P2
CHARLES BURNS CASE STUDY
A) GENRE
B) CONTENT/STYLE
Chester Gould is an American cartoonist who has inspired Charles Burns in a variety of ways. Gould's specific theme of having distort characters, direct violence and black and white panels are all elements which have also been presented in Robot Love.
In this panel from Page 6 in Love and Rockets, the visual and narrative themes within Dick Tracey have inspired Burns the most which overall has been presented here.
Distorted Characters
In the panel, the mother in particular is distorted through the way her neck is 'stretched'. This has taken inspiration from Dick Tracey, because similarly on page 2 on the newspaper strip, Blowtop has a face which looks distorted by making his cheeks look stretched.
This overall demonstrates that Burns has taken inspiration from this in a visual perspective and has taken this inspiration further by exploring into it and creating these distorted looking characters.
Direct Violence
In this panel, violence is demonstrated by having the parents mention the violence which has happened towards their son (having his arms transformed into robot arms). This has taken inspiration from Dick Tracey, because similarly on page 2 on the newspaper strip, the Joe character has received violence from Blowtop by having him experience a 'scientific experiment' which has lead to him being knocked out for 4 hours.
This overall demonstrates that Burns has taken inspiration from this in a visual and narrative perspective by having the parents mention the violence through their speech and having panels of Joe knocked out but also having Blowtop mention the violence.
Black and White Panels
In this panel, there is a strict colour scheme of making everything black and white. This is then portrayed in all the other panels by having everything in black and white. Similarly, in the Dick Tracey newspaper strip, all the panels have this strict theme of black and white.
This overall demonstrates that Burns has taken inspiration from this in a visual perspective by having the panels follow this strict colour theme of Black and White.
C) MEANING
Burns has an interest in exploring darker themes and expressing them through his work. This is shown in his comic 'Big Baby' which focuses on the themes of half monsters and half human life forms coming back from the dead.
Similarly, in Robot Love, the characters are presented as half human half robot at the end (Timmy's parents being Robots in the end and Timmy being transformed into half human half robot).
This may have been done to demonstrate the idea that life is normal for the characters, however everyone has something to hide.
The comic was made to portray the element of 'personal, internalised horror', which was shown in this by having the child feel the horror of experiencing the adult life (watching the adults dig a hole to put bodies in it).
Similarly, in Robot Love, the common theme of 'personal internalised horror' is shown by having the child experience a form of trauma (the child being kidnapped and turned into a robot).
D) TARGET AUDIENCE
RAW was a weekly magazine which Burns used as a platform to publish his comics. In terms of target audience, the creators Francoise Mouly and Art Spiegelman stated that they wanted to attract comic lovers who are open to new ideas.
They also stated that they had no interest in expanding their audience to 'the masses' because it is something which they feel they don't need (the vibe of their platform is 'strange' and 'queer' enough for their liking).
E) CHARACTERS
The development of characters within Burns' comics have each taken inspiration from things which were important to him from when he was a child/childhood memories. For example, the development of the character 'El-Borbah' was a character which took some time to think of, but has a significant purpose behind him.
Burns was in a state where he was struggling to generate ideas for potential characters. As a result, he switched on the TV and began to watch his favourite form of entertainment (Mexican wrestling).
Watching this show lead to him creating an overall character (El-Borbah). The development of the character also took inspiration from his friend 'John Borba' who has a personality and appearance which Burns' wanted to portray visually (big body and little head).
A) GENRE
B) CONTENT/STYLE
Chester Gould is an American cartoonist who has inspired Charles Burns in a variety of ways. Gould's specific theme of having distort characters, direct violence and black and white panels are all elements which have also been presented in Robot Love.
In this panel from Page 6 in Love and Rockets, the visual and narrative themes within Dick Tracey have inspired Burns the most which overall has been presented here.
Distorted Characters
In the panel, the mother in particular is distorted through the way her neck is 'stretched'. This has taken inspiration from Dick Tracey, because similarly on page 2 on the newspaper strip, Blowtop has a face which looks distorted by making his cheeks look stretched.
This overall demonstrates that Burns has taken inspiration from this in a visual perspective and has taken this inspiration further by exploring into it and creating these distorted looking characters.
Direct Violence
In this panel, violence is demonstrated by having the parents mention the violence which has happened towards their son (having his arms transformed into robot arms). This has taken inspiration from Dick Tracey, because similarly on page 2 on the newspaper strip, the Joe character has received violence from Blowtop by having him experience a 'scientific experiment' which has lead to him being knocked out for 4 hours.
This overall demonstrates that Burns has taken inspiration from this in a visual and narrative perspective by having the parents mention the violence through their speech and having panels of Joe knocked out but also having Blowtop mention the violence.
Black and White Panels
In this panel, there is a strict colour scheme of making everything black and white. This is then portrayed in all the other panels by having everything in black and white. Similarly, in the Dick Tracey newspaper strip, all the panels have this strict theme of black and white.
This overall demonstrates that Burns has taken inspiration from this in a visual perspective by having the panels follow this strict colour theme of Black and White.
C) MEANING
Burns has an interest in exploring darker themes and expressing them through his work. This is shown in his comic 'Big Baby' which focuses on the themes of half monsters and half human life forms coming back from the dead.
Similarly, in Robot Love, the characters are presented as half human half robot at the end (Timmy's parents being Robots in the end and Timmy being transformed into half human half robot).
This may have been done to demonstrate the idea that life is normal for the characters, however everyone has something to hide.
The comic was made to portray the element of 'personal, internalised horror', which was shown in this by having the child feel the horror of experiencing the adult life (watching the adults dig a hole to put bodies in it).
Similarly, in Robot Love, the common theme of 'personal internalised horror' is shown by having the child experience a form of trauma (the child being kidnapped and turned into a robot).
D) TARGET AUDIENCE
RAW was a weekly magazine which Burns used as a platform to publish his comics. In terms of target audience, the creators Francoise Mouly and Art Spiegelman stated that they wanted to attract comic lovers who are open to new ideas.
They also stated that they had no interest in expanding their audience to 'the masses' because it is something which they feel they don't need (the vibe of their platform is 'strange' and 'queer' enough for their liking).
E) CHARACTERS
The development of characters within Burns' comics have each taken inspiration from things which were important to him from when he was a child/childhood memories. For example, the development of the character 'El-Borbah' was a character which took some time to think of, but has a significant purpose behind him.
Burns was in a state where he was struggling to generate ideas for potential characters. As a result, he switched on the TV and began to watch his favourite form of entertainment (Mexican wrestling).
Watching this show lead to him creating an overall character (El-Borbah). The development of the character also took inspiration from his friend 'John Borba' who has a personality and appearance which Burns' wanted to portray visually (big body and little head).
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