what are comics? building a workable definition
DESCRIPTION
A Power Point based on the first part of my lecture from the first day of my summer class on comic books.TRANSCRIPT
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What Are Comics?Building a Workable Definition
June 15, 2010
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"Comics are a way of creating a universe and populating it with characters using a secret code that works in the simplest and most direct way possible to enter the 'reader's' brain... series of little pictures and groups of words arranged in a rhythmic pattern to create and activate a world
inside us."
- James Kochalka, The Horrible Truth About Comics
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Comics are a medium, not a genre.
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medium n. a mode of artistic expression or communication
genre n. a category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content
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Comics are a form of storytelling, like song,
film, or short story, not a type of story to be told.
(In other words, there's more to comics than superheroes.)
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Comics are an integration of images and words,visual art and storytelling.
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"The medium we call comics is based on a simple idea: the idea of placing one picture after another to show the passage of time... Comics is a language. Its vocabulary is the full range of visual symbols."
- Scott McCloud, Reinventing Comics
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Note: Mr.McCloud has since altered
his remarks to include one panelcomics as well.
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Comics:A static image or series of static images, most commonly drawn,
and often incorporating text, depicting the passage of time for a narrative
or other informational purpose.
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Let's break it down...
A static image or series of
static images...
One or more non-moving images...
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...most commonly drawn, and often incorporating text...
...while comics can be done in a number of visual media, the majority areillustrated; also, while most comics rely on some for of text in order to
present part of its information, some are purely visual...
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...depicting the passage of time...
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...for a narrative or other informational purpose.
... in order to tell a story or provide another form of information.
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But most importantly...
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Comics are a form of
storytelling, like song,
film, or short story, not a
type of story to be told.
(In other words, there's more to comics than superheroes.)
INTENT!
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Just because an image falls under the previously prescribed criteria does not make it a comic. The intent of creation is as vital in
comic work as in any other form of art.
Not a Comic: Comic:
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Now that we know what comics are,
let's get started onmaking our own!