Sunday, February 1, 2009
Lorelei Rox
Lorelei Rox is good taste of what The Spirit comic must be like. I do enjoy the variety that Eisner uses in his panels more than anything else about these comics. Because I'm not generally attracted to superhero-villain stories and I think the dialog is funny and unrealistic the aspect that appeals to me most is the structure and artistic style. It's true that these comics are very similar to film. I took a film course and had to story board my ideas, those story boards were similar to comic books in a way I never recognized. Comic writers must be very interested in film too, do many comic writers go into film? The close up of The Spirit's eyes on page 88 is great and full of emotion; the lowest left hand panel on page 90 has a great use of negative space where the tree is supposed to be and the panel on the top right on the same page convey's great emotion through the line-style of "Dead". My favorite drawing in this issue is on page 91, the top left, where you see the spirit and the reflection on the windshield of the road. I think that drawing is brilliant. Also, On page 92 the large box with Lorelei is indicative of a bay watch type scene with the seductive female's hair blowing in the wind, the largeness of the picture foreshadows her unsuspecting strength over the Spirit. On page 93 the zip ribbons used in the middle right box add intensity to the movements, all of the background is eliminated to portray the mind set of the two fighters. For both of them they are probably thinking of nothing else but themselves and their respective opponent. Over all Eisner does a fantastic job of combining words and pictures to convey the over-drama that seems typical to comic books. His style is very cinematic. Are all comics as cinematic as Eisner?
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Chelsey,
ReplyDeleteYou did a wonderful analysis of the WATCHMEN and pointed out areas of interest that other students did not comment on. Good work.
Again, however, please try to include page numbers with your references. That way I (and others) can go back to the graphic novel and re-visit the panels about which you comment.
For instance, when you mention the reference to the Gordian Knot -- note where it is mentioned. Also, it would be helpful to give a quick summary about what the Gordian Knot is, i.e., "part of the Alexander the Great legend and a metaphor for an intractable problem solved by a bold stroke." In fact, a case might be made at the end that Adrien employed the Gordian Knot with his choice of a bold stroke to decide about humankind's fate.
Also, if you indicate that you enjoyed the short quotes that ended the chapters, you may want to comment on what "you" thought the author intended in including them. Take one quote, for instance, and ruminate about its meaning.
I loved your comments on Higgins' coloring and how his work enhanced the story -- particularly with the gray statue.
Cynthia
Chelsey,
ReplyDeleteFor some reason my first WATCHMEN post showed up here. I thought I lost my first post. So, now you get TWO Watchmen comments....
In any event, concerning LORELEI ROX -- I appreciated it that you cited page numbers. It was very helpful to me when I re-visted the panels to see them again in light of your observations. Good work!
You favorite drawing (page 91) is right out of an Orson Wells film -- the Spirit's reflection in the windshield. Wells helped establish a visual vocabulary in 1939 that Eisner must have been familiar with.
You ask if all comics are as cinematic as Eisner's? Well, Eisner continued the film-noir and Wells cinemagraphic visual language and applied it to comics. Other comics artists did too, especially if they knew Eisner's work and film.
Today, many comics artists come out of film. As you noted, storyboards can be wonderful preparation for comics.
Cynthia