Posted on 04/26/2007 1:20:32 PM PDT by Sopater
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/313189_comics26.html
Donald Duck, Superman subjects for serious study
Thursday, April 26, 2007
By CHRISTINE FREY
P-I REPORTER
"Before we move on to Donald Duck, were there any questions?" instructor Leonard Rifas asks.
He then transitions to a lecture about the Disney comic and its illustrator, Carl Barks.
In this course about "sequential art" -- otherwise known as comics and graphic novels -- Seattle Central Community College students are studying the famous fowl and such characters as Felix the Cat and Superman.
It is the first time the community college has offered the course, though in classrooms across the country students are exploring the history and meaning of comics. By the end of the quarter, Seattle Central students will produce their own comic book, with each student creating a page based on the theme, "How To."
Tasia Bozek, who will enter the college's illustration program in the fall, is eager to try her hand at it. Though she's read many comic books, the 21-year-old didn't know much about their history. The course has taught her the stories behind the drawings.
"It just makes it seem much more mature," she said.
Seattle has already embraced the art form.
Comic book publisher Fantagraphics is based here, and the Seattle Public Library chose the graphic novel "Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood" by Marjane Satrapi as its selection for a citywide reading program last year.
Interest in comics and courses about them has grown nationally in recent years, said Ben Towle, co-founder of the National Association of Comics Art Educators.
The instructors who are teaching such courses likely grew up reading comics and are now studying them as academic subjects. Comics and graphic novels have become more popular in mainstream culture, and newspapers review them alongside traditional books. Society has also become more visual, with words and images being combined to communicate.
Studying comics can help students become more "visually literate," Towle said.
What makes comics unique is their combination of drawings and writings. But unlike other visual media such as television or film, the story unfolds at the reader's pace.
"You are the one that decides to move to the next panel," Rifas said.
The instructor, who has taught film at the community college, is himself a cartoonist and comic book publisher. Some of his own work includes "All-Atomic Comics" (about nuclear power) and "Corporate Crime Comics."
In a recent lecture, Rifas discussed one of the most famous graphic novels, Art Spiegelman's "Maus," which tells the story of the Holocaust with Jews depicted as mice and Germans as cats. He noted the number of Jews killed each day during World War II and how that compared with the daily casualties from the Iraq war and the recent killings at Virginia Tech.
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| In a recent lecture, Rifas discussed one of the most famous graphic novels, Art Spiegelman's "Maus," which tells the story of the Holocaust with Jews depicted as mice and Germans as cats. The historically significant publication from the 1980s legitimized comics, Rifas said. |
"Maus," published in the 1980s, was historically significant, he said, because it legitimized comics: If you could create a comic about the Holocaust, you could create a comic about anything.
The community college hopes to offer Rifas' course regularly, said Audrey Wright, dean of humanities and social sciences.
"I thought it probably would connect more with students," she said. "We have this visual society going on, and this seems like a perfect match in terms of dealing with the amount of visual stuff that students interact with, putting it in a place where it could be analyzed."
Kana Livingston, 24, was already a fan of comics -- particularly superheroes -- before taking the class. But it has since introduced her to underground and local comics.
She likes comics, she said, for being imaginative.
"It was like watching a TV or a really good movie, but you were more involved in it," she said.
P-I reporter Christine Frey can be reached at 206-448-8176 or christinefrey@seattlepi.com.
© 1998-2007 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Yeah, what an innovative, cutting edge concept...
The comparison with Mao would be more appropriate.
There have been classes on The Beatles, jazz, etc for years. Comics are a much more legitimate topic than “afro american studies” “feminist studies”, etc. They are a form of art.
Worst. Death. Ever. -Comic Book Guy
Good book, and never forget Eisner’s ‘Comics & Sequential Art,’ a classic resource also.
Actually, almost anything by Eisner is classic. ;-)
It seems like most 4-year colleges are requiring all students to take some sort of art class nowadays.
I’d rather take something like this, then the course in Art History I did take.
Amen! Eisner is the man!
Just think of all the monks put out of work by Gutenberg. ;>)
I doubt they even noticed the difference in their paychecks...;-)
My 6th grader just read it. I started it but then he had to take it back to school. I think I’ll ask him to check it out again so I can finish.
Let me guess...Endless slides of paintings of baby Jesus by guys whose names end in vowels?
Here is a college resource and study guide for Maus: http://www.history.ucsb.edu/faculty/marcuse/classes/33d/33dTexts/maus/MausResources.htm
If I was to guess, I'd say that it would be along the lines of "You think Iraq or VT are bad? More people died every ten minutes in the Holocaust--for years"
That’s illuminated text but the text and illustration are ultimately working independent of each other.
? By independent do you mean physically (i.e. the text is not in a "speech bubble") or the subject matter of the text is independent from the subject matter of the miniature? Such is not always the case...
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