Making Comics - MEKA

In Making Comics, page 160, McCloud introduces the "establishing shot." In MEKA, this scene of a sprawled out mech in a war-torn and demolished part of the city is visited and referred back to many times throughout the remainder of the story. Often the time of day has changed, and there are some alterations to perspective, but it is always this same "Ground-Zero" were are shown to bring us back to what has happened.

BTW, this uses 3-Point Perspective, which McCloud also discusses within the same chapter.

MEKA - Adam Borgia

1. Analyze: Falling Action - Primary
Ryan has already established how important the Event is for this story, that of a large-scale mech battle... I would add an Event within that Event (one that is part of the larger whole, but more specific to the characters) which may be identified as their mech being destroyed. I would label this smaller Event as the climax for this volume, making the results afterward the Falling Action (and thus the preceding actions part of the Rising Action). The battle still continues for the two characters, but their method of survival has gone from being one defined by technology to one defined by personal drive and instinct, the latter being thrust upon them by the failure of the former. I believe this deserves to be identified as "primary" if only because the narrative is driven by these two characters working together in the face of danger, and would be just as coherent (as much as possible in a French comic anyway) if done in any other setting or period.

2. Rating: PG-13
There is a lot of pervasive violence going on, though most of it is between machines or between man and machine. Physical bloodshed is shown, but mostly from a distance as part of the atmosphere, and the story doesn't dwell on it. Nudity is present, but not explicit. The panels and shots are organized in such a way so that you know they are naked because of circumstance, but like the gore mentioned earlier, the story doesn't dwell on it. The rating is due more to the violence than any nudity.

3. Springboard:
Both Ryan and Chad have already discussed the attention to detail in the architecture of the environment and the construction of the machines, either large or small. You can review their comments for more insight into this. I did appreciate how the artist/creator didn't completely ignore physics, which sometimes happens in science fiction. Bodies reacted fairly believably to explosions, quakes and being thrown around violently in a giant mech (I would totally expect that to play out in such a way...). Since there are numerous grenades being tossed like candy toward the end, and the two characters are always covering up their ears, I was interested in looking into how grenades affect hearing. Warfare has been documented to cause temporary or permanent hearing loss. And those with sensorineural hearing loss have a different threshold for sound--the softest sound audible to them is louder than the softest sound perceived by those with normal hearing.

4. Apply:
I don't want mechs in my story. I like them, but I don't think they belong. I do like French though, so maybe putting that in somehow... My treatment also doesn't have the vibe of a survival story, but there are elements of desperation that I could use.

Response--MEKA

1. Analyze: (a) Milieu primary
They’re trying to escape a giant mecha! Inside of a gigantic machine there are two tiny, insignificant humans going through corridors and escape hatches, down ladders, through hallways, trying to get out.

2. Rating: PG-13 There is language (although in French) and some brief nudity. The nudity is brief and covered up (they’re burning their clothes to get a signal through to the outside). There’s action adventure violence, mainly men against machines.

3. Springboard:
Being able to tell a small story within a big world. He's worked hard on his backstory and solidly developed everything. Like everyone else has mentioned, he obviously has a great knowledge of mechanical structure. However, he's also got a background in military organizations and procedures.

4. Apply:
Small story within a big world--theres so much history that isn't touched on. He doesn't bother talking about who's fighting or why--most of the setting outside the Mecha isn't even discussed. I'm not sure I'd like to live in this brave new world of his.

Making Comics-Meka -Megan Lloyd

This book was in French. (Still is in French) I took a year of french in te 7th grade which was little to no help. However, it turns out body language is universal. These two pilots are stranded inside the Mecha with no hope of rescue. Although they've been angry with one another and fighting, his body language shows that he really does need her--care about her.

Why use words when you can get the job done with a look?

MEKA - Christina LeBaron

1. Analyze: Milieu - Secondary
While Milieu was not the most dominant feature or drive in the story, it still played a large role in the background.  The author had to construct this world that appears to be not too different from our own, and yet it is either set in the future or in a more futuristic world.  The panels on the first page introduce the readers to a city that appears to be similar to many we have today on earth and then suddenly brings in giant fighting robots.  This not only gives us information about the technology and environment but also about the culture that the author constructed.  It tells us that there are battling factions that disrupt the safe harbor city that we were initially introduced to.

2. Rating: PG-13 for violence and brief implied nudity.

3. Springboard:The author would have had to know about the mechanics of robotics in order to make them appear believable. He would have also had to do some research on human driven robots.  


With this in mind, I looked up what kind of human driven robots have been made today and came across a skeletonics robot suit that was developed by some Japanese students.  It actually loooks to me a lot like the robot suits in Avatar. Here is a link to the video: Robot Suit


4.Apply:  I felt like this comic was very visual and how it took very little dialogue to convey meaning.  (This is awesome especially because it's in French and I don't understand any French)  I would like my own comics to be able to communicated everything clearly without the use of very much dialogue like Meka did.  I feel like Meka is a fantastic example of being able to do that.

Making comics - Meka

I felt that Meka did a good job of illustrating the importance of expression that was discussed in making comics.  Since this comic is french and I understand absolutely no French it was really important that the expressions be varied and "expressive enough to convey the meaning and what was happening.  So, even though I didn't understand any of the dialogue, I was able to understand the different emotions behind that dialogue in order to get the meaning.

Making Comics - MEKA

On page 80 Scott McCloud points out the importance of facial expressions in comic books and graphic novels. He advises that without good facial expressions your characters will be far less readable and relatable to the viewer. This may cause the viewer to have less empathy for the characters, care less about relating to them and may lose their interest entirely. Facial expresions are important to knowing what and understanding what the charcters are feeling and doing. On page 33 of "MEKA" I have no idea what the chararcters are talking about, because I do not understand French that well. But through each characters facial expressions I am able to know and understand what the charater is thinking, how they are acting, why they are acting that way, and why it is important to the story. For example, the look of annoyance, angst, and frustration on the male characters face in the few final panels of the page let me know that he is upset and annoyed by his female companion without the use of any language I am completely fluent with.

"MEKA" - Ryan Stevens

1. Analyze: Event - Primary

The Event is primary to this graphic novel. If the event never occured the story would never have been or it would have been extremely different. The event is a epic giant robot battle that takes place in a seemingly quiet and safe coastal metropolis. If this enormous battle never occured the narration would mostly likely be about what life is like in this busy port city. The event, the robotic battle, is central to the entire book. Every other part of the novel relates to, or is a consequence of that battle. Without the battle we would never see the pilots' struggles to survive and be rescued from the mechanical monolith, endure conflict with each other personally, and find a way to escape back into the natural world. These struggles help us to relate to the characters. It helps us care about them and want to know more about what they are experiencing. But without the event, the battle, we would not have the same opportunity to do so.

2. Rating: PG-13

I believe this graphic novel deserves a PG-13 rating because of the intense robotic battles scenes, bloody depiction of people being killed and dead, and the partial nudity. The nudity is not pervasive however, and is a result of the characters trying to survive and be rescued. I believe it was needed.

3. Springboard:

Jean David Morvan would likely need at least basic knowledge of mechanics and mechanical devices to create this book. Even though the robots are very stylized and it is sometimes difficult to understand exactly how they are moving mechanically, they are still very believable and readable to the viewer in my opinion. He also must know the anatomy of the human body and how it moves to accurately simulate those movements and actions in a humanoid robotic machine.
I wanted to know more about the similarities between human joints and robotic joints. As you can probably assume they are very similar and move and react in the same matter. Where as humans have cartilage and tendons to support the joint structure, robot similarly have thick rubber bands and interlocking hydraulics and or pulley systems to make the required movements and actions. But where humans are restricted by their physical form, robotics and machinery are only prohibited by the laws of mechanics and the creators imaginations.

4. Apply:

I am learning that everything in a good or great narrative or story are interlocked and balanced by each other. If you don't have an important central event then your characters and the ideas you are trying to portray will be less successful. Similarly if you do not have a strong or plausible idea then it makes it more difficult to understand what the central event is. I need to make sure to apply the appropriate importance to the event in my own treatment. Otherwise my characters, ideas and entire story will suffer and my narrative will not be as successful.

Chad Ruger - MEKA *Spoilers*

1. Analyze:

Idea – Primary

The idea (from what I gather) is to put forward the idea that there is a large war going on between 2 factions (2 very opposing designs) and that it is happening on such a large scale that nowhere is safe. The idea is put forth by showing a casual day at a harbor full of unsuspecting people where all out war descends from the sky and proceeds without any regard for life on this harbor. The reason I chose Idea as the primary function of the comic is because everything else seams minor and only facilitates the readers understanding of the idea.

2. Rating: PG -13 for Graphic Bodily Violence and Brief Nudity. The nudity however is not sexual in nature and is done tastefully.

3. Springboard:

The knowledge required for this comic was vastly architectural. The inner workings of the Mechs, the harbor, and the destruction was all a very important element in the story. Something I didn't previously understand about harbors is that a harbor is generally considered a safe place where ships can be protected from storms and other sea related dangers. It is a base of sorts as it has fortifications built to protect it from the outside influence of the ocean. I found it interesting that the artist creates very well this safe place and then destroys it.

4. Apply

If I were to apply this to one of my own stories, I think it would fit well into the opening montage of my world breaking story. Where a safe place that is seemingly prepared for anything is destroyed by an unthinkable force. By creating that safe place for a reader, it is easier to surprise them and pull them into the story.