Comics!

Comics

Comics are a universal language. Visually appealing sequential images that follow a narrative. They represent a primal need to tell and share stories. They are both easy to read and digest making them accessible to anyone. Panels are like scenes in movie or television as such some classic film cinematography is used such as Dutch angles which are used to imply conflict. Each illustration is therefore subject to basic filmmaking techniques and shot compositions. Instead of timing in animation, time is displayed as panels and usually involve action poses. The pacing is also left up to the reader as supposed to live action or animation where you are forced to experience the film at the director’s pace. The bigger, more illustrated panels are usually action scenes. This is because action scenes require more detail.

History

"Before 1929, almost all comics were part of magazines, newspapers or supplements and were not sold separately." Ramsey, T (2013) Western Comics and zines are read left to right and typically speaking have more realistic proportions.
In later years comics where used to spread WWII propaganda and uphold the American image. Caption America and Superman are great example of this. They use colours and patterns associated with the American flag and utilise strong American cultural themes such as Freedom and The American dream

“American children were targeted through some of our most prominent superheroes to date such as Captain America, Superman, Batman and several others. These superheroes embodied the ideal virtues of American soldiers and demonstrated the courage and resolve needed to fight evil during World War II.” Onyon, D (2018)

Comics can take on many different forms and uphold many different meanings and interptations. This is largely in part due the country that they are published in. Japan for example has the largest comic book market. The term Manga “was first used in 1798, to describe the picture book Shiji no Yukikai (Four Seasons) by Santō Kyōden. In 1814, it showed up again, as the title of Aikawa Mina’s Manga hyakujo and the celebrated Hokusai Manga books of drawings by the famous ukiyo-e artist Hokusai.” Kordic A, Pereira L, Martinique E. (2017) In addition to this "The history of manga is said to originate from scrolls dating back to the 12th century, and it is believed they represent the basis for the right-to-left reading style.” Wikipedia (2019)

Manga is characterised by over evacuated facial features and body proportions. These give the artist more freedom to come up with unique and interesting character designs. However, It's not specific to just Japan. Almost every country in East Asia has its own style of manga.

Ramsey, T (2013) The History Of Comics: Decade by Decade Available at: https://the-artifice.com/history-of-comics/ (Accessed: 12^th November 2019)

Onyon, D (2018) THE POLITICAL INFLUENCE OF COMICS IN AMERICA DURNIG WWII Available at: https://www.sagu.edu/thoughthub/the-political-influence-of-comics-in-america-during-wwii (Accessed: 12^th November 2019)

Kordic A, Pereira L, Martinique E. (2017) A SHORT HISTORY OF JAPANESE MANGA Available at: http://www.mangabigbang.co.uk/blog/a-short-history-of-japanese-manga (Accessed: 12^th November 2019)

Wikipedia (2019) Manga Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manga (accessed: 12^th November 2019)