Arsène Schrauwen
Arsène Schrauwen Olivier Schrauwen Arsène Schrauwen reminds me a bit of the work of Ben Katchor, with his blocky businessmen engaged in endeavors that seem just outside the real. The book also reminds me of ...
comics
Panel: shape, context, and content
Does the shape of a panel carry inherent meaning? A square panel seems to imply stability. Its four equal sides create a sense of equilibrium. Rectangular panels imply movement, horizontal for wide panels, vertical for ...
Comics and Language: Reimagining Critical Discourse on the Form by Hannah Miodrag
The subtitle of this book is more accurate than it’s main title; Miodrag examines what she sees as common assumptions and mistakes that comics critics make. She points to lack of precision, sloppy reasoning, and ...
My Favorite Comics Anthologies
I love anthologies. I love seeing new work, being introduced to artists and approaches I have never seen before, and, of course, getting a solid read. Maybe it’s being placed next to other, different styles, ...
How to Create Graphic Novels by Rodolphe Töpffer
Rodolphe Töpffer usually wins credit for being the first comics artist. He put multiple panels on a page and employed the new advancements in printing to get his work read. He may not have used ...
Thoughts on Line: Edmund Sullivan’s Line: An Art Study
I didn’t read Edmund J. Sullivan’s Line: An Art Study all at once, but piece by piece over a few months. Besides just life getting in the way, I took this book slowly because it isn’t ...
Comics and Narration by Thierry Groensteen trans. by Ann Miller
I picked up this book having struggled with The System of Comics translated by Bart Beaty and Nick Nguyen. While I loved the direct analysis of that book, much of it was difficult to understand. Part of ...
Annie Sullivan and the Trials of Helen Keller by Joseph Lambert
The story of Helen Keller is a famous one and one that has been told many times. So if an artist were tasked with telling the tale, there are many possible versions of the story to look ...
Manga in Theory and Practice: the Craft of Creating Manga by Hirohiko Araki
Manga in Theory and Practice: the Craft of Creating Manga by Hirohiko Araki The creator of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has written a book which, he claims, reveals the secrets of creating manga. He calls these ...
Panther by Brecht Evens
A lot of children’s books are pretty creepy when you think about them. Many of them involve child abandonment or characters who seem whimsical on the surface, but reveal themselves to be agents of chaos. ...