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CCT 300: Critical Analysis of Media

CCT 300: Critical Analysis of Media. Class 6: Economics as Applied to Comics: and lessons for other media?. Reinventing Comics. 9 basic elements 3 components focused on potential of digital delivery. Reinventing Comics (1): Creation as Art. Comics as Literature Comies as Art

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CCT 300: Critical Analysis of Media

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  1. CCT 300: Critical Analysis of Media Class 6: Economics as Applied to Comics: and lessons for other media?

  2. Reinventing Comics • 9 basic elements • 3 components focused on potential of digital delivery

  3. Reinventing Comics (1): Creation as Art • Comics as Literature • Comies as Art • Creators’ Rights

  4. Comics as Literature/Art • Many of you have already discovered this in writing the paper - examples? • Comics can be both if properly done

  5. Comics as Literature • Storytelling and narrative • Gets more complex than simple serialized strip - a full story from beginning to end (or a serialized strip that takes months/years to tell story?) • Examples?

  6. Comics as Art • No longer simply “men in tights” • Japanese influence - a range of interesting non-action transitions, new forms of expression

  7. Creators’ Rights • Reaction to similar battles between creators/publishers (examples?) • Full ownership and control • Fair share of profit • Challenges coming from this?

  8. Reinventing Comics (2): Industry and Audience • Industry Innovation • Public Perception • Institutional Scrutiny

  9. Innovation in Industry • Creators’ rights require innovation in industry model - and sometimes drive it • Simple model of “getting into the business” - photocopy a drawing and sell it yourself - trite but true - but it’s more complicated in practice

  10. Steps in Traditional Publishing • Author • Publisher • Accounting • Marketing • Printing • Distribution • Warehousing • Retail • Transportation among above • Etc.

  11. Creation and Distribution… • Many will sacrifice control over non-creative tasks to gain broader market • That’s often a good idea. Why? • Sometimes not a good idea. Why?

  12. Public Perception • Comics as kid-lit - why? • What effect does stereotype of comics have? • What effect does traditional model of production have on enforcing this stereotype?

  13. Comics and Censorship • Emergence of comics in US history - tainted by censors who lamented the debasement of culture, perversion of youth - pretty much everything • Ironically, drove comics underground where they became even more debased and perverted (e.g., R. Crumb?) • Driven by perception - if comics were seen as valued art, would this happen?

  14. Reinventing Comics (3): Diversity of Audience and Creation • Gender Balance • Minority Representation • Diversity of Genre

  15. Comics and Gender • Traditionally creators and audience were male • Creators have been female - but still expected to follow expectations of audience • To what effect? • Alternatives?

  16. Minority Comics • Stereotypical audience, and many creators (even if they aren’t) - white, male, straight, Christian, young, physically able, middle class • To what effect? • Alternatives?

  17. Diversity of Genre • Superhero domination of shelf space via perception, creation and audience - a vicious cycle • Non-traditional graphic novels - breaks through ideas of what a comic “must be” • Required breaking through comic store as core distribution channel

  18. Reinventing Comics (4): Digitization and the Internet • Digital Production • Digital Delivery • Digital Comics

  19. Digitization • Production of comics digitally - including McCloud’s two last books, but others - examples? • What does digital production do to creation of the art?

  20. Digital Delivery • Like other media, removes steps in production process - ideally funneling consumer money to producer with fewer middlemen • Middlemen role - still useful - why?

  21. Micropayments • Addition to Reinventing Comics as technology improved to make it plausible • General principle re: chains of distribution - consumer fairness (rel. to creative rights) but audence fairness as well - rights to sample, test and pay fair prices

  22. Micropayments (2) • Consumer obtains product from source (whatever source may be) • Consumer values product (as I’m sure some of you did…) • Consumer wishes to compensate producer directly - but how? • Still an open problem - why?

  23. Digital Comics • Adds a new dimension to creation • Dependent on tools - tools to create Reinventing and Making Comics • Other options?

  24. New Directions: WebComics • Can include immersive environments in whatever medium • May even include games (e.g. Myst, but even first-person shooters?) • Can even be simply regular comics put up on the web (http://www.thewebcomiclist.com/)

  25. Flash-based Comics • Why Flash? • What does Flash contribute to visual and experiential effect of animation? • Why is it still comical in nature?

  26. Examples • Weebl’s Stuff/Weebl & Bob • Homestar Runner • Alternative financing strategies? • New/Mass media issues (esp. around the Quizno’s ads?) • Other examples?

  27. Next week • Truth and objectivity in media - why the media is really not helping you much (and why you might already know that…)

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