READING BETWEEN THE PANELS

I don’t know about any of you, but for me, even a movie with the best story in the world will turn into a stinker if the special effects attempted are poorly handled. Lately, that would be the result of bad computer-generated effects. With the recent surge in the competency of the technology (I’m sure everyone here except Wayne has seen The Lord of the Rings or Pirates of the Caribbean), you would expect that every movie would strive to make their effects flow as seamlessly into and out of their films as humanly possible. However, there are still movies out there that slack in this department. When the special effects come up lackluster, the illusion seems to be broken. All chances of me being engulfed in a filmmaker’s dream is gone. The same goes for comics.
Image enhancement and production software has been around for over a decade, and is commonplace on the hard drives of even the most casual illustrators/designers. So why aren’t very many comic book illustrators using these tools? And why are most of the ones who do, not doing it very well? You know what I mean. Besides being used for coloring, the most used Photoshop tool used in comics is the blur filter. And most of the time it’s used poorly.
It’s hard to lay blame on mainstream comics, though, when their system has always been to maximize the efficiency at which a book is produced. Pages go from person to person-- penciler, inker, letterer, and colorist-- very quickly. Where in the chain could we stop to determine where to add photographic or textural elements? Whose job would that be?
However, independent and creator-owned comics have much more freedom in these regards. The creators of these comics often are working much more closely together. This is where experimentation and creativity can occur. So get practicing!
I’ve actually found a couple of examples of the experimentation I’ve been talking about. One is from a Manga book called Anne Freaks (Example 1). Notice the gritty textures on the background and jacket. And the way a texture is applied to the hands, making them look dirty. Another early example of what I’m talking about can be found in Brian Michael Bendis’ Torso (Example 2). In this book, Bendis uses combinations of photos, filters, and textures to fully realize the chaos of this real-life story he’s interpreting. And while I feel that this book is innovative in that way, I also feel that the process could be taken much further, and the photos and textures could be manipulated to fit better with the style of Bendis’ illustration. Finally, do a Google search and check out the work of illustrator Dave McKean. His collage/painting/computer enhancement style of illustration is the pinnacle of the style today that the rest of us can only strive to achieve.
Tools like Photoshop exist to make combinations of images look like they go together flawlessly. In the coming years, I hope that new generations of comic book artists will be willing to devote the time to mastering these tools to elevate the look of comic book illustration.
All art must evolve, branch out, and try new things. Comic book art is one of the genres that seems to constantly be pigeonholed into a certain definition. In the '80s, artists like Bill Sienkiewicz led the charge in getting away from the "comic book style" of art that had loomed over the industry for 30 years. Now it’s time for all of us to take the medium, with all the tools that we have, to its extreme.
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