The Graphic and the Novel: What tells the better story?

So this blog posting is simply a rhetorical question, but the main reason I bring this question up is because of something that Dr. Clemente mentioned during class last week: graphic novels obviously tell a story through pictures, and thus many more sensory tools can be utilized over a written novel, but this is not without its flaws. So again my question is this: which of two forms of story-telling is the more efficient and more appealing to the public? (again, this is purely opinion and observation... feel free to debate, agree, or comment!!)





"Kovacs and Nite Owl entered the window of Kovacs' former residence in search of his extra clothing and of course, his face. Nite Owl simply reclined in the open window, and impatiently inquired as to why they were even there. 'Exactly what, uh, personal effect were you looking for?' Kovacs patiently began to relay the message, as his former landlady walked in with her frightened children in tow. Kovacs simply got up from his position on the floor, and methodically approached her to a chorus of 'Oh God!' She quickly took a step back from the approaching figure, but seemed unable to move more than a step or two; the most she could do to stop the inevitable fight was to beg for no more trouble. 'Mrs. Shairp, long time no see' Kovacs uttered cooly, 'told press I'd made sexual advances to you. Not true.' A look of complete horror took the place of the confused fear on her face, and once again all she could do was continue to clutch her children and shout that it was merely a misquote on the newspaper's part. Kovacs continued staring at her with a blank face full of contempt and righteousness, and asked her a question he knew would cut her to the quick: 'How much did they pay out to lie about me, whore?' One could nearly hear her heart crumple upon having her dirty secret uttered in front of her children, and by a man ask vicious as Rorshach. 'Please don't sy that. Not in front of my kids...please they... they don't know.' It was the plea of a broken woman, and with that Kovacs called to his partner, and stated that he had what he came for. The two left the same way they came, leaving Mrs. Shairp in a sobbing pile on the floor thankful that her plea reached his ears. However, it wasn't her pitiful statement that caused Kovacs heart to defrost, but the look upon her son's face at the mention of his mother's profession.... if the eyes are the window to the soul, the look that Kovacs had when seeing that young boy would have been one of pitiable sorrow." ('written' from page 6 of Chap. 10)





OR!!!!



(sorry the picture didn't come out that great.. but again, this is page 6 of Chap.10)

What took me numerous sentences to do, Moore and Gibbons accomplished in 9 panels. Of course these panels were intricately drawn and dialogued, but it still achieved what took a long time to write. So what this "proves" is that graphic novels offer not only a beautifully designed visual interpretation, but it also allows information to be presented in a very quick way. However, with the above paragraph (which I wrote based off this page) visual WORD imagery was incorporated to allow a person to create that same sad far-off look in Rorshach's eyes. In graphic novels the story quite literally unfolds in front of your eyes, and by seeing that imagery and reading the dialogue that follows one can nearly put themselves in that story, and live along side the characters. That is also possible in written novels. By reading and interpreting the character's appearances, the sound of their voice, their surroundings, even their pets, the reader can gain an intimate relationship with the story, and (once again) find themselves living alongside those characters.

In the end, this really was rhetorical question, but I did want to at least put it out there in Cyberland because it's a valid question to consider. Remember, graphic novels vie for the respect that literature boasts, but the reader gets the same destination, they just must make a slightly different journey to get there. And with that, Ta for now!

***so this was obviously a more morbid set of panels within this book, but there are two reasons why I chose this for my post: 1.) this was a really good section to rewrite as an example of the "novel form," and 2.) I really like Rorshach, and this little bit of humanity he shows just makes me love his character more!..nuff said.

Concepts in “comics:” Universality of cartoon imagery

For my first official blog post, I’d like to discuss a concept that Scott McCloud brings up in chapter two of his book “Understanding Comics.”
Universality in cartoon imagery.
The fact that cartoons and comics are used in many situations (advertising, step-by-step airplane evacuation brochures, maps at the zoo, etc.) show us that the simplification of human emotion and reaction is understood and “read” in a wide range of age, social and language groups. But it’s more than that.
As McCloud states, “When you look at a photo or realistic drawing of a face – you see the face of another. But when you enter the world of the cartoon – you see yourself.” (Page 36)
In other words, there are lots of “blank spaces” for you to fill in your own familiarities.
In my opinion, it is this concept that explains why that annoying guy that sits behind you in Literature Appreciation who spouts off politically incorrect dialogue is a jerk, but Cartman spouting off politically incorrect dialogue in South Park is a genius.
But here is the example that struck home with me.( It’s a rather depressing example, and I’m sorry to bring the mood down – but we’re a rather melancholy group so far, it seems, and so far there hasn’t been much hand-holding or guitar strumming in “The Watchmen” but I digress.)
I had a lot of surgeries when I was younger. Spine surgery, kidney surgery, tendon surgery. All that surgery equals a bit of pain and the medical practice world of gauging kid’s pain is to show them a chart like this:

Now… I don’t know about you, but those faces traumatized me for life. I held great aversion to any mention or sight of this pain scale well into my adult life. (The therapy helps, now I just see pretty butterflies in the Rorschach splotches… really.) The catch is: I wasn’t shown that scale when I was in a great amount of pain. I wasn’t in much pain at all the first time, but I remember having extreme empathy/sympathy for those sad faces. In fact, I saw everyone in the whole world, me, my parents, my neighbors, my grandparents, my peers and my dog, all bawling in the number 5 face.
The medical world offered an improvement to the original, that perhaps is better:

Or perhaps not. Still, I think the more realistic interpretation wouldn’t have made me so sad: It would have been “that guy’s in pain.” Not “me and all the good lord’s creatures in this world are in pain.” Perhaps I’m also biased and trying to make a point, but I’m throwing it out there.
Essentially, it’s the ability the human psyche has to assign identities and emotions into things that do not exist – the reader puts their own emotions and five senses into the interpretation of the drawing more so than in novels, movies, TV shows or other artistic medias.
We are the faces. We are super heroes. We feel pain, we seek adventure. We relate and we engage.
‘Til next time.
-PVB

In Responce to RoseKnight

Interesting blog... This is my take on it:

I was born into a very poor farming family, and my father was a violent alcoholic. To make things more interesting I also have ADHD and a couple other minor disorders. Needless to say my life has not been easy. Yet I don't complain, and don't wish to change what happened.

Do I wish things would have been different? The answer I have come to while pondering this very thing many a time, is no. My reason is very simple; I would not be who I am today if things had been different. Not that my childhood was exactly a fun time, but after going through it I have come to find out some things about myself that I value a great deal.

I am virtually fearless. After going through poverty, child abuse, and a few therapy sessions as a kid, what can life possibly through at me that I cant handle? Hence I do not worry about too much in my day to day. I also do not succumb to peer pressure very easily because after trying to please my father for several years, and not being able to no matter what I achieved, I have found it very easy to just do what makes me happy with myself. I don't feel much of a need to impress other people. I would be very diferent if I went through an easier time. Those are just a couple brief examples of how my past has effected me. It comes down to this; I like who I am now, and I wouldn't want to change my the experiences that made me the way I am.

Batman would not be batman if his parents had not been killed. I think he enjoys the way the angst and anger fuels him when he is out doing his vigilante work. I can relate to that 100%. I don't think anger is always a bad thing, its excellent fuel for determination.

Dr. Manhattan on the other hand, I don't really understand him. Yet isn't that the point of Doctor Manhattan? He is so far removed from humanity that he doesn't relate, or make since to humans. I think his isolationism was just a metaphor perhaps, for how humanity is lost in times of war. I don't know, you would have to ask Al lol.
(Proud of myself, got to say lol in a collegiate document)

I think the grand question to ask oneself when contemplating this question is this:
Would you change who you are to make life easier?
I would not, and I don't think many people would. There is probably even a term that describes this psychological phenomena. Ill ask Nevitt.

Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda????

So over this past weekend I realized something.... even though comics, graphic novels, and animated cartoons are fiction... the characters in those stories still have some pretty disheartening lives. If I could make some sort of fictionalized version of my life I think I would, actually I know I would, make it 100% more interesting than my current life, but I don't think I would fix everything wrong with my life. I mean, yes, I would like it if I wasn't stressed out all the time over school and work, and it would be amazing if my boyfriend didn't live an hour and half a way, but thus is life, and we must just live it. The same goes for the aforementioned characters. The way their authors wrote them was meant to be a parallel to actual reality. For example, in Watchmen it's obvious that Sally Jupiter hates being the age she is (and as a personal theory, I think she also resents her daughter for being that golden age where "women are beautiful and sexy...." uh, that idea while physical is a mental perspective as well....), but while she cannot physically change that about herself, the question I wonder is if a person in "reality" were in that same position, would they change their age? their lives? their endings?

I've noticed in the few short weeks I've been in Graphic Novel class that anything and everything can and will occur in graphic novels. But, and again I say but! would those characters, if they could, go back and change their lives to make them easier or better? The answer to this question I think can actually be answered in two ways: Bruce Wayne and Dr. Manhattan.

In the case of Bruce Wayne, we see a middle-aged man who more than anything wants to change his past, right? Not quite... Bruce Wayne does in fact wish, as all of us would, that his parents never died, and mentions, if not indirectly, that he wishes he could have stopped that bullet.... but my question is this: if his author's made him to wish so heartily to change his past, why didn't they just let him? I mean, the man is a gazillionaire! he could've bought a time machine, or had that pansy Superman (sorry, personal feelings!!!) run around the earth and turn back time.. the point is that the authors utilize these impressive personages to imitate and embellish reality, not to alienate the readers by making them second-guess what their lives have been like.

In Dr. Manhattan's case, we have an entity (can't quite say person) that has the power to go back in time and change his past with nothing stopping him... or at least as far as I've read nothing is stopping him. However, because Dr. Manhattan is lacking in the "human empathy department," he does not actually go back to change anything (again, as far as I've read anyway). One can deduce that this is because he obviously doesn't care enough about his old human nature to actually want to change this, and (assumably) because as readers we are supposed to empathize with the desire to go back and change our pasts, and again make life so much better, but realize that while it is physically impossible for us, that decision is not meant to be up to us, let alone supernatural beings......

Now all of this may seem like ramblings, but I will admit that I'm tired, and thus it may not make complete sense, and plus as a blog it doesn't have to be anything but my thoughts about Graphic Novels! So for now, I bid adieu, and promise to blog again sometime soon!

I'm here... really!

Apologies for being the latest odd one out. Is it December yet? I mean... uh... Batman. Yes, Batman.

Hello, my name's Amanda, I'll beyour tour guide today. I'll also be posting as PVB on this blog. Don't ask, just nod. There you go.

I will be honest and say that I have never read a graphic novel unless you count the extra thick special issue of "Archie" I read when recovering from surgery in the hospital one time (the magazine selection in most hospital gift shops are sparse at best, so you grasp at treasure when you can). Thanks to media, I am a bit versed in the Marvel comics world, at least those that have made it to movie theatres and DVD. Reading "The Dark Night Returns" was my first real submersion in the graphic novel and I am thouroughly enjoying "Watchmen" as I acclimate to the storytelling dynamics of this medium.

As a Language Arts major and aspiring author (aren't we all?), the themes, presentation and quirky use of detail to the mind has been very fun to be exposed to. I hope to learn a lot from this class and, as with all my classes, infuse what I learn into my writing. (Except statistics. I didn't like statistics.)

I am very interested in the socially pertinant graphic novels we will be reading, especially Maus. (Not that Batman isn't, like, socially pertinent pleasedon'tkillmefellowblogmembers).

I do believe that wraps up my introduction. I look forward to being a timely and productive member of this group. Promise.

-PVB

Why yes I am a nerd!

Hi! I'm Alicia. I'm taking Graphic Novel at PSC. Yes, that is a real class and yes, I do know how lucky I am, so does the rest of my family. Why you ask? For one simple reason we get to read about Batman. Granted that isn't the original reason why I signed up for this class, but it is a perk.

I've been a fan of comics since I was 9-10 years old. However, before I met the wonderful world of comics I watched cartoons. I was more familiar Batman, because we owned the Tim Burton's interpretation. Superman has always been part of my life mainly because it was Christopher Reeves. Then I moved on to X-Men, followed by Spiderman, which lead to me reading comics. My brother mostly read X-MEN. So naturally being the nosy younger sister, I would read his. I own a couple Spiderman, Batman, X-MEN, and even one or two Superman comics. What I don't own I've done massive internet reading. Not just from Wikipedia but also from Marvel and DC's own website.

The funny thing is that my Mom, who majored in English Education, never had any qualms about me reading comic books. She encouraged it. To quote my mother, “Reading is reading.” While this is not the only type of reading I do I think it has helped create who I am, a nerd. My family is a group of nerds, which is something we are quite proud of if you ask.

Zach Intro

Hello all, I am Zach Strickland. This course is actually my introduction to graphic novels. However I do have a strong fantasy background as a movie watcher and as a video gamer. I am enjoying the class so far, even though I feel like sometimes I miss the fine points or the deeper meanings within the material.
I don't believe that you have to fully understand something to enjoy it. I'm told that Batman: Return of the Dark Night is very symbolic and that it also has strong political commentary and so forth. However I prefer to simply read it as a Superhero story.
I do recognize some of the deeper and more subtle points, the ambivalence of Batman's character for example. I understand that he is presented as a good character with a dark side. Yet rather than dissect the novel and try to find the deeper meaning I like to assume Batman is the definite good guy and that he beats up the bad guys. That is to say I read it more for the action and the beat em up sequences than the philosophy behind it and the symbolism.
The two scenes that stick out to me the most are the showdown with the Mutant leader, and then the battle with Superman. That to me is where the action is at. I do also like that Batman is presented with a bit of edge and I enjoy some of the dark humor in the story.

I think that Watchmen will have even more dark humor because I have seen the movie, so Im excited to read that one, and maybe I will get better catching some of its finer points.

I'm Only Complete When Reading a Comic!

Hello folks! Well, by day I go by super-serious student Riannon Jeffery, and by night I go by The Rose Knight: super-hero extraordinaire! At least that's what I'd like to believe! ; D In retrospect, I think all this fanciful thought comes from my love of manga/comics! To be completely honest, I heard about Japanese animes loooong before I knew what mangas were, and from my love of such animes as DragonBall Z, Case Closed, Sailor Moon, and Inuyasha came my eventually love of mangas! And ironically from there came my fascination with American (or Western) comic books/animated cartoons.... and all I have to say about that is Batman IS the Best Super-Hero ever!!!

Over the course of the next few months, myself and my Odd groupmates will be posting different blogs about what we are doing in our Graphic Novel class at PSC, our opinions on the graphic novels we are reading, or whatever pops into our heads that pertain to our comic love! Well anime fans, that's it for now! and thanks for reading!