D'Angelo Hernandez literature of comics

For the fourth week I read some of TinTin in America. This comic actually made me laugh out loud in some parts and is quite entertaining. The sequential action panels and comedic approach when incorporating strong subject matter such as gangs and guns, make this comic a treat for the reader. The moment in particular where I found hilarious was when TinTin and two police officers catch a goon and he's about to spill the beans about the whole mission, when all of a sudden he is taken out by another goon with a boomerang instead of a gun. There are many guns in this comic but this guy used a boomerang of all things. I can put together that TinTin is a reflection of the child friendly standards that many comics at the time had to abide by, although still exploring serious subject matters such as gangs and violence. Even Police brutality is shown against TinTin although it's turned into comedic relief.

I read one short Comic strips form the Smithsonian Book of Comic Strips. Mr. Tweedle Dee by Johnny Gruelle was a short tale about a group of travellers that comes across a bush with flowers. One man picks the flowers and this tall creature called a "moodle" comes up. He scares the travellers but then a bird with a sharp looking beak appears and the moodle is scared back into his hole. He soon returned with friends but the bird also gathered friends. They poked all the monsters and they deflated. The birds walked off saying they were looking for "the rubber man" to fill the holes.

In Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud uses the comic book form to explain how comics themselves work. He includes the philosophical aspects, and uses real life examples and comparisons. One topic he spent a bit of time on was those who wish to become Comic artists in the future. He starts with someone at a young age who wants to do what he loves, making comics, but they never seem to be successful. He creates the similar circumstance for a character that only makes it up to assistant level. He gradually provides scenarios for comic book creators and what it takes to reach that point. He even acknowledges that some people become content with their positions in the ladder. But he continues to branch off and fully explain what people wanting to reach the top experience and overcome. As a visual artist it is always an engaging and reflective experience to receive this perspective of positions and wonder myself, "how far will, or can I go"?

The Arrival  by Shaun Tan is a wordless graphic novel. It successfully conveys a story with no words at all through a few clever strategies. One strategy uses close up shots in a sequence showing the same subject matter in multiple panels with slight changes. This can simulate movement and linear progression. Another one works by using frames that begin zoomed in for a couple panels and then the following page will zoom out to reveal the larger scene for some establishing context of location. One example in particular begins with the family walking out of the house, but then that same shot is zoomed out next panel to show these huge, black, tentacle like forms within the vicinity. Other similar examples show an activity over continuous shots, and then there is an establishing shot to show where the action is happening. There are a lot of similarities to film here and I would compare a silent graphic novel to a silent film. Shaun also includes a few shots showing one singular action in