Origins of Comics

Narrative & Genre in comics and animation

The Origins of Comics

index

1. Assignments

2. Starter Questions

3. Beginnings

4. Group Research Task

In this unit you will be doing the following:

Assignment 1 Describe the historical significance of comic strips, comic books or animation (an 800 word essay covering history, uses and the crossover of media forms). Assignment 2 Analyse comic strips, comic books or animation in terms of narrative and genre (an 800 word essay analysing a minimum of two comic strips or animations from different genres). Assignment 3 Produce a narrative sequence for a comic strip, comic book or animated film (a presentation of your concept lasting a minimum of five minutes – you don’t need to draw it, though you can if you want).

Starter Questions

• Define what a comic strip or comic book is?

• Is there a difference between the two?

Beginnings

Some historians trace the lineage of comics back to cave paintings and Egyptian hieroglyphics

The Bayeux Tapestry is seen by some as a significant step in the development of comics due to its narrative complexity.

Beginnings

Comics were not invented in one country – several countries began developing this medium simultaneously.

Comics are a combination of pictorial and written elements (e.g. speech balloons, caricatures, pictures telling a story in a deliberate sequence) which existed several centuries before the title ‘comics’ was coined.

Beginnings

Eighteenth century British artist Thomas Rowlandson and Nineteenth century German artist Wilhelm Busch, among others, contributed to comic’s language.

The most significant development in the history of comics is, arguably, the invention of printing, particularly the mass printing techniques only available from the late nineteenth century.

Beginnings

In Britain, one of the first publications which historians are able to call a proper ‘comic’ was named ‘Funny Folks’ , first appearing in 1874. Although it began as an 8-page pull-out supplement in ‘The Weekly Budget’ Funny Folks was an immediate success becoming a weekly publication in it’s own right.

Britain’s first comic character is frequently recognised as ‘Ally Sloper’, who featured in ‘Ally Sloper’s Half Holiday’, beginning in 1883. What made Sloper different was his continuity – whereas characters before him only appeared once, Sloper featured week after week.

Beginnings

North America’s first comic character is often cited as ‘The Yellow Kid’. He appeared, in colour, in 1896, and is recognisable for his yellow nightshirt on which is written his dialogue rather than in a speech balloon.

The first comics were targeting an adult readership. The stories were frequently concerned with commenting on politics and current affairs

Beginnings

In Britain, the idea of deliberately targeting comics at children did not take place until the late 1890’s, in a publication called ‘Comic Cuts’. Interestingly, children were not targeted at first partly because they had little or no pocket money at this time in society.

‘Comic Cuts’ is also credited as the first all colour comic.

Beginnings

Since the early twentieth century, comics declined in their adult readership becoming almost exclusively ‘for children’, a label which they have been trying to escape from ever since.

Group Research Task

• Research and compile a brief history of comics in one country apart from the UK or USA, for example: Japan, France, Belgium, Iran, Czech Republic, Mexico. 200-300 words should do.

• Please be prepared to tell the class what your group have found.