Lesson 1

 Comics and Graphic novel storytelling

- Comic books and cartoon strips have been around for a very long time from the earliest cave paintings depicting graphic scenes to the digital comics we see today

- Comics have developed their own style, characters and following. Comics have served many purposes; firstly to entertain but secondly, in the case of some comics, to purvey a message to those who read it

Spider Woman

no.1 top comic in March 2020

$1.2 billion comics and graphic novel sales in 2019 

Purpose of comics

- inform readers of modern day issues

- escapism - entertainment

- encourages confidence and new behaviours

- teaches abstract thinking

- promotes synergy/cross promotion

different fonts, colours, layouts, artistic styles, characters

Different formats 

Comic Book 

 The comic book is a softcover magazine of sequential artwork (a number of pictures in order) and words that when used together tell a story. The cover is usually a glossy paper with the interior of a higher quality paper with the consistency of newspaper. The spine is usually held together by staples. Comic books today cover a variety of subjects. There are horror, fantasy, sci-fi, crime, real life, and many other subjects that comic books cover. The subject most comic books have become known for is superheroes and heightened realities.

Comic Strip 

 This is what you would find in a newspaper such as Garfield, or Dilbert and what was originally referred to with the term, “comic.”

Graphic Novel 

 This thicker, and glue bound book. This format has been used by some publishers to help distinguish the content from comics with more mature subjects and content matter. They tend to include complete narratives and cover a wide array of genres. Lately, the graphic novel has seen a large amount of success by collecting a comic series, allowing purchasers to read a whole comic story in one sitting. 

Webcomics 

 This term is being used to describe both comic strips and comic books that can be found on the Internet. Many are smaller attempts by people who just want to find a creative outlet, but others have turned their webcomics into successful industries such as Player Vs. Player, Penny Arcade, Order Of The Stick, and Ctrl, Alt, Del.