Comic Book as Idea Delivery System...

[MACK!]

I thought you may get a kick out of this link.
It is a response to a blog discussing my comic Kabuki as it relates to fine art.


http://davidmackguide.com/news/2007/04/12.shtml

[Run-BMC]

Ceci n'est pas une pipe.

[DeadMike]

Wow, that's awesome. What a way to look at it!

[Lazy_Metaphors]

This reminds me of something someone said once. :twisted:

[tdaniel]

I appreciate your "response" to this David as much as the blog itself. In college about 10 years ago now, my critical theory class focused on Stanley Fish, if I remember correctly and in recalling his notion of narrative he believed the reader naturally filled in the gaps and spaces the writer creates, without the 2 merging, you've got nothing.

I think I've got that right, and it is very similar to what is being expressed in your response.

Humble viewpoint really. Most folks seem content to create something and proudly proclaim, welcome to my world, please enjoy it. Nothing wrong with that at all, really, a bit more ego involved I suppose.

[Run-BMC]

I thought I was being so smart with my Magritte quote.

"The books and originals are to the real art of my work, as a map or atlas is to the actual geography that they are meant to direct you to.

The maps and atlases are not the real point. They are just a means to direct you to a place that you journey to that is uniquely experienced by each person."

I think that's what ALL storytelling is. I think it's cool that you don't have a fast affinity to a specific style... I'm trying to do this as well with my stuff, and hopefully with more experience I can just devote my art to storytelling, and not just looking a specific way.

Any way that gets you to the destination should be fine... as per your analogy, a roadmap, or GPS, or simple step-by-step directions, it doesn't matter how you help the reader get to the destination, as long as you get them there. Looking pretty is only half (and sometimes less, sometimes none of) the journey.

I love comic books. I think the medium is so great as it is SO malleable as a delivery system. That's why I loved Kabuki #8. It opens up a way I've never seen (and in the end isn't that what's most important ;) ) to tell the story, but is still very much a comic book.

I think your identification of the gutters of a comic book being the ACTUAL art is accurate, it's also recognised by Scott McCloud in his first book as the thing that truly makes sequential art. But I don't think the filling in of the gaps is exclusively where the magic happens.

Like in this Norman Rockwell painting:

http://jameswagner.com/mt_archives/rockwell_runaway.jpg

The message is more than just the content, but it's done in a single image. The message is connected in your brain.

David -

I love your covers... do you think you approach covers differently story-telling-wise than pages in the book, like splash pages for example? Do you consider covers as part of comic-book storytelling process?

[MACK!]

This reminds me of something someone said once. :twisted:

Remind me of what you said