[img]http://www.comicbookresources.com/images/previews/fantagraphics/abstract/AbstractComics.jpg[/img] [b]Molotiu on Fantagraphics' "Abstract Comics"[/b] by Shaun Manning
If the question of what precisely defines a comic book is complex, the question of what makes an abstract comic book is certainly more so. Drawing from the worlds of abstract painting, narrative comics, and other sources which serve to inspire the imagination, a select few artists have created works that defy convention yet retain some of the traditional characteristics of comics like panel borders, speech bubbles, and other less concrete aspects. In June, Fantagraphics will present a collection of such works in "Abstract Comics," an anthology edited by Andrei Molotiu. The book includes short strips by R. Crumb, Gary Panter, and Lewis Trondheim, and original pieces by James Kochalka and others, and is complemented by a blog, which features new work and experiments by anthology contributors. CBR News spoke with editor Andrei Molotiu about the book and blog, the traits of an abstract comic, and the dynamic elements of superhero comics. Recognizing that it is important to define one's terms, Molotiu opens "Abstract Comics" by discussing the boundaries of what is and is not an abstract comic, recounting some of the principles and laying them out in the book's introduction. "The term 'abstract' has been applied in a variety of different ways to comics," he told CBR. "On one hand, you could think of something like 'Beanworld' by Larry Marder as being an abstract comic, since it has very abstracted characters. Nevertheless, it still has a forward narrative. If you just have a story with abstracted characters—a story that is otherwise narrative and has straightforward storytelling—it's simply not different in kind but only in degree from reducing human beings to cartoon characters, anthropomorphic ducks [as in 'Uncle Scrooge'], or what have you. That's not the kind of strip I was interested in for the anthology. Selengkapnya di [url=http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=21505]sini[/url]
