By Wednesday January 27th's class, all students should have read ONE of their assigned Jan. 20th comics:
- Batman: Year One / 9781401207526
- Batman: Dark Knight Returns, 30th Ann. Ed. / 9781401263119
- Batman: Killing Joke / 9781401294052
- Batman: Arkham Asylum new edition / 9781779504333
- other editions with other ISBN numbers may be used
- see January reading primer at this link
- must be logged into your student email to view
Goals:
- Identify comic art elements and principles, pencils, inks, color, lighting, in the comic you've read
- Analyze a character's growth over time, how the hero changes
- Examine what forces, specifically a person or persons, impacted the protagonist(s)
- Examine your story and the way memory, truth, emotion, and reason are depicted by an antagonist
- Discuss the above in class Small Group work Wed. Jan. 27. Students will have 1 hour during class to do this work.
- Write a report, due Mon. Feb. 1
Wednesday January 27
- Use class time for small group work.
- Groups are assigned by the instructor.
- Seven students per group.
- 392H will all be in your own group.
- Discuss assigned issues.
- Document your discussion in 1 Group Report that's typed up, a single PDF emailed to the instructor; 7 group members, 1 group report PDF.
- PDF should be 1 to 1.5 pages, no more than 2 pages.
- Instructions for writing and PDF delivery are here.
I. Art, Representation, Elements & Principles: What about the comic's artwork did you find engaging, and why? Inks, color, art, and/or lighting, the elements and principles of comic book art. Revisit our Art & Villains lecture if you need a refresher; must be logged into your student email to see lecture images. This answer could be brief, 1-3 sentences in all for your Group Report. You must all agree on at least 1 thing, 2 things are okay.
II. History, Events, Character's Transformation: In the comic you read, how does Batman change over time? What one thing significantly transforms Batman 1st and transforms him the most, and why? How does the antagonist play a part in those changes, and is Batman changed for better or worse, and why?
antagonist (noun)
- a person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something; an adversary
- Gordon was caught off guard when confronted by Gotham's most vile antagonist, Joker
protagonist (noun) protagonists, plural
- leading character—or one of the major characters—in a drama, movie, novel, other fictional story
- the main figure or one of the most prominent figures in a real situation
- the evil crime boss Carmine Falcone, ruthless and cunning, did not stand a chance against Gotham's heroes, the protagonists Batman & Robin
- principal, hero/heroine, leading man/lady/they, title role, star or stars
- an advocate or champion of a particular cause or idea
- the protagonist believes in truth, justice, and equality, which the villain seeks to dismantle and erase
III. Perspectives, Gaslighting
In the comic you read, what does the antagonist ignore, lie about, falsify, or warp? Emotion(s), faith, memory (or memories), reason are some examples. Does the antagonist lie about their own things, external and societal issues, or the protagonist's things/ideas/issues? How do you know the antagonist is misrepresenting what's real? Would you consider what the antagonist does to be gaslighting, why or why not?
IV. Jonathan Belle, guest: How does our visitor Jonathan Belle position, reposition, or distance himself within or outside of a milieu? What do his actions, choices, costumed play (cosplay), or other experiences do for him, based on what he spoke about and how you understand it?
milieus (noun)
- a person's social environment
- Bruce Wayne grew up in a wealthy, privileged milieu
- Clark Kent, who is an orphan adopted by the Kents, grew up in a working class family, on a farm
- Learn about therapeutic milieu (YouTube).
cosplay (noun)
- the practice of dressing up as a character from a movie, book, or video game
- Learn about cosplay (YouTube).
Process:
- Discuss the above matters with your Group.
- You may have more than one answer, statement, belief per item for topics in I, II, III, IV
- But you must reach "group consensus" about each item. What you report on should primarily be what the whole group agrees to be right, correct, and accurate.
- If a Group Member has read a different comic than the majority of your Group, have that "different comic" Group Member provide a contrasting opinion, and include that in your report.
- When finished addressing all of the topics in I, II, III, IV, write up your report and send a PDF, as instructed here.
Worth 15+25 points, 40 points total
15 points for Group Meeting
- 15 points meeting and working on the assigned days: in-class Jan. 27 and in-class Feb. 1
- This grade is individual, each student gets their own Group Meeting Grade for January.
- to earn the full 15/15 for this component, be present and working both days, Jan. 27 and Feb. 1
- missing one day, Jan. 27 or Feb. 1 yields 7/15 for that individual student
25 points for Group Report Writing, PDF due on or before Feb. 1 start of class 11AM
- See these instructions, submitting your Group Report Writing PDF.
- Class time will be used to discuss your Group Work, be prepared to have microphone on, camera on, so your Group can chat with everyone
- This grade is shared among the group participants when you discuss and then write, you have contributed, you get the grade too.
- 25-23 excellent, A to A-, for writing that addresses all of the above topics in items I, II, III, IV and the subsequent topics, little to no spelling/grammar issues
- 22-20 above average, B+, B, B-, addresses all of the topics or maybe does do incompletely, with some spelling/grammar issues
- 19–17, C+ to C- range, addresses some of the topics, with frequent spelling/grammar issues
- 16-14, D+ to D- range, very little content addressed, too many spelling/grammar issues
- 13–0, F, unsatisfactory, incomplete, or inappropriate overall