Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Understanding Comics

By Veronica Harris

Date: 1/26/10
Class: Digital Animation
Prof. Surah Drury
Title: Understanding Comics Assignment


What does McDonald say about comics in relationship to ideas about sequence, the history of art and/or the history of written language? Please give your views, citing examples from the reading.

• In reference to Sequence – McDonald’ says that comics are not just sequential art as “Eisner” states. Although animation is sequential, it is not the same as a comic. Comics are static pictorial images, along with other images, placed side by side, called “Juxtaposed”, in a deliberate sequence. For example, at the top of Understanding Comics Chap 1, pt 2, page 1 of the pdf file, on page 7, he says “Each successive frame of a movie is projected on exactly the same space – the screen – while each frame of comics must occupy a different frame of space.”
• In reference to the history of art – He says that all media have been examine for its’ art form, except comics, as though comics are not an art form at all. For example, at the bottom of Understanding Comics Chap 1, pt 1, page 5 of the pdf file, on page 6, he says, “At one time or another virtually all the great media have received critical examination, in and of themselves”. But for Comics this attention has been rare.”
• In reference to the history of written language – He says that in Egypt thirty-two centuries ago, what he thought was comics, is actually the written word, and pictures representing words, before the actual alphabet was used to represent words. For example, at the bottom of Understanding Comics Chap 1, pt 2, page 6 of the pdf file, on page 12, he says, “At first, Egyptian hieroglyphics would seem to fit our definition perfectly, but much depends on our use of the word “Pictorial”. Also at the top of Understanding Comics Chap 1, pt 3, page 1 of the pdf file, on page 13, he says, “Here’s the completed scene painted over thirty-two centuries ago for the tomb of “Menna” and ancient Egyptian scribe, as would be done 2,700 years later in Mexico, the Egyptians read their comics zig-zag.”

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