CCT 300: Critical Analysis of MediaClass 8: Reinventing Comics – Genre and economic changes in a digital world

Administration

Comic creation

Group proposals on wiki – ASAP if not today

Feedback on group wikis – 5% of final project mark = providing feedback on others proposals – do it over this week to be helpful

Feedback tips

Reinventing Comics

12 basic concepts, 4 sections

Comics as Art

Industry and Audience

Creator/Audience Diversity

Effect of Digitization

Reinventing Comics (1): Creation as Art

Comics as Literature

Comics as Art

Creators’ Rights

Comics as Literature/Art

Comics can be both literature and art if properly done

Many of you have already discovered this in writing the paper

Six steps in UC – building a foundation for something more than surface understanding as driving force

Comics as Literature

Focus on complex narrative More complex than simple serialized

strip or simple webcomic - a full story from beginning to end (or a serialized strip that takes months/years to tell story…)

Comics as Art

Comics as visual narrative – complexity of narrative extends to area

Japanese influence - a range of interesting non-action transitions directly supporting artistic storytelling

Creators’ Rights

Like other media, similar battles between creators/publishers (examples?)

Creator concerns for ownership and control, fair share of profit

Increasing interest in maintaining fair access and compensation for talent – away from studio work for hire models

Challenges?

Reinventing Comics (2): Industry and Audience

Industry Innovation

Public Perception

Institutional Scrutiny

Innovation in Industry

Creators’ rights require innovation in industry model - and sometimes drive it

Simple model of “getting into the business” - photocopy a drawing and sell it yourself - trite but true - but it’s more complicated in practice

Steps in Traditional Publishing

Author

Publisher

Accounting

Marketing

Printing

Distribution

Warehousing

Retail

Transportation among above

Creation and Distribution…

Many will sacrifice control over non-creative tasks to gain broader market

Often a good idea – but can be a trap – why?

Public Perception

Comics as kid-lit – what effect does stereotype have?

Traditional model of production creates vicious cycle around stereotype – perception of comics as kid lit influences what is and is not produced which reinforces perception

Comics and Censorship

US history - tainted by censors who lamented the debasement of culture, perversion of youth - pretty much everything

Ironically, drove comics underground where they became even more debased (e.g., R. Crumb and other alt comics of 60s)

Driven by perception - if comics were seen as valued art, would this happen?

Audience/Creator Diversity

Gender Balance

Minority Representation

Diversity of Genre

Comics and Gender

Traditionally creators and audience were male - leading to particular stereotypes of both genders

Creators have been female - but still expected to follow expectations of audience

To what effect? Alternatives?

Minority Comics

Stereotypical audience, and many creators - white, male, straight, Christian, young, physically able, middle class

Similar to gender issues – stereotype can be hard to break through

To what effect?

Alternatives?

Diversity of Genre

Superhero domination of shelf space via perception, creation and audience - a vicious cycle

Non-traditional graphic novels - breaks through ideas of what a comic “must be”

Required breaking through comic store as core distribution channel

Reinventing Comics (4): Digitization and the Internet

Digital Production

Digital Delivery

Digital Comics

Digital Production

Production of comics digitally - including McCloud’s two last books, but others as well

Many webcomics – 100% digitial

What about your own?

Digital Delivery

Like other media, removes steps in production process - ideally creating more direct consumer/producer links and lowering costs of system

Social networking technologies – allow for comics to spread widely

Also digital payment – how do webcomics make money?

Digital Comics

Can include immersive and interactive environments

Not as bound to page requirements (e.g., I Can’t Stop Thinking scrolling example)

Can even be more traditionally framed comics simply distributed via web

Diversity of genres, explosion of options (http://www.thewebcomiclist.com/)

Related Direction: Flash-based Animation

What does Flash contribute to visual and experiential effect of animation?

Why is it still comical in nature?

Is it really a comic though?

Weekly assignment McCloud’s take on micropayments (an extension of

the book – now very old!)

http://scottmccloud.com/1-webcomics/icst/icst-5/icst-5.html

http://scottmccloud.com/1-webcomics/icst/icst-6/icst-6.html

What failed?

Next week(s) The “newness” of new media

Social media/Web 2.0

Closing thoughts and exam review