If you can't read the B&W comic page above, click to maximize because it sums this whole post up (it's the first page from
Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud, 1993). It represents my first exposure to the academic side of reading comics. One definition of the word "academic" is "theoretical or hypothetical;
not practical, realistic, or directly useful." I fully admit that there is no life being saved by, no money in, and no praise for reading comics. It can be entertaining, but is it also entertaining to analyze, dissect, and review comics? Well, if you're me and your favorite school subject was English, then yes. My favorite schoolwork was diagramming sentences. If that doesn't make you want to stop reading now and never return to this blog, nothing will. Still here? Oh good, then you may be interested in a few books that I've come across in the last couple of years. After I finally read
Understanding Comics, I discovered the similar-sounding
Reading Comics (Douglas Wolk, 2007). It's a completely different type of book however. The
New York Times and
Rolling Stone contributor who wrote it mostly just waxes eloquently about various comics creators and their differing styles. I enjoyed his chapter on Hope Larson, "The Cartography of Joy," as it prepared me to read her new book,
Chiggers. I also appreciated some background information on Dave Sim, "Aardvark Politick," because I met him at what could be considered the farewell to
Cerebus reading that he did at the impressive, new Salt Lake City Library. I have a picture of him shaking hands with Ken Jennings, Jeopardy winner and author of
Braniac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs.
"Comic books and graphic novels have received more critical attention in recent years than ever before, yet most studies of sequential narrative focus on the big picture - they tell about the history of the medium, or provide a biographical overview of a major creator, or provide a synopsis of various important storylines. In this book, I'm doing something different." (from the introduction to
Grant Morrison: The Early Years, by Timothy Callahan, 2007;
http://www.sequart.org/ ) When I read that this last weekend, the quote was a breath of fresh air for me, as I already own a practical comic book reference library. I have history books from the encyclopedic
100 Years of Am. Newspaper Comics to the busy, picture-filled
Silver Age of Comic Book Art. I have creator interviews in
Eisner/Miller, essays on individual characters like
Hellboy: The Companion, and visual compendiums like
The DC Comics Action Figure Archive (yet no
Overstreet Price Guide), and last but not least, annotated works like the director's commentary-style
Strangers in Paradise Treasure Edition. I recommend them all but in this post I wanted to highlight books about the ideas behind comics, the literary themes and classical mythologies.
My
Batman Unauthorized book brings up a whole slew of books which connect popular culture and philosophy. I was surprised to see that it's part of the same series as a graduation present I was given,
Taking the Red Pill: Science, Philosophy and Religion in The Matrix. There are philosophy and psychology books for most TV shows plus Harry Potter and James Bond at
http://www.smartpopbooks.com/. There's a similar series at
http://www.opencourtbooks.com/, but they take it a step further by covering The Atkins Diet, The Legend of Zelda, chess, music artists from The Beatles to U2, and TV shows like
Seinfeld and
South Park. I haven't read this book yet, but scanning the table of contents, I'm most looking forward to the essay entitled "The Cost of Being Batman," where the total dollar amount is calculated for all those wonderful toys.
"The past eight years, the comics industry has changed drastically. The writing is more precise. The art has more detail. The industry has moved out the basement and taken residency on Main Street. Plain and simple, comic books are just better. It's progress, and as the industry changes, so must comics magazines. We need change, my friends. No more top 10 lists. No more copying and pasting press releases. No more awkwardly drawn triple-D boobies on the cover. Change is what
Comic Foundry is all about." (from the editor, Tim Leong, Fall 2008 issue; see
http://www.comicfoundry.com/) This is only the fourth issue for the quarterly release, but it has the potential already to become the greatest comics magazine ever. It has creator interviews, story synopses, and essays from industry insiders, but at it's core, it's a lifestyle magazine - fashion, home decor, nightlife, etc.
If you can't read the B&W comic page above, click to maximize because it sums this whole post up (it's the first page from Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud, 1993). It represents my first exposure to the academic side of reading comics. One definition of the word "academic" is "theoretical or hypothetical; not practical, realistic, or directly useful." I fully admit that there is no life being saved by, no money in, and no praise for reading comics. It can be entertaining, but is it also entertaining to analyze, dissect, and review comics? Well, if you're me and your favorite school subject was English, then yes. My favorite schoolwork was diagramming sentences. If that doesn't make you want to stop reading now and never return to this blog, nothing will. Still here? Oh good, then you may be interested in a few books that I've come across in the last couple of years. After I finally read Understanding Comics, I discovered the similar-sounding Reading Comics (Douglas Wolk, 2007). It's a completely different type of book however. The New York Times and Rolling Stone contributor who wrote it mostly just waxes eloquently about various comics creators and their differing styles. I enjoyed his chapter on Hope Larson, "The Cartography of Joy," as it prepared me to read her new book, Chiggers. I also appreciated some background information on Dave Sim, "Aardvark Politick," because I met him at what could be considered the farewell to Cerebus reading that he did at the impressive, new Salt Lake City Library. I have a picture of him shaking hands with Ken Jennings, Jeopardy winner and author of Braniac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs.
"Comic books and graphic novels have received more critical attention in recent years than ever before, yet most studies of sequential narrative focus on the big picture - they tell about the history of the medium, or provide a biographical overview of a major creator, or provide a synopsis of various important storylines. In this book, I'm doing something different." (from the introduction to Grant Morrison: The Early Years, by Timothy Callahan, 2007; http://www.sequart.org/ ) When I read that this last weekend, the quote was a breath of fresh air for me, as I already own a practical comic book reference library. I have history books from the encyclopedic 100 Years of Am. Newspaper Comics to the busy, picture-filled Silver Age of Comic Book Art. I have creator interviews in Eisner/Miller, essays on individual characters like Hellboy: The Companion, and visual compendiums like The DC Comics Action Figure Archive (yet no Overstreet Price Guide), and last but not least, annotated works like the director's commentary-style Strangers in Paradise Treasure Edition. I recommend them all but in this post I wanted to highlight books about the ideas behind comics, the literary themes and classical mythologies.
My Batman Unauthorized book brings up a whole slew of books which connect popular culture and philosophy. I was surprised to see that it's part of the same series as a graduation present I was given, Taking the Red Pill: Science, Philosophy and Religion in The Matrix. There are philosophy and psychology books for most TV shows plus Harry Potter and James Bond at http://www.smartpopbooks.com/. There's a similar series at http://www.opencourtbooks.com/, but they take it a step further by covering The Atkins Diet, The Legend of Zelda, chess, music artists from The Beatles to U2, and TV shows like Seinfeld and South Park. I haven't read this book yet, but scanning the table of contents, I'm most looking forward to the essay entitled "The Cost of Being Batman," where the total dollar amount is calculated for all those wonderful toys.
"The past eight years, the comics industry has changed drastically. The writing is more precise. The art has more detail. The industry has moved out the basement and taken residency on Main Street. Plain and simple, comic books are just better. It's progress, and as the industry changes, so must comics magazines. We need change, my friends. No more top 10 lists. No more copying and pasting press releases. No more awkwardly drawn triple-D boobies on the cover. Change is what Comic Foundry is all about." (from the editor, Tim Leong, Fall 2008 issue; see http://www.comicfoundry.com/) This is only the fourth issue for the quarterly release, but it has the potential already to become the greatest comics magazine ever. It has creator interviews, story synopses, and essays from industry insiders, but at it's core, it's a lifestyle magazine - fashion, home decor, nightlife, etc.
1 comment:
I still haven't made it all the way through Understanding Comics. It's very interesting, but I can only take it in small doses. Lotsa info...
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