Alright, Blogger, I've had enough of you.
I'm sort of disappointed that I couldn't upload all the images that create that scene, but hopefully you can get the idea from the two that happened to make it up (I recommend zooming in). The images alternate from watercolour images to images crudely sketched in pen. The "story", if you can call it one, is basic: it's a city in the morning when it's dwellers are waking up. The watercolour images depict the richer part of town, the doctor sleeping in his bed, and getting ready in his bathroom. The sketched portions show an alleyway, and the poor waking up from off of benches. The watercolour/sketch medium comes back several times through the novel, but I think this is one of the few times it has no words. I found it to be very effective in conveying the surface action (i.e. the town waking up; it comes across kind of like an opening scene in a movie), as well as the underlying theme of the wealth gap and the situation of the poor that is prevalent through the book. (This comic is about Jack the Ripper. It's by the same guy that did Watchmen. I highly recommend it!)
There are six pages of this scene, but I could only upload two for some strange reason (and they're not even consecutive). Sorry if you don't get the full effect.
Awesome job finding this comic! I wish I would've seen more frames as well... a comic about jack ripper=awesomeness! I also found the contrast between the watercolour frames and the pencil/pen frames to be very interesting and definitely helps to set a mood/tone for the narrative.
ReplyDeleteI loved the varied artistic technics here. Great use of texture to create a morbid yet silent atmosphere... A pity that blogger didn't allow you to upload the other scenes, the comic seems to be very fascinating
ReplyDeleteI love Alan Moore - I was debating between The Watchmen (I'm currently reading it when I have time) and Maus II so I'm glad he's represented somewhere on these blogs. The art style seems different though in From Hell. Do you know if it's the same illustrator from the Watchmen, Dave Gibbons?
ReplyDeleteAlso great Calvin & Hobbes. I remember both of those comics and love the two perspectives Watterson frequently uses, both external (reality) and internal (almost always Calvin's wild imagination).
Sounds like an interesting comic. And such a great example of how a picture can tell 1000 words. While the wealth disparity in a town could be described in words, it seems like the idea sinks it much more effectively, though perhaps on a subconscious level, when shown in a drawing.
ReplyDeleteLoved the juxtaposition of Calvin with Jack. Narrative technique can be effective in so many different forms.
ReplyDeletePictures and words interacting to convey meaning – use it!
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