Comics for Film, Games, and Animation

Comics for Film, Games, and Animation

by Tyler Weaver
Released May 2013
Publisher(s): Routledge
ISBN: 9781136145735

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Book description

In recent years, a new market of convergence culture has developed. In this new market, one story, idea, concept, or product can be produced, distributed, appreciated, and understood by customers in a variety of different media. We are at the tipping point of this new convergence culture, and comics is a key area affected by this emerging model.

In Comics for Film, Games, and Animation Tyler Weaver teaches you how to integrate comics storytelling into your own work by exploring their past, present, and future. You will explore the creation of the unique mythologies that have endured for more than seventy years, and dig into the nitty gritty of their creation, from pacing and scripting issues to collaboration. Finally, you'll gain a love and appreciation of the medium of comics, so much so that you won't be able to wait to bring that medium into your story toolbox.

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Contents
  5. List of Figures
  6. Introduction
  7. Acknowledgments
  8. Part 1: Transmedia Storytelling
    1. 1. What Is Transmedia?
      1. So What Is It?
      2. Case Study: ABC’s Castle
      3. How to Avoid Playing Jenga
      4. The Secret Handshake
    2. 2. Once Upon a Time … : What is a Story?
      1. Why Do We Tell Stories?
      2. The Elements of Story
      3. The Future of Storytelling
    3. 3. A Bucket of LEGOs: Fragmentation and Interplay
      1. Shattering the Black Box
      2. A Brief History of Fragmentation
      3. Thought Balloon: Frank Rose
      4. On the Air
      5. “Who Knows What Evil Lurks in the Hearts of Men?”
      6. Playing with LEGO®s
      7. Transmedia and Tone Color
      8. The Defining Characteristics of Media Forms
      9. Playing Nice
      10. How Deep Will You Go?
    4. 4. Into the Rabbit Hole: Depth and Choice
      1. Branching Narrative and Non-Linearity
      2. Standing on Their Own
      3. Passive vs. Absorptive Audiences
      4. Time, Culture, and Story Absorption
      5. Community over Consumers
      6. The Audience as Creative Collaborator
      7. Creativity in the Digital World: Decentralized and Democratized
      8. The Choice is Theirs
    5. 5. Building Gotham City: The Transmedia Story Experience
      1. Details, Details, Details …
      2. The Sandbox
      3. Thought Balloon: Dr. Christy Dena
      4. Go Your Own Way …
      5. All I Needed to Know …
      6. The Spinner Rack
  9. Part 2: Comics: The Creation and Evolution of a Medium
    1. 6. The Elements of Comics Storytelling
    2. 7. The Funnies, 1933–1938
    3. 8. “Look! Up in the Sky!” Comics Take Flight, 1938–1941
      1. Capturing the Imaginations
      2. Golden Age Style: The Page, the Panel, and the Grid
      3. The Hero’s Journey/The Mono-Myth
      4. The Dark Knight
      5. Golden Age Style: The Art
      6. Enter: Timely
      7. The Good Captain (Marvel)
      8. War Drums
    4. 9. Punching Hitler: The Comics Go to War, 1941–1945
      1. 1941: The Final Stars Shine
      2. Splitting the Difference: Timely and DC at War
      3. Golden Age Style: The Captions
      4. The End of the War
    5. 10. Adaptation in the Golden Age
      1. The Beginnings
      2. “Up! Up! and Away!”
      3. Signing Off
    6. 11. Seduction of the Innocent: Comics Under Siege, 1945–1954
      1. Golden Age Style: The Covers and Format
      2. Action Mystery Adventure
      3. Paranoid Western Romantic Horror
      4. The Horror …
      5. The Seduction of the Innocent
      6. Golden Age Style: The Stories
      7. The Comics Code Authority
      8. INTERLUDE Five Mantras for Writing a Comics Script
    7. 12. Into the Silver Age, 1956–1961
      1. Showcase #4
      2. Tarnished Icons
      3. Silver Age Style: The Page, the Panel, and the Grid
      4. Barely Superman
      5. Zebra Costumes and Bat-Purses
      6. Thought Balloon: Ron Fortier
      7. The Justice League
    8. 13. Flame On! The Rise of the Marvel Universe
      1. The New First Family
      2. Silver Age Style: The Art
      3. The Linchpins of the Marvel Universe
      4. Civil Rights
      5. Silver Age Style: The Captions
      6. The Tipping Point
    9. 14. Adaptation in the Silver Age, 1956–1961
      1. Bam! Pow! Sock!
      2. Jiro Kuwata and The Batman of Japan
      3. The End of Bam! Pow! Sock!
    10. 15. The No-Prize Marching Society: The Comics Fans
      1. Publishing Addresses
      2. The Marvel Fan
      3. Nostalgia and Value
      4. The New Generation
    11. 16. “What Do You Have?” The New Generation Arrives
      1. Silver Age Style: The Covers and the Formats
      2. Underground Comix
      3. Silver Age Style: The Stories
      4. “No More Camp!”
      5. INTERLUDE Formatting the Comics Script
    12. 17. The Battle of Generations
      1. Bronze Age Style: The Page, the Panel, and the Grid
      2. “The Fourth World”
      3. Hard Traveling Heroes
      4. “The Batman” Returns
      5. Bronze Age Style: The Art
      6. Revitalizing the Pulps
    13. 18. Marvel Phase Two
      1. Vampires, Lycanthropes, and Swamp Monsters
      2. The Kree-Skrull War
      3. Bronze Age Style: Captions
      4. Punishment and Claws
      5. The X-Men
      6. In a Galaxy Far, Far Away
    14. 19. Adaptation in the Bronze Age
      1. The Incredible Hulk
      2. Media Mix Comes to American Shores
      3. How Action Figures Taught a Generation to Play
      4. Super Friends
      5. “You’ve Got Me, But Who’s Got You?!”
    15. 20. Original Voices: Comics as Life
      1. The Direct Market and Comic Shops
      2. A Contract with God
      3. Format: The Graphic Novel
      4. Maus
      5. The Stories We Can Tell
    16. 21. The Crisis on Infinite Earths: Continuity Conundrum
      1. The First Argument—Worst Thing Ever
      2. The Second Argument—It Works
      3. The Middle Ground
      4. Bronze Age Style: The Stories
      5. Why Marvel Survived
      6. The Generational Battle Ends
      7. INTERLUDE The Art
      8. Thought Balloon: Stephanie Buscema
    17. 22. 1986
      1. The Dark Knight Returns
      2. The New Universe
      3. Watchmen
      4. Year One
      5. “A Death in the Family”
    18. 23. Grim ’n’ Gritty Chromium Holograms: The 1990s
      1. The Big Three
      2. Image
      3. Valiant
      4. Sidelines
    19. 24. Legacy: The Hero’s Journey Ends
      1. The Hero’s Death
      2. The Death and Life of the Man of Steel
      3. Breaking The Bat
      4. Hal Jordan Goes Nuts
      5. The Legacy of the Marvels and Kingdom Come
      6. The Death of the Comics Industry
    20. 25. The Modern Age Adaptation: From Burton to The Dark Knight
      1. Batmania Returns
      2. Marvel’s Filmic Pains
      3. The Dark Knight Begins
      4. The Marvel Film Universe
      5. Where Will It Go?
    21. 26. Today
      1. Story-Driven
      2. The Other Guys
      3. Thought Balloon: Alison Gaylin
      4. Ultimate Marvel
      5. Identifiably Infinite yet Final Crisis
      6. Thought Balloon: Henry Jenkins
      7. The Secret Civil Invasion of the War of the Dark Reign
      8. Flashpoint and the “New 52”
  10. Part 3: Comics and Convergence
    1. 27. Convergence
      1. The Gutter
      2. Dig Deeper
      3. Case Study: Whiz!Bam!Pow!
    2. 28. Comics and Film
      1. Expanding the Narrative
      2. Case Study: Superman Returns
      3. Case Study: Star Trek
      4. Thought Balloon: Roberto Orci
      5. Case Study: The Fountain
      6. Thought Experiment: American Beauty
    3. 29. Comics and Animation
      1. Animation
      2. Expanding the Narrative
      3. Case Study: Batman: The Animated Series
      4. Case Study: The Incredibles
      5. Thought Experiment: The Triplets of Belleville
    4. 30. Comics and Video Games
      1. Playing Video Games
      2. Expanding the Narrative
      3. Case Study: Halo
      4. Case Study: Batman: Arkham City
      5. Thought Experiment: Red Dead Redemption
    5. 31. Collaboration Conclusion
    6. Appendix: Recommended Reads
      1. The Golden Age of Comics
      2. The Silver Age of Comics
      3. The Bronze Age of Comics
      4. The Modern Age
      5. Books About Comics and Storytelling
  11. Index

Product information

  • Title: Comics for Film, Games, and Animation
  • Author(s): Tyler Weaver
  • Release date: May 2013
  • Publisher(s): Routledge
  • ISBN: 9781136145735