CCT 300: Critical Analysis of Media

Class 6: Economics as Applied to Comics: and lessons

for other media?

Reinventing Comics• 9 basic elements• 3 components focused on

potential of digital delivery

Reinventing Comics (1): Creation as Art

• Comics as Literature• Comies as Art• Creators’ Rights

Comics as Literature/Art• Many of you have already

discovered this in writing the paper - examples?

• Comics can be both if properly done

Comics as Literature• Storytelling and narrative• Gets more complex than simple

serialized strip - a full story from beginning to end (or a serialized strip that takes months/years to tell story?)

• Examples?

Comics as Art• No longer simply “men in

tights” • Japanese influence - a range of

interesting non-action transitions, new forms of expression

Creators’ Rights• Reaction to similar battles between

creators/publishers (examples?)• Full ownership and control• Fair share of profit• Challenges coming from this?

Reinventing Comics (2): Industry and Audience

• Industry Innovation• Public Perception • Institutional Scrutiny

Innovation in Industry• Creators’ rights require innovation in

industry model - and sometimes drive it

• Simple model of “getting into the business” - photocopy a drawing and sell it yourself - trite but true - but it’s more complicated in practice

Steps in Traditional Publishing

• Author• Publisher• Accounting• Marketing• Printing• Distribution• Warehousing• Retail• Transportation among above• Etc.

Creation and Distribution…

• Many will sacrifice control over non-creative tasks to gain broader market

• That’s often a good idea. Why?• Sometimes not a good idea.

Why?

Public Perception• Comics as kid-lit - why?• What effect does stereotype of

comics have?• What effect does traditional model of

production have on enforcing this stereotype?

Comics and Censorship• Emergence of comics in US history -

tainted by censors who lamented the debasement of culture, perversion of youth - pretty much everything

• Ironically, drove comics underground where they became even more debased and perverted (e.g., R. Crumb?)

• Driven by perception - if comics were seen as valued art, would this happen?

Reinventing Comics (3): Diversity of Audience

and Creation

• Gender Balance• Minority Representation• Diversity of Genre

Comics and Gender• Traditionally creators and audience

were male• Creators have been female - but still

expected to follow expectations of audience

• To what effect?• Alternatives?

Minority Comics• Stereotypical audience, and many

creators (even if they aren’t) - white, male, straight, Christian, young, physically able, middle class

• To what effect?• Alternatives?

Diversity of Genre• Superhero domination of shelf space via

perception, creation and audience - a vicious cycle

• Non-traditional graphic novels - breaks through ideas of what a comic “must be”

• Required breaking through comic store as core distribution channel

Reinventing Comics (4): Digitization and the

Internet• Digital Production• Digital Delivery• Digital Comics

Digitization• Production of comics digitally -

including McCloud’s two last books, but others - examples?

• What does digital production do to creation of the art?

Digital Delivery• Like other media, removes steps

in production process - ideally funneling consumer money to producer with fewer middlemen

• Middlemen role - still useful - why?

Micropayments• Addition to Reinventing Comics as

technology improved to make it plausible

• General principle re: chains of distribution - consumer fairness (rel. to creative rights) but audence fairness as well - rights to sample, test and pay fair prices

Micropayments (2)• Consumer obtains product from

source (whatever source may be)• Consumer values product (as I’m

sure some of you did…)• Consumer wishes to compensate

producer directly - but how?• Still an open problem - why?

Digital Comics• Adds a new dimension to

creation• Dependent on tools - tools to

create Reinventing and Making Comics

• Other options?

New Directions: WebComics

• Can include immersive environments in whatever medium

• May even include games (e.g. Myst, but even first-person shooters?)

• Can even be simply regular comics put up on the web (http://www.thewebcomiclist.com/)

Flash-based Comics• Why Flash?• What does Flash contribute to

visual and experiential effect of animation?

• Why is it still comical in nature?

Examples• Weebl’s Stuff/Weebl & Bob• Homestar Runner• Alternative financing strategies?• New/Mass media issues (esp.

around the Quizno’s ads?)• Other examples?

Next week• Truth and objectivity in media -

why the media is really not helping you much (and why you might already know that…)