To paraphrase Star Trek's Doctor McCoy, I'm a WRITER, not an ARTIST!
What that means is that I couldn't lay out an interesting comics page to save my life...
...Not that such an inability has stopped others, I must point out!
But, what it DOES mean is that I don't have an eye for creating interesting visuals... interesting dialogue, absolutely - but not interesting visuals!
So, when I see one - even a rather inconsequential one, within the greater whole of the story - I very much appreciate it! And such is the case in the story "The Master vs. the Pupil!" from BATMAN #34 (DC Comics, Cover Date: April-May, 1946 - Art by Dick Sprang), where Batman puts an overconfident Robin to the test in a game of (pardon) "Bat and Mouse"!
A great story, with an unusual plot premise, but HERE'S something I really like about the art...
Dick Sprang has long been considered one of the best of the long line of artists who have drawn Batman in the various eras - and (with the possible exception of Jerry Robinson) THE BEST of his particular era - and a tiny little detail like this shows why!
...Okay, time for me to "iris-out"!
2 comments:
It is exactly for reasons like this that we need this blog! As a comics reader, I tend to get caught up more in the storyline than in the visual details--and yet it is just this type of artistic richness that enhances the storytelling and makes it come alive. Thank you for pointing this out.
By comparison, look at the four panels from "Bird Bothered Hero" and one thing that stands out--at least to me--is that though movement is depicted in the panels, they all seem very static and lifeless. Whereas by contrast those panels from the "Batman" story contain energy and life, despite not showing as much actual movement as the BBH panels. The energy in the art is palpable. Personally, I WANT to find out what happens next. As opposed to BBH, which does not compel me similarly. (Your boat crashed? Too bad, so sad.)
As far as the actual use of the "iris out" for placement of a building--that is part of what lends the panel so much life. The Looney Tunes cartoons of the late 30's into the 50's occasionally played around with the "iris out" ("Duck Amok" comes to mind) but for the most part it was left alone. Yet these types of embellishments add richness to a story without being obtrusive--after all, it isn't the focus of the picture--the small figure of the leaping Batman is--and yet it makes a strong out-of-the box statement and prepares the reader subconsciously to look for the unexpected in the pages to follow.
Similarly, Carl Barks added special touches, especially in his Christmas epics, squeezing an extra wreath or a lighted candle between panels for no apparent reason other than to add to the atmosphere of the story.
Bravo for these details of graphic art! They add artistry to a field that is, alas, not often credited for being artistic. This is a prime example of "artist as auteur"--perhaps not the scripter, but he can still inject his own stylistic choices to enhance the reading experience.
Scarecrow:
You write: “It is exactly for reasons like this that we need this blog!”
Thank you, and much appreciated. Haven’t seen a whole lotta love for this humble Blog of late. Yes, it falters as other things pile up, but I always try to keep things happy, light… and fresh, to the best of my ability.
As a writer, I too tend to “get caught up more in the storyline than in the visual details”. I recall saying that I can tolerate bad art for a good story – at least to a degree that’s less extreme than “Bird Bothered Hero”, though that is bad art AND bad story all in one! And, isn’t it worth noting that I DON’T EVEN HAVE TO MENTION “Bird Bothered Hero” by name (title?) in the post – by now you ALL know the horrors of it… even if you’ve never actually read it!
When I see something like that wonderful little detail by Dick Sprang, I marvel (lower-case “m”) over it and then wish to share it with you all! And that *IS* the reason for this Blog… to share little, oft-unnoticed things that I find in my comics reading and, by doing so, (hopefully) make the experience just a little more “special” for us all.
Post a Comment