WOW - Whew!

All caught up.  Just had to post this.

touching...

Gesture, Making Comics, All-Star Superman, Chad Ruger

"There are a few basic kinds of RELATIONSHIPS between our physical actions and the messages they convey."

I love Gesture and what it can communicate.  The perfect example is how in All-Star Superman, Clark and Superman have the same mass but are looked at by characters and the readers to appear very different.  Just by adding a simple slouch to superman's physique(and a big coat) Clark becomes a chubby clutz, completely contrasting his true self and securing his secret identity.

All-Star Superman review, Chad Ruger

1. IDEA, Secondary:
       Different from Britta, the Idea that I enjoyed most was that of expressing Superman as not only ideal in physicality but in moral character as well.  The introduction talked about how Superman was a savior but the biggest thing he did for humanity was believe in them.  Since I read volume two, this idea is greatly continued in said volume, but even in the first, you notice that superman doesn't only love humanity, but believes in them to create good in their own lives.  In volume two, specifically, he leaves abruptly during a tender moment with Lois and stops a young girl from throwing herself off a building.  Holding her, he says, "You're a lot stronger than you think you are."

2.  PG - For brief partial nudity and violence.


3. Springboard:   It is clear that the writer knows a ton about superman's history.  I don't really know how much he made up, but there were supers from the far future as well as smallville-esque history all mixed in there.  

4: Apply: 
What I really pulled out of this was that even though your story has moral lessons, they don't have to be in the forefront of the story.  They can be brief and ellegant.  And they can be almost unnoticable unless you analyze deeper into the characters.  I really want to write strong moral character in my characters and this was a perfect example.

Making Comics - All Star Superman

On pg 130 of Making Comics it goes over the different types of word/picture combinations. The top 4 panels on pg. 136 of All Star Superman are a good example of picture-specific panels. If you take out the word bubbles you still understand that Superman is playing catch with Krypto. The picture tells you all you need to know, the words just add some extra interest.

All Star Superman - Britta Frazier

1. Idea - Secondary

*Spoilers* To me one of the big ideas in the story is coping with death. In the first episode (as they're called) Superman flies too close to the sun and damages his cells beyond repair, the affect is now slowly killing him. Episode 6 is all about the death of Superman's human dad, and how Superman copes with it. It's an overarching theme but not front-stage enough to be called primary.

2. PG - For frightening images and very brief partial nudity. Any teenager would be fine with this but a younger kid may be a bit frightened by some of the aliens/monsters. Gross monsters pgs. 14, 19, 21, 22, 60-62, 99-102, 118-125, 144, 147-149. Partial nudity pg 42.

3. Springboard - One thing the artist would need to have is a knowledge of how to draw buildings and architecture. I mention this because it is one of my weaknesses. Most scenes take place in the city or inside spaceships or buildings. Also, and more importantly, the writer/artist needs an immense knowledge of the Superman universe, including character's from older series. I decided to do some research on a character that was a bit of a mystery to me but seemed to have deep root in the Superman world, Jimmy Olsen.

Apparently Jimmy Olsen was a recurring small character in the original tv series Adventures of Superman. Apparently he was prone to humorous transformations, in one episode even becoming a Giant Turtle Boy. Which may explain the existence of this photo in All Star Superman.

It would also explain Jimmy's enthusiasm for dressing up. For a while Jimmy had his own comic series called Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen.

4. Apply - I learned a lot just by examining the style of this book. I struggle with making panels look to empty. I noticed that many panels in this comic have very little filling them, but they feel full because of small details and textures put on the characters and objects. Lack of a background does not have to make the panel feel empty.

Making Comics - All-Star Superman

(These are pages 19 & 22 from the first chapter, 10 from the second)

I think All-Star Superman really nails character design principle found on page 71 ofMaking Comics. Though Clark Kent and Superman are the same person, they look different enough for the readers to know when Superman is publically performing service as Superman and when he is hiding his identity by taking a role of clumsy news reporter. The design includes costumes, posture, and even hairstyle as the “unique visual reminder of characters’ different personalities”, which convincingly fools the other characters and is even believable to the readers.

All-Star Superman - Younhee Burningham

1. Analyze:

(a) Milieu – “secondary”

The story begins with how Superman ended up on earth, “Doomed planet. Desperate scientists. Last hope. Kindly couple.” (The first page of comic). And I found out from research (and also from having seen the movies) that in volume two, Superman leaves the earth at the end, *spoiler* he does really die at the end.

So the story started with our main character Superman arriving on a whole new world for him, earth, and then it ends when he can no longer remain.

I rated the element as secondary because I agree with the previous post that the comic is mainly carried on by events.

2. Rating: PG, because of the creepy dark vibe the art style gives, and some gruesome images that may be too frightening and disturbing especially for little children (like the Parasite monster on Chapter 5 page 12-19, the Chronovore on the 12^th page of the 6^th chapter, and basically the whole 7^th chapter (especially with the woman’s face is melting on page 10) and 8^th chapter (zoomed face of Zibarro on page 20), there's also Lois dressing and has a partial nudity where she is taking a shower on page 8 of the 2nd chapter.

3. Springboard: I think that the writer would need to have knowledge of some kind of godly perfect figure to know how to depict Superman. What and how would someone like him act in certain situation? I know that Superman is often described as an archetype of Jesus Christ the savior of the world, so the writer may need to know some Christ-like attributes to make sure Superman doesn’t do or say anything out of character. Upon research I found out that Superman’s Kryptonian name, which is “Kal-El”, can mean “voice of God” in a very similar word in Hebrew. I also found out that the original creators of Superman were these two Jewish (religion) men named Jerry Siegel (writer) and Joe Shuster (artist), and some supposes that their religion might have influenced Superman quite significantly, especially by Moses.

All*Star Superman - Adam Borgia

1. Analyze: Event - Primary
For this treatment of Superman, there is an event that occurs early on which sets the tone for the rest of the volume (and I imagine the series as well) that effects the fate of Superman himself, and we are watching how we spends his time, where his thoughts are going, and how the people closest to him in his life are reacting to these changes. I'm being slightly vague because I don't want to ruin it. The "real" Event then becomes this approaching deadline that both the characters and the viewers are awaiting. I don't know if it's cheating to include as my analysis the identifying of an Event that isn't even fully manifested in this volume, but to me it is SO important that I just had to. Now go read it and see for yourself.

2. Rating: PG
It's Superman. He's not just a super powered alien, he's a super man, and exemplifies the best in all of us. I've always admired the character of Superman for being a beacon of strength and determination, but also one of morals and values. There is comic violence in here, as thugs and monsters alike need a beat-down from time to time. Language is minimal. It's good stuff.

3. Springboard:
I would say that the author would have had to know about science in order to pull of all the technobabble going on in this series, but that's really not true. They can just put together words that sound good like Star Trek did. The author would have had to know about past comic figures though, such as Atlas and Samson who make an appearance here. I wasn't too familiar with their standing in the world of comics (although I know the figures from mythology and the Old Testament). After looking them up, it seems that they come from a Golden Age of comics, some even pre-dating DC Comics (but still having some relation to the latter company as evidenced in crossovers). One version of Atlas gained his powers by absorbing an alien crystal giving him his powers and allowing him to exist outside of time. In All*Star Superman Atlas makes reference to Zeus and the like, so he may not be the same character. Samson, as a comic character, is apparently a descendant of the original Samson, also having super strength and agility (so long as his hair isn't cut). This may or may not be the same Samson seen in All*Star, but I can't seem to find any other Samson presence in comic books. I'd be curious to know what other history or evidence people may have on these supporting characters.

4. Application:
I don't really plan on using aliens and implausible science in my own story, but in reading this and other superhero comic books, I have become interested in the idea of a superhero, and how that might be translated into a real world setting, or at least some delusional manifestation of it for one of my minor characters.

Making Comics - All*Star Superman

Scott McCloud talks about facial expression beginning on page 80, focusing a bit later on elements like exaggeration (pg. 94) to get a point across quicker, or to show the gravity of a situation or encounter when subtlety isn't something you're going for. There is of course a way to achieve these things using correct anatomy, but in comics you have a little more free range of emotions to manipulate.

In All*Star Superman the character of Lex Luthor often portrays the look of condescension, anger or deviousness (sometimes all three in a good day). What I thought was great in reading this was noting not just how the artist Frank Quitely uses an expression to carry one of these emotions across, but actually uses the character himself to make this exaggeration. I noticed this particular scene being a little bizarre until I went back several pages and noticed how one of Lex's eyebrows rubs off following an intense--and sweaty--situation. Lex Luthor appears to be one of those individuals born without any bodily hair (attributing to his baldness). When it is pointed out to him that one half of his brow is now absent, he physically draws on an absurdly exaggerated brow denoting the aforementioned deviousness, and just in time for the climax of his evil monologue. It's both funny and disturbing. Good job, Frank.

"All Star Superman" A Review by Axman13 . . . I mean Aileen

(To understand the "Axman13 . . . " joke search for Dot Dot Dot on Youtube.)


1. Analyze: Character

The character of Superman has gone through many forms and evolutions but in essence when people speak of him we are generally on the same page. As a kid I revered Superman, though I'd never seen his movies nor read any of his comic books. Frankly I didn't even really watch the 1940's cartoon regularly. Yet I knew who he was and thought he was the coolest superhero ever.

To me Superman was more of an ideal than a character, and I felt like his movies were too...how do you spell hokey? Well, that's what they were. The 1940's and the1990's cartoon series were, as far as I'm concerned, some of the best representations of this hero. Nonetheless I've never delved into the comics from which he was born (that doesn't mean I haven't wanted to). I'd always been overwhelmed by the number of them and so I've kept myself out of the tangled mass. That is until All Star Superman.

All Star Superman works under the assumption that you are already familiar with the characters of superman's world, such as Jimmy Olsen, and does not bother to delve into background stories or origins. To remind you of the story of Superman himself we have a quick page with four panels and very little text. (See image 1.) But this series is more concerned with the future, the legacy and character of superman, than it is about anything else.

The character of Superman himself is that of the small town good guy with a true heart, which is difficult for many writers to handle and keep interesting. In the old days just leaving the good guy as is was enough thereby making him a role model for others to follow. However the formula generally used since the sixties for audiences to keep interest is by giving our good guy a weakness or insecurity to which we can relate. (In Disney's Hercules we were introduced to a kid stronger than he could handle and later unsure in love and Marvel's Spiderman had all sorts of issues of growing up and unpopularity.)

***Spoiler***In All Star Superman a close call allows Superman to become stronger than ever, insomuch that his body itself begins to breakdown. (A far cry better than having him be a grossly irresponsible bleep.) So in short - yay!

2. Rating: PG, because of cartoon violence, mild language and large, jiggly, parasite men.

3. Springboard:

Identify: The writer obviously had to know his Superman history. Heck, he even has Krypto, aka Superdog (whose existence is still a mystery to me and therefore will be a point of study on a slow day) make an appearance in a flashback. Many other characters from several Superman stories make appearances, some of which I don't know since they were probably comic book only creations. As far as the science involve, I think it wasn't so much a study of physics so much as a review of old college notes and some review of Superman science that was made by previous writers to make up reasons for his being.

So it turns out, after some Superman studying, that Krypto was a test subject of Kal-el's to test his escape pods from Krypton. Krypto's ship was knocked off course but eventually found its way to Earth where he was reunited with the now teenage Clark Kent. Ta da!