Upon the Frigid Warmth

 

 

There are several things that I love and hate about my novel. I don't believe my artwork to be the greatest thing in the world. However, I do like my plot. It's simple(ish). Thanks to Professor Larson, it was easier to get my thoughts onto the paper, and into a proper writing style. With the help of others around me I was able to make the story easier to understand. Thanks to critiques, I was able to make the story better well rounded and by thinking out loud to myself the title page just sort of came about. Instead of including a Prologue, as suggested by Nathaniel Warburton, I integrated that into the flashbacks themselves. (This  a story board base for the flashback).
All of that being said, I fear that some won't like it because it feels a bit rushed, but where else was I going to go with it? Let my characters keep arguing with each other until they're both out of breath? Nah, better to end the fight as logically as possible.

If I were to redo this whole thing (which I may later on) I would add color and maybe a few more pages. I would eventually like to add more and make it into a series that focuses on different characters. Otherwise, I would say that I'm pretty happy with what I've done. I mean, granted, this is no Alan Moore piece, but it's mine, and I like it.

Sin City, V for Vendetta, and the Influences on My Graphic Novel

After reading Sin City and V for Vendetta, I realized something. I want to create something different, but with aspects from the "classics". For example, when I started going about creating Upon the Frigid Warmth, I wasn't fully sure as to how to approach the different versions of text. So, when looking at other examples (as shown here in figures 1 and 2 from the books I've mentioned), and after talking to Professor Monica Larson, I found the solution. Instead of trying different fonts and what not, I decided to just change the surroundings of the wording. The font remains the same. However, when approaching artistry, I found that only mine would do unless I hired another anthropomorphic artist. Knowing how much that would cost and the amount of time it would take, I decided that would be both inconvenient and cost a lot of money. However, I did draw some inspiration from a web comic. The web comic, Jack, (pictured above) has helped me in deciding how to approach my back grounds. I am going to keep it minimal and light using only what is needed, when it is needed. Outside of that, the rest of the novel was easy. I went by start, rising and finishing actions, and the story feels like a cross between Pirates of the Carribbean and Game of Thrones. A bit of betrayal, piracy and loads of tension.

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Figure1

Figure2

Graphic Novel Break Down "Maus I"

The first basic concept that I recognize from Understanding Comics that is put into use is the idea of sequential art. Maus I starts right off with it on page five.  The example I am using, though, comes from page 12. It's a simple "hop along" as time goes on. It sets up mainly why the novel is being done, and it just shows a conversation that is happening at the moment.

Example:

The next theme or concept that stands out between the two books is the artist's language or style. Throughout Maus I, I find the style and way things are presented to be deliberate. The way the art is done (even if it is just animals) it is able to allow the reader to feel what is happening in that moment. Some of the more emotional moments are similar to this:

When the reader finally gets to this point, you are emotionally tired, and worn out. I almost felt the heaviness of this scene. Minus the cover, this whole novel is in black and white. The absence of color makes it easier to depict, but it also makes it easier to evoke certain themes and emotions in this book. There are times where one is supposed to feel heavy, burdened, tired, and pain, but there are other areas where you fell hope, you want the good to come out and you're almost begging the artist/writer to find a way to make this lighter. 

Last but not least the symbol work in this book, there are swastikas, images of Hitler, animals portraying humans in a certain way, and propaganda all over the place.

Example:

 

Even the walkways are significant portrayals of what was going on.  The feeling of being trapped under Hitler's regime is just overbearing in this novel. Especially when the artist chooses to make the swastika the only thing that has not shading or anything but solid white in the center. They want you to see it, and if you don't ... then it might be a good thing to go over it again, but don't think swastikas and Hitler are the only things here. Signs of the Jewish faith are all over from clothing to tombstones.

Thus ends my interlinking of the two for now.