tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22842788.post8141228426143034787..comments2023-11-05T07:44:07.654-05:00Comments on GeniusboyFiremelon: Coloring is to Comics as a Musical Score is to MoviesTimothy Callahanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04078183191900311833noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22842788.post-90488771555056618912009-02-15T22:38:00.000-05:002009-02-15T22:38:00.000-05:00I'd say Jim Steranko's work (self-colored, though ...I'd say Jim Steranko's work (self-colored, though he wasn't credited for that aspect of it) is a great example of what you're talking about. Whether it's his pale pinks in love scenes, his halftone blues for flashbacks, or the increased brightness in action sequences, his coloring certainly fills the role a musical score would in movies. There are comics where the coloring simply doesn't matter, though -- a look through a mediocre superhero book from any era will go to show this. In a lot of cases, though, coloring can act as cinematography, directing the reader's eye to certain details in the absence of a zoom or deepening as an object 'comes into focus'. There's also symbolic coloring -- Geoff Klock has a good note on Jamie Grant's symbolist hues in All-Star Superman up on his blog. I think colors can definitely function as a score, but it isn't always so. I'd like to see a few examples of comics you think have good 'chromatic scores'... anybody got any?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14103358208072898119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22842788.post-21145779225865523182009-02-13T20:49:00.000-05:002009-02-13T20:49:00.000-05:00I think of the arbitrary inter-media analogy this ...I think of the arbitrary inter-media analogy this way:<BR/><BR/>Comic Book Writer = Movie Writer/Director<BR/><BR/>Penciller = Cinematographer<BR/><BR/>Inker = Camera Operator<BR/><BR/>Colorist = Composer<BR/><BR/>Letterer = Audio Recorder/Sound Designer<BR/><BR/>Editor = ProducerTimothy Callahanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04078183191900311833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22842788.post-21131720803970266572009-02-13T15:16:00.000-05:002009-02-13T15:16:00.000-05:00Star Wars would've been 100000 times better had Qu...Star Wars would've been 100000 times better had Queen done the soundtrack.Bill Reedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14811238618910477219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22842788.post-13488782621337754942009-02-13T14:25:00.000-05:002009-02-13T14:25:00.000-05:00Jamie: In this arbitrary inter-media analogy, inki...Jamie: In this arbitrary inter-media analogy, inking is cinematography.Kyle Whitehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11585645795214120227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22842788.post-33596488396151523432009-02-13T14:19:00.000-05:002009-02-13T14:19:00.000-05:00Colour is more dependent on setting than anything ...Colour is more dependent on setting than anything else, whereas music in film isn't dictated by setting, but by emotional mood and tone... Colouring <I>can</I> adapt to meet those needs, too, but matching the setting and sticking within the verisimilitude of the world is the primary concern--a concern not shared by film score.Chad Nevetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11785622045733202883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22842788.post-53059086488388657982009-02-13T14:04:00.000-05:002009-02-13T14:04:00.000-05:00Chad -- look at the newest issue of Incognito. Th...Chad -- look at the newest issue of Incognito. The colors don't change from scene to scene?<BR/><BR/>Lt. Ken -- I really think D'Armata is terrible, and an analysis of why deserves a full post. I'll work on that!Timothy Callahanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04078183191900311833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22842788.post-60648044658199191062009-02-13T13:29:00.000-05:002009-02-13T13:29:00.000-05:00I dunno, I think D'Armata's coloring on Captain Am...I dunno, I think D'Armata's coloring on Captain America is just about perfect and a huge component of the book's visual success. What is it that you don't like about it?Michael James Robersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14222509781144948257noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22842788.post-14637467418391061632009-02-13T11:55:00.000-05:002009-02-13T11:55:00.000-05:00I'm going to say no, if only because colouring is ...I'm going to say no, if only because colouring is FAR too consistent throughout a comic to be compared to something as varied as a musical score.Chad Nevetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11785622045733202883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22842788.post-69295070375549055322009-02-13T11:21:00.000-05:002009-02-13T11:21:00.000-05:00I don't know if I agree with that, simply because ...I don't know if I agree with that, simply because if we continue the movie analogy, I think we can still call someone a filmmaker even if they don't provide the musical score for their own work.Timothy Callahanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04078183191900311833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22842788.post-59534730807737417982009-02-13T10:41:00.000-05:002009-02-13T10:41:00.000-05:00I think that color is an essential part of the com...I think that color is an essential part of the composition, and it should go without saying that a complete artist should be able to both pencil, ink and color his work. <BR/><BR/>Which is why some of the black and white comics work so well - the artist controls the whole look of the comic. I'd guess that many artists don't think about how their work will look in color, and pencil it to function perfectly well without it.Vanjahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02796186915343967167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22842788.post-58461492246129584112009-02-13T09:57:00.000-05:002009-02-13T09:57:00.000-05:00I can see where you're coming from on this. When ...I can see where you're coming from on this. When the coloring is great, it really adds something to the experience of the comic. I think the best example of this is Val Staples on Criminal and Incognito. In the last arc of Criminal, Staples coloring reflected more of the emotional tension of the scenes rather than the physical action of the story.Scott Cederlundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07184941142922866755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22842788.post-54285131651375047092009-02-13T03:32:00.000-05:002009-02-13T03:32:00.000-05:00I think you're right Tim.I don't know about the sa...I think you're right Tim.<BR/>I don't know about the samples you mentioned because i din't saw the books, but I think the amazing work Sean Pilliphs is doing on Criminal/Incognito and Risso on 100B is enriched in several way (tuning the pacing of the board, helping the reading, setting the mood) by Val Staples and Patricia Mulvihill amazing colours. The same when you see the Fegrado pages of HB.Gugliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11399048943082074586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22842788.post-50580107253089114482009-02-13T01:47:00.000-05:002009-02-13T01:47:00.000-05:00I can see what you're saying, but I see where a lo...I can see what you're saying, but I see where a lot of the other comments are coming from as well. If anything I think coloring in a comic is like a score in a film in that, while poor coloring is certainly detracts from a comic, its not necessarily a deal breaker for most people.<BR/><BR/>I've always thought of a comic book writer and artist as the equivalents of, respectively, the screenplay writer and director of a movie. So if the colorist is the equivalent of the composer, what does that make the inker?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22842788.post-50117610911923299262009-02-12T23:33:00.000-05:002009-02-12T23:33:00.000-05:00Hmm...I think I'd say that the colouring in a comi...Hmm...I think I'd say that the colouring in a comic is like the <B>colour</B> in film ;-)<BR/><BR/>You make an interesting case, but I too will have to think on it further...Ben Villarrealhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06988256305990891816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22842788.post-50158098273755299952009-02-12T23:15:00.000-05:002009-02-12T23:15:00.000-05:00Hmm... I must reflect on this before agreeing or d...Hmm... I must reflect on this before agreeing or disagreeing. I really don't mind Frank D'Armata's colouring on <I>Captain America</I> (I think it really helps in maintaining the visual look of the book despite artist changes), but it was fucking AWFUL on last week's <I>Invincible Iron Man</I>.<BR/><BR/>If I'm not sleeping or watching stuff, I'm probably listening to music. I don't necessarily associate specific music with specific comics or books, but sometimes I do. Like, when I was rereading <I>The Invisibles</I>, that was when I began listening to Radiohead from the beginning.Chad Nevetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11785622045733202883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22842788.post-84662069904097251822009-02-12T21:34:00.000-05:002009-02-12T21:34:00.000-05:00I wouldn't say it can ruin the whole thing, but th...I wouldn't say it can ruin the whole thing, but that's because I just don't feel as strongly about it as you. I see what you mean though, and I can see how over-rendered coloring can ruin a comic. I think the coloring on the first 4 issues of The End Leage come pretty close to that for me, and the weird sepia-toned look of Sceret Warriors #1 jarred a bit much with the art.Matt Jacobsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17780688232878059439noreply@blogger.com