Wrapping Things Up

Well, our mini-comic is due to be presented on Monday, and we should be done...I think. The rough copy was finished with dialog as of our last meeting, so that's good. Everyone seemed fairly pleased with how things turned out as far as the story goes. Hopefully it makes sense and we won't have to explain every panel to the class.

Fun House represents somewhat of a departure from the comics we've read up to this point. The art definitely seems like the kind you'd expect to see in the newspaper funnies. On the other hand, the writing takes on a stronger role here, as in Watchmen. Writing separates literally every panel in the book. The dialog is not as stressed because the narrator really carries the story. The writing and the art seem particularly separate; I think you could just take all of the narration in between panels and turn it into a short story on its own. The pictures provide additional details and sometimes some dark humor, but the words are what drive the story forward.

Speaking of words and writing, I was a bit taken aback by the more intensely literary tone of the story. A great deal of the story seems devoted to finding parallels between the narrator's father and other characters and authors from past works of literature. The author is clearly very well read and seems to want to make sure that the reader is aware of this fact. As an English Major reading this, I can appreciate at least most of the references and allusions, but I have to wonder if they wouldn't turn off some readers. Maybe it's just not meant for a broad readership or something. I like the story so far, though.