time

After reading about and discussing the role of time in graphic novels, I realized how much control the artists and writers of such comics have to give up. Particularly in print comics, there is really nothing outside of a page turn that one can really do to create a sense of surprise or suspense.

A Contract with God

Will Eisner, however, does an admirably good job of controlling time in the beginning of “A Contract with God.” It is important that the somber tone is set at the very beginning of Frimme Hersh’s story, and Eisner is able to keep control of the pace by developing the story gradually, using text and a narrator to slow us down.

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As Americans, we have all grown up in some way conscious of the syndicated weekday comic strip, a traditionally lighthearted companion to a hot cup of coffee. It is a form of art that, along with taxidermy, TV voiceovers, & commercial acting, valorizes the product over the producer. While certain syndicated cartoonists have gained cult followings for their art (Bill Watterson, Gary Larson, & Charles Schulz leap to mind, though there are plenty others), for the most part no one cares about who is dishing up that day's strip, so long as it is short & funny. On the flip side, there is the comic artist who draws contempt from his or her audience for repeatedly serving the same stale jokes again & again & again without care for the reader. "Cathy" artist Cathy Guisewite & "Mutts"'s Patrick McDonnell seem to use a formula for their work that dates back to the age of "Marmaduke," & for many, Jim Davis is also one of these cartoonists.

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