online comic

The comic that I chose to feature is by Scott R. Kurtz and can be found at http://www.pvponline.com. I found this particular comic strip on Scott McCloud's website. Scott McCloud is the author of the book, Understanding Comics The Invisible Art, and is considered somewhat of an authority on comics itself. In his book, McCloud delves into the unappreciated realms of comic book history, structure, meaning, etc. I used the word "unappreciated" because after reading the first several chapters of Understanding Comics, I found an appreciation for those things, which was previously nonexistent.

Getting back to Scott R. Kurtz and his comic strip-- I chose this particular one because I liked the way it was illustrated. It is black and white, which I have just decided that I prefer, and the characters are very cartoonish. When I say cartoonish, I mean that they resemble actual people, but their features are exaggerated-- much like the characters in Family Guy or The Simpsons.

The comic depicts three characters: two seemingly more mature and experienced adults in dark jackets who may or may not be vampire slayers, and one younger, nervous, and wet-behind-the-ears apprentice or tag-along with hair in his face. As the story opens, there is a sense of urgency as the young man is screaming to his friends that he has just killed a vampire. His gestures show that he is yelling at them from afar, and the moisture leaping off his face adds to his excitement. In addition to the exclamation point at the end of the text and the subject matter itself, the frame's mood is further established by the streaks surrounding this young man. As McCloud talks about in chapter four of his book, the streak are there to show motion and/or excitement. The character is moving quickly into the audience's line if vision, and whatever is actually behind him is not as important as establishing the mood of this frame.

Another aspect of comics that McClound touches on in chapter four is the issue of time and space. This particular comic is only four frames long, and suggests a relatively short period of time in which it takes place. The story's narrative is linear and does not appear to be broken up by passing time, whether it be a few minutes or a few hours. We know this because the space between each frame is the same size; not very big at all, and the setting seems to be the same throughout.

Understanding Comics also explains six different styles of transitions that comics use-- the Kurtz comic uses the transition style of "subject-subject." This is evident from its use of a single setting, the showcase of different characters in three of the four frames, and from what Kurtz asks the audience to do between each frame. The small amount of blank space between frames represents the passing of time, in which things happen. Because we know that little time is taken in the telling of this comic's story, we can fill in the blank spaces with minor movements, achieveing what McCloud calls "closure."