WEEK 15 assignment : [REVISED] Scott McCloud, Understanding comic.

I stand between the crossing point between different cultural influences. Sometimes it could get extremely puzzling as I’m not sure which culture I’m writing for or representing. Although, that is also an advantage that comes with risk taking. It freed me to learn from any materials without establishing the end result. Scott McCloud books are some of the resources I chose as a study material in order to advance that process of learning. 

It’s difficult to separate my oriental-ness with international-ness so I always have to decide each aspects of my mentality separately and from moment to moment. There are, however, several mindset that is more established than others and an Experience reading Understanding Comic enhance my intuition for the personal approaches. From an experience reading certain eastern philosophies and what McCloud mentioned in the book, it triggered my awareness that the way I view life is very important to how I create art and tell stories. I’m naturally quite journey centric person and always fond of observing little details to details, step to step in life. This aspect influence my storytelling style and my taste strongly and I wish to remain true to it. My challenge would be looking for the way to present it appealingly to worldwide audience.

McCloud also incredibly intuitive about the growing process of artist. I completely agree with him that the maturity of artists and what they create can’t really be separate. McCloud mentioned that after artists learned their crafts they tend to return to the original motif and that simply reflects where I am now. 

WEEK 14 assignment : Nicholas Gurewitch & The Perry Bible Fellowship

Gag comics can be both pretty nasty and wonderful. Gags in Perry Bible Fellowship managed to deliver deep ideas in such intelligent and concise way, which I think is perfect for contemporary audience who have fairly short attention and spend a lot of time on the internet. This time I want to bring up an interesting phenomena from Thai’s web comic culture as there are several aspects that parallel to The Perry Bible Fellowship. 

In the last 10-15 years Thailand has suffered from heavy political turmoils and many kinds of societal problems. After the stage of full awareness of these issues, Thais started to get really tired and bored of them. The rise of social media such as Facebook aspired artists and people who make art to publish satire arts and comics that reflect the current state of the society. This is not only a relief but an expression of intelligence pity toward the darker side of thai society and over dramatized medias. Just like Perry Bible Fellowship, webcomic in this genre reflects the irony of behavior and mind that is common in the present world we live in. 

However, webcomic in Thailand has an interesting characteristic that has been determined by a unique social class structure that make it distinct from American webcomic. Almost all of Thai webcomic are exhibited on there individual Facebook page as if each artist is a the center of their own sub-culture. Most of them were inspired by manga style as well as most Thai young artists. Facebook also helped them connected and inspired each others. Each artists and their works strongly represents their lifestyle, worldview and their places in the social hierarchy. 

These are some EXAMPLES.

These artists

https://www.facebook.com/OmeagaJod?fref=pb&hc_location=profile_browser

https://www.facebook.com/cartoonratom?fref=ts

for example strongly represents the lower middle class and blue-collar which the standard of living and lifestyle has been affected by all societal and political problem. Their perception of values are highly sensitive to these issues and could get quite hideous at a time and this artist do not hesitate to present that hideousness directly and truthfully. 

These artists

https://www.facebook.com/DadeemodifyComic?fref=pb&hc_location=profile_browser

https://www.facebook.com/OhMyHuman?fref=pb&hc_location=profile_browser

are more toward mid-middle class which gravitated less around behavioral issues and more political, economical struggle and clash between old and new traditions. 

Some artists that strongly represents mid-middle class are heavily centered around pop culture and work/romance life.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/%E0%B8%84%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%B0%E0%B9%84%E0%B8%A3%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%9B%E0%B9%87%E0%B8%99%E0%B9%81%E0%B8%9F%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%B5/514030908708895

And then there are artists who represents the ‘new wave’ of our culture which are elaborate and more concern about the new artistic tradition. 

https://www.facebook.com/wisutofficial?fref=ts

https://www.facebook.com/jungsnrk?fref=ts

https://www.facebook.com/pages/LLLs-Circle/119627901496594?fref=pb&hc_location=profile_browser

These webcomic/web-artists culture is a sign of new paradigm of Thai culture where a long deeply divided classes started to dramatically dissolved. The internet became an accepted place for expression of ideas and self in the society where art and ideas beyond elite has been highly suppressed. The drastic change has been triggered and tend to become more powerful as it continues. In the next few years when we get over our current struggle we might be able to see a new image of Thai culture and traditions. 

WEEK 13 assignment : Brian K. Vaughan, Fiona Staples, Saga

I’ve heard of Saga several times but never had a chance to read it. To be honest I’m not that familiar with Modern American Comic, though after I read the first book I wanted to read more. One thing I like about this comic in comparison to other works I’ve read throughout this semester was a minimal amount of texts. This parallel to the art style that is easy to digest. There’s not much unnecessarily details cluttered over drawings. This overall clean approach make the work charming, contemporary and easy to follow. 

I think this approach allowed the flow of the story to be more saturated as well as allowing us to observe characters personality from their actions and interactions with others. Moreover, the narrator is a trustworthy voice as she is a child of the two main characters. In fact, the theme of family and family oriented life balanced out the action adventure very well as it gives characters a strong purpose to survive. 

Speaking in term of the story, what I like the most about Saga is the design approach that make each elements purposeful. I don’t feel like there is any wasted character in the story and each of the them serve narrative purpose very well. I found the two main characters Marko and Alana quite charming as they are the representative of themselves not moral nor generic archetypes. Most importantly, the character development convey an anti war message in a tasteful way. The work surely contain it’s own unique vibes. Saga is not a kind of work that I can expect better not because it’s the best work I’ve ever read but it’s strongly stands for itself. There’s not many other works I know of that can be compare to this comic and adding traits from other genre would be unnecessarily.

WEEK 8 assignment : Craig Thompson, Habibi / How should I portray my culture?

My illustration friend let me borrow a graphic novel called Habibi. The craft and drawings are quite interesting and I found the tone of the story quite unique. As I had a little bit of discussion in class about this work, the concern about an issue of orientalism came to my awareness. After a few reflections I realized that many culture in Asia including my own(Thailand) are subjects to western romanticization. Foreign tourists especially outside Asia often have a romantic idea about Thailand that it is either an undeveloped place full of tropical wonder(partly true) or renown for sex tourism(even truer). This doesn’t completely mean good or bad but what does it mean to me as Thai and if I’m to portray my own culture how would I do it? 

Thailand as it is now is not a kind of society I want it to be or a kind of place I want to be, although over years I became quite detached to that expectation and would rather cultivate myself, deep down in my mind I still wish that place a better future. Portraying my own country have always been a tricky task for me as I didn’t have much appreciation for Thai society in it’s current state, also because I’ve been living outside it for a while that the definition of my world became broader than a single nation can define. 

I think it is ok to portray an ideal ahead of reality in order to make it become real, but in order to do so one must understand what the reality is like. I believe that media, narratives and imageries contain power to shape the world. Ultimately romanticization could be a useful tool to create a seed of change if we can find the way to do it correctly. 

WEEK 9 assignment : Khoa Nguyen Vink, The Mad Monk

Coming from South East Asia, I’m very familiar with Chinese media influence and have seen quite a few amazing Period and Kung fu films. I’m assuming from the name that the Author of The Mad Monk is Vietnamese whom the culture was aspired similarly. I have to say that I’m not that impressed with the comic, partly because of the overused theme of revenging murdered parents in Chinese literature and partly because I don’t find the art and narrative style very attractive. This brought back to the topic Scott McCloud discussed. The character designs of Mad Monk seems crudely real that it became hard for my conscious to sympathize with. The realistic and un-romanticized anatomy and faces has made the work more about materials than actions. To be honest I’m not that into gritty drawing styles. Repeatedly uses of medium shot also make the work felt rather monotonous. 

Although, I think there is a very strong potential to enhance this story. I think the theme of diverse ethnicity among mainland China will be quite interesting to foreign audiences. There are a few things I would do if I am to enhance The Mad Monk. First, I’d create a stronger statement in the art and narrative style that the exceptionally vast Chinese landscape play an important role in the development of story and characters. It can enhance a sense of adventure and placement even progression. I’d also reduce numbers of characters appear in the narrative and make each of them more identifiable, iconic and consistent. There are too much to digest in term of visual and information and I think it would be better to leave a lot more space for friendlier read flow. This comic need less frames, less drawings and less words while make each existing elements more meaningful. This way the work can avoid over romanticize or over glorify culture and make it’s essence stand out for itself. 

WEEK 12 assignment : Kozue Amano, Aria

This week I’m extremely eager to write about an extraordinary manga called Aria by a Japanese woman manga artist Kozue Amano. I’m wholeheartedly proud to admit that this manga that appears very shoujo and feminine is one of my all time favorite and very significant to my perspective and way of life. 

Aria is an essentially wabi-sabi slices of life story about an adolescent girl Akari who pursue her dream to become an Undine, a gondola rider tour guide on planet Aqua(future terraformed Mars). The story evolves around Akari and her friends daily life which tends to be filled with presumably female world views. This work of art, however, successfully express the height of beauty of those visions to the point that a male audience like myself could feel completely immersed into. I found an experience perceiving wisdom through female protagonist point of view very different and very effective. Deep down under the surface, the story of Aria is very human and female perspective is one of many routes that can bring us to understand it deeper.

The way the story of Aria progress is very gentle and very intuitive. Every obstacles throughout the story has been overcome very gently and carefully with an eye for self-balancing and maturity. Instead of a generic male-hero journey style battle that tend to be fierce against the world, characters in Aria are very acceptance and try to look for the best way to work with the flow. This manga proves that literature based on pursuing dream and fulfilling life can function without neither violent or sex or romance centric protagonist(although these elements are inevitable to life). 

I still couldn’t find the answer whether I would do well writing stories through female point of view but at this point I know that whichever route I take to tell story, I want them to ultimately lead to wisdom that is universal to all genders. From reading stories through female perspectives I’ve learned something uniquely to all as an individual and has successfully adapted to the personal way of life. Now I think it is entirely possible to create an efficient male hero who can carry the story to the final destination without clashing fiercely with things and with absolute gentleness. 

WEEK 11 assignment : David Mazzucchelli, Asterios

The first thing that impacted me as I read Asterios was the intelligent uses of graphic as a tool of expression and it’s beautiful clean compositions. I could see that character designs were referenced from representative icons of various art traditions. The presentation was done quite well and friendly for readers to read and the character development was good, especially the main character that didn’t seem very likable to me at first become quite charming later on. The work is well done overall except the ending that felt quite empty to me. 

I think this work is an example of art that was well developed in the framework of it’s medium. I doubt that any other mediums can express the potential of the story at the same level as it can in graphic novel. It shows that still images evoke an expression from icon in a way moving pictures can’t. That is a heartwarming fact for a person who have an appreciation in static medium like me. Graphic novel will probably never really fade away but adapt itself into various forms. Although, it must prove it’s true quality by staying true to it’s value that is irreplaceable by any other mediums. 

Now that we see the contemporary form of graphic novel/comic, what is the future? One thing that I’m expecting from the future comic medium is an extremely dynamic cross-over of styles. Although beyond that, ironically as a motion designer who study art in motion, I believe that there is a unique value and even motion in inanimate mediums. The motion, tempo and rhythm human can perceive from series of images composed altogether is unique. Now that we have an ability to compose images out of frame it will probably let us see the comic that break the flat space of print medium very soon. 

WEEK 10 assignment : Tezuka Osamu, Buddha

A year ago I tried to read Tezuka Osamu’s Buddha to fulfill my semi manga-scholar path but I didn’t have enough time to finish it so I took this chance to complete the series. After I read it I realized that the strongest aspect I could perceive from his work is the passion. Passion in this definition refers to the general passionate tone of the work that filled with triumph and sorrow. It can be clearly seen from his dramatic narrative and exceptionally strong cinematography. The use of shadows and overall flow of the compositions are stunning and very energetic. Under his lovable drawings, sense of empty space and amazing line works there are many layers of darker and deeper theme waiting to be explored. His work is not a work created to resonate with innocence, yet it communicate deeply intellectual contents intuitively to all ages of audiences. 

The fact that I know the original story of Buddha made me realize that Tezuka’s version is filled with interpretations and has been done very intelligently. Coming from conservative Thai culture where Buddhism has been made sacred, I admire Tezuka’s vision to create work of art that stands for itself and functioned at best of it’s aesthetic. I’m aware that religion is a sensitive theme but I think the way people learn about self is unique to individual and Buddha manga doesn’t serve as a documentary but a story to learn from and I believe the author knows that his intended audiences could understand. 

To me the greatness of Tezuka's works isn’t just a creation of style but sample of possibilities that comic can be more that it appears to be and can become more than it has ever been. His works according to his ideal has always been an attempt to convince people to care for the world and life itself and I believe that such abstract yet significant concept is the strongest root to inspire future traditions like it has been for manga. 

PREACHER Class 13

1.) Prominent symbol in the reading, how were they used?

Several icons I found significant to the reading were, priest rope, angel wings, demon, guns, cowboy hats, cigarette, sheriff and outlaw characters. All of these elements make this comic appears quite gritty an suggests the theme of conflict between moral ideal that cram into a big pool of grey. Religion that were usually portrayed as being pure has been portrayed quite tainted or dark in this comic. 

2.) Is there an aspect of the story that I can make personal connection? What’s the connection?

It’s actually quite difficult for me to resonate with the story as I’m not too familiar with a characteristic of film noir western and christian point of view. A kind of relationship I have for this work is more of an audience who watch foreign film. Although, one thing I might be able to understand is an attempt to portray characters with no definitive moral side. I think that grey area is also a strong characteristic of western film genre hero (like cowboy etc). 

3.) If I am to adapt this story to another medium, what change would I make?

No matter what medium Preacher has a potential to be adapted into, I personally would establish more refined motif to the plot. Some example would be a stronger sense of suspense which gives audience a stronger motivation to read. The story doesn’t necessarily need more action but I think it need less talking as the visual narrative should stand for itself. 

New horizon of Narrative elements.

This is what I wrote to my friend Bernie who I often discuss

about theories of narratives in different mediums. I think it is an interesting thought

I came up with so I'll share it to you.
I have been studying a lot of films, comics, novels and musics during these past year especially these past few moths. This included comparison of different mediums like The Hobbit Film and Novel. I just came up with this interesting theory about the power to create the world and make believe in different elements.

Give Peter Jackson films(both trilogies) vs Tolkien novel(The Hobbit) which I have just read for example. 
Films are capable of telling story through sounds and moving images.
Gestalt between good acting and set design make imageries that make believe.
Novel, however, only have words and possibly some illustrations. Although, words(especially tolkien's writing) tend to carry the essence of author's self and intention very strongly. Words also tend to make each subject it describes much more significant and fascinatingly, they make audience sub-consciously imagine the world surrounding the subject without using any words.

Comics are different. Well crafted comics can integrate powerful/cinematic imageries with dialogues or narrations that help expresses what we do not see. Although it can only create illusion of movements and sounds.
Games are also different. Depends on it's craft, each can contain different range of narrative elements. Typical jrpg usually have fair amount of each elements. Some have written dialogues for words that are not majorly important to the main story but that helps create a sense of open-ended border to the world. Modern rpg such as The Last of Us and Assassin's Creed however, rely highly on cinematography, speeches and programmed sound effects.

When we see potential to create world in different way in each elements we see more possibilities to find gestalt in different degrees of integration. I believe that we can find a new horizon of each mediums from this wisdom. Give video games for example. Making more believable game doesn't always mean make it more film-like but we should find the right balance between uses of different narrative elements. Video games can also tell stories uniquely from films. I remember myself enjoyed reading dialogues from one of my childhood translated mmo. The translation sounds very unfinished almost as if npc were mumbling to themselves but from that shattered pieces of informations there were so much voids for audiences to fill their imaginations. I haven't play Dark Soul myself but my friend who's pretty critical about video games said that it was a brilliant idea whether it was intentional or unintentional to make npcs speake broken speech. It support the design that left a lot of things verbally unexplained and let players figure them out with pieces of shattered informations(a common Japanese aesthetic called 'Ma' or potential void). 

May be you could agree to the certain degrees from you experiences with Elder Scroll?
I know you enjoy reading myth and lore and I think those written words in books were powerful part of the game narrative, without actually visualizing it. People like me gets really excited to see old ruins or hint of ancient civilization or visual aid that trigger the curiosity, which lead me to reading in the end(I've been reading Tolkienpedia and Wookiepedia so much previously). Map might be one other good example.


Whether it's films, comic or novel or even music that has an album cover or side illustrations, I think they all have potential to become more convincing through the better marriage between different narrative elements.

WEEK 7 assignment : Art Spiegelman, Maus

On page 111 of the second book when Vladek said, ‘there! I’m starting to feel human again!’, I felt like every essences from the story, tragic, bitterness, happiness has been summed up into one sentence. All emotions I’ve felt from observing his mighty struggle started to crystalize into a kind of intuition. An experience reading Maus was worthwhile, I thought. And it was surely quite a depressing experience. Who wouldn’t have felt anything from learning about holocaust and the cruel nature of war. I face palmed several time while reading. I knew that the author didn’t have an intention to darken the story but it is already dark in it’s nature. And that I think is clever and what make this comic artistic after all. 

What I think was a genius in the craft of this comic book was the way the story has been told without unnecessarily over dramatizing it with film-like characters and elements. By telling a story as memories of the past, readers can be less detach to the tragedy and the story can be told as what they really are. Art Spiegelman as he portrayed himself in the comic take us another step back from an involvement with the war and more about how generations after felt about it. The way he symbolized characters into animals also reminded me of Scott McCloud theory. It was easier to feel involved with stylized characters than realistic human characters.

Portraying people from different factions into different kind of animals make audiences feel less judgmental toward specific idealism or nationality as there’s no real image of cruelty of human on human. This stylization also suggested that Nationalism and Racism played big part in the competition for resources during WW2. Personal background become an undeniable factor in the incident. It also reflected that in true nature, different kinds have an ability to live in harmony with one other(with of course unavoidable conflict from time to time)upon an exchange of profits and sometimes sympathy. Sometimes conflicts can also occurs among one own kind themselves due to ideal and resources. The true disaster starts with the idea that only one kind should exist without another, thus, bring an imbalance and chaos to the world. 

WEEK 6 assignment : Hytone / Mr.Natural

I was amused by reading Mr.Natural and Hytone because they managed to be somewhat deep and ridiculous at the same time. The art didn’t really held my attention very much but they were surely quite different from mainstream styles. Although, coincidentally or not, I’ve seen similar style of drawings and storytelling emerged else where and still publishing actively. In Thailand an experimental genre which the style and the story intend to be different from the popular genre has become quite well-known. One of the most notable publisher is Let’s Comic. The product of their approach surprisingly turn out quite similar to American underground comic. Drawing styles are unmistakably strange and doesn’t have any refined charm to them, instead they could be harsh for readers to digest. They also heavily depicted philosophical and intoxicated subjects. However, there are several subtle differences in societal circumstances that make them evolve differently.

While American underground comic strived to be rebellious against the national comic code and to be different from the mainstream produced in America, experimental approach in Thai’s comic industry tries to be different from foreign styles. Most Thai millennials tend to embrace manga style as they are highly influential all over the country, otherwise imitate Superhero style. Some comic community such as Let’s Comic and older artists tend to deny those mainstream and present themselves as different to the point where I thought they were trying too hard. Regardless to that they successfully create an iconic impact to the market. 

Philosophical metaphor like spiritual journey into the toilet pipe full of crap and satire on meditation(From Mr.Natural) are something that can be expect in Let’s Comic, not to mention sexual theme, violence and attempt to question morality. I don’t have the answer whether this emerging genre is truly appropriate for general readers but it was significant for the growth of artists communities. Like American underground comic that allowed any artists to submit their works freely, Let’s Comic and several other independent Thai publishers have their own active online community which young artists or those who interest in publishing their work can freely participate. That aspect is good for developing industry and consumer values in the next generation. Although it is often a short lived landmark of the evolution it strongly inspires shift in paradigm.

WEEK 5 assignment : Will Eisner, Contract with God

Contract with God was an almost satisfying reading experience to me. In comparison to Superhero comic I read a week before, I’m more fond to the way humanity was portrayed in this graphic novel. Characters tend to express their mind and emotions more naturally in this series. Although, I still find transformation within characters a little too rush and could be more subtle overall, the work successfully convinced me that they have feelings and have grown to some degrees. 

What I appreciate the most in this work is the sense that the environmental world itself resonated emotions in harmony with characters. Small alleys and cityscape vibrated some kind of restlessness and bitter serenity just like life stories of characters living in it. Heavy rain in the first chapter for example did not portrayed as just a natural occurrent but part of the character’s being and his state of mind, so as the alleys and people of the place that seemed to shape each others. I think these places and people wonderfully expressed a strong sense of imperfection, weathered and unstoppable rhythm of time.

Beauty that I found in this work was clearly not in the perfectly decorated mind, their appearances or well refined world but in the ability to communicate subtle flaws that were always part of continuing spiritual journey. I think this is the charm of slices of life genre. They’re able to end in a manner which the story slowly depart from audience leaving continuing time for us to reflect upon. 

What I think would make the story more satisfying to me would be a sense of triumphant and self awareness. As the story went on, most characters tend to sink deeper into delusion than being elevated from it. This pattern is common in many chapters. I don’t think that the story should end happily or the suffering should be eliminated but as a reader I would like to depart from the story with more detached and elevated mind, which I could obtain from observing anomalies like elements of hope in a generally sorrowful plots. However, the fact that the story always remain true to the author’s world view is respectable. 

WEEK 4 assignment : Action Comics, DC superman, May NO. 400

From a foreign consumer perspective, specifically Thai perspective, Superhero genre is the icon and the definition of American comic culture. Little is known about comic in other genre produces in the States as the uniqueness of costumed hero was so striking that it overshadowed other genre, unless it is a television cartoon. I’ve seen many Superhero films but I hardly have any experience with classic Superhero comic. Part of the reason is because to me they seems difficult to sympathize. The impression I’ve had from reading classic Superman was that the emotion expressed through characters were quite stiff. It was already quite difficult to understand the mind of these super powered figures yet their cause of actions and life with special abilities doesn’t share many aspect that I can relate to. 

I read Superman in Action Comics that titled ‘My Son is he Man or Beast?’ and found myself more appealed to the down to earth character like Gregor who suffered from having special abilities more than Superman who is completely at ease with his power, not to mention his costume. I’m not certain if spirituality is something to be expect from Superhero genre but I rather appreciate Superhero stories and films that expose hero’s weaknesses sincerely and those stories that contains worthy opponents which is significant to the hero’s growth. Overall I found stories about human more appealing that superhuman. That’s why I found Superhero films that filled with well composed tragic more enjoyable. 

From what I understand, classic Superhero comic were written in the way in which every chapter is self contained and readers can start reading from any chapter. I think selling scenario ideas is a neat aspect that this genre did really well but I also think that it would be nice to have more psychology that tied deeply to these scenarios.

From my reading experience, Superhero comics that I read felt somewhat superficial. A good example would be the cover page itself where the character phrase were used as an advertisement intended title. It made me perceived the character as someone who doesn’t live their story but narrating their story. These opinions was of course came from my appreciation for depth in characters’ personalities.

WEEK 3 assignment : Winsor McCay, Little Nemo

I found Winsor McCay’s drawings quite aesthetically pleasing. While the volume of his line works has nice quality the proportion of his characters and perspectives has a strong sense of depth and motion, not to mention variations of scales and frame portions. Perhaps the reason I feel fond to his style more than other comic strips is because of the strong essence of contemporary cinematography and a fantasy theme portrayed in Slumberland. As a person who consumed a lot of more modern media like Manga and Web-comic, I do found early comic strips eccentric in a very interesting way and even more interesting to see those that integrated style similar to modern techniques. 

What’s even more interesting about Little Nemo is the structure of the storytelling I haven’t seen in a while. Every episode follow the same pattern. Nemo enter his dream world, get involve with an adventure and wake up at the end. Every chapter is a different story that ends in itself but together as a series they make the whole long adventure. This is something that I haven’t seen so often in modern media and I think it has to do with change in consumer behaviors and the way medias are being issue. As a non newspaper reader I’m sure that comic strip is still a thing but the form must have changed a lot from it’s early stage. I think people nowadays have much shorter attention to read long dialogues as video media has become much more popular. In most comic strips examples from class, amount of words used and shot angles are almost identical in most frames and I think because of my long experience of perceiving modern cinema with fast pace and intense camera move, I found early comic strips quite dull. 

I can’t truly tell what the next evolution of comic will be, although up to this point we can tell that each medias influence each others with there current forms. As a motion designer I know that there has been a popular attempt to develop graphical user control applications on virtual reality gear and that might be a next possible milestone for comic form of narrative in which audience interact with holographic virtual reality with simple animations instead of pages. 

microsoft hololens

WEEK 2 assignment : Scott McCloud, Understanding Comic

I’m quite familiar with Scott McCloud’s mindset as I’ve read Making Comics for personal enhancement before. I must admit once again that his observations is impressive and I can relate to him as I also considered my self a dedicated researcher and an observer. 

The subject that always fascinated me the most is the cultural comparison between American comics and Japanese Manga. What I found interesting is not only the different methods of crafting arts but also the different kind of appreciations of beauty that has been embed within mindsets of people from different cultures and how they interchange through time. I think there is some truth in McCloud’s words when he said Western mindset tend to be goal oriented while the Eastern mindset tend to be journey oriented, regarding the superficial level. 

From my personal studies, Japanese arts has a long history of interrelation between things including lives and it’s impermanence. Zen art in general is all about the processes and changes, which explains why Japanese manga often reflect that essence of appreciation to the process of life (as suggested in the philosophy of Wabi and Sabi). In the deeper level, some Chinese ideas of Qi might have inspired the way they look at nature as having it’s own spiritual significance. That is why, like Romanticism, Japanese art including various Manga tend to express the world as being alive or in the state of being a character that progresses in harmony with other living characters (I suggest one of my all time favorite Manga called Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou as an example). These are some distinctions between two traditions, although this line tend to become more unclear nowadays. After all, Japanese manga was majorly inspired by American medias and the whole world’s millennial nowadays tend to be inspired by Japanese pop cultures.

Another idea in Scott McCloud’s Understanding comic that I found fascinating and directly related to myself is the stage of growth of an artist. Since I was young I always have a dream of creating things that have a power to inspire audiences’ internal being (McCloud mentioned this trait of Comic artist in his other book). I mostly focuses on Comics, Literatures, Animations and Musics because I’ve been highly influenced by them. At one point I reached what he called superficial stage where I’ve been through many practices but got separated from the very purpose of doing it. I was lost for a while until I started reaching for the purpose again and I seems to find it in the commonality within all of those mediums I mentioned. There is a magical degrees of sincerity and pure inspiration I found within good musics. Now I believe that in all forms of great art I regard to also possesses the same element. 

Response to Max Ernst 'A Week of Kindness'

My interpretation
This work is Surrealist and Political related.

PANEL 1

An eccentric, spiritual and symbolic of higher power such as death.

PANEL2

Either dream state or a reverse idea of human experimenting animal.

PANEL3

Death and transformation. 

PANEL4

After life or karmic related events.

PANEL5

Cosmic punishment, the chicken man seems either happy or doomed.

PANEL6

A fear or guilt that comes after you or creeping you.

PANEL7

A riot toward a higher political class.

PANEL8

chickenzilla-ghost haunting the house.

PANEL9

Death.

PANEL10

The revenge of the chicken tribe.

PANEL11

Animals(birds) humiliating people.

PANEL12

Animals(birds) humiliating people.

PANEL13

Conflict and resistance.

PANEL14

Either the person committed suicide or an auction.

PANEL15

The chicken and the person who was hanged on the last panel are related to each others

PANEL16

Surrealist  chicken french revolution. Rise of the new social class.

WEEK 1 assignment : Shaun Tan, The Arrival

          I like to look at time-based art and literature including comic in musical terms. In Shaun Tan’s The Arrival, without using a single words(except the title), the series of presence and absence of events is what creates the sense of progressing time. When the absence of information between each key actions allows us to understand that there are changes and connected continuity, each key frames works like musical notes that contrasts with other individual notes and in totality creates a completed composition. For a comic like The Arrival, instead of lower or higher pitches the diverse cinematography techniques such as frame proportions, different tones of lighting and gesture/facial expressions make a story when they’re being put together. This particular comic is rather monotonous on the most part because there are lot’s of similar frames with slight variations and subtle signature of climatic acts. Although, that allows the true climatic frames that occupied the whole page to really shine as it creates huge contrasts. Climatic frames often contains a lot of free spaces for audience to perceive the bigger picture of the moment from the perspective that is less connected to characters but more immersed into the world where we can feel the strange connection to it’s mysterious and greater existence. 

         What is missing in The Arrival is the illusion of panning camera or audience’s view. The reason to that might be because such concept didn’t really exists in cinema when this comic was created. However, well composed still shots raises significance of individual subjects and polish there emotional meanings. Stillness is a charm of this comic with an exception to the war scene on page 88 and 89 where motion blur was introduced. Lights and shadows means a lot to this work as there temperatures signifies how each moments feels like. Brightness and the presence of the sun often associates with a lighter emotions when shadows were the opposite and that is why the weather and time of the day is a big part of the story telling. Fantasy elements and animistic creatures brought about a rise in intensity as the story progresses. In the end, the perceivable composition is the most important factor that turns many little events into a story.