Reactions to Graphic Novels(03/30)

Today's class began with a Kim Nortrop picture and our usual course keeping. The class discussed the recent paper topics which ranged form liquid connection to adaptations of Alice. Anne was surprised at how well the papers were written considering the lack of conferences and although she tried a new method of commenting on the papers she said she will probably not do that format again.
    The relationship between the pictures in Alice and the text were discussed next and although some people thought having two outlets was helpful beneficial, others just skipped over the pictures. Anne offered interesting background information with her retelling of the wasp and the wig proving that illustrators can sometimes play a substantial role in creating novels. Images also play an interesting role when it comes to our papers as some people find that having an image will throw off the symmetry of the paper unless a format is followed like having to in the beginning and two at the end. Others found them to be very useful as the images themselves can function as quotes.
    A guest speaker then came to the front of the class and gave a very interesting perspective and history on graphic novels and comics. For example, there are different ways of writing a comic. One being the “Marvel”way where a synopsis is sent to an artist and the artist then creates the picture so the comic is created without the back and forth. The other way is to have the writer create  a screenplay format of the comic where he can somewhat direct how he wants the picture. Another interesting point the guest brought up in class was how marketability affects the creation of characters and how the Sandman graphic novels are in a genre of their own.
    We ended the class by going around and giving a short description of our experience with reading A Game of You. The general response was about the relationship between the pictures and the text. Some did not like the art as much as the text because they love focusing on language or the art did not allow them to feel a connection between the novel and themselves. Others in class agreed that the picture, though distracting at times, proved to be very useful when trying to understand the situations in the novel. The class ended on a final note in which aybala50 admitted to liking graphic novels more than she expected although she is still not loving them.