Image via Wikipedia
I’m sure you’ve seen daily or weekly comic strips like Doonesbury in newspapers and many of you will have read graphic novels. (Just click on the image above to view.)
There are a huge number of comics on the Internet, but here’s some links mentioned in an article in ‘Totally Dublin’ to check out if you’d like to take a look: xkcd, A Softer World, Hark, a vagrant.
I really admire the artistry involved in combining image with narrative - some comics are hand-drawn, some are drawn with computer programs, some use pictures. They’re often self-published and hosted on the artists’ own sites. The great thing about this is that it’s free from the control of publishers (same with self-publishing in other media), and competition for page size and it allows for all sorts of creative expression. They’re usually free to read too.
One of my students, who uses the name Sean Drawn, made an exciting announcement in class the other day. He’s about to launch his graphic novel, Cupid’s Last Arrows. We discussed earlier drafts of the novel in class over the last couple of years and thoroughly enjoyed it’s quirky, gentle humour and delightful illustrations.
Next week, on Valentine’s Day, 12pm – 10pm, at Exchange Dublin, a collective arts centre in Temple Bar’s Project Arts Centre, the novel will be launched alongside an art exhibition. The exhibition consists of original and print art from the graphic novel, which tells the story of Cupid’s journey through the streets of Dublin as the ancient Roman god of love attempts to fix his mismatches.
As advertised here, you can even be drawn by Drawn, who will be creating portraits and caricatures of visitors throughout the day.
Sean will also speak at the Exchange at 8pm at the ‘Milk and Cookies’ storytelling event. ‘Milk and Cookies Stories’ is a “Dublin-based, non-profit arts collective that hosts storytelling nights on the second Tuesday of every month. It transforms Exchange Dublin into a giant living room, complete with cosy cushions and duvets, fairy lights, hot tea and delicious cookies.” It’s free for everyone.
Congratulations to Sean and I hope the launch generates a lot of interest for his work.
Has anyone any webcomics or graphic novels to recommend? What do you think of the form?
Related articles
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Sounds like an interesting book – good luck to him.
Thanks, David. It’s great to see people trying different forms. Hope your own work is going well.
There are some great webcomics around though some try too hard to be ’zany’. I used to read a lot of manga, but I prefer the minimalist approach and some of that gets lost in translation
Thanks for dropping by. Yes, that deceptive simplicity is what attracts me to Japanese art forms too – especially haiku
Hey good article. I decided to publish my long kept secrets in a graphic-blog too. http://brillenschnitzel.tk And I would like to invite you and your readers to comment on it. I am going to publish every friday on a weekly basis. I mostly write in german, but the drawings can be understoud by themself telling the adventurous story of an wondrous funeral.
Thanks for visiting. Those drawings look interesting – very intricate and unsettling
This is quite an eyeopener to me. I am a fan of Frank Millar where his art is focussed on letting the shadows define the form (I’m such noir-fiend really!) but I had no idea graphic-novels extended into genres outside the urban-dytopian visions that I often see. Perhaps a new world beckons me…. so much for catching up with my unread book-mountain!
Interesting comment, Martin. I like urban-dystopian, and I admire artists’ graphics and how they connect them to text – it’s quite an art, but it is fascinating to see a completely different take on the city.
My introduction to graphic novels was Watchmen, which I read because I kept seeing the title in lists of 100 best novels of the last century. It was truly amazing, accomplishing things via the combination of words and art that could not have been accomplished using words alone. After that, I read the Sandman series by Neil Gaiman. That, too, was incredible.
All of that to say that I find the graphic medium (comics, comic books or graphic novels) to be fascinating. It is, without question, a valid form of literature.
Hi Adam. I’m with you on Gaiman – I’d read anything by him. I haven’t read Watchmen, but I know it’s admired. It’s an exciting form isn’t it? And not just a medium for teenagers anymore. Lots of adults are reading them now – you even see the occasional one being read on a bus or train here. It’s such a great form for the internet too.
Yeah, I’d read about anything by Gaiman, as well. I read some of this thoughts on the medium (I can’t remember where) and he was talking about how you can actually add a pregnant pause to a comic or graphic novel, while there is just no way to do that in a book. And he’s absolutely right. I never read comics as a kid, but as an adult, I’m a fan.
Yes, it’s not just a matter of describing the graphics or simply matching the graphic with the text. It’s an art getting the rhythm of the story right, just as in text only novels
Would you believe I only ever talked about graphic novels with celine kiernan, would love to have an aould read of one.
Hi Michelle, Sean’s would be right up your street – it’s a romantic story with gentle humour and it’s very clever: http://www.seandrawn.com
Oh like the Si dof that!
Enjoy