There are a lot of interesting visual things happening in King that we have not yet seen in our previous readings. Ho Che Anderson is utilizing existing information to tell his narrative while artistically experimenting with the medium in a way that intensifies as we progress through the book. As we've spent a while discussing the narrative choices of the book I'd like to focus on the interesting visual choices Anderson makes in his work.
1. The most notable change in the artwork is the gradual change from the black and white stark ink illustrations and into the collage work in the latter end of the book. Aside from this color starts creeping into the book alongside the new collage work and photographic manipulations. What do you think Anderson meant by incorporating this gradual change in style throughout the narrative?
2. There are many panels that are repeated one after another while replacing the text inside. To a comic creator like myself this is cringe worthy laziness, but is also an amazing tactic to get work done faster, as well as usually being unnoticed by the reader. Scott McCloud in his recent lecture spoke about how humans are visually illiterate, so things like this can pass us by, but by doing things like this the content is taking over the form. One should not have to apologize for the other as he would say. In this case the text is becoming the whole narrative as the imagery is deemed unimportant as it isn't even recreated for following panels. My question is do you agree with Scott that this is an example of content subduing the form?
3. As mentioned before by professor Glaiser, characters throughout the story can be difficult to identify due to the art style. But some obscurity can be due to the fact that this comic is intended to be a historical recollection, and is as blurred as memory. Fortunately we can recognize MLK himself however he is illustrated. Were you bothered by this approach to the artwork, and/or do you think it was a thought out decision on Anderson's part?
4. What point of the story do you think had the best integration of both illustration and text? There are many bits in King where they seem to be separate entities, but comics is the marrying of these two forms, and in King, this does happen very successfully in an on and off pattern of clarity (in my opinion). Where do you remember things coming together the best in terms of the text and image?
-Alex Healey
(Gradual change in artistic styles and use of color) Throughout King, Anderson employs multiple representational styles in King, with our sense of scale and shape distorted in almost every scene. However, as the work continues there is a greater uniformity in representation and coloring, where distinct styles become associated with specific scenes of MLK’s left. The most memorable artistic style found later in King’s work is the cubism Anderson employs while King spends his time in Chicago, where there is a greater sense of physical depth to the environments and characters. For most scenes, Anderson’s use of color in King seems to indicate the presence of emotion or tension, which fits with the gradual build in its use in the comic. As the reader gets closer and closer to the inevitable death of King, Anderson’s use of color dominates the work’s visual experience. It is also worth pointing out that King was originally published in 3 volumes, and so the shift toward a greater use of color may only reflect a gain in his resources as a comic book artist.
ReplyDelete(Content subduing form) Not at all. Assuming you are referencing Anderson’s repetition of static panels seen with his witnesses, I think he is completely cognizant of the text and image’s interplay. I think that by keeping the imagery used for his interviewees static, Anderson manages to do more through understatement. The individuals who provide their own take on King’s life do not, unlike MLK himself, have any real character arc. Rather than characters, they are voices, intended to articulate a particular perspective, or feeling, or just “vibe” about Dr. King. The usage of static images for them reinforces this idea, to me, and helps emphasize the idea that there are multiple sides to a single person.
I totally forgot that this was published in three volumes! Makes me rethink my interpretations of the color shift toward the end. Great insight.
DeleteThat is really making me see the story differently.
DeleteI got you.
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ReplyDeleteI love your writerly perspective of question two! I suppose I mildly disagree on the content subduing the form? Because bodies have meaning, even when they are repetitive and static. I can think of a comparison with the ending six panels of Shortcomings in which we see Ben staring out at his plane takes off.
(And yes, I suppose that could be a bad parallel, because there is no text overwriting the image, but it's rather the repetition of the image that I'm calling attention to.) Visually we don't NEED the image repeated six times with little but a window of variance to understand the narrative consequence of that moment. But this form is important, because it draws attention to this absolute stagnation. The world is moving, but Ben is not.
In the case of King, I feel like the same image with the witnesses just calls attention to the fact that it's not just this specific body, but almost symbolic, representational bodies. They are subjective and different, but this visual choice connects them as physical agents, though the text that overlays changes. It also is a cool choice when we consider that in viewing history, and remembering people, oftentimes words of choice and interpretation are written over bodies as concepts, but not necessarily specific people. Especially when we get sentences like, "The country was elated" or "Public unrest intensified."
1) To me, in this text color represents hope, or divine justice. Towards the beginning of the book when color is very scarce, it is mostly used to highlight images of Dr. King and of black people in general. It is reserved for moments when people are not living in their present reality, when they are caught up in the emotions of hearing Dr. King speak. When King is stabbed, the color slowly bleeds from one frame into the next until you turn the page and the color is now full bleed, 2 page spread. This use of color highlights King's close encounter with death therefore with God. When he regains consciousness and comes back to reality, everything is dark and gray again. After this brush with death, we don't see color again until right before the Birmingham protests (110). After this, the next bit of color is on 129 when the Birmingham agreement is reached. Color at this point becomes much more prevalent in the story. Towards the end of the book and of King's life, almost every page is in full color, reflecting the real effects of the progress that they were making in improving life for the black community.
ReplyDelete4) One moment that stands out to me is the sequence of the meeting on pgs 113-116. The character of Caroline is very noticeable in the story because of her freckled appearance. On 113 Caroline and King have a somewhat intimate conversation where King lets his guard down and is relaxed. Throughout the book, we have seen hints of King's infidelity, but were never indulged the gory details. On pg 116, we can see the topless body of Caroline, however the conversation from the previous page continues in the text bubbles and on the rest of the page. It is unclear whether this is shown to us as King's fantasy, as his recollection of past encounters while daydreaming, or as what went down before/after this meeting. Either way, it shows us that King may not be 100% mentally invested in this conversation. I think that this is a great example of the text telling one story and the images telling a parallel story, one that is more ambiguous and up to the viewer's imagination.
1. I think that Anderson meant to present some sort of build up into the most important and meaningful parts of MLKs life. The random instances of color in the first half were like a heartbeat beginning to race until the end when it moved faster and faster giving off more and more energy leading to an untimely stop. The color really added depth to his life. It kept the story interesting and put focus on scenes that would be more important later in his life, such as the moments after he was stabbed at a book signing.
ReplyDelete2. I actually like the way panels are repeated. Repetition extends the pause between scenes. I feel like it is the moment of thought for the reader as he prepares to fully understand the characters.
3. I believe that the black and white was important early on in the story. It wasn’t distracting and put focus on the situations that MLK was apart of early in his life. I had quite a bit of trouble telling one character from the next, especially with the sharp transitions of time. One second MLK could be with his family, and the next second he could be with some other woman on the street. I feel like Anderson chose to have this comic presented in this way to make it more realistic. The entire first half was presented so much like it was a collection of pulled photographs. It had a direction that presented everything that the characters needed to tell about MLK.
4. I believe that the scenes where MLK spoke in Washington had the greatest integration of illustration and text. It moved in and out of drawn pieces of MLK in full presentation mode and real photographs. The gradual change from the start of his speech including only black and white to the ending being almost completely in color represented a light at the end of the tunnel. This was the turning point for his whole being. This was a speech that’s message transcended meaning. I believe that most of the panels where Anderson presents people who are interviewed were the best in terms of text and image. Yes they were repeated panels, but these people presented ideas that were very personal. The character designs were fascinating and truly represented their personality. For example, the southern gentleman who decided to be anonymous while speaking of ideas of white supremacy. He just simply fit the part.
1. Though likely unintended I think it is interesting that the use of color certainly grows as time passes. In a similar way the audience would see black and white photographs and relate them to the past in a disconnected way. It's as though Anderson wants the audience to feel more connected to the present as time goes on and it really is a neat crescendo in the book.
ReplyDelete2. I felt that this was an artistic choice, Anderson has a very detailed approach to his work and I could not imagine it from being "lazy" . It certainly is neat and received differently than traditional frames would be by the audience, I think it was successful enough to draw out our discussion here about it, so I applause the effort.
3. You bring up an interesting direction in that it's a first person perspective, as though the audience is watching this all unfold. I took the style to have the intent of not creating a false narrative of characters that were certainly involved but not taken down in history. There were thousands of people who passed King in the events within this book that are not logged in a history book and for Anderson to have to define who was where and when would be silly. If you were at Kings wedding, you can say "oh that character must be me", or whomever it has an openness to the characters that are involved but not central to the plot.
1. I feel that the gradual addition of color throughout the narrative could be representative of the forward march of their progress, particularly during the famous "I Have A Dream" speech.
ReplyDelete2. I would argue that, in some cases, this could be an example of the content overwriting form, especially in a story like this. Also, there is some argument to be made for the repetition of images playing a role in increasing the impact of the image itself.
3. I believe the loose art form is a conscious design decision. It serves almost as a refocusing agent throughout, reminding us that this story is as much about the man as the movement.
4. I'm going to have to go back to my personal favorite, the image depicting the "I Have A Dream" speech. It seamlessly blends the words of the speech, depicted in static speech bubbles as though it is being broadcast, with what seems to be actual photographs of various related imagery. In addition, it caps the whole image with an image of him heading into the closing of the speech next to a colored image of the American Flag.
That this had become a real situation. To most of us, seeing something in black and white doesn’t make it real. We’re too sensory based because we weren’t there. The color shows us the real sense of what was happening in the story, that everything up to this point was just building up to something huge, and that it was going to end in a huge way.
ReplyDeleteTo make a case for King, the repetition of the panels makes for grasping at the attention of the reader. I read those panels as this is something important, an important detail I should make a mental note of because its going to come up again for some reason.
I actually had a hard time knowing that MLK was who was speaking in some panels, I may be the only one. I think this approach has its merits. On the one hand, this is supposed to be about MLK himself, but it’s also about the Civil Rights Movement. Everyone who was involved with MLK and what he was doing at every turn of the events, makes an appearance.
There are two panels that make the best impact on me, and they connect to each other so well. The panel when MLK was stabbed, with all the color and he’s talking about reaching for the warmth of the sun, and at the end when he is shot, more color and the line “Daddy is this real?”
ReplyDeleteI think Anderson wanted to take the reader off guard, if you aren’t the typical person who skims through any book before you read it, you would expect the book to carry the same theme, to look the same, as in be all black and white or in color or whatever the first half starts off as, but Anderson took a different approach and mixed it up, which was done very tastefully.
I do agree with McCloud, it can be said it is an example of content subduing the form, but then again I also agree with what you said, it’s “cringe worthy laziness”(I liked that btw). But I guess, it does go back to how each person interprets whatever it is they read, whether it Is a student in university, or a author like McCloud.
At first, I was bothered that everything appeared so blurry, but later once I got used to the idea, I think it was fitting to make it blurry to actually make it more like a memory someone is recalling and showing it as vividly as someone can remember over a period of time. I’m sure Anderson thought this out very well and calculated how readers would react, everyone expects both positive and negative feedback, especially if they’re trying a creative approach to something