COMICS AND GRAPHIC NOVELS

COMICS AND GRAPHIC NOVELS

COMICS ANDGRAPHIC NOVELS

CREATIVE WRITINGCLZIANOSKI

CREATIVE WRITINGCLZIANOSKI

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LESSON OBJECTIVESSTUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO:• STUDY THE COMIC/GRAPHIC NOVEL AND ITS

ORIGINS BY TAKING NOTES

• ANALYZE THE ELEMENTS OF A COMIC/GRAPHIC NOVEL

• IDENTIFY THE GOAL OR THEMEOF A COMIC/GRAPHIC NOVEL

• WRITE A COMIC OR GRAPHIC NOVEL USING COMMON ELEMENTS REVIEWED

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THE COMIC STRIP• COMIC STRIP: A SEQUENCE OF DRAWINGS

IN BOXES THAT TELL AN AMUSING STORY, TYPICALLY PRINTED IN A NEWSPAPER OR COMIC BOOK

• STORIES MAY BE HUMOROUS, OR MAY PRESENT A WORLD OF ADVENTURE, MYSTERY, OR FANTASY

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THE COMIC STRIP• COMIC STRIPS HAVE ONE OR MORE

CENTRAL CHARACTERS WHO APPEAR IN EACH ISSUE

• STORIES MAY BE TOLD IN A SINGLE ISSUE, OR MAY CONTINUE FROM ONE ISSUE TO THE NEXT OVER A PERIOD OF TIME

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HISTORY OF

THE COMIC STRIP• COMIC STRIPS HAVE BEEN AROUND

SINCE THE END OF THE 1800’S

• THEY ARE THE GRANDFATHERS OF GRAPHIC NOVELS

• THE ORIGINAL PURPOSE OF COMIC STRIPS WERE TO DRAW PEOPLE TO THE SUNDAY PAPERS

• WITHIN TIME, THEY BECAME MUCH MORE POPULAR THROUGHOUT SOCIETY

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HISTORY OF

THE COMIC STRIP• THE FIRST COMIC STRIP WAS ORIGINALLY

PUBLISHED IN 1895 BY R. F. OUTCAULT IN NEW YORK WORLD

• THE COMIC STRIP INCREASED SALES

• IT ALSO EVENTUALLY ENDORSED SOAP-WHISKEY

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HISTORY OF

THE COMIC STRIP• KATZENJAMMER KIDS WAS

PUBLISHED SOON AFTER IN 1897 BY HY EISMAN

• MADE USE OF WORD BUBBLESAND MULTIPLE PANELS TO TELL A STORY

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THE COMIC STRIPDIK BROWNE’S “HAGAR THE HORRIBLE”

CHARLES SCHULZ’S “PEANUTS”

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THE COMIC STRIPBILL WATTERSON’S “CALVIN AND HOBBES”

GEORGE HERRIMAN’S “KRAZY KAT AND IGNATZ”

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THE COMIC BOOK• COMIC BOOK: ALSO CALLED

COMIC MAGAZINE OR COMIC, IS A PUBLICATION THAT CONSISTS OF COMIC ART IN THE FORM OF SEQUENTIAL JUXTAPOSED PANELS THAT REPRESENT INDIVIDUAL SCENES.• THE TERM COMICS MISTAKENLY

CONNOTES HUMOR, WHICH IS NOTAN INTEGRAL PART OF THE FORM

• AUDIENCE – BOTH CHILDREN AND ADULTS

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HISTORY OF

THE COMIC BOOK• GAINED ITS POPULARITY IN

1933 WHEN REPRINTS WEREORIGINALLY FREE

• IN 1935, NEW COMICS WITH THE ORIGINAL CHARACTERS WERE RELEASED FOR 10¢ EACH

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HISTORY OF

THE COMIC BOOK• THE COMIC BOOK WAS EXTREMELY

POPULAR FROM THE 1930’S-50’S

• SUPERMAN BECAME THE FIRST SUPERHERO AND WAS SOLD ON NEWSSTANDS IN 1938

• SUPERHEROES WERE HUGE DURING WORLD WAR II

• AFTER WORLD WAR II: CRIME, SCIENCE FICTION, AND HORROR COMICS MADE THEIR DEBUT

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HISTORY OF

THE COMIC BOOK• IN THE 1950’S, COMICS

WERE IN A CRISIS!• FREDERIC WERTHAM:

PUBLISHED A BOOK CALLED SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT IN 1954

• PROMOTED HIS BELIEF THAT COMICS PRODUCED HARMFUL EFFECTS ON CHILDREN AND THE IDEA THAT THEY WERE DANGEROUS

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HISTORY OF

THE COMIC BOOK• HELPED SPARK A U.S.

CONGRESSIONAL INQUIRY INTO THE COMIC BOOK INDUSTRY AND ULTIMATELY, THE CREATION OF THE COMICS CODE

• MOST COMICS WERE EXAMINED BY THE U.S. SENATE, BANNED, AND BURNED

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THE COMIC BOOK:

A NEW BEGINNING• IN THE LATE 1950’S, THE

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA WAS BORN

• THE FANTASTIC FOUR, INCREDIBLE HULK, AND SPIDER-MAN APPEARED IN 1961

• 1960’S: SELF-PUBLISHED UNDERGROUND COMICS EMERGE

• THUS, THE GRAPHIC NOVEL RECEIVED ITS POPULARITY

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THE COMIC BOOKTHE JUSTICE LEAGUE CAPTAIN MARVEL

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THE COMIC BOOKX-MEN GUARDIANS OF THE

GALAXY

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THE GRAPHIC NOVEL• GRAPHIC NOVEL: A BOOK

MADE UP OF COMICS CONTENT. ALTHOUGH THE WORD "NOVEL" NORMALLY REFERS TO LONG FICTIONAL WORKS, THE TERM "GRAPHIC NOVEL" IS APPLIED BROADLY AND INCLUDES FICTION, NON-FICTION, AND ANTHOLOGIZED WORK.

• IT IS DISTINGUISHED FROM THE TERM "COMIC BOOK," WHICH IS USED FOR COMICS PERIODICALS.

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THE GRAPHIC NOVEL• THE TERM WAS COINED BY

RICHARD KYLE AND WAS MADE POPULAR THROUGH WILL EISNER’S A CONTRACT WITH GOD IN 1978

• FROM THEN ON, GRAPHIC NOVELS HAVE MADE IMPRESSIVE MILESTONES AMONG SALES AND POPULARITY

• MANY PEOPLE FIRST TOOK NOTICE OF THEM IN 1986 WHEN ART SPIEGELMAN WON THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR HIS MAUS.

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THE GRAPHIC NOVELBatman: The Dark

Knight Returns - 1986Watchmen - 1987

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THE GRAPHIC NOVELMAUS: A SURVIVOR’S TALE WINS PULITZER -

1992

American Born Chinese - 2007

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WHY COMICS?• 6.3 MILLION SECONDARY

SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE READING BELOW GRADE LEVEL

• AVERAGE AMERICAN AGE 15-24 SPENDS ONLY 7 MINUTES OF DAILY LEISURE TIME READING

• STUDENTS WITH ACCESS TO A VARIETY OF READING MATERIALS HAVE HIGHER AVERAGE READING SCORES

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• PRESENT COMPLEX MATERIAL IN READABLE TEXT

• SERVE AS A BRIDGE TO MORE DIFFICULT READING

• CHALLENGE READERS OF MORE TRADITIONAL LITERATURE

• EMBRACE NATURE OF MULTIMEDIA WORLD

• FULFILL NCTE’S “21ST CENTURY LITERACIES”

WHY COMICS?

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CREATING A

COMIC STRIP1. DECIDE ON YOUR STORY

• YOU DON’T NEED TO FIGURE OUT ALL THE DETAILS YET, JUST A GOAL OR THEME.

2. FIND YOUR STYLE. • YOUR STYLE SHOULD MATCH BOTH

YOUR TONE AND THE STORY THAT YOU HAVE IN YOUR HEAD.

• THE STYLE OF A COMIC IS THE FIRST THING THAT IS GOING TO JUMP OUT TO YOUR READERS.

• EXAMPLES OF DIFFERENT COMIC STYLES: ANIME/MANGA, AMERICAN SUPERHERO, SPRITES/CLIP ART, NOIR, STICK FIGURES, SUNDAY FUNNIES, AND DRAMAS.

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CREATING A

COMIC STRIP3. DECIDE ON YOUR FORMAT

• MAP OUT HOW MANY PANELS AND/OR ROWS FOR YOUR COMIC STRIP

• A SINGLE FRAME COMIC: RELY ON VISUAL GAGS AND ONE OR TWO LINES OF DIALOGUE. POLITICAL COMICS ARE TYPICALLY ONE OR TWO FRAMES.

• A COMIC STRIP: A SEQUENCE OF FRAMES. THERE IS NO SET LENGTH FOR A STRIP, BUT IT IS USUALLY COMPOSED OF AROUND 2-4 FRAMES EACH.

• A COMIC PAGE: A WHOLE PAGE OF COMIC STRIPS. A COMIC PAGE REQUIRES MORE CONTENT.

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CREATING A

COMIC STRIP4. PLAN OUT EACH PANEL

• THIS WILL HELP YOU CREATE ACTIONS AND DIALOGUE, AND WILL ALSO HELP AVOID FUTURE MISTAKES

5. BALANCE TEXT AND IMAGES• DON’T PUT TOO MUCH TEXT IN YOUR

PANELS. THIS CAN MAKE THE COMIC HARD TO READ AND ENJOY.

• TRY TO LIMIT THE NUMBER OF SPEECH BALLOONS TO 2-3 TO A PANEL AND KEEP THE NUMBER OF WORDS BELOW 30, PREFERABLY 20.

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COMIC STRIP: COMPONENTS