RSS feed for David Balan
ON COMICS CHARACTERS
ON SCI-FI FRANCHISES
ON GRANT MORRISON
ON TV AND MOVIES
OTHER BOOKS
DOCUMENTARY FILMS
David Balan
David Balan is a current student and aspiring comics creator, studying sequential art at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia. He is working on becoming both a writer and an artist, and he plans to eventually script and draw his own complete graphic novels. You can see his most current portfolio at http://www.davidbalan.com
MAGAZINE CONTENT BY DAVID BALAN (15 TOTAL)
Identifying the Complete Story: Diablo #1
In my last article, I discussed how Watchmen #2 was successful as an individual comic book issue by satisfying the reader with a complete chunk of story.
Pacing and Punch in Watchmen #2
Watchmen is commonly thought of as one of the greatest graphic novels of our time, but it’s actually a reprint collection. The work originally came out as 12 separate issues, although they were all planned… [more]
A Man of the Times
In the year 1942, America was embroiled in global conflict – she had entered World War II.
The Art of the Hook
Why read comics? We certainly have no lack of alternative material. In fact, we are inundated with it! There are enough web blogs and magazines to fill our entire lives with reading material. Why should we choose comics, and… [more]
Storytelling from 1978 — The Rule of Action
Detective Comics #475 and #476 — “The Laughing Fish” and “Sign of the Joker” — are considered some of the most essential Batman reading of all time. And for good reasons!
Respect Your Audience: The New 52 and Calvin and Hobbes
DC’s New 52 initiative has sparked a lot of recent controversy over the presentation of women and female characters.
The Right Number – Rules, Structure, and Rhythm
Earlier this month, I had a look at Scott McCloud’s The Right Number, an experimental web-comic with a unique format based on digital technology. The zooming format and the forward reading convention were both novel… [more]
Put Your Money Where Your Panel Is: On Action Comics #1
Action Comics #1 is a simple story with a simple premise – introduce the character Superman, make the readers care about him, and put him in a dangerous test to set up for the next… [more]
The Right Number – A New Reading Convention
Scott McCloud’s The Right Number is a compact, experimental web-comic. It is also one of the most successful web-comics ever produced. This is primarily due to it questioning something that most creators take for granted… [more]
Reading Direction and the Story Experience
Comics are a strange thing. When you look at a comic page, if you’ve beheld a few of them before, you usually get right into reading it. Panel one first, then panel two, and so… [more]
How to be a Super-Hero in Five Minutes Flat
J. Michael Straczynski and Esad Ribic’s Silver Surfer: Requiem is one of the best comics I have read in recent memory.
Another Reality: The Spatial Imperative, Part 2
Two weeks ago, I discussed the importance of space in storytelling, and the power of two-point perspective. I left you all with the notion that two-point perspective, while powerful, was not really the whole story —… [more]
Another Reality: The Spatial Imperative, Part 1
Ah, the dreaded cliché super-hero page – well drawn, beautifully rendered, and completely incomprehensible.
All for One, One for All — The Super-Hero Story
I had originally planned to write this article at a later date, but after reading Cody Walker and Julian Darius’s columns this past week, I couldn’t resist the temptation to jump ahead. I’ve been brewing… [more]
It Takes Two – Text & Image in Comics
So, comics as an art form! A truly legitimate art form, unique and self-actualized, with debacles and triumphs all its own. Not the bastard child of film and literature, and not just for kids, male adolescents, or… [more]