tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13734864.post1397310644214057422..comments2024-01-04T08:02:29.500-05:00Comments on Attempts: 100 Great Pages: Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen, page 1Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16524368948187746248noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13734864.post-42816793672607150322007-05-20T14:34:00.000-04:002007-05-20T14:34:00.000-04:00Amp, thanks for your comment. I've been reading A...Amp, thanks for your comment. I've been reading <A HREF="http://www.amptoons.com/blog/" REL="nofollow">Alas</A> (off and on) for a long time, so it means a lot that you like the series. Thanks for saying so.<BR/><BR/>You're right, the innovation of the structure is yet another cool thing <BR/>about Watchmen -- one of many I could've worked but didn't. What can I say -- one could talk about that book for a <I>very</I> long time and not begin to really cover it. But I'm glad you pitched in with thoughts on that issue.<BR/><BR/>(PS: Sara, thanks for your comment & support too. I haven't come across <A HREF="http://www.libromancy.org/" REL="nofollow">your blog</A> before, but I'll check it out now...)Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16524368948187746248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13734864.post-73471794659508527712007-05-20T13:42:00.000-04:002007-05-20T13:42:00.000-04:00This review of Absolute Watchmen contains some dis...<A HREF="http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com/reviews/116577491411149.htm" REL="nofollow">This review of Absolute Watchmen</A> contains some discussion of the differences in the revised coloring. <BR/><BR/>I'm really loving the "100 great pages" series.<BR/><BR/>One thing you didn't mention is the establishing of the nine-panel-grid design; although not every page in Watchmen uses nine panels (this one has only seven), every single page is modeled on a strict three-by-three grid. (Even when there's a larger panel, as on page one, that panel is the size of two or more combined panels from the 3x3 grid). There are no panels smaller than 1/9th of a page (apart from one dream sequence, in which each panel is cut in half to form an 18-panel page layout), no overlapping panels, no bleeds to the edge of the page, no panels in which elements of the drawings break out of the constraints of the panel boarders. <BR/><BR/>Although there may be other cartoonists who have created long, innovative works with such a disciplined, unvarying layout, I can't think of any offhand. (Big Numbers, another Moore comic book, used a similar device, but only lasted two issues.) <BR/><BR/>I think the strict grid layout adds a lot to Watchmen; it sets a pace like a metronome, and it keeps the tone understated and calm. It fits with the "just the facts, ma'am" approach of Gibbon's drawings, and conveys a similar message: The authors are not awed by the superheroes they're telling the story about. (This is the opposite of the approach taken by, say, Neal Adams or Todd McFarlane, whose art is entirely about conveying awe for the characters).<BR/><BR/>Establishing the strict grid layout also enabled Moore and Gibbons to slip in the symmetrical layout of "Fearful Symmetry" (in which the layout of page 1 is a mirror image of the layout of page 28, and ditto for 2/27, 3/26, and so on throughout the chapter) without being obvious. I'm always amazed by that chapter's layout.Barry Deutschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08796981762797604817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13734864.post-78038874149113456882007-05-05T00:36:00.000-04:002007-05-05T00:36:00.000-04:00I've been lurking and enjoying the "100 pages" as ...I've been lurking and enjoying the "100 pages" as well. Many of them I've never seen before, and your posts have been the perfect introductions. Unlike a typical book review, instead of summary you get a small sample and a passionate description of what makes it great. Then you do posts on works I've read, like <I>We3</I>, and make me take a closer look. I didn't especially like <I>We3</I>, but now I want to go back and check it out again and see if I can better appreciate it.Sarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02741641908726269614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13734864.post-27573274055162401882007-04-19T15:05:00.000-04:002007-04-19T15:05:00.000-04:00Russell,I don't know how many people are reading t...Russell,<BR/><BR/>I don't know how many people are reading them either, and while they're fun to do for their own sake, it really means a lot to me when people say they're reading & liking them -- particularly people whose own writings I know & respect! So thank you, very much, for the comment. It means a lot.<BR/><BR/>As for the appendices... hmm, maybe. I must admit I've read those less often than the comics part; the latter I've reread beyond count -- the former, I've read a few times. So my grounds are shakier here, I must admit. Still, this isn't what <I>I</I> remember at all -- I remember liking all of them. Is there a particular appendix/particular appendices that you have in mind?<BR/><BR/>Thanks again for the positive feedback!<BR/><BR/>SFStephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16524368948187746248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13734864.post-87665147553358235142007-04-19T14:53:00.000-04:002007-04-19T14:53:00.000-04:00Stephen,I don't know if you're getting many reader...Stephen,<BR/><BR/>I don't know if you're getting many readers for this feature of yours, but I wanted you to know that I'm enjoying them immensely--and none more so than this entry, the first time you've tackled a comic I'm closely familiar with. Great analysis, and a great reminiscence about a great work of art and literature. (Though I must confess that I disagree that <I>all</I> 384 pages of the comic are equally good; I actually think that some of Moore's appendices, especially towards the final issues, were kind of clumsy.)Russell Arben Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03366800726360134194noreply@blogger.com