| Learn
About Comic Books With Growler |
|
 |
INDEX
I
don't pretend to know everything about comic books, but what I do know
(with the help of reference material) I will share with you in this column.
Celebrating
comic books, old and new, highlighting favourite characters, creators
and showing you the beauty of comic books!
Mainly designed for the new reader but seasoned veterans will enjoy the
ride!
Slightly
autobiographical, this also serves as a great, informal business case
study on the effective marketing used by the major comic book publishers,
Marvel, DC and others.
So here goes.
Rawle
Austin presents...
Just
imagine
Comics
(or comic books) are limited by one thing alone.
Imagination.
Anything
is possible and the end result is a thing of beauty that you want
to read and re read often.
It
is an addition to books, magazines and other forms of written entertainment
and you also get original artwork by the artist (or penciller) in
their own drawing style.
You
see, compared to many established comic characters, superhero comics
do not have a fixed look.
The
Simpsons or the Disney characters have to look exactly the same
whenever they are drawn.
Not
so in superhero comic books. |
|
|
 |
Pencillers
are free to draw that character in their own style, which brings a uniqueness
and freshness to the medium.
That
is one appeal of superhero comic books that along with great story you
get fantastic artwork as well.
All
the creators get credited for their work.
There
will be some random links to popular artists throughout this article.
You will see the differences in each of their styles.
There
are plenty of talented pencillers (artists) out there and each gives
a character a different look and style.
You
can sometimes see two or three different titles for one character
out at the same time.
This
gives readers a choice of art styles and story content because a
different writer will be used for each title.
This
has the potential to confuse because if you’ve just seen the
Spider-Man movie you may want to check out a Spider-Man comic.
You'll
quickly find out there is more than one! One thing to do is find
an art style you like. |
|
|
 |
Good
writers are pretty standard now.
Everyone
has their own taste and most readers are quite loyal to their favourite
artists.
There
are three main types of art found in comic books and I would describe
them as realistic, cartoony and fully painted.
The
majority of comic book artwork is a combination of realistic and
cartoony.
The
best painter in the business at the moment is Alex Ross whose work
includes Marvel Comics' Marvels and DC Comics Kingdom Come.
As
a massive comic book fan growing up in London in the Eighties, studying
'O' and 'A' levels (the exams needed before you could enter University),
I really enjoyed following the adventures of Ororo Munroe, better
known as Storm of the X-Men (written by Chris Claremont).
I
also enjoyed reading the stories of Monica Rambeau, in her secret
identity of Photon (then called Captain Marvel) of the Avengers
(written by Roger Stern). See below picture.
Both
Marvel Comics characters, they kicked ass and both were leaders
of their respective teams. Storm had the ability to control the
weather and Photon could transform into any form of electromagnetic
radiation and project it as well.
|
|
|
 |
In
detail, Photon could convert her body to light, heat, microwaves, hard
radiation, neutrinos, holographic images, a laser beam and many other
forms.
Assuming
the speed, composition and properties of each while preserving her human
consciousness.
They
are both powerful characters, now sadly underused, and both have the potential
to hold their own titles with the right creators.
Photon,
now called Pulsar, is a part of the Nextwave team created by Warren
Ellis and Stuart Immonen.
The
Storm character shown in the recent X-Men movies showed just a fraction
of the power she possessed in the actual comic book and exposed
the current limitations of films over comic books.
Comic
books are a unique blend of action adventure, character moments
and mind blowing concepts with limitless potential that are only
just beginning to be shown on the big screen.
It
can be argued that the science inherent in these concepts is flawed
but that’s why it’s called science fiction.
The
golden rule within comic books is that anything can happen.
Anything.
All
that’s needed to explain it is a believable grounding in reality.
|
|
|
 |
That
is the beauty of escapism.
It’s
just a little bit removed from the world we inhabit everyday.
The
various comic book universes i.e. the Marvel Universe, DC Universe etc
are as far removed from everyday monotony and routine to give us a break
in the same way as films, TV, books and computer/console games.
A
good story must be grounded in the real world so as to give the
reader something to relate to.
That
is why many are based in fictional versions of real cities and towns.
Many of the Marvel Comics characters are based in and around New
York, USA!
Actual
places and landmarks are used in the comics, which make the stories
more accessible.
This
idea can work anywhere in the world and I would personally love
to see a concept as wild as the X-Men set in and around London.
This
premise, I believe, would be massive if researched well.
A
lot of people are baffled by the layout of comic books and for a
first timer this can be quite confusing. |
|
|
 |
Hard
to read comic books are the result of a breakdown in communication between
all the creators.
A
comic book should be clear and simple for maximum enjoyment.
A
comic book page should be read, panel by panel from left to right working
your way down the page.
The
writing in the panels themselves (including sound effects) are also read
from left to right, top to bottom.
Too
much writing in a panel slows down the pace of the read and can start
to bore the reader.
Similarly,
artwork that is very detailed also slows down the read as the reader is
admiring every detail.
The
trick is to achieve a balance so that the story flows, not too fast
and not too slow.
When
comic book titles are promoted, the first two accompanying names
usually belong to the writer and the penciller, the main creators
of that title.
I
will leave you with information of two great reads.
The
first being Marvel Comics’ The Ultimates by Mark Millar and
Bryan Hitch and also Batman:Hush by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee, both
available in trade format.
Certain
artists gain large fan followings whatever comic book title they
draw because their style is much loved and instantly recognizable.
Here
(above) is a showcase of artwork of three current 'top' artists
according to Wizard Comics Magazine; Jim Lee, Bryan Hitch and George
Perez. |
|
 |
You
will see the marked differences in their styles.
Compare
these to the classic style of the late Jack Kirby who inspired many of
today's artists including Tom Scioli who pencils Godland from Image Comics
(See first picture above).
And
that's the power of imagination.
Well,
that’s it for this installment.
See
you next time!
Winking
in the dark>
<Action
and adventure!
[Back
to Top]
|
