For my first discussion I will be taking a look at Bruce Wayne and Batman and their struggle for control. The specific texts I will be looking at in this post are Matt Wagner's Batman/Grendel crossovers, Devil's Riddle, Devils' Masque, Devil's Bones, and Devil's Dance.
Beginning with Bruce Wayne in the Devil's Riddle, right away we see a character that is very out of touch with emotions and thoughts. This is going on the assumption that Bruce Wayne is the human and Batman is the "other," non-human or animal. The text bubbles of Bruce Wayne's thoughts are much like that of a computer as if to say Bruce's mind is robotic in nature, not very human. The sentences are very short, two to three words on average. In stark contrast are the thought patterns of Hunter Rose, the alter ego of Grendel. His thoughts are written in a script font and are long and flowing. They are clearly the thoughts of a human.
Visually, (for a perfect example of this see page 2) we cannot view Bruce Wayne as whole person. His images are distorted or are in pieces which is to suggest that he is not a whole person. On the off chance that his entire body is in the frame, he is presented in shadow (like on page 3).
Two very interesting moments occur in Devil's Masque. On pages 26-27 Batman is forced to fight Grendel in a gallery exhibiting animals. In the closeup Batman is framed by birds, suggesting that he is an animal as he is part of the exhibit. Later he fights Grendel in a different setting only to be injured by his foe's blade. In the two panels (pages 41-42) that show Batman with his injury the bat symbol on his chest is obscured. That is to say that the bat/animal side is unable to be harmed while the non-bat or human side is mortal.
In Devil's Bones Batman faces a new version of Grendel, Grendel Prime. Grendel Prime is bigger and badder and manages to shoot a hole in Batman's costume which obliterates the bat symbol for roughly half of this entire book. What does it mean that when Batman gets shot, it is only his bat symbol that receives the damage? Is it like a bullet proof vest, or is it a target?
Finally, in Devil's Dance, Bruce Wayne only appears twice throughout the entire book. First he appears in four panels on page 6, only to be masked by another apparatus while he angrily tries to find a way to beat Grendel Prime. His humanity is still hidden from us. Then he appears on page 27. The text reads, "In his roost. The uncloaked bat sleeps through the day." Even though Bruce is not in his bat costume, the text refers to him as a bat.
So far we have seen the inhuman side, or the bat side, dominate. In the next post I would like to continue this discussion focusing on the imprisonment of the man within the bat as evidenced by Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Grant Morrison's Arkham Asylum.
Beginning with Bruce Wayne in the Devil's Riddle, right away we see a character that is very out of touch with emotions and thoughts. This is going on the assumption that Bruce Wayne is the human and Batman is the "other," non-human or animal. The text bubbles of Bruce Wayne's thoughts are much like that of a computer as if to say Bruce's mind is robotic in nature, not very human. The sentences are very short, two to three words on average. In stark contrast are the thought patterns of Hunter Rose, the alter ego of Grendel. His thoughts are written in a script font and are long and flowing. They are clearly the thoughts of a human.
Visually, (for a perfect example of this see page 2) we cannot view Bruce Wayne as whole person. His images are distorted or are in pieces which is to suggest that he is not a whole person. On the off chance that his entire body is in the frame, he is presented in shadow (like on page 3).
Two very interesting moments occur in Devil's Masque. On pages 26-27 Batman is forced to fight Grendel in a gallery exhibiting animals. In the closeup Batman is framed by birds, suggesting that he is an animal as he is part of the exhibit. Later he fights Grendel in a different setting only to be injured by his foe's blade. In the two panels (pages 41-42) that show Batman with his injury the bat symbol on his chest is obscured. That is to say that the bat/animal side is unable to be harmed while the non-bat or human side is mortal.
In Devil's Bones Batman faces a new version of Grendel, Grendel Prime. Grendel Prime is bigger and badder and manages to shoot a hole in Batman's costume which obliterates the bat symbol for roughly half of this entire book. What does it mean that when Batman gets shot, it is only his bat symbol that receives the damage? Is it like a bullet proof vest, or is it a target?
Finally, in Devil's Dance, Bruce Wayne only appears twice throughout the entire book. First he appears in four panels on page 6, only to be masked by another apparatus while he angrily tries to find a way to beat Grendel Prime. His humanity is still hidden from us. Then he appears on page 27. The text reads, "In his roost. The uncloaked bat sleeps through the day." Even though Bruce is not in his bat costume, the text refers to him as a bat.
So far we have seen the inhuman side, or the bat side, dominate. In the next post I would like to continue this discussion focusing on the imprisonment of the man within the bat as evidenced by Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Grant Morrison's Arkham Asylum.
Hey Dawn! To delve right into things, your About Me section was fabulous! I like how you didn't just give your credentials for creating the blog, but you also told us a little about yourself. As a fellow peanut butter connoisseur, I could appreciate this. Apart from that, I can definitely tell your heart is in this blog, as you make a personal connection between it your passion for English.
ReplyDeleteYour blog description was also good. Although rather short, it got your point across nicely. I understand what the point of this blog is, and feel that a casual observer could determine whether or not they'd be interested in your topics of discussion from it.
Lastly, your first post does a very nice job of exemplifying what your blog will be about. You did just what you said you'd be doing in the description by providing an analysis of the deeper meanings within a comic of your choosing, both textually and visually. Batman was a good choice for a beginning post too, as it is very popular and well known. I look forward to reading other entries you will create. :)
Wow, I am not even sure where to start. First of all, I think that I would follow your blog even if I wasn’t required to. The visual aspect of your blog is excellent the backdrop is interesting, but not distracting. Your “about me” section provides a very clear view of why anyone that is interested in delving into the decomposition of the artistic and philosophical aspects of graphic novels and comic books should consider your blog a prime site. The description section is clear and concise and it includes a phrase that carries much more meaning than a first glance allows. The section I am referring to is “intended or not”. There are at least a couple of schools of thought that I am aware of when it comes to this point. The artist could have intended a visual aspect or have had it occur “accidentally” or created the context subconsciously. The amusing thing about that point is that I don’t think I would have caught that if I had not read your amazing initial post. I have not read the Batman vs. Grendel series, but am able to follow your thoughts easily due to your description of the panels. I have to say, while I would normally love to have the images side by side with the descriptions, I am of two minds in this case. I realize that you cannot just put an artist work online without consent (whether by Creative Commons License, content owner consent, or other means) but even if you could, I am not certain that I would want you to. Your post is so well written that my curiosity is piqued and I want to see the full original work for myself in its original context. The label options on the side are also a very useful tool for finding a grouping of similar postings.
ReplyDeleteDawn,
ReplyDeleteI love your "About Me" section! I think it offers the reader a really clear picture of who you are, your personality and sense of humor. I also really enjoy your background. It is very visually interesting, yet it is not distracting from the posts.
Your description of the blog was also very well written. It provides the reader with a clear idea of what the blog is about and why you are blogging about this topic. It provides readers with a nice preview of what is to come if they choose to keep reading.
The first post was extremely interesting. Although I am not immediately drawn to this topic, your writing style peaked my interest. You clearly intertwine your love for English and comics and it correlates very nicely.
Overall, I was very impressed with your blog and I look forward to reading what comes next!