Sequart Organization » comics mechanics

Five Reasons Why Comics Scholarship is Important

Stuart Warren — Thu, 04 Jun 2015 11:00:07 +0000

Before getting into comics, I had no idea where to start, or how to approach comics as a body of work. Over the course of several decades comics have diversified into a multi-headed beast. There… [more]

How Comics Work: The Fight Scene, Part 4

Harry Edmundson-Cornell — Thu, 10 Oct 2013 11:00:34 +0000

Young Avengers 3 Kieron Gillen (writer), Jamie McKelvie (artist), Mike Norton (artist), Mathew Wilson (colourist), et al The third issue of Young Avengers breaks all the rules. The fight has little to no context in the… [more]

How Comics Work: The Fight Scene, Part 3

Harry Edmundson-Cornell — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 11:00:27 +0000

Daredevil 25 By Mark Waid (writer), Chris Samnee (artist), Javier Rodriguez (colourist), et al. This issue requires some context. Up until recently Mark Waid’s series has seemed completely episodic. Just a few issues ago everything… [more]

How Comics Work: The Fight Scene, Part 2

Harry Edmundson-Cornell — Thu, 12 Sep 2013 11:00:11 +0000

Wonder Woman 18 By Brian Azzarello (writer) Goran Sudzuka (artist) Cliff Chiang (artist), Tony Akins (layout artist), Dan Green (finishes) Mathew Wilson (colourist) et al. Not to pick on American superhero comics but Wonder Woman seems… [more]

How Comics Work: The Fight Scene, Part 1

Harry Edmundson-Cornell — Thu, 29 Aug 2013 11:00:03 +0000

Most Superhero comics are based around two things: character-based drama and fight scenes. Many even forgo the former for the latter, under the horrible impression that they’re the same thing. This is in part due… [more]

Pacing and Punch in Watchmen #2

David Balan — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 12:00:14 +0000

Watchmen #2" title="Pacing and Punch in Watchmen #2" style="float:left;" />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]

Why Comics Have Failed to Achieve Real Respect

Julian Darius — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 11:00:14 +0000

It might superficially seem as if comics have finally achieved respect. They’re covered by the mainstream press. They’re increasingly taught in colleges. Their adaptations account for a huge percentage of Hollywood blockbusters. Hey, even nerd… [more]

Reading Direction and the Story Experience

David Balan — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 11:00:32 +0000

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]

Super-Hero Comics and Reader Textualization: Participation and Narrative Construction

Tim Bavlnka — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 11:00:01 +0000

This is a piece that explores the idea of textualization in super-hero comics and how these stories are constructed. More than that, it is an introduction to exploring purpose — why are super-heroes so engaging… [more]

Another Reality: The Spatial Imperative, Part 2

David Balan — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 12:00:28 +0000

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]

Why Carlie Cooper Matters (in Just One Panel)

Colin Smith — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 12:56:53 +0000

It’s hard to suppress the suspicion that there are comic-book creators who have quite deliberately chosen to ignore the business of storytelling in favor of butt-shots and throw-downs, pin-ups and continuity porn. Whether it’s more… [more]

It Takes Two – Text & Image in Comics

David Balan — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 12:00:23 +0000

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]

Comics’ Identity Crisis: Claiming “Art” is a Misguided Quest

Neil Cohn — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 14:56:31 +0000

Comics have a bit of an identity crisis: our culture cannot decide what they really are, leaving them to pay the price both financially and legally. A common remedy for this is the insistence that comics are… [more]

Why Comics Matter

Julian Darius — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 17:00:03 +0000

The following video consists of a lecture I delivered on 5 January 2006 at Glen Carbon Centennial Library in Glen Carbon, Illinois. The total runtime is 46 minutes. Because of its length, it has been… [more]

Tensions Between Text and Image

Julian Darius — Mon, 04 Apr 2005 17:00:01 +0000

The medium variously known as comic books, graphic novels, bandes-dessinés, manga, manga, sequential art, and sequart has been defined as the juxtaposition of text and image on the static page. Once can here recall Words… [more]

The Cult of the Writer

Julian Darius — Sun, 25 Aug 2002 11:00:33 +0000

One of the major phenomena occurring in American comic books in the last two decades has been the cult of the writer, often in competition with the cult of the artist or illustrator. Various years… [more]