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Rantings
from the Ruler
Ontario
Library Super-Conference Speech
By
Tim Simms of Worlds Collide
I
have been selling comics for 21 years, and reading them
for at least 40. They
are, and always have always been my favorite medium,
both for entertainment, and enlightenment.
As
a child, naturally, I read strictly for fun. Mostly I
read superhero comics, but I would read any I could put
my hands on -- Archies, Disneys, westerns, war comics
– I read them all.
I
also enjoyed the comic strips in the newspaper. I recall
Li’l Abner and
Pogo the best, even though I could not possibly have
grasped the strong political overtones in either strip.
I just loved comics.
You
can imagine my dismay as I approached adulthood to learn
that the art form that I enjoyed so was not well
respected by the general population.
Comics
in North America have for decades been treated as the
“black sheep” of the family – the illegitimate
offspring of literature and art. This is, and always has
been, an unfair accusation. The inclusion of this
segment on Graphic Novels in the library symposium
suggests that this attitude is changing.
Comics
are as capable as any other medium at informing,
educating, entertaining, or uplifting the reader. Like
any other form of expression, they are limited only by
the ability and imagination of their creators, and the
physical limitations of the printed page.
And,
for the record, since we are here to discuss “Graphic
Novels” I must point out that it is a publisher’s
term that really just means “big fat comic book.”
The
creation of a comic book involves three distinct art
forms that must work in unison. Two of these are obvious
– writing the plot and dialogue – if there is
dialogue, and drawing (or painting) the pictures.
The
third is less obvious, but is the one that sets comics
apart from all other forms of expression. The
arrangement of the words and pictures on the page is an
art form in itself.
It
affects the mood and pacing of the story, and the
readers ability to absorb the information therein. An
inspired script and beautiful drawings will accomplish
little without proper panel to panel continuity.
This
continuity is what comics pioneer Will Eisner described
as sequential art, and is a much older form of
expression than you might think.
In
his invaluable book “Understanding Comics” Scott
McCloud traces the origin of sequential art back at
least 32 centuries, to the tomb of an Egyptian scribe,
and a wordless depiction, in chronological order, of the
grain harvest, and subsequent taxation.
As
an adult, I have realized some of the reasons for my
love of the medium.
One
is that a creator can convey a large amount of
information in a relatively small space, and the reader
can absorb it in a relatively short period of time.
It
has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words.
While this is somewhat of an exaggeration, the mind can
certainly absorb, process, and understand a picture much
faster than it can a verbal description of the picture.
Whether
one has a short attention span, or a shortage of time,
this gives comics a certain advantage over conventional
literature, especially for educational purposes.
Other
visual media, such as film or television, also have this
advantage; however, they also have disadvantages.
A
comic reader can absorb the information on the pages of
a comic at one’s own pace, can easily repeat any
unclear passage, and can turn back to past sequences for
clarification.
Comics
are an ideal educational tool, and have for years been a
staple of early childhood education. I suspect some of
you are skeptical. Consider that the earliest
educational tools are visual.
We
teach children the alphabet by showing them pictures of
familiar items, accompanied by captions such as “A is
for Apple”, “B is for Banana” etc.
The
next step is storybooks, which tell simple stories using
drawings and captions. These are comics. While the
layout style is generally simple, often one panel to a
page, and word balloons are seldom used, they are,
nonetheless, sequential art.
Dr.
Seuss books are comics, and one of the best incentives
to literacy that you can offer a child. Comic books are
the next logical step on the reading ladder.
They
generally offer longer, more complex stories than
children’s books, and feature a more complex
vocabulary. They are also less intimidating to a
hesitant reader than straight literature would be, as
they still contain a familiar visual aspect.
There
are many excellent graphic novels for young readers,
many of which are also fun for adults as well. Some of
my personal suggestions would be:
BONE,
by Jeff Smith is a the rollicking saga of the three Bone
cousins, who get lost in a strange valley, and encounter
dragons, rat-creatures and Grandma Ben, who races cows.
And I don’t mean she rides them, either. It’s cute,
funny, and very well written.
Picture
Walt Disney writing Lord of the Rings, and you’ll have
the general idea.
There
are 8 volumes now in print, with 1 or 2 more coming out
to finish the story.
LEAVE
IT TO CHANCE,
by James Robinson and Paul Smith features a young girl
names Chance Falconer fighting crime with the aid of her
pet, a baby dragon. Chance is the oldest child of the
Shaman, or magical protector of her city. Since her
father’s mantle is supposed to be handed down to the
oldest son, she feels a need to prove herself worthy.
HEROBEAR
AND THE KID,
by Jonah Weiland is a
marvelous book about a boy who inherits his grandfathers
pocket watch and a teddy bear, which miraculously turns
into Herobear whenever the lad gets in trouble. Herobear
is a talking polar bear who wears a red cape. The story
is lots of fun, with a surprise ending. It turns out the
boys grandfather was none other than Santa Claus.
Another
of the advantages of comics is the freedom they offer to
creators.
While
the production of a film or video is a rather expensive
undertaking, involving expensive equipment and a variety
of people, and the publication of literature requires,
at the very least, a publisher, and the accompanying
editor, comics have none of these restrictions.
Most
comics are a collaboration between several people,
including a writer, penciller, inker, colorist, and
editor mostly working on company owned characters.
However,
this bureaucracy is not necessary to successful
publication.
Several
creators have chosen to write, draw, and self publish
their own work, with both commercial and critical
success.
The
printing costs are not exorbitant, and the comic book
solicitation and distribution system is efficient. Also,
there are many small publishers that publish exclusively
creator owned material, and exercise little, if any,
control over content.
While
this creative freedom certainly allows for the
publication of inferior material, it also provides a
forum for extremely personal works, many of which would
be improbable or impossible in any other medium.
A
few examples of such personal work include:
A
Contract With God:
Written & Drawn by Will Eisner, one of the
founders of the comic book industry in the 1930’s, and
one of it’s most respected creators, this was the
first of many Eisner books recalling tenement life in
1920’s New York, particularly the Jewish tenements
where he grew up.
This
book, ground breaking in both content and style was
first published in 1979, setting the stage for a new
generation of comic creators to tell their own stories,
in their own way. Eisner, now in his 90’s, is still
writing and drawing comics. His latest work, “Fagin
the Jew” takes a fresh look at the classic Dickens
character.
Barefoot
Gen:
A Cartoon History of Hiroshima: by Keiji Nakazawa is an
eye witness account of the bombing of Hiroshima. It was
the first of a trilogy, followed by “The Day After”,
and “Life after the Bomb”. Clear, frank, and
horrifying, these books should be required reading for
all politicians in all countries.
Maus:
by Art Spiegelman, is the story of Vladek Spiegelman, a
Jewish survivor of Hitler’s Europe, and of the son’s
coming to understand the father, and History itself.
Described by the Washington Post as “A quiet triumph,
moving and simple -- impossible to describe accurately,
and impossible to achieve in any medium but comics.”
This is the only comic, to my knowledge, to be awarded a
Pulitzer Prize.
Safe
Area Gorazde:
The War in Eastern Bosnia, an eye witness account of
life during the Balkan war, and Palestine, an
examination of life under a prolonged occupation, are
both the work of Joe Sacco, a journalist whose chosen
medium is comics. In the words of Speak magazine,
“Sacco can invest his stories with an incredible
intensity that’s impossible to capture with any other
medium”.Other historical comics of a less personal
nature include:
LOUIS
RIEL:
A comic strip biography, by Chester Brown, of Toronto.
Brown’s account of the Métis Rebellion in Manitoba,
and its controversial leader, Louis Riel, is a clear and
engaging view of one of Canada’s more colorful
historical figures.
A
CARTOON HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE,
BY Larry Gonif, is an often hilarious overview of, well,
the history of the universe, starting with the big bang,
and ending when the leafs win another Stanley Cup ..
……..O.K., I made that last part up.
There
are also many great comics that are neither historical
nor biographical in content. In my opinion, some of the
most notable are:
SANDMAN:
By writer Neil Gaiman, and a variety of artists, is a
dark fantasy, about the realm of dreams, their power,
and the lord of that realm, Dream of The Endless. Also
featured are Dreams sisters: Death, Despair, Desire, and
Delirium, and his brothers, Destiny and Destruction.
Originally published monthly by DC comics, the series
has been collected into 10 volumes, and is among the
most literate, and impressive accomplishments in comics
history.
CEREBUS:
written, drawn, and published by Dave Sim of
Kitchener Ontario, is a social, political, &
religious satire nearing it’s conclusion at issue 300.
Dave
has written and drawn nothing else since 1977. He has
careened through an astonishing array of story telling
styles, and woven in hilarious renditions of numerous
famous people, without losing track of the central theme
of the book.
WATCHMEN,
by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons was probably the first,
and the best serious examination of the super hero myth.
It asks the question “What sort of people would get
into that line of work, and how would it change them?”
A dense and multi layered story, it still yields
surprises after many readings.
V
FOR VENDETTA,
also by Alan Moore, with art by David Lloyd is, perhaps,
my favorite comic book. V is the story of a rather mad,
and theatrical terrorist (a dirty word, I know) playing
mind games with, and seeking revenge upon, a
totalitarian regime in post World War III fascist
Britain.
MOTHER,
COME HOME,
by Paul Hornschemeier, is told from the perspective of a
seven year old boy, who is dealing with his mothers
death, while watching his father sink in to a deep
depression. As it says on the book jacket, this story is
“quietly stunning”.
And
finally, if I’ve interested any of you today to find
out more about comics, I urge you to read UNDERSTANDING
COMICS, by Scott McCloud.
It
is considered by comic readers and professionals alike
as the best analysis of the medium ever produced. As
comics master Will Eisner says, “anyone interested in
this literary form must read it. Every school teacher
should have one.”
Thank
you for having me here today and I hope that I have
interested you in this somewhat misunderstood form.
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