The Avengers (Sept #8)Earth’s Mightiest Heroes

Megan Douds

Abstract

In this issue of the Avengers, Warbird has just left the group. Firestar and Justice have just been added to the team and are having trouble adjusting to their new lives as Avengers. Meanwhile, Edwin Jarvis is supposed to pick up the orphan he has been sponsoring from Costa Verde at the airport. As it turns out, when he gets to the airport, the flight has been hijacked by Magnum and he and his minions are using the orphan as a tool because she is a superhero. The Avengers show up and a fight ensues. They defeat Magnum with the help of Triathlon. Scarlet Witch also seems to be upset still about Wonder Man and her emotions are hindering her ability to be an Avenger.

Theme/Focus

The theme in this issue of The Avengers is internal struggle. The characters are dealing with a restructuring of their team and the loss of some members. This impacts how they are feeling internally and leaves many of them struggling mentally. This is outlined in many different aspects of the comic, but specifically in the interactions between characters.

Establishing shotsillustrate the setting for the scene that is about to unfold.

This panel is at the beginning of the comic and establishes the first action scene by placing the characters at the airport.

Sound effect words do what auditory sound effects do in film. They allow the reader to hear what is happening.

These two sound effect words are displayed during a fight scene in the comic.

This example of relationship showcases the intimacy of physical contact.

This panel shows Wanda and Wonder Man sharing a tender moment at the end of the comic.

Intensity can be shown via exaggerated poses and expressions.

This panel shows an exaggerated depiction Edwin Jarvis’s look of fear, illustrating intensity.

Subject-to-subjectpanel transitions show how an exchange between multiple characters takes place.

This panel shows how six different characters react to the same event.

Breaking the fourth wall occurs when the action in a panel extends outside of the panel and “into” the audience.

In this panel, Triathlon breaks the fourth wall and appears to come out of the comic.

The inner life of a character is revealed when the author and artists reveal things that intrinsically motivates the character. By revealing their wants and needs, the artist lets the audience know what drives the actions of a character.

Wanda’s inner struggles are showcased here at the end of the comic book as the audience is shown thought bubbles of the thoughts that have been plaguing her the entire time.

Facial Expressions are an artistic way of telling the audience what a character is feeling without using words.

This panel shows how two different characters feel about the same thing by comparing their facial expressions.

Like facial expressions, body language gives the audience clues into what the character is feeling just by showing their posture or body positioning.

It is clear from this frame that Wanda is feeling sad, or struggling in some way. We can tell this just by looking at her body language.

It is very clear from these aggressive hand gestures that this character is angry.

Hand gestures are a good way to emphasize the mood of a character past facial expressions and body language.

Scene-to-scenetransitions are used to switch between two setting to tell the audience where the action is taking place.

This transition shows that while the scene is occurring downstairs, this is happening upstairs.

Realistic figure drawingand anatomy is important for the authenticity of stories.

This frame shows correct anatomical positioning of this character, even turned to the side.

These word balloons are bold and noticeable.

Word Balloons exist in the same space as the story, yet are not physically there. They can be done many different ways. They can be very bold and an artistic decision or be minimal and just serve as a place for text.

A word-specific word/picture combination is a panel that relies on words to tell the story. The picture does not give enough information.

In this panel, the text is necessary to determine what is happening. You can not get the full story from just the pictures.

A duo-specific word-picture combination relies on both words and pictures to tell the story. The words tell what the picture is showing.

This panel shows Firestartrying on her costume. You can tell by the picture that she is not pleased and the text echoes this.

Moment-to-Moment panel transitions show one action taking place through a series of moments.

This panel shows Captain America in a fight scene on a moment to moment basis.

A picture specific word-picture combination relies on the picture to tell the main point of the story.

This panel depicts the Avengers putting a building back together that was destroyed. It is able to be determinded what is happening without any text.

Elevation and Status is shown in a comic by having one character drawn standing above another. This indicates being more powerful

In this panel, the orphan is pictured being lower than Captain America, illustrating his higher degree of power.

This panel shows Triathonrunning to catch a plane through a sequence of actions.

Action-to-actionpanel transitions show one character completing one task through a series of panels depicting each action.

Conclusion

In this comic, the artists and writers use many different techniques mentioned in the McCloud Methodology to construct this story. The over arching theme throughout this issue seemed to be some sort of inner struggle for some of the characters and that was illustrated using the techniques mentioned in McCloud’s book.