERIOUS Business ofGraphic Novels

• with A. David Lewis
• Fuller Middle School
• June 9, 2006

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Whos He?
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Whos He?
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Whos He?
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Whos He?
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In Common?
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A Comic? Huh?

• Comics are...
• for little kids.
• silly.
• only superheroes.
• weird.

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Is It a Comic?
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Is It a Comic? (part 2)
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Is It a Comic Now ?
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Definition Scott McCloud
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Definition Scott McCloud
Juxtaposed pictorial and other images in
deliberate sequence, intended to convey
information and/or to produce an aesthetic
response in the viewer.
First graphic novel
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Definition R.C. Harvey

• One litmus test of good comics art is to
  ascertain to what extent the sense of the words
  depends the pictures and vice versa.

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Tie-Ins
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Swoosh! Superheroes!
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Commercial Products
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1984 2 1986
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racking Them Up

• Maus Pulitzer Prize
• From Hell Movie Top Ripperlogical Theory
• Sandman Howard Phillips Lovecraft Award 1991
• Stangers In Paradise Pedro and Me GLAAD
  Recognition
• Cerebus Biggest Self-Publishing Success
• Road to Perdition Academy Award Nomination
• Adv. Of Kavalier Clay Pulizter Prize

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Simple or Simply Brilliant?

• Imagine a movie without sound
• Imagine a ballet without music
• Imagine a baseball game without gloves
• Imagine a car without doors
• Are prose books more complicated than comics, or
  are they just different?
• Is our brain wired for comics?

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Acting Their Ages

• Gold
• June 1938, Action Comics 1

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Acting Their Ages
Silver September 1956, Showcase 4
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Acting Their Ages
Bronze Early 1970s (June 1971, Amazing Spider-Man
96)
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Acting Their Ages

• Iron
• Dark
• Mica/Mylar/Silicon
• Second Golden/Electroplate

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The POW! BANG! Crash

• The 90s Boom
• Comic retail shops
• Speculation
• Target age
• The 90s Bust
• Comic shops
• Shrinking audience
• And then there were two (again) --

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Beyond the Big Two
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Make a Comic Book

• Routes
• Collaborations/Auteurs
• Writing-led/Art-led/Hybrid
• Stan Lee Style
• Editor-system
• Story!! (with message, imagery, theme, character
  arc, dialogue, action, climax, pacing, style,
  etc.)

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Make a Comic Book

• Write a Story
• Pitch, notes, prose under 2 pages
• Option Detail glosses (background, races,
  action)
• Break Your Story
• Sections/Arcs (volumes, acts, issues)
• Page-by-Page

• Marvin at bar, alone. Finds coin.
• Outside, coin shines. Marvin falls. Black.
• Xyntron observes sun-destruction. Calls wife.
• Destruction of their world. Cut to Marvins bros
  video game.
• Marvin stumbles in. Family panics.

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Make a Comic Book Script

• Alan Moore
• Hyper-detailed panels.
• PAGE SEVENTEEN (8 panels)
• Panel one. In the foreground, we see Charles with
  a ripped piece of his jacket making the shape of
  a star. The shirt beneath the jacket is orange,
  but tints with his blood. He seems to favor his
  left leg, though any movement is painful. Across
  the street, only a cat blocks his way, but even
  that small amount of opposition forces Charles to
  favor the gutter, heavy with brown sludge. A
  light comes down on Charles from above and sends
  a glint off of his glasses. His brow is knotted
  with fear and pain.
• Charles OWWW.
• Cat MEOW.
• SFX (by feet) splish

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Make a Comic Book Script

• 2. Joe Casey
• Just the facts
• PAGE SEVENTEEN (8 panels)
• Panel two. Tattered, Charles struggles down
  gutter, passing cat.
• Charles OWWW.
• Cat MEOW.
• SFX (by feet) splish

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Make a Comic Book Script

• Advice Help the artist, but dont dominate.
• Low-angle, close-up, worms eye view,
  profile, etc.
• Layout, unless essential to your story, should be
  their concern. (Avoid saying, 3 long boxes, then
  2 small, for example.) Give layout feedback
  later.

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Make a Comic Book
Marlo/Sonja Raven-haired, steely executive in
reality fierce dragon-slayer in her dreams.
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Make a Comic Book
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Make a Comic Book
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Make a Comic Book
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Make a Comic Book
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Distribution
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Convention-al Wisdom
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Convention-al Wisdom Silliness
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Convention-al Wisdom Silliness
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Convention-al Wisdom Silliness
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the SERIOUS Business ofGraphic Novels

• http//www.captionbox.net
• http//loosepgs.blogspot.com