Final Exam

Question 1) I would define the line style of Pride of Baghdad as youthful, but very harsh. When looking at the illustrations you get a sense of the Lion King, but on a more violent level. The lines are detailed, but there are also many out of place. The out of place lines cause the characters to look as if they have many scars and old scrapes. This helps to portray the turmoil going on throughout the story and aids in developing the characters. By simply looking at them the reader gets the idea that these lions have led a rough and dangerous life. Like these old wounds they also haunted by memories of their past lives. These lines also set the chaotic mood for the story. There is a heavy density of lines of their faces that causes them to look stressed or confused, which helps create that anarchy of the setting. I'd say they're most similar to the example of Rob Liefeld's on page 126 of Scott McCloud's book.



Question 2) The web comic I read, although weird, is a good example for this question. It's called a Bucket Full O' Kittens, and it raises some interesting issues that deal with closure and time frames. Unlike most traditional comic books, this webcomic doesn't have any pnaels or closure. You simply scroll to the right and the pictures continue on in a constant stream. In a certain way I think this is easier to read. as opposed to having gutters that disrupt the story this one runs smoothly like a movie, and it is easy to follow along with the story. Although there is also an aspect of this format that becomes problematic. An important part of closure is that it sets the time line of the story. The reader has a better of idea the span of time that a story takes place in when there are gutters and closure. With a free flowing story like in Bucket Full O' Kittens the sense of time is lost and is harder to define where the past present and future are. A reader has to assume or imagine that the story is currently taking place and lasts for the amount of time that is takes to read it. Another hinderance with the digital format is that it doesn't leave room for the imagination to enter the story. The reader is left at a more bystander position as opposed to creating parts of the story. With a comic that has gutters, the reader is able to insert his or her own pictures and details and tailor the story to their imagination. With a webcomic though that really isn't an option. The free flowing form seems much more set. Like a movie viewer is left outside of the story.

Question 3) When discussing history in a GN first person voice is more effective. Using a first person voice helps that reader to relate to that person. They can recall events and explain their emotions at the time. Areader an view the story through that person's eyes and become part of the sotry. History is a lot about how it was perceived and the feelings that were provoked durng that time. With first person the reader has a better grasp on those emotions and can form a better inderstanding. The story becomes more interesting for the reader. With an omniscent voice the view is more deistant and can become more confusing. You might relate an omniscent voice to God because He is all knowing and a reader is going to have a harder time relating to god than to another human being. Through an omniscent voice everything is laid out before the reader, which can become confusing. It's harder to keep things in perspective while a story is jumping around. It's also harder to hold the reader's attention with an omniscent voice. Everything is there for the readerto see, but with first person every turn is a surprise that keeps the reaqder on their toes. The reader only knows as much as the character. This will also bring the reader closer to the story and experience the feelings of the character.

Question 4) For Pride of Baghdad, I believe Vaughan's and Henrichon's purpose was to further victimize those killed during the Iraq bombing. the illustrations are graphic and the dialogue humanizes the animals and the U.S. soldiers appear over reactive and highly agressive. This brings me to think that they wanted the reader to take the side of the animals/all the Iraqi victims. They chose to publish this story as a GN because it really gets the point across. The illustrations of animals being killed and their frustrations speak volumes to a reader and they are strongly affected by what they see. The pictures combined with the bias text has a lot of power to sway a person. With this book the text can be bias because it comes out as the opinions of the animals so reader won't pick up on it as readily. the matter of the bombing in Iraq is a contraversial issue and I think the author and illustrator were interested in having a voice in the matter. They wanted people to see their view on things and perhaps sway their reader because this book is far from neutral. I think choosing the form of a GN had a lot to do with what they wanted to leave out and how they wanted to arrange it. In this story they wanted to say little and still be able to affect the reader, and a GN does just that. They give one simple line in the end of the book, "There were other casualties as well." This is a small bias remark that leaves a load of room for interpretation. The way they arraged it they're able to write a small amount and say a lot. With Pride of Baghdad I think Henrichon and Vaughan ran into the problem of being too bias. This book almost goes too far and I'm sure they actually modified it from its original form. The pictures do a lot of the talking so it was wise that they left the dialogue short. I think this could become a new form of persuasive writng that is very effective. The art in this book is very compelling. It was wise to choose bright colors for the illustrations because it draws the reader's attention and makes a strong statement. It runs similar to a movie and the style is reminiscent of a cartoon, such as The Lion King. I think this also makes the book more interesting.