| Author |
|
Philippe Negrin
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 01 August 2007
Location: France
Posts: 2644
|
| Posted: 22 March 2013 at 7:52am | IP Logged | 1
|
|
|
Bendis and co would have made a 12 issue story arc out of the 3 issues of the High Ways.
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
|
| |
DW Zomberg
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 12 June 2012
Posts: 444
|
| Posted: 22 March 2013 at 7:56am | IP Logged | 2
|
|
|
Bendis certainly perfected this rotten practice, but the first time I noticed it was in Loeb and Sale's atrocious Batman: The Long Halloween. I got five (overpriced) issues in before I realized it took all of two minutes to read through the big splash pages, oversized panels, and minimal dialogue.
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
|
| |
John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 133193
|
| Posted: 22 March 2013 at 10:49am | IP Logged | 3
|
|
|
When I did the JLA story that Claremont ended up scripting (the one with Crucifer), I was told "Make it six issues, so it will be a good trade paperback!""But what if I don't have six issues worth of story?" I asked. "Pad it! Lots of splash pages, four panel pages, stuff like that!" (Yes, this was the official instruction from DC Editorial!!) I resolved that if I was going to have to do six issues, I would come up with a story that would FILL six issues. Starting with more panels per page than I had been doing for a while. So instead of four or five I started in with six or seven, even eight or nine. And to my surprise, I found the pages actually went FASTER!! On the first day alone I did SIX pages, DOUBLE my normal speed. (You can look at scans of the pencils HERE and decide for yourselves if anything was "lacking".) I've taken very much this approach ever since. It turns out that MORE really is MORE!!
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
|
| |
Rick Whiting
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 22 April 2004
Posts: 2209
|
| Posted: 22 March 2013 at 10:58am | IP Logged | 4
|
|
|
It seems to me that Decompression is a way for lazy writers to do less work for the same amount of money. They stretch a single issue story into a 6 issue story arc where a great deal of time is spent showing characters walking down a hallway or sitting around having a meaningless conversation where they keep repeating the same damn thing or take a few pages to show a character walking down a hallway or flying into camera view with no dialogue. Decompression also seems to be the tool of writers who apparently only have a few good story ideas that they stretch out to 20+ issues.
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
|
| |
Aaron Smith
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 06 September 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 10461
|
| Posted: 22 March 2013 at 11:04am | IP Logged | 5
|
|
|
I don't understand the appeal of decompression from either angle. As a reader, I hate it because it's a waste of my time and money. If I spend several dollars for a comic book, I want something to happen in it, either a full story or a substantial part of a longer tale, not a single scene stretched out to fill an issue.
As a writer, if I think about writing, say, the Fantastic Four or Batman (and of course I've fantasized about it), my mind floods with so many ideas (I'll admit not all of them are good ideas when I think about them later), that I can imagine how annoying it would be to be told to extend one single story out for so long!
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
| www
e-mail
|
| |
Robbie Parry
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 17 June 2007
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 12186
|
| Posted: 22 March 2013 at 11:06am | IP Logged | 6
|
|
|
It seems to me that Decompression is a way for lazy writers to do less
work for the same amount of money. They stretch a single issue story
into a 6 issue story arc where a great deal of time is spent showing
characters walking down a hallway or sitting around having a meaningless
conversation where they keep repeating the same damn thing or take a
few pages to show a character walking down a hallway or flying into
camera view with no dialogue.
***
If I were an artist, I'd want to be drawing as many fun things as possible, per issue. Dragons! Battles between armies! Giant robots attacking cities! Punch-ups in the air! Inescapable traps! I can't imagine, if I were an artist, finding much motivation in getting up to draw pages of talking heads.
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
|
| |
Greg Woronchak
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 04 September 2007
Location: Canada
Posts: 1631
|
| Posted: 22 March 2013 at 11:09am | IP Logged | 7
|
|
|
And to my surprise, I found the pages actually went FASTER!!
I find that having more panels on a page requires the artist to make wise decisions for the sake of clear story-telling. Instead of using a half page panel of someone in a cluttered room turning on a light (a random example), an insert panel of a hand flicking the switch accomplishes the same purpose.
With big panels, there comes the 'need' to fill them with time consuming details or background elements.
Personally, I prefer more panels per page (and more story) to unnecessary full page splashes that inch the story along.
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
| www
e-mail
|
| |
Stephen Churay
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 25 March 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 8369
|
| Posted: 22 March 2013 at 1:03pm | IP Logged | 8
|
|
|
I resolved that if I was going to have to do six issues, I would come up
with a story that would FILL six issues. Starting with more panels per
page than I had been doing for a while. So instead of four or five I
started in with six or seven, even eight or nine. And to my surprise, I
found the pages actually went FASTER!! On the first day alone I did
SIX pages, DOUBLE my normal speed.
==============
I've noticed this in my own amateur work as well. When your doing
that many panels per page, you really have to economize what's going
in. Backgrounds are still put in but you don't have to take the extra
time to turn every background into a giant vista al a John Ford's
THE SEARCHERS.
I LOVE Chris Sprouse's work. I think he's an amazing artist. But he
falls into the trap of having large panels with giant backgrounds that
while pretty, eat up a lot of page, take a lot of time, and aren't always
necessary to telling the story. I think he could figure out how to put 6
to 9 panels per page more consistently, he'd get fast enough to hold a
monthly.
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
e-mail
|
| |
John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 133193
|
| Posted: 22 March 2013 at 1:12pm | IP Logged | 9
|
|
|
I resolved that if I was going to have to do six issues, I would come up with a story that would FILL six issues. Starting with more panels per page than I had been doing for a while. So instead of four or five I started in with six or seven, even eight or nine. And to my surprise, I found the pages actually went FASTER!! On the first day alone I did SIX pages, DOUBLE my normal speed.============== I've noticed this in my own amateur work as well. When your doing that many panels per page, you really have to economize what's going in. Backgrounds are still put in but you don't have to take the extra time to turn every background into a giant vista al a John Ford's THE SEARCHERS. •• I suppose that could be part of it, but working on the pages I did not feel there was any less "weight" to them. There might be six or seven panels instead of four or five, but the page was still filled up, corner to corner. The larger number of smaller panels did not seem to have had much impact on the number of "lines on paper".
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
|
| |
Stephen Churay
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 25 March 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 8369
|
| Posted: 22 March 2013 at 2:14pm | IP Logged | 10
|
|
|
I've noticed this in my own amateur work as well. When your doing
that many panels per page, you really have to economize what's going
in. Backgrounds are still put in but you don't have to take the extra
time to turn every background into a giant vista al a John Ford's THE
SEARCHERS.
••
I suppose that could be part of it, but working on the pages I did not
feel there was any less "weight" to them. There might be six or seven
panels instead of four or five, but the page was still filled up, corner to
corner. The larger number of smaller panels did not seem to have had
much impact on the number of "lines on paper".
=====
Actually, it wouldn't surprise me to learn there's more line work on the
6-9 panel pages. I'm guessing that the larger the drawing the larger
the problem solving. That and subconsciously, I think an artist spends
more time on a larger panel, whether it has fewer lines or not,
because it's a show piece and it has to look even better than the rest.
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
e-mail
|
| |
Rick Whiting
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 22 April 2004
Posts: 2209
|
| Posted: 22 March 2013 at 9:56pm | IP Logged | 11
|
|
|
Looks like we're not the only ones tired of decompression.
http://blog.newsarama.com/2013/03/19/snark-as-defense-mechan ism/#comments
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
|
| |
Ed Love
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 05 October 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 2712
|
| Posted: 22 March 2013 at 11:03pm | IP Logged | 12
|
|
|
Decompression can be a valuable tool when used properly. It doesn't have to be multiple pages of big panels, or pages of talking heads that does little to advance plot. Properly used, it can be used to control the pacing of a scene, draw attention to little moments and actions among the bigger scene, to set a mood of quiet before a sudden violent action or reveal. Problem is it's rarely used properly to control pacing as much as it is to fill pages with empty storytelling, to cover lack of relevant content.
The worst I saw was a Justice League title that took two pages of showing Batman getting dressed and driving across town, two pages that should have occurred between panel A and panel B.
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
| www
|
| |
Topic Closed)
