COMICS!

By: Paolo FortiniMatthew Atzori

What Defines A Comic?

Comics are a sequence of images that tell a narrative

Comics tend to display everyday life lessons

•There is a dominance of images over text

•Text is represented in word or thought bubbles

Spiderman Comic

Why People Read Comics

Allow people to dream and fantasize escaping hardships of everyday life

Short stories allow people who are visual learners to easily become engaged in the story

People can relate to the situations found in comics

Captain America. 1941

Ex. World War II

The Significance of ComicsComics provide society with ideals:

•Superman as an icon reflects the stereotypical hero (cape, boots, muscular)

Alex Ross. Superman

Displays the classic battle of Good vs. Evil (good side is always victorious)

Jack Kirby. Avengers.

History of Comics•The earliest form of a narrative told through sequential pictures include:

Greek friezes

Athena and Alcyoneus, (frieze) Greece 180 BCE

Eqyptian hieroglyphs Roman Columns

Trajan’s Column, (Column) Rome, Italy 113 CE

(Heiroglyphic ) Dendera, Eqypt

•Began as simplistic Sunday strips and as they grew in popularity they became daily strips

•In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s comics were introduced in America and Europe

The Upside -Downs. Sunday Press. 1903-1905

•Today comics can be found in newspaper, magazines, comic books, graphical novels and on the internet

•Comics established itself as an art form in the late 19th and early 20th century

Comic book

Newspaper

Internet comic

Basic Art Styles Found in Comics

Freestyle (Cartoony) :

•uses a variety of line widths

Adventure style (realistic):

•Uses a more literal or realistic interpretation of the human anatomy•Characters

have a rounded simplified anatomy

Alex Ross. Joker tintin

Carl Barks. Walt Disneys Comics, (Dell) 1948

Wayne Boring. Action Comics ,1954

Freestyle Adventure Style

Steps To Creating A Comic

Idea :

-can result from a question

-based on a character

-concept (ex .time travel)

Wonder Woman

Writer:

-a group of people create story and dialogue for comic

Penciler:

-uses only pencil to create comic

-responsible for overall look to comic

-pencil used to make future changes

Sketch of Spiderman

Inker:

-takes penciled art and goes over in ink to make final

-ink adds a 3D look

-by inking easier to copy and colour

Spiderman

Colourist:

-adds colour, lighting and shading

-important because the colour needs to remain consistent

-brings life and creates a look

Todd McFarlane. Amazing Spiderman

Progression of Comics Throughout the Ages

The progression of comics can be classified into three ages:

Golden Age

Captain America. 1941

Silver Age

Stan Lee. Fantastic Four. 1966

Bronze Age

Todd McFarlane. Spawn

•Very simplistic cartooning style

•The archetype of a superhero was defined and created (ex. Superman , Batman, Captain America)

Golden Age (1930’s- 1950’s)

Fred Ray. Superman. 1942

•1954- Comics Code Authority was created to regulate content in comic books

Silver Age (1956- 1970)

•Superheroes were re-introduced

•Comics were blamed for the rise of juvenile crime

Gil Kane. Green Lantern

•More mature themes ( drug use/ alcohol/sex)

Bronze Age (1970- 1985)

•Minority heroes were introduced (ex. Luke Cage)

•Realism

•Darker plot elements were introduced

Luke Cage

GOLDEN AGE:

Comic Artists

Will Eisner

Will Eisner

•As a boy sold newspapers and read the comics called pulps found in the papers

•Inspired by movies, the pulps, and New York environment

•He enjoyed comics and wanted a more mature expression so he created the graphic novel: the Father of the Graphic Novel

•Born Brooklyn, New York (1917- 2005)

He is also know as the creator of The Spirit (popular in 1940s)

Will Eisner, The Spirit. 1947

He was recognized for his ability to create captivating atmospheres ex. night sky, fuming sewers

Recognized for style (splash-pages) - one picture filling the page like a movie poster with the lettering fully integrated into the image

•The Will Eisner Comic Industry Award- given to artists who show great creativity in American comic books

Eisner Award

Osamu Tezuka

Japanese artist inspired by the Western World –primarily Disney

Osamu Tezuka

Born Osaka, Japan (1928-1989)

He is the Father of Manga

Manga is a Japanese comic book or graphic novel

Photos by Paolo

Osamu Tezuka, Astro boy. 1952

Kazuki Takahashi, Yu Gi Oh. 1998

His art style was also Disney inspired- known for his large saucer eyes which has become a staple in manga

Walt Disney. Mickey MouseDavid Mc Kay. Philedalphia 1931

Tezuka is a pioneer to creating the cinematic feel to manga which is continued today

His composition and assortment of images and close-ups and perspectives created this feel

The use of these many frames creates a mood Large

eyes Osamu Tezuka, JUNGLE TAITEI. 1997

Osamu Tezuka. Kimba the White Lion. (Anime, Mushi Prodcutions) America 1965

Don Hahn. The Lion King, (film, Walt Disney Studios) Florida 1994

Bob Kane

Bob Kane

•Born New York City, New York (1916 – 1998)

•He is credited for the creation of Batman

•Bill Finger (salesperson who dreamed of becoming a writer) helped design Batmans costume

Bill Finger

•Bob made Batman a super-hero vigilante and Finger made him a scientific detective

•DC wanted more heroes to match the popularity of Superman, in response he created Batman

Bob Kane. The Batman. DC comics 1939

His inspiration for Batman came from several places: Zorro

ZorroBob Kane. Batman

Da Vincis flying (machine ornithopter)

Sketch by BobDa Vinci´s orthinopter

Bob Kane Batman

1926 film Bat

Bob Kane. Batman

Bat

Batman was an immediate hit because he was different

Bob Kane. Comic book. Batman. 1940

He was unique in the 1940s because he did not have any powers- regular human

Batman's success has led to several comic books, a newspaper strip version, movies, and several television series

Bob Kane and Batman

SILVER AGE:Comic Artists

Gil Kane Born Riga, Latvia (1926-2000)

Gil Kane

He is recognized for his emotionally charged characters and innovative staged fights

He was a thoughtful spokesperson for the comic industry and helped it get the attention it deserved

Gil Kane later years

Primarily worked on westerns, science fiction

Gil Kane. All Star Western. June 6 1958Gil Kane. Strange Adventrues. 1950s

Science fiction Western

Greatest contribution is that he redesigned the look of many super hero characters (costumes)

Gil Kane. Green Lantern. 1959.

Shledon Moldoff. Green Lantern. 1940.

Al Pratt. The Atom. 1940

Gil Kane. The Atom. 1950

Kane also challenged the Comics Code and had it re-vamped for his work on the Amazing Spiderman issues 96-98

Issue very controversial because mention of drugs is forbidden (character overdoses on LSD)

Jim Lee

Born in Seoul, South Korea (1964)

Jim Lee 2007 San Diego

He went to Princeton University and obtained a degree in Medicine

As a child he always loved art. After his degree he decided to take an art course and decided to go into comics

Jim Lee. cover art. X-Men(late 1980s early 90

His work on X-Men with Marvel gave him great success having sales of 8 million copies in the first issue

He is well known for his work on X-Men

Lee designed new costumes for many X-Men characters which led to his popularity. He defined the look of X-Men for years to come.

Jack Kirby. Cyclops Jim Lee

Art style:

•crisply hatched line •rigid

•idealized anatomical forms

Jim Lee. The DC Comics and Wildstorm Art of Jim Lee. 2010

He established a new stylistic standard for super hero comic book illustration, (idealized anatomy) he also introduced penned inking instead of brushed inking

Bob Kane. Batman . 1940

Jim Lee. Batman

Jean GiraudBorn Val-de-Marne, France (1938)

Jean Giraud

He reached fame with his real name and fictitious Moebius

Influential french artist who brought comics to an adult audience

Ligne Claire:

-Clear line

-Uses clear strong lines to outline things of importance

-Cartoonish characters on a realistic background

Tin Tin

Giraud used extreme realism in beginning of career working on Westerns

Jean Giraud. Adventures of Lieutenant Blueberry

Moebius used for science fiction and fantasy work

Moebius/ Stan Lee. Silver Surfer. 1988

Metal Hurlant (Screaming Metal)

One of first expressions of adult oriented comics

Horror and science fiction stories

Censored

Moebius. Metal Hurlant.

Moebius. The Horny Goof. Dark Horse. 1990

BRONZE AGE:Comic Artists

Frank Miller

Frank Miller

Born Maryland, U.S. (1957)

The nature of his works appear dark and mature

Inspiration often came from his environment:

New York´s Hells Kitchen influenced: Daredevil, Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again

Los Angeles influenced: Sin City

Weegee. Hells Kitchen

-Influential photographer

-No police

-At night

-Dangerous

The comic industry was in need of change and Miller expanded the relationship between adults and comics

•Darker plot elements

•More realistic stories

•Mature: sex, profanities

Frank Miller. Sin city

Batman The Dark Knight Returns and Batman Year One have had the greatest impact on modern comics

Batman is redefined in these comics

Frank Miller. Batman The Dark Knight Returns. 1986

Frank Miller. Batman Year One. 1987

Miller created a darker Batman filled with corruption, politics, and conflicts of the human spirit

Batman The Dark Knight Returns

Complex characters, more realistic resembling common street dwellers with a thirst for killing

Shows a very aggressive and angry batman

Miller wanted to bring out the dark and tortured side of Batman in these works

Batman Year One

Sin City directed at the adult audience

Sexually graphic novel involving strip clubs and various sex scenes

More adults began reading comics

Sin City

Film- noir style

Used heavily in Sin City to create a dark mature effect

Sex scene

Fight scene

Frank Miller. Hell and Back Frank miller. That Yellow Bastard

Several volumes of Sin City. Uses different colour to draw attention to an area or character. Not always red!

Older heroes come out of retirement to fight crime in the 80´s

Referred to as heroes but none actually have powers except Doctor Manhattan

Watchmen

Alan Moore. Watchmen.

Watchmen´s heroes are said to stray from tradition (ex. sexually motivated)

Alan Moore. Watchmen.

Very mature, dark (violent)

This series deconstructed the concept of a hero by building up its heroes with gadgets, costumes, secret identities to let that concept collapse on itself showing that super heroes are impossible and aren´t needed

Dave Gibbons. Watchmen

Watchmen deconstructs the hero by developing its heroes . . . to the point where the reader comes to understand that these fantasies, realized, become nightmares.“

- Ian Thomas (Deconstructing the Hero)

Watchmen proposes a question: Would the world be better off without heroes?

YES!

Todd McFarlane

Born Calgary, Alberta, Canada (1961)

Is a writer, artist, manufacturer, and media entrepreneur

Unique art style and controversial story telling led to his success

Todd McFarlane

Todd McFarlane. Spiderman .1990Todd McFarlane. Hulk .1990

He left Marvel to form Image Comics were he created Spawn

Spawn became 90´s most popular hero

Todd McFarlane. Spawn. 1991

Todd created the occult anti- hero

Style:Big, glowing eye, often sharp teeth Some relation to death

Spawn featured profanities and as an anti hero he gained popularity

1994 He founded McFarlane Toys creating Spawn action figures and then branched out to sports, animation, video games

Spawn Football Player Elvis

Alex Ross

Alex Ross

•Born Portland, U.S (1970)

•A painter known for his photorealism

•He has brought realism to classic comic heroes

•Inspired by his mother who was a commercial artist and after seeing Spider-man for the first time he was in love with the idea of colourful characters performing good deeds

Spiderman. Television

series. 1967

Sketch by Andrew LoomisAlex Ross. Painting.Batman

•He was influenced by the realism of Andrew Loomis which led him to his realistic style

•He often uses photo references, and hires models or uses friends and family to pose so that he can get specific poses, proper lighting, and the creases in the clothing

Alex Ross. Superman Peace on Earth. 1999

He does more covers and posters because of the time needed to make a picture.

Alex Ross. Justice. 2005 Alex Ross. Green Hornet.

Alex Ross. Poster

Alex Ross. Iron man Poster.

ComparisonGold Silver Bronze

A hero has been redefined, becoming more realistic.

Bob Kane. Batman. 1939

Jim Lee. Batman

Frank Miller. Batman The Dark Knight Returns

Golden Age Heroes

Fred Ray. Superman. 1942 Jim Simon. Jack Kirby. Captain America

Silver Age Heroes

Spiderman. 1973

Bob Layton. Invincible Iron Man. 1979

Bronze Age Heroes

Alex Ross. Superman Peace on Earth. 1999

Frank Miller. Jim Lee. Batman and Robin The Boy Wonder

http://abovethestore.blogspot.com/2009/02/rewinding-watchmen.html

Works Cited

http://comicssilverage.org/

http://lambiek.net/artists/m/miller.htm

http://superherouniverse.com/wiki/Jim_Lee/index.html

http://www.lambiek.net/artists/k/kane.htm

http://www.willeisner.com/biography/index.html

Sabin, Roger. Comics, Comix and Graphic Novels A History of Comic Art. London: Phaidon Press Limited, 1996.

http://bing.search.sympatico.ca/?q=Bob%20kane&mkt=en-ca&setLang=en-CA

http://tezukainenglish.com/

http://tezukasite.tripod.com/

http://comicbooks.about.com/od/creatingcomicbooks/tp/process.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_comics#History

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Ross