Word BubblesI’m teaching my 6th graders how to make comic books. On Monday we started exploring the archetypes of hero/heroine, sidekick, villian, henchmen, victim, and innocent bystander. Tuesday we talked about the events that happen in a comic book. In the first issue of most comic books, comic book authors give some back story or set the stage. Today I talked about word bubbles, the conceptual reasoning behind big frames and small frames on the page, and how to layout your page in thumbnails and then trace grid paper to make nice rectangles that will fill up your page.
It was interesting to explore the conceptual differences between a page that has just one drawing and a page that has multiple drawings in lots of frames. A page with one drawing can be used by comic book artist to get a lot detail in a picture or establish the setting or focus on an important moment in the story. Having a lot of frames on a page allows the comic book artist to show events in time and get a lot of action on the page.
I really enjoyed a lot of the ideas that my students and I brainstormed about archetypes. Here are some of them for your perusal and for my archive:
Heros and heroines get to wear the best costumes and they sometimes have to have a secret identity to protect the ones they love. If a hero or heroine doesn’t have super powers, they better have some snazzy gadgets. Heros and heroines are ambitious. Even the greatest hero or heroine can have a vulnerability.
Sidekicks are usually younger, shorter, and not as experienced as the hero. Sidekicks can be the backup plan when the hero or heroine gets captured. Sidekicks will often have a corny catchphrase. Sidekicks have to work hard to avoid being labeled a poser or wannabe.
Villians have a distinctive laugh and may have scars on their face. Often they have a plan for destruction or revenge. If the villian isn’t psychotic, there is usually a reason for destruction or revenge. Villians have a better chance of being bald and often have eyes of a disturbing color.
Henchmen and minions can really hinder a villian. They can mess up the most evil plans.
Innocent bystanders aren’t the main focus of the action. They get flabbergasted easily and are often tempted to say “gasp!”
Victims are sometimes friends or family of the superhero and are generally caught off guard in their pajamas. Victims might know too much.
Hideouts are for heros and heroines. If a villian has a hideout, it’s called a lair and could be in a volcano.
