EC comics

I read some EC comics, mainly military stories, and adventure stories.  

I never read EC comics when I was a kid. They are very unfamiliar to me because the graphic novels I read are mainly from DC comics and Marvel. However, once I read EC comics, I had been attracted by the stories I read in the comics.

One of the military stories that attracted me was a story about a lucky officer in a battle. He is very confident, and he can even avoid those bullets from snipers. He is brave because he dares to get out from the trenches and yells to the enemies when they are shooting. However, after his army destroyed an enemy’s base. When the checks on the base, the officer has been shot by a villain who has not died. The story is so ironic, and it changed my thought of comic books, especially graphic novels. 

EC comics make me rethink about the difference between a novel and graphic novel. It is the truth that graphic novel is not only a bunch of pictures that tell a simple story, or some superhero novels that create self-confidence. It can also provide a realism that influenced by real-life stories. I believe comic will be the 9th or 10th art. We can’t judge an art form by only its story, or only by its drawing. Comic artist is storytellers who tell the stories through comic, just like novel writers and filmmakers. 

The Comic Strip

In the library, I read the Tarzan, peanuts and Li'l Abner, which not only have a vary characterizes in art style, but also in the formatting of comic. The Tarzan is very artistic and illustrated. I was surprised by the fact that it doesn’t have any of those dialogue bubbles, in other words, that is not a conversation between characters. The only way the reader can only what is going on is through the pure-word description on the top. Therefore, I see it more like a novel with beautiful illustration than a comic. But consider the fact it is all in color, I guess it might seem the artist intends to remove the dialogue bubble so the readers can focus more on the image.

For the peanuts, I like it, a lot. The story isn’t that complicate at first glance, but if you think about it from an adult point of view, it is truly stunning and impressive. It’s like the author is giving some simple lesson about being ‘simple’ through these kids’ daily life in the comic. The art style isn’t that complete, doesn’t have many details, very easy to pick up and move on. All in all, I like it a lot.

Peanuts are using the point of view of kids to explain the world. The history of Peanuts also impresses me. The author of Peanuts keeps drawing the comic until he died. The characters are still young although the author was getting older and older.

Understanding Comics

It is my first time to read "Understanding Comics" by Scott McCloud, although I do love comics. When  I heard the name of the book, I thought it would be a reference book like "Understanding Movies", which is boring. However, the very first page of "Understanding Comics" destroyed my anxious. 

The way he represents it already gives a basic understanding of the art of comic. The comic shows a lot of styles of comic, such as American comic style, Japanese comic style. 

Before I read this comic, I can’t tell what the main difference between film and comic. They are so similar because of the storytelling flow. A lot of comics used film-like visual language such as camera angle, shots and depth of filed. However, “Understanding Comics” explain the difference for me, which is time-based and space-based. The film is definitely time-based. You can’t reverse the film or watch it from the middle. Space does for comics what time does for film. A comic artist can adjust the focus and juxtaposed by changing the size of space. 

The other unusual point of the comic is the Icon. It’s like what the Arthur says, he “using the word ICON to mean any image used to represent a person, place, thing or idea.” It is hard to believe a simple icon can represent a culture or a religion. However, I think I can remember an icon better than an idea or a brand. The icon such as Micky Mouse, Tai-chi are already stayed in my head.