Heavy Liquid - Brandon Pedersen

It's coming, and in a big way. You'll see.

Travis Walton - Brandon Pedersen

Most interesting to me, from Travis Walton's presentation, was the history of the graphic novel itself. I've been purchasing graphic novels and trade paperback collections for so long I began to forget the distinction between the two. Rather a graphic novel is a story in its own right, a comic book in long narrative form, not a collection of several issues under one cover.

I was surprised to lean the graphic novel was such a recent innovation, the first being published by the Godfather of graphic storytelling, Will Eisner, in 1978. More surprising still, and what I cannot believe I was unaware of, that many of the classic Marvel storylines I enjoyed growing up were graphic novels. I had retroactively, and subconsciously, begun to think of them as trades rather than true graphic novels. However, once Travis re-cemented the distinction in my mind it was fun to go back through my collection and firmly identify what was and was not an actual graphic novel.

Making Comics - Powers: Psychotic

On page 107 of Making Comics, McCloud is deep into the principle of body language, compounding it with facial expression to create mood. Specifically he discusses the spatial relationship between characters, how closeness indicates familiarity and distance the opposite. Used to great effect throughout, Oeming adds familiarity to the relationship between Calista (the new Retro Girl) and Walker by minimizing the space between them.

Powers: Psychotic - Brandon Pedersen

1. This is a story of rising action. Technically there is a beginning and an ending, but really they're brief waypoints fitted into a larger story arc. Following up on a powers related slaying, a power being the victim, Detective Walker and his partner Deena Pilgrim are put through their paces as they unravel the mystery behind this murder and the subsequent killings that happen throughout the book. Really, though, it is about Walker secretly training a young girl he once rescued (which didn't happen in this book) to be the next Retro Girl while Deena, struggling with developing powers of her own (which didn't happen in this book) takes matters into her own hands when her abuse ex-boyfriend refuses to let her be. The consequences of these actions are never dealt with, I assume they are in a later book, and the inciting incidents that led to Walker and Pilgrim behaving they way they are didn't occur in this volume. Interesting as the story is, its just rising action, culminating in a later book when Walker's relationship to Calista and her new identity as a Retro Girl and Deena's power and handling of her ex come to light.

2. Definitely a hard R on this book, despite strong pervasive language (meaning obscenities throughout), there are also quite a few instances of male and female frontal nudity, most notably at the beginning of the story (sorry, the pages aren't numbered) during a medical examination and towards the end where the villain behind the slayings is "exposed," shall we say.

3. Most impressive was the realistic dialogue, most notably the correct application (or at least the appearance of correct) police procedural language. The way Walker and Deena swept a scene, interrogated suspects, continually rehashed the events of the crimes they investigated with each other, all has that ring of authenticity. Having a police officer in the family one begins to notice they have a certain way with language, sentences are short, terse, and efficient, containing as much information with as a few words as possible. When on the job Walker and Deena talk with each other and to victims and suspects in this way.

4. Finally, an application portion of my response that doesn’t exist in the realm of vague adherence to implied knowledge, but an opportunity to actually apply researched knowledge from the graphic novel. Bendis's use of police procedural language is something my story needs. There will be several interactions with the police in my story and making sure they speak realistically, using the words and phrases police officers actually use, will help sell potential viewers on the authenticity of my story.

Making Comics - Tout Seul

On page #88 of Making Comics, McCloud discusses the importance of facial expression variation, likening them unto a language in their own right. Having read Chabuté's Tout Seul without using Kevin's painstakingly crafted and expertly calligraphied translations, I found myself pouring over each face, looking for any hint of emotion that might indicate what was happening. On page 184 of Tout Seul a particular emotion, gleaned only from reading the facial expressions, sprang to mind. Despondent. Boom.

Tout Seul - Brandon Pedersen

1. Kevin Merriman, Francophile extraordinaire, nobly provided translations for this French tale, which I promptly ignored upon opening the book. Near as I can tell the primary MICE quotient in play here is actually character. It may seem to be an event, as a seemingly innocuous note is the impetus behind his change, however, it is the evolution of the protagonist, whom I shall call Quasimodo, that becomes the focus of Chabuté's Tout Seul. Quasimodo is a monster of his own making. Physically malformed, he is a self-imposed recluse, collecting the discarded treasures of the world in an abandoned lighthouse, a goldfish and a dictionary his only company. He spends each night picking random words from the dictionary, imaging their definition in his mind. His world is an abstract of incorrect visualizations conjured from the definitions in his dictionary. Particularly enjoyable was his imaging of a violin, played by turning keys, actual keys that would open a door or bureau. Quasimodo, through a note, chance encounter with a magazine, and pictures of the world, is drawn from his shell, making contact and eventually choosing to leave his island. He becomes dissatisfied with his vicarious experiences, and grown tired of his seclusion. He disembarks the next time the fishermen arrive, ready now to experience the world personally.

2. Not speaking French I can't speak to cleanliness of the language but on visuals alone, straight up G. There's not a single objectionable visual in the entire book. Page #76 has an interesting detail breakdown of a kitchen. It has nothing to do with the rating but it’s a fun page to look at.

3. Pages 137 through 144 contain a terrific visual breakdown of the fishing process. Admittedly the line has already been cast but slowly reeling in until a tug is felt, then applying consistent force with increased reeling speed is shown perfectly. If one were unfamiliar with the process of fishing, research would have to be done. The visuals were so specific it provided some insight into the knowledge of the artist; he chose well which aspects of angling to draw so that the action was clear to the viewer. Unaccompanied by words the images not only communicate knowledge but mood as well.

4. While fishing in itself doesn't help my story, like Chabuté, careful consideration of which aspects of a process to visualize will allow cleaner communication between the artist and audience.

Jake Parker - Panel Pacing

Jake listed the common sizes and panel numbers of American, European, and Asiatic comic books. I only recorded the American size, 10-1/2 x 6 inches.

Interestingly Jake instructed the class that the average reader will spend roughly the same amount of time on each panel, regardless of size. However, on can control the pacing of the read by number of panels. More panels will slow the reader, fewer panels will speed them up. Though size didn't determine time spent on them, the size did communicate the importance of the action being detailed.

Jake also talked regarding panel shape and orientation, noting an artist can communicate a greater sense of action by making an erratic shape, or stop motion completely by changing the orientation of the panel, book ending chapters as it were by opening and closing with either horizontal or vertical panels.

The amount of time spent on panels could also be sped up or slowed down by the amount of detail contained therein, increasing the visual detail should slow a reader down, getting them to spend more time on a greater amount of information.

Most interesting to me was the incorporation of word bubbles into the visual elements guiding the reader's eye through a page. I had always imagined the word bubble to be the constraint against which artists struggled, but Jake showed us an example from Hellboy: Third Wish where the bubbles were used, in addition to Mike Mignola's pencils, to lead the reader through the page.

Then I had to leave and you all got story advice from a working professional. Double jerks.

Jake Wyatt - Narrative Burden

Jake defined the spectrum of visualization from Blueprint, which would incorporate storyboards and occupy time, to Essays, consisting of illustrations, which are more dependent on the text they accompany.

The text of any particular story must carry a portion of the storytelling burden, Jake recommended choosing wisely where to put the majority of the burden. Of the utmost importance, stressed by Jake, was getting your story across. If you must rely on visuals to communicate this, then do so, don't be afraid to commit to communicative imagery.

Then I had to leave and you all got a lot more information than I did. Jerks.

Czuba/Stab (Final Project) - Brandon Pedersen

Idea

1. Taking place in the early 1960s, a young albino boy (12), spends his days and nights after school on his front porch, existing in the public eye to keep from being abused privately by his alcoholic mother and her string of physically abusive boyfriends. The next-door neighbor, a large, imposing man, and an urban operative for the CIA (read hitman/torturer), befriends the boy, eventually teaching him the tools of his trade.

This idea came to me in a dream, though admittedly it has its roots in Luc Besson's The Professional as well.

2. A kitchen knife, upon awakening to sentience, ponders its identify as a tool, a weapon, and its own sexuality, as it decides whether or not to remain a knife.

While the idea itself came in a dream, the concept of an inanimate object awakening to a higher order of intelligence was inspired by a film, Rubber. Also I've done research into certain paraphilia's, namely piquerism, which I find fascinating but no one else here should look into it. Seriously. People are screwy.

Story

Big Picture: (1) During the 1950s to investigate/interrogate individuals of interest regarding communist infiltration of the United States, the CIA instituted what came to be referred to as, urban operatives. (2) Finding the job to be too difficult for one man, a particular urban operative began to recruit and train independent civilians, creating a network of trained assassins and interrogators. (3) These operatives are to consider their instructor's edicts as law, commands from an exacting God. The one rule that must never be broken, getting greedy, taking on private interrogation/assassination contracts. (4) Dissatisfied with their lives under the thumb of their urban trainer, certain individuals break away from their group, transgressing the one law in order to improve their own lives, or other private gain. (5) The process of hunting down these rogues dissolves the group almost entirely, leaving a number of eccentric, well-trained killers to their own violent inclinations.

Short story (page number undetermined): (1) A young albino man awakes inside a storage unit, outfitted as a safe house, with no memory of who he is or how he got to his present location. (2) Wanted by the police for leaving the scene of an accident he's arrested brought to jail where its discovered he has no finger prints and all images taken of him are disrupted by white noise. (3) About to make his one call, the phone rings and a voice tells him he's in for some trouble. Soon after our hero is confronted by an obviously well-trained operative, trying to kill him. (4) On the lam our hero has a flash back, he sees himself as a young boy, being trained by an unnamed operative. Learning how to clean and dispose of a body. (5) Using the information contained in the flashback our hero kills his assailant and cleans the body, leaving no trail but inspiring more questions.

Part Three - Drawrings

Making Comics - The Sandman: Season of Mists

On page #65 Scott McCould recommends making life histories for your characters, giving their actions and thoughts reason, giving an initial definition so that your characters create themselves. On page #11 of Episode 0 in Sandman Gaiman does just that, sharing his initial definition of each major character so as not to be burdened by adding reason to their later actions. He defines them so their choices make sense further down the story.

The Sandman: Season of Mists - Brandon Pedersen

1. The story begins with Destiny's chance encounter with The Grey Ladies, or the three Fates from Greek mythology, while in his own realm, a place where with each step taken "you make a choice, and every choice determines future paths." What follows is a 200 page philosophical consideration of hell, suffering, and redemption. The Sandman: Season of Mists relies completely on the idea quotient, which is the primary storytelling device, plumbing the depths of the author's own concept of hell, as a place, as an idea, as a necessary evil. Our cast of characters, initially large then specifically singular as we follow our protagonist Dream through Hell, on a quest to rectify one of his own wrong doings, does not change or grow. Nothing has been learned, nothing lost, everyone remains the same. Hell, however, has changed drastically.

We learn our author considers hell to be a place populated by demons, i.e. those who torture, not because they're evil but because the souls of the damned demand it. After Hell is closed, albeit briefly, Breschau, an individual being tortured with chains running through his body refuses to leave, listing the atrocities he committed during life, stating his punishment is just. Lucifer then points out the world has forgotten Breschau, his punishments remain just only so long as his crimes are remembered. Though its been thousands of years, the only person still willing to punish Breschau is Breschau himself.

By the end Hell becomes a realm sanctioned by Heaven, a place that must exist because Heaven cannot, by rights, remain a paradise without it's counter part. Lucifer, now retired, languors on the coast of Australia, no longer the master of his own realm. The angels Duma and Remiel now administrate in Hell, at the Creator's command, worsening the grief of the damned by explaining their torture will continue, "But we do not do it to punish you. We do it to redeem you." In this the author exposes his own belief, has shared the conclusion of his philosophical exploration, suffering has its purpose, not to condemn but to redeem.

2. Despite the fact that the MPAA has never and will never accurately rate a movie, The Sandman: Season of Mists would be rated PG-13. There are some artful representations of the human form in torture (Episode 2, pg. #11), of demons and their warped physiology (Episode 1, pg. #1), and various Gods and Goddesses in various stages of undress (Episode 5, pg. #3), though nothing overly graphic, sensual, or crude.

3. For this the author, Neil Gaiman, had to explore his own concept, or rather preconceived notions of Hell. Is it an actual plane of existence, is it something "you carry around with you," what is its purpose, to the individual, to humanity as a collective? What I gathered from this was not so much a springboard for research but encouragement to explore the depths of my beliefs. I believe Hell exists in many places, yes it is a plane of existence, one of actual physical separation from the Light of God, as it were, but it is also something we take with us; the emotions that spring from a person's inability to forgive themselves past transgressions.

4. Exposing a person's conception of Hell reveals their spiritual identity, adds another layer of complexity to their character. Having a discussion about Hell in which a character's idea is exposed not only defines them spiritually but can serve as a reminder of the frailty of mortality, as Hell is a place that exists for those who are dead, it reminds the reader that everyone, even our protagonist, can die. I'm seriously considering weaving a conversation about Hell into my story.

Making Comics - Blue Pills

On page #35 of Blue Pills Frederik is reacting to Caiti, his girlfriend, telling him she has HIV. In the middle block of panels, one of the most original treatments to word choice and character development has been played out. Over the course of a few panels the reader visually digests what went through Frederik's mind in that moment, a range of emotions from pity to a desire to flee. This illustrates the principles of emotional expression and word choice, discussed on pages #29 and #30 in making comics. By word choice and visuals, the reader is able to experience for themselves what Frederik is feeling.

Blue Pills - Brandon Pedersen

1. Character - Primary - Blue Pills is not, as the author might have you believe, strictly a love story. Rather it is the story of one man's transformation from selfishness to selflessness. Love factors in as the impetus, but, really, Blue Pills demonstrates Frederik Peeters' existentialist break down as he comes to terms with his relationship to a woman, and her son, who suffer from HIV. He comes to terms with the role he plays in their lives, that of lover, at times surrogate father, but really as an anchor point to normality for Caiti and her son, someone who allows this woman and her boy to define themselves by their relationships rather than their disease. By the end of this character exploration, the author even admits to this purpose at the end of the graphic novel, he is ready to stop defining, to stop worrying about who he is as defined by his involvement with a woman and child suffering from HIV and start, simply, living. To be a family, cognizant of their disease but not held back by it.

2. PG-13 for some non-sensual nudity and discussion of sexual involvement/ability, pgs. 96 and 105 respectively.

3. I assumed that those with HIV were limited in the relationships they would have. All romantic intercourse would have to be carefully planned, a minor cut/scrap could turn into a potential infection nightmare, one's guard could never completely come down. Reading through the Frederik Peeters' self discovery, learning to accept one's position to another person not based on singular defining characteristics but as a whole, complete individual, has opened my mind as to what the definition of a "family" is. It is not, as is most commonly believe, mother, father, and children, but rather a community of acceptance and love. Frederik and Caiti love each other, but readily acknowledge Fred is not her child's father. He, Caiti, her son, and her ex-husband together create a family. By lowering his guard, Fred allows Caiti, at times, to feel normal, unaffected by her condition.

4. Honestly, I don't see a way to apply this new found knowledge to my own story, except to take measures to ensure that my character's relationships to each other feel authentic. What makes Blue Pills as successful as it is, is the authenticity of relationship between Frederik and Caiti. They are not a couple for the sake of a story convention but are really, outside of the graphic novel, a real couple. Their interactions are colored not through fiction but through recollection. Striving towards this same authenticity between character interaction in a fictional world will lend legitimacy to whatever story I choose to tell.

Making Comics: Tank Girl-The Odyssey

Tank Girl-The Odyssey, on page #52 the punk rock group The Sirens wail; the angle of the first panel is canted and the characters are seen close up, in your face. In Making Comics, on pages #20-21, McCloud talks about the need to vary angles and the distance at which the characters are seen on the page - in order to keep a prolonged visual appeal throughout the comic.

Tank Girl-The Odyssey, Brandon Pedersen, example assignment

Tank Girl-The Odyssey - Brandon Pedersen, example assignment

1. Analyze: (d) Event, primary - This story is motivated entirely by an event, Tank Girl is needed, desperately back at her Mansion where her husband Booga, the mutant kangaroo, and her son Tele, who has a television for a head, are being taken advantage of by "Producers from Amerikey." This spawns a uniquely Tank Girl adventure in which our protagonist dies, and is brought back to life with fart capsules, journeys to the underworld where she is charged with the task of giving her mother a proper burial, and encounters a gothic siren. Virtually every iconic scene from Homer's The Odyssey is recreated with an English Punk sensibility.

The event, the need for Tank Girl to return home, fuels the entire adventure. Tank Girl is, actually, an obese wash-out when our story begins. Without the event no story takes place, she remains a fat, former action hero, unable even to fit into her iconic tank. With the message from her son, Tele, urging her to return home Tank Girl embarks on her epic return home, the story is driven, continually, by her quest.

2. Rating: This story is definitely rated R, ignoring the constant use of what most Americans would consider "obscenities," by page 22 our protagonist and her entire team are dead, completely nude, and it's implied the undertaker has "abused" their lifeless bodies. Despite coming back to life and finding new clothes, they are all naked again by page 26. You should notice a theme emerging here.

3. Springboard: Because this is a reinterpretation of Homer's The Odyssey a certain amount of research had to be done. First, one must actually read The Odyssey for any interpretation to become authentic. One of the most surprising aspects about Tank Girl-The Odyssey is its accuracy to the original text. While the interpretation remains original, it is clear the writer at least read The Odyssey. This gives one pause to consider the format of an epic story, which I've found typically takes the form of a poem.

There are certain things that must happen in order for a narrative, written in the form of a poem or otherwise, for a story to be considered an epic. An epic must: I. In no uncertain terms state the purpose or theme of the story. II. The adventure begins in the middle of the story, with our hero at the lowest point of their life, relying on flashbacks to fill in the missing gaps in our knowledge. III. Repetition of phrases and expanse of story, meaning certain phrases are reused constantly, and the story takes place of a long stretch of time, spans multiple countries, nationalities and so forth.

4. Apply: This will only aid me in the organization of my own narratives. Particularly the restriction of starting the story in the middle of the narrative, where the hero is at their lowest point in life, using flashbacks to fill in missing information. I have always been intrigued by Quentin Tarantino's use of linear structure, best exemplified in his films Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and Kill Bill vols. 1-2. It is one of the aspects of his storytelling that draws me in, knowing now it is considered essential to the structure of an epic, it makes me want to make a micro-Epic. An epic that, instead of taking place across multiple countries, years, nations, and countries, takes place rather in the space of one city block, over the course of a few hours. Taking everything that makes an epic an epic and shrinking the scale.

Syllabus - Exposure

After answering the questionnaire I realized I am not as well-read, when it comes to comics, graphic novels in particular, as I would like to be. I tend to stick to American superhero stories rather than branching out, I want to get out of my comfort zone and into new material.

Best Coolest Brandon Pedersen

http://brandonpedersen.blogspot.com/2011/05/best-coolest-brandon-pedersen.html

...and I'm from Portland, Oregon.