Bone

Switching from analyzing something like Watchmen to Bone was a bit jarring at first, simply because the two are at the opposite end of the spectrum. Unlike Moore who was working on something tight and finite, Jeff Smith didn't have the entire overall story of Bone in his head when he was writing/drawing it, but nevertheless he still manages to do a lot with what's traditionally perceived as a cartoony or silly style. I actually saw Smith do a Bone reading, and before that, he talked about some of the inspirations for some of the later parts in the book from his travels around the world to his youth in the outdoors of Ohio. I actually have some of the pictures from that reading, and I can post some if you want to see them.

In rereading "Understanding Comics" Bone's style really reminded me of p.134, the way Smith incorporates all the various balloons and sounds to convey the invisible. One of my favorite things about Bone is the lettering in that without even reading the words, you can automatically get a sense of what the character is feeling or trying to convey. Also, unlike "Watchmen" which was representing a certain style of comics, almost anything goes for Bone. So it can be like an old fashioned critter cartoon to a sword and sorcery epic.

You told us to look out for any different or unique word balloons and there are a lot throughout the book. The broken word balloons in one panel in the first chapter indicate a character is whipsering, the ghostly/blurry ones of the Hooded One and the rat creatures, etc. And as McCloud mentions in "Understanding Comics" Smith really knows how to invoke sensations and intangibles in a visual medium. We get smell lines, hears, sweat, smoke, and numerous other icons and symbols.

As Nate pointed out, Bone can be enjoyed by all without alienating kids or adults with juvenile humor or violence and sex. First reading it, I think I was actually reminded of Tolkien's The Hobbit, and since this is a fantasy, Smith does touch on the same archetypes and basic plot points that are prevalent in so many. Fone Bone himself can be seen as a Frodo/Bilbo Baggins character, and greatness comes from the most unexpected things. Besides the Bones, Thorn and Grandma Ben the common farmers are in fact royalty, much like Aragorn, a dirty scruffy ranger is the King of Gondor. But in the unversality of it, I'm also reminded of some modern day examples in television and film, probably by Pixar's most recent film "Ratatouille". Unlike other CGI movies that come at you with big action scenes or one pop culture reference after another, the humor in Ratatouille reminded me a lot of older classic Disney cartoons and even classic life action comedies like Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and all those other great stars.

Watchmen Reaction Week 2

think the circles like the Smiley Face, besides being constant reminders of the Comedians death, also has a meaning itself. If look at the shape, it forms a 0 (zero) showing the insignifigance of humanity when compared to the larger schemes of things, a major theme of Watchmen, and one echoed constantly by Dr. Manhatten. The circles themselves could also be the idea of fullfilment/completeness, especially when we consider the costant watch imagery we see through the work. Going furthur with that idea, when a circle is fully formed, you get back to your starting point, just as with Watchmen's ending ie Extreme Closeup of a Smiley Face. I think there was only one sequence with red tinted panels that wasn't a flashback, which was Rosharch's prison scene with Big Figure near the end of that chapter. I think as Nate said, it underscores the upcoming violence of the scene, and especially that one when compared to Blake's gruesome death, we never see Big Figure die, except the toilet water/blood overflowing through the door. That kinda reminds me of Hitchcock's Psycho shower scene, how the violence is in the audience's heads, another idea presented by mcCloud about comics, we are in control of what happens outside the panels. Watchmen seems to let the reader be in control of the comic. I mentioned last week about the lack of sound effects, but also motion lines, so we can never tell how fast a character moves, or hard they hit, etc. Best examples are probably the action scenes like when Adrian Veidt catches a bullet, Blake's death, etc. As for the quotes at the end, I think Nate already said it best as a way to reiterate themes, ideas, etc. and essentially sum up the chapter in a short but memorable sentence. The Appendices like "Under the Hood", etc. Give us the chronology and history of characters and events that lead up the book, but I think they also give us a different POV of the characters. One in particular, the last one that interviews Adrian Veidt, really sees a different side of him, especially after killing millions of people. We learn a bit more about his 3 servants (who are barely in the book) and that Veidt in fact rescued them from Vietnam and gave them a home, so you give him a bit more sympathy, of course there's a limit when you consider his actions. And on a sidenote, you told us to think about if other comics used this device, Nate thought of Jimmy Corrigon, which I haven't read. Well I thinking about it, and then I suddenly realized that the various "Escapist" series from Dark Horse do the same thing. If you haven't read or heard of it, you definately know the source material the series is based on, Michael Chabon's "Kavalier and Clay". The first issues were various anthologies of "Escapist stories through history" and in between they had an article or something commenting on the era on which it came from. Brian K. Vaughn wrote an Escapist limited series last year, this time this a linear narrative storyline (and the appendices at the end) and it was quite good. So I though i'd mention it. I think the last panel of Watchmen is one of the best endings for this time of work that touches on the mood/feel/politics of its time. It brought me back to what Scott McCloud said about cartoons and that we relate more to more abstract/cartoony things (like Smiley faces) rather than photo realistic things. We put ourselves in them, we become the cartoons. Therefore, at the end, that's us being addressed by the editor, it's us with the decision in our hands to publish the journal or not. On a similar note, I was reading an article in Time about the video game's Halo Master Chief character, and one thing they noted was that because of his mirror visor, the gamers see themselves as the character, which of course reminded me of the McCloud thing.

Watchmen Reaction Week 1

It's been a while since I read it, and like Nate I haven't looked at it with a critical eye before. But now that I'm older since the first time I ever read it and learned more about the comic making process I can appreciate Watchmen for the truly groundbreaking work it really is. One thing I love about it, is how it uses all the old school comic book storytelling devices, but at the same time manages to add something new to the medium. Like with the sheets you gave us, it didn't occurr to me before but there are absolutely no sound effects words like POW, ZAP, etc. you know all those sound effects that were always on the old Adam West batman show. The assigned pages of the McCloud were also on my mind as I was rereading, particuarily the section about the Gutters between panels, closures, and scene transitions. Moore and Gibbons utilize a wide variety of transitions throughout each issue, I'm sure they're all used at some point, and each serves a unique purpose and point. The first time I heard about Watchmen was through a great documentary that aired on the history channel a few years ago called "Comic Book Superheroes Unmasked" which gives a great in-depth history lesson on the origins of American comics from the early 20th century up till today. I think Watchmen is captures the divisions in the eras of the comic book industry with the Minuteman representing the bright and enthusiast golden age characters and the subsequent Crime Busters taking their place as the Silver Age. I also liked how Moore modeled his characters on many past or current superheroes of the time. Some of the obvious ones are Nite Owl II and the various Blue Beetle characters including a flying ship, Rosarch and The Question, and Silk Spectre and Black Canary. Another thing about Watchmen I really appreciate is that it's not something you can sit down and flip through and still get the whole picture. It requires reader involvment which was one of the things McCloud noted in "Understanding Comics" that makes comics unique from other mediums like television and film. That was one of the sections of "Understanding Comics" that really resonated with me and was constantly on my mind as I was rereading Watchmen. Moore and Gibbons utilize this concept to its fullest and really allow the reader to become the director of the comic, so to speak. When the Comedian is beaten and thrown out a window, it's us who fill in all the gaps and decide how hard the fall was, etc. etc. Same thing with the Rosharch capture sequence, another one of my favorites. I think my favorite part of the series is Issue #6, with the origin of Rosharch and Malcolm Long. It's really disturbing to see the transformation of both Kovacs and even Long into their dark worldview of humanity. I also love Nite Owl's dream sequence in which he strips off his skin into his costume, and that small panel of him embracing Laurie as skeletons. Really chilling and yet I can't look away. I really hope they keep that for the film adaptation.