Monday Morning Runaround – Comics San Frontieres

Published Mon, 02 Dec 2013 06:52:54 -0600

A RATHER GRAPHCI CLASSROOM

The University Of Connecticut has launched a new class…

The UConn English Department added a new course to its Spring 2014 offerings titled "The Graphic Novel." As the title would suggest the course will examine the history and theory behind the graphic novel, an unconventional form of literary study. Taught by Associate Professor Kate Capshaw, the class will read a variety of texts including Marjane Satrapi's "Persepolis," the UConn Reads selection for 2014, Alison Bechdel's "Fun Home," Art Spiegelman's Pulitzer prize-winning "Maus" and Alan Moore's "Watchmen."

PANEL BORDERS

A new graphic novel exploring stories of the partition set up that formed India, Pakistan and Bangladesh is getting press.

The anthology, however, does not just look at blood-soaked histories but also at human stories. Take 'Noor Miyan', penned by JNU-based revolutionary poet Vidrohi and illustrated by Delhi-based illustrator Tina Ranjan. It is the story of Noor Miyan, reputed for making the best kohl in undivided India, who leaves for Pakistan after Partition, leaving Daadi disconsolate because now her eyes would never again "surge like rain clouds". Or 'Milne Do', written by Karachi-based journalist Beena Sarwar and illustrated by Prasanna Dhandarphale, where two journalists from either side of the border exchange stereotypical queries and concerns of the other side.

The anthology is "an attempt to retell old stories in a new language", says Ghosh. "In a way, to come to terms with it, and negotiate with memory, experience and curiosity by wondering what it is like to reimagine the Partition." Ghosh, whose first graphic novel Delhi Calm captured the atrocities of the Emergency, is a member of the Pao Collective of graphic artists.

DEEP SEA FISHING

A deep sea ecologist over-analyzes Aquaman #25.

The sexual politics of anglerfish are notable. Sexual dimorphism is dramatic; males may be thousands of times smaller than females. Once a male locates a female, he bites into her side, permanently fuses circulatory systems, and is essentially reduced to auxiliary genitals.

Ok, Aquaman is obviously not a sexual parasite, but the biology of the anglerfish roughly parallels his commitment and dependence on Mera. The final panels even reveal that Aquaman is basically non-functional without Mera around.

THE 3D DOCTORS

Abigail Brady on the 3D in Day Of The Doctor and what it might mean for Ant Man.

"The Day of the Doctor" repeats the trick from "The Snowmen", with Clara riding a motorcycle into the console room. In 2D this is quite a neat stunt. But in 3D I thought it was, well, transcendent. We saw the space inside the TARDIS recede away from where it could possibly have been. We had a smooth transition from a tiny box in a deserted space, to an impossibly large console room. That was it.

And then, the paintings.

In the first shot of the paintings it is not immediately obvious that there is anything odd going on. In 2D, anyway. In 3D, you can see that the paintings have depth, although it is kept subtle. The lines about the paintings being very strange are followed by camera moves that make it clear that not only are the paintings 3D, but they are way more advanced than our 3D, it's just just that they are stereo, but they are portals into a static, frozen, dimension. Here, again, although it works in 2D, the use of stereo combined with camera moves really sells it.

…and…

I think the make-or-break film for 3D will be Edgar Wright's Ant-Man. This will be released in 2015, which is going to be a big year for big films (the Avengers sequel, Star Wars Episode VII, the Batman/Superman film, and that's just getting started), so it's an odd one to focus on, but I think it has potential. Ant-Man is a size-changer. Imagine what that would mean with well-done 3D. You could have first person shots of the lab he is in widening out to become an impossibly large space, as he shrinks. You could cut between parallel action at a macro scale and a micro scale, hinting which is which not by different lighting but using a different interocular distance.

COMICS SAVE THE ANIMALS

Matt Miner of Black Mask's Liberator has launched his new webstore, and profits benefit animal rescue. He's making prints and t-shirts available, as well as comics.

DENVER COMIC CON STARTS…TODAY

Tickets go on sale today for Denver Comic Con, a con that has grown exponentially and is likely to sell out very far ahead of the June 13-15th event based on last year's sales and growth patterns. Might be time to start planning ahead…Tickets go on sale at noon EST.

THE COMIC DOCTORS

The BBC looks at how medical schools are teaching students to write and draw comic books;

Aspiring doctors know that to get to the top they will have to retain vast quantities of information. But MK – now known as the Comic Nurse – has also added drawing cartoons to the curriculum at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago, where she teaches.

It all began when she was dealing with a particularly emotionally draining job.

"One day, just not knowing what else to do, I drew a picture of myself and then I put a few words above it.

"I drew a box around it, and then I drew another box. Before I knew it, I went from a state of really struggling with a patient's death to finding myself nine boxes later in a place of hope. And that really surprised me."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-25112785

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