Zombie Comics

The semester is coming to an end.This week we were assigned to find a design that caught our eye. I wanted to find something that covered the integration of WORDS & IMAGES. For the past couple of years I have been obsessed with zombie media. Zombies have played a major role in entertainment, especially cult films, since the 1930s. Over the decades they have branched out to other forms of media such as television and comic books.

One of the most popular zombie comics is Robert Kirkman's  The Walking Dead.  The comic was created in 2003 by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Tony Moore. It comes in trade paperbacks as well as hardcovers.

In comic books the artist must tackle the task of bringing simple quotes to life through illustration. I am sure this process includes a lot of talk and shared vision between the artist and the writer. Comics are made of storyboards. In The Walking Dead comics there are usually up to 7-8 storyboards on one page. The writer and artist must find a way to fit all the text and the illustrations on the page in a way that the reader can easily follow.

I love that this comic occasionally puts one scene on an entire page. It really pulls the reader into the setting and is a good visual break between the other crowded pages.

The cover on each of the hardcover books shows a group of zombies in black and white. In a bright color, among the zombies, is the main character. This is a very good use of color and contrast. The entire comic is black and white so this splash of color is memorable and eye-catching.

Another zombie comic written by Robert Kirkman is Marvel Zombies. This comic takes your favorite Marvel super heroes and turns them into flesh-eating monsters. It is a bit disturbing and has definitely received some backlash, but overall I think it was a very creative concept. Artist, Sean Phillips, had the challenge of making these beloved super heroes disgusting, decaying, and hot headed villains.

Celebs & Word Usage

Chapter 7 of William Zinsser's book discusses word usage. While reading, I highlighted some points that really caught my attention.

"usage has no fixed boundaries." 

"The other half of the job is to help the language grow by welcoming any immigrant that will bring strength or color."

"the laws of usage are relative, bending with the taste if the lawmaker."

"spoken language is looser than the written language."

"Jargon is flooding our daily life and language."

After reading the chapter I immediately thought about gossip/tabloid language that people use when talking about celebrities. There seems to be no fixed boundaries and authors often use phrases and words that do not exist to make a point. Tabloids and gossip blogs have a very conversational tone that draws in readers. Readers know what they are getting and they expect colorful and quirky language. Just as many companies use acronyms, tabloids use uni-names. 

Brad and Angelina - Bradgelina

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez - Bennifer

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner - BenJen and Garfleck

Tom Cruise and Katie Homes - TomKat

Bill and Hilary Clinton - Billary

Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon - Gyllenspoon

Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston - Vinnifer

Britney Spears and Kevin Federline - Spederline

These names are convenient and fun. 

"The only trouble with accepting words that entered the language overnight is that they often leave just as abruptly."

It is not uncommon for current words adapt new meanings. For example, we all know a wolf is a member of the dog family but in the world of teenagers and entertainment it can carry an additional meaning. A wolf can be a way to describe a roughneck teenager and a wolfpack is a group of troublemaking teenagers. These phrases were made widely popular again by the movie The Hangover. 

"Nouns now turn overnight into verbs."

I'm sure we can think of a million examples where nouns have been made into verbs. However, i found some fun ones where celebrity names have been turned into fun verbs. 

Thunderlutz_Blog

Another example:

"In a single work day, we might head a task force, eye an opportunity, nose around for good ideas,mouth a greeting, elbow an opponent, strong-arm a colleague, shoulder the blame, stomach a loss, and finally hand in our resignation. What we're doing with all those body parts is called verbing--using nouns (or occasionally other parts of speech) as verbs"

Call to Action- Wow Factor

This week we were assigned to find a design that wows us. I began thinking of things I had seen recently that had a strong impact on me. Last month the youtube video "Kony 2012" went viral. The film maker's goal was to make the world aware of an issue in Uganda. Children were being kidnapped and turned into kid soldiers under the leadership of Joseph Kony.

Like millions of other people I was motivated to do my part and support the cause. I purchased the Kony action kit. What I love about the campaign is that it takes a different approach on the typical call to action. Instead of sending money to simply help soldiers catch Kony, they want to make Kony "visible". The goal is to bring Kony and the evil things he has done to the light. The organization, Invisible Children, has put a face to the issue.

The action kit includes bumper stickers, a t-shirt, a pin, 2 bracelets, posters, and more. On April 20th people hit the streets and use these posters and stickers to plaster Kony's name all across the world. Everyone will know his name.

Cover The Night Video

Make Joseph Kony famous. Not to celebrate him, but to raise support for his arrest and set a precedent for international justice.

Invisibile Children Store

The posters are a very bright red. Definitely a "call to action" color. The t-shirt and booklet have an image of the republican and democratic symbols merged together with a plant that symbolizes peace. No matter what our beliefs and political views are we can fight for what is right. It is very youthful and begs for your attention

"Cowboy" College

Deep Springs College is located in the very rural Inyo County, California. The college is connected to a ranch/farm.

It is safe to say this place does not attract your typical college student. The school is a 2 year private college that only accepts men (for now). Just last year, the board of trustees has voted to admit women. The campus is very isolated. The near

est town is about an hour away. However the college thrives on that isolation. They have created a very close knit community where their 26 students mix academics and labor. The average class size is only 8. It is not uncommon for a professor to hold a class session in his/her home.

Since the class sizes are so small they all have a seminar style setting. The college strongly believes in self-governance. There are only 2 required courses, composition and public speaking. Everything else is up to the student.

Their website states:

"Courses at Deep Springs are intensive and interactive seminars. The average class size is eight, so every member must come prepared to contribute to the discussion. As a result, students devote a great deal of time and energy to their assignments, and discussions often achieve a depth uncommon at the undergraduate level."

Professors cannot hold tenure. There are only 8-9 of them and they hold 3 year long term professorships. Students have very strong relationships with their professors.

"Professors, both long- and short-term, are encouraged to take an active role in the community. Professors labor with students, teach them practical skills like bread making and knitting, hold impromptu poetry readings and stargazing sessions, and organize chess and Ping-Pong tournaments. Education is a reciprocal relationship at Deep Springs."

The typical students that go to this college are very career minded and independent. Just like Eugene Lang students, they do not need an advisor to tell them what to take. These students are also hard workers. At Deep Springs their required labor includes jobs such as cook, irrigator, butcher, groundskeeper, cowboy, etc. In addition to academics and labor, each student is required stand on one of the college's committees. The students have faculty have created a self-sufficient community. The college supports itself with food and energy.

Student dorms do not have cable or television. There are no sports or fraternities. I guess it can be said that the college is a fraternity itself. Each dorm has a "boneyard" of previous student clothing and supplies for free use.

There is no real tuition at Deep Springs. Students only pay for things such as books. Every student that is accepted is on a scholarship that covers about $50,000. For this reason, the application process is rigorous.

"Applicants must submit ACT or SAT scores as well as a number of essays in stage one. In stage two, their initial application is reviewed and voted on by a number of readers. If applicants pass the first stage, they are invited for a three to four day stay on campus to observe the life, write further essays, and interview. Final decisions are then made in the spring."

What I found most interesting about these college is what their students do when they leave. There is the option of getting an Associates Degree but most students do not take it. They go on to larger universities. 2/3 of their students get graduate degrees and over half of their students eventually get a doctorate.

The website is extremely plain. There is not much design to it. It seems to be there simply to supply information. Not visually appealing at all.

http://www.deepsprings.edu/home

Unity in Writing

It's almost that time again. Baseball season. Orioles fans all across the state are getting ready to celebrate the return of America's classic sport. Ofcourse the Baltimore Sun has many articles about people getting ready for Opening Day but I came across one that was more so focused on Camden Yards itself. The title was "Orioles: Camden Yards, the stadium that changed baseball and Baltimore, turns 20." In William Zinsser's book he states "All writing is ultimately a question of solving a problem."

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bs-sp-orioles-camden-yards-0401-20120330,0,5511811,full.story

I tried to imagine some of the problems or decisions the writer of this article had to consider.

1) What to put in the article. There is tons of information on the history, memories, construction, and architects when thinking about Camden Yards. The author had to think about what to include and what to leave out.

2) Organization. Once the author chose what he wanted to include he had to figure out how to organize the article so that it would flow nicely and keep the reader's attention. I often struggle with this. Sometimes a constant flow of ideas does not come naturally.

3) Tone. The author had to decide what tone of voice to use when writing the article. The tone could have easily been very serious as he talks about the importance of Camden Yards to Baltimore, its economy, and the stability of the Orioles. However, he chose a more conversational tone that I think works very well. It is like he is talking to you about Oriole Park. He lets you know the facts and hear what others have to say.

I think the quotes within the article definitely add to its unity. They function as transitions from one thought to the next but they also give the reader a chance to hear about Oriole Park from people that know the most about it such as the baseball commissioner, former Orioles president, and the chairman of the Maryland Stadium Authority. Even though the tone is conversational the quotes add validity to the things the author is saying.

Zinsser says " every piece of nonfiction should leave the reader with one provocative thought that he or she didn't have before." After reading this article I have learned how important Camden Yards is to Baltimore.

In addition to the unity within the article, the Baltimore Sun webpage has created unity surrounding the article. To the left there are slideshows containing pictures of Orioles fans and the stadium. There is also a google maps link that shows exactly where the stadium is located.

Unique Calendar

The Human Calendar

This calendar is definitely unique. It is fun, interactive, and cool. Each day is represented by a different person. These people are your average, every day, normal people. The person who hold today's date looks forward and every other person looks at him or her. It is very Brady Bunch-like. The original calendar contained friends of the creator. He says they are "various friends of mine who happened to find themselves near my garage between April-July 2007, and later on during the Summer of 2011. Granted, most were lured with beer, food, lodging, or in one case...meat. "

http://www.humancalendar.com/

Today, you are able to pick a day and upload your own photo so you can appear on the calendar.

Student Calendars

Last semester one of our class assignments was to create a calendar for a different typeface. Here is a link to a wordpress page that contains everyone's work.

http://maxboam.wordpress.com/2011/11/02/assignment-9-calendar-pages/