Monday, December 3, 2012
First couple bites into the comic
I haven't read that many graphic novels in my reading career the only one that I can clearly remember was V for Vendetta, only because of the overall awsomeness of the comic book! So in class, it was said that some people may have trouble reading The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen because its hard to decided what text boxes to read and the difficulty of reading the text and interpreting the pictures at the same time (without taking an hour to read every page). I picked up The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and really started to get into it and had a little trouble with what we talked about in class but I had other problems with the comic. I'm used to reading manga which, for those who don't know, are read from back to front and right to left on the page. So reading The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen through me through a loop hole. I heard that a couple other people in our class are manga fans so I was wondering if it was a difficult transition for you?
The other thing that I noticed was how unique the art is. I'm only half way through the book and several times I've wondered, how long did it take just to draw out this page? I had to especially take a little more at the chapter pages. For example chapter 4: Gods of Annihilation, there was just so much detail on that page. Up to this point I have been very impressed with the art style used in this comic. Going back to the manga thing again, Japan has a very interesting art style in their anime and manga so reading a book like The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen has really been an interesting transition.
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I have never read manga, but I had the same difficulty transitioning to reading The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I also was thinking about the art in the novel while reading! That was part of why I had a hard time getting used to reading the graphic novel because the pictures had so much going on that I did not know where to look or what to focus on. And some of the details I wonder if the authors throw in there just to be funny. I feel like if I was illustrating something with so much detail I would find it hilarious to throw in random small barely noticeable drawings. Like on the page of the ship blowing up and all the people's clothing are falling off. I don't know if that's just my pathetic maturity level, but I thought it was pretty funny. I'd also like to re read the book and pay more attention to the pictures since I already know the plot and what happens.
ReplyDeleteLike I said in my blog post, this was my first experience reading a graphic novel, so the whole concept of there being illustrations along with text is totally new to me. I really enjoyed it and I feel like I got more out of reading this book because of the drawings and graphicness.
As a fellow manga aficionado I can understand the awkward transition you had to undergo. Personally I've also been frequent in indulging western graphic novels, as well as novels, both of which impose a left to right sentiment and tend to serve to counter, thus I didn't find it much of a struggle. I suppose it's kind of like being ambidextrous with the hands after one of them is broken for a while. Because you are forced to become proficient with the unnatural limb you begin to adjust, and after the other limb has healed if you maintain a duel usage you can in some ways keep this proficiency. With regards to the artistic variation of the work, personally I don't find that big of a break between the two. Certainly manga has distinct japanese elements, but manga isn't as uniquely japanese as it could be. There are a lot of western influences even in the style; which is actually very much derived from post WWII popular animation as it was brought over from the US, particularly disney. (IE the big eyes...which have been in decline in the genre of late, really more something seen with child characters and less with adults) Thematically there is a lot of similarity to western work as well. To be honest I could very easily see the League as a manga piece, as there are a number of works in the manga genre that incorporate a similar theme of genre icons (in league's case british literature characters) and blending them in an original story that at the same time keeps a bit of the elements that identified them. Black Butler, Full Metal Alchemist, and Princess Tutu (horribly stupid name for an actually really good series) immediately come to my mind as using such themes.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I would like to say I have seen a lot of anime with weirder names that I never would of thought of watching unless my friend recommended it. But on another note, I completely agree with you about the differences in art style (especially the eyes :D). There is also the fact that manga is usually in black and white so my eyes were aesthetically pleased when I opened the first couple pages of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and saw that they were in color. But for some reason it was a little hard to read this at first, the best way I can describe it is trying to write with your non-dominate hand. But I am glad I was introduced to this because I'm at the point where I have seen so many animes, sad to say, but I can almost predict what the plot will be when watching a new show. So its nice to change up the pace. Plus Moore style of writing plus the historical background of like everything made it really cool. Its nice to see a fellow manga fan and kind of curious about what you have all read or watched.
DeleteMuch like you and Sean, I am a huge manga fan. Admittedly, I was a bit rusty when I picked up LoE, but the transition wasn't too hard for me. I feel that the movement of the text bubbles made a bit more sense than traditional manga.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, don't even get me started on V. I'm sure you've heard enough of Zac and I having intense feelings about it. I'm just finishing up the graphic novel for the first time and I'm in love with Moore's story telling. If you own the complete ten volume compilation, I'd suggest reading Moore's introduction. It's really quite something. V has made me look forward to finding the rest of the LoE volumes in bookstores.
I couldn't agree more about the art style. It's odd going from a stylized Japanese comic to a stylized British graphic novel. I don't know if you're familiar with the Red Garden series, but the art style of the anime reminds me of LoE a bit. I see a lot of Black Butler in this as well. It draws a lot on historical events in England... which reminds me how behind I am in that series.
If you liked V for Vendetta (and shame on anyone who doesn't), then I would suggest taking a look at Trinity Blood. Unfortunately the last volume will never come out as Tokyo Pop died a few months before the scheduled release date. It deals a lot with political turmoil and how people view what is moral. I own the box set of the anime, the first few novels (the original format), and the complete manga set sans the final volume if you ever want to borrow them.
I may be one of the few, but I have never actually read a manga. In fact secretly, I have laughed at how cheesey some of them look on the covers. However on your topic of how long these take, to illustrate, a professional would spend most of their time on the line-art needed for the comic and very little time actually coloring, even less time shading. So roughly around 2-3 hours for them to rough it out and finish it.
ReplyDeleteThe best part about this style I thought was how it incorporated many other styles. Especially we can see a lot of traditional Chinese styles in the little china part of the Graphic Novel. Thats something not many artists can do without looking
a. Silly
b. satirical