Comic Books: Heroes and Villains

Transcription

1 Comic Books: Heroes and Villains Literacy Moment Profile of a Comic Illustrator Since Dave was four years old, he wanted to be a superhero. In fact, Dave and his brothers thought they were superheroes. As his neighbor of many years, I remember watching Dave, Andy, and Ian wearing Batman, Superman, and Spiderman costumes, doing acrobatics and simulating action scenes, pretending they were facing their foes. Action heroes like Spiderman or Batman absorbed much of their time, whether they were pretending to be them or reading about them from their archive of comic books. I was not surprised in the least when I learned that Dave became a comic book illustrator and married one. What is more, he drew superheroes in the fashion of Stan Lee s classic Spiderman, while his older brother, Andrew, wrote text to accompany his illustrations. When I asked Dave if he and Andrew got along when they worked, Dave said that they argue a bit over what comes first pictures or words but that this conflict is essential to the process: The most important work is the work between the writer and artist to work well together you have to play off each other s ideas. Dave can appreciate the newest rage in comic books, like Japanese anime, but his heart will always be with good ol Spidey. Comics are a part of home life for many families whether in print or on TV. My husband Fred, who had difficulty learning to read, found that comic books were the only books that really got him excited. He learned how to read by spending many hours reading Asterix by himself. The comic book world has become quite complex over the turn of the 21st century. Comics are differentiated from cartoons by range of expressions: cartoons are solely humorous; comics come in many forms at times funny but primarily with plots and characterization we come to know and admire. An important characteristic of comics is the way pictures depict actions, emotions, and characters. Situated Practice Activity Analyzing Comics Invite students to bring in any kind of comics or cartoons they can find at home. In a group discussion, ask them the following questions: What different ways can these comics be classified? What style of illustration does the artist use? How might these comics be organized in a classroom for other students to read? Extra Practice: Ask students to go on the Internet to find other genres of comics and cartoons to discuss. 86 New Texts, New Skills

2 Elements of the Comic Book Style of illustration is particularly important and can create an image and ethos for a comic; for example, the infusion of Japanese anime into popular TV shows such as Inuyasha or Pokémon has defined a new genre of TV program. Comics are organized into sequential units that are graphically separated from each other; they are composed of sequences of panels, while cartoons comprise only one panel. Comics are multimodal in that they stimulate different senses by imitating or simulating unspoken gestures, using musical notes to express singing or facial expressions to show happiness or fear. There is much use of onomatopoeia: words take on sounds to resemble actions, such as click, bong, gulp, etc. In comics, words and pictures exist side by side. Words appear handwritten, giving them different latitude for expression than type. Comics can help us explore characterization, plot, settings, the nature of good and evil, visual communication, language features (e.g., onomatopoeia), and even critical awareness of genre shifts within the comic world (e.g., graphic stories vs more traditional comics such as The Phantom or Spiderman). Comic Books: Heroes and Villains 87

3 Critical Framing Activity Mixing Genres by Lauren Amato Lauren Amato s Imagery Comic Strip activity is a creative way for high-school students to show their ability to understand images in a poem. After reading Sir Thomas Wyatt s Whoso List to Hunt, a sonnet full of imagery, students get into groups of three or four. In these groups, students discuss the various images that come to mind with each line. They ask one another questions about how they arrived at certain images, as well as to debate them. This is a chance for struggling students to understand how their peers arrive at images. The group work serves as a brainstorming session that is not intended to be assessed. The lesson takes 10 to 15 minutes. Upon completing group work, students work independently on an assignment that asks them to create a comic strip of at least five images from Wyatt s sonnet. These images should be in chronological order, matching the order of images in the poem. Below each panel, students write a summary of what the images represent, and write the line of poetry that evokes this image. Students decide whether or not to use dialogue in their comic strips. Either way, there should be a summary below each individual image in the strip. Teachers can assess these comic strips for understanding imagery in the sonnet. The Visual Landscape of Comic Books Each page of a comic book is separated into about nine rectangular frames called panels. Each panel depicts still instances of action, and may contain dialogue that represents a portion of the narrative. Each panel is separated from the others by the gutter, a blank space between each still instance of action. Like a period and space between sentences, a gutter separates moments in the overall narrative. Speech balloons are the spaces in which thoughts are expressed as dialogue or a monologue of thoughts in a character s head. The tail of a balloon points to the speaker. Captions make up another written part of a comic. Typically, captions appear at the top of a panel. Captions add information to the narrative in addition to character thoughts. Media Connection: With cartoons, like The Simpsons, there is a merging of sitcoms with cartoons; as in a sitcom like Leave it to Beaver or My Three Sons, we follow the adventures of a family we have come to know and love. Manga Cartooning A few years ago, manga took the comic book world by storm; manga is the Japanese word for comic. Manga characters wear bright, colorful clothing and have wild, pointy hair. The stories are usually about romance, sports, or science fiction, and are published as magazines or paperback books. Manga books are bound in the traditional Japanese way: the spine of the book is on the right side, and pages are flipped from the left, as if you had turned a regular book over and read it back to front. The manga art tradition and its associated 88 New Texts, New Skills

4 philosophy strategy and gamesmanship, heavily reliant on problem-solving and mathemetics add a decidedly more global feel to comics. Critical Framing Activity A Comic Book Collection Collect various types of comics adult comics, graphic stories, older or vintage comics, and even cartoons and analyze similarities and differences among them in the following ways: Do they use comic-book conventions differently (e.g., balloons, visual verbal cues, gutters, etc.)? Are captions used; if so, how does the use differ? What style of illustration do they use? Do you like the style? If not, why? What is on the cover? Are there villains? If so, what are they like? How are they different from action heroes and heroines? How do the visual and verbal characteristics interact? Does gender play a role? Have students elaborate on these questions in groups and critically frame such issues as stereotypes or gender issues in comics. Point of View in Comics 1. Conceptual Point of View: Involves someone s opinions; e.g., Batman s views on Penguin and his plots to avenge him for thwarting his evil plans. 2. Visual Point of View: Involves an illustrator s depiction of characters, costumes, settings, action scenes, emotions, and mood. 3. Interest Point of View: Involves the impact actions might have on characters; e.g., in response to Green Goblin s attempts to torment Spiderman, it is in the best interest of society for Spiderman to sabotage Goblin s evil doings. Point of view can function on different levels, and be manifested in visuals through distance and closeness; it can work through subjectivity with the thoughts of characters, or objectivity in a caption; it identifies the relationship of the reader with the characters; it helps the reader gain access to characters emotions (Saraceni, 2001). Overt Instruction Activity Being a Superhero or Villain Find pictures of a series of superheroes Batman, Spiderman, Wonder Woman, etc. and ask students to name their archrivals/enemies. As a group, develop descriptions of each superhero. Tell students to imagine that they could become any of these characters. Students write an explanation why these chose this particular character. Students should consider the following: Why might people admire you? What adventures might you expect to have? What challenge would you want to have? Comic Books: Heroes and Villains 89

5 Extra Practice: Create an event that gives you superpowers; e.g., being bitten by a radioactive spider turned Peter Parker into Spiderman. To complete a story, Dave has to follow these steps: 1. Create thumbnail sketches (miniature pictures of each scene) of the story and go over it with his brother Andrew, who writes the text. 2. Sketch out the story with stick figures. 3. Add flesh onto arms, torso, and legs, working his way from larger areas to smaller ones. 4. Define the body, muscles, and clothing. 5. Send images out to be inked (someone else does that). 6. Scan images and use his computer to add color. At some point between steps 3 and 4, Dave creates speech bubbles and meets with Andrew to discuss dialogue. Once he puts color into images, the agreed-upon text goes into speech bubbles. Situated Practice Activity Create Your Own Comic Ask your students to assemble three different panels, each expressing a different point of view. They can find images at home or draw them themselves. Students explain their choices. An extension of the activity might be to choose a panel from each of four different comics and cut the panel out. With a partner the students describe what is happening in the scene and how it might fit into the overall narrative of the comic. Extra Practice: Review the process of creating a comic (in the margin at left). Ask your students the following reflection questions: Following Dave s steps, add your own spin onto them to create a superhero story. What will your hero or heroine look like? Who is her or his foe? What will take place? How will you structure your story? What style of illustration will you have? Will you write your own dialogue or will a friend write it? Will your action figure have superhuman mental powers, superhuman physical powers, or both? Reflect on the process of creating an action figure comic. How is it different from writing a poem or an essay? Assessment Frame Create Your Own Comic To test student comprehension of a book they are studying, draw eight empty panels and ask students to make a comic of the story using visuals and dialogue. Then ask them to cut out each panel and change the plot of the story by moving putting the panels in a different order. 90 New Texts, New Skills