I'm the managing editor of Orang Utan Comics, group editor of AAM/Markosia, writer of Alpha Gods, Hypergirl and Hero: 9-5, and also do freelance inking and lettering work for the likes of AAM/Markosia, Slave Labour, Top Shelf, Image, Marvel/Panini and I letter the official Doctor Who graphic novels for BBC Books.
Orang Utan Comics - Alpha Gods - Hero: 9 to 5
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Man, I didn’t even know stuff like this was a “controversy” in comics. Very interesting.
I think it would be more aptly described as story telling vs. story dumping. But maybe that would be snide of me.
I think it would be wrong to say that mainstream American comics don’t make use of “decompression” - there are plenty of well known sequences, containing few to no words, and breaking a short period of time, or even a moment into many panels or pages… But I guess those are exceptions. The average American comic book features acres of text, and incredibly dense story telling.
Story telling which is too dense becomes very tedious very quickly, which is one of the reasons I rarely touch superhero comics. The Last thing I want, is to read a paragraph of text in the first panel of a comic I pick up. I’ve put a lot of comics right back on the shelf for this reason.
I’d rather read a meandering work like 21st Century Boys, or BLAME! - that rambles on and on, than something purporting to be a comic, but which reads like a Chilton’s manual.
But then again I’m a person who is just as happy listening to the adagio movement of a symphony as I am listening to the allegro movement.
i am so intrigued. And now i also regret not picking up that comic’s study book at the library UnU
“The average American comic book features acres of text, and incredibly dense story telling.”
Wuh…?
“I rarely touch superhero comics.”
Oh…now it makes sense.
In other words…
“These things I don’t read are like this, I know this because of reasons.”
(via srgrgerg)
