Dear friends,
March is here, bringing with it the first ray of hope for spring, the return of the first flowers, and vibrant colors. I don't know about you, but I love this time of year when life returns to the city.
Reflecting on February for a moment, every year on the first of February, there is an event called Hourly Comic Day. During this event, participants draw the activities of their day in hourly breakdowns. This year, I joined the challenge for the first time and had a lot of fun. Please allow me to share some of the drawings I made.
You can check out all of the drawings HERE
In response to the challenge, I thought this post could focus on comics, which is a vast topic. So, I'm going to take a non-exhaustive look at the world of comics. One thing is for sure, if anyone is interested in the basics of comics, Scott McCloud's books are a must-read. They eloquently discuss the origins, aesthetics, variations, etc., of comics concisely and understandably.
According to McCloud's book Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, the word 'comics' itself can be traced back to the word 'sequence,' and various sources such as Egyptian wall drawings, Roman depictions, and medieval printed stories are all brought to light. This evolution continues until we arrive at the text-bubble forms of today, which emerged with the invention of printing in the 19th century.
I remember reading this book for the first time about 10 years ago, and I was already struck by the unique narrative styles and forms described there. Later on, I became more interested in the sequences themselves and their forms, which mostly consist of pictures or, sometimes, text fragments. I thought I would include some of these examples, which I find exciting and inspiring, in this month's letter.
Repetition, transformation
Evan Cohen's simple world of repetitive shapes, transformations, and morphs imbues the reader with a sense of calm and flow. Meanwhile, within these small events lies an interesting and important message.
Intimate details
Greta Samuel's story 'Leon and Basje' is particularly special to me because the author shares sensual details—small fragments of the story—in which text and close-up images play equally important roles. On one hand, the intimacy of the comic draws the reader into the sequence of events; on the other hand, it serves as a kind of puzzle, with the story broken up into pieces waiting to be assembled.
Time and Space
Quentin VIJOUX's 'Eugène' is an exciting example of depicting the passage of recurring characters through a space. What's more, this is captured in a compelling format that perfectly balances the composition and readability of text and image.
An example from history is the early 20th-century comic book series Gasoline Alley . Despite being a traditional frame-by-frame work with text bubbles, the spatial arrangement is skillfully executed.
Charlotte Dumortier's comic is a fascinating example of how scenes arranged within a uniform space give the images a playful, easy-to-read feel. However, the sudden appearance of frames outside this space creates a shocking effect, reinforced by the letters in the sound effect. Remarkably, all of this is perfectly integrated into the story.
In Gizem Vural's comic strip, empty spaces are treated freely, resulting in a fragmented yet unified sense of space. The jigsaw-like artwork and abstract style are arresting, inviting viewers to search for a way to decipher the images.
Perfect transposition
Yu leng's 'Eating for Two, Hoshino Nabe' is a beautiful example of an elegant and exciting way to combine a pair of images within the comic book genre.
I hope you found these unusual comics interesting. If you have any comics you'd like to recommend, please share them here or write to me!
Sending Love
Ágnes
Finally, I'd like to leave you with some tidbits from Hourly Comic Book Day posts by these fantastic artists!
| Carson Ellis’s post ’s post