Making Mythology: Comic Books with “Comic Life”
Of all the news about the president-elect and his plans to remake the government (and, consequently, the culture), one of the most relevant to my current class was revealed this week. Barack Obama is a fanboy, a reader of comic books, an aficionado of “Spider Man” and “Conan the Barbarian.” Now, that’s pretty cool because no matter what it does for his governing of the free world, for my class it helps legitimize their next assignment: make a comic book.
In “Mythology and the Movies,” a class cross-listed with Anthropology and Cinema Studies (and serving students with many different majors), students are studying contemporary Hollywood movies as a form of mythology that is as legitimate and as important as more traditional myths in other places and times. What movies do differently from oral myths is provide a visual element, pictures already connected to a myth-laden narrative. So the students, to demonstrate their understanding of the construction and significance of movie mythology, have to make their own myths, using two movies from the class and applying one of the major mythological themes that we have addressed theoretically: creation, fertility, chaos, time, metamorphosis, a quest, or difference and the Other.
The projects will all be produced in the comic book production software called “Comic Life” which is produced by a company named, “plasq.” The program is easy to use, cross-platform, and comes with a 30 day free trial that is usually sufficient for students to complete their projects. I have found that many students actually purchase the inexpensive program because it has other uses (which I will describe below). Downloads of Comic Life are available at: http://plasq.com/downloads/ Students with Mac laptops may already have the software installed. Students also report that versions downloaded directly from the Apple website do not seem to have the 30 day limitation. A boxed version is available but the printed documentation is not really necessary as the online help is sufficient. Prices range from $24.95 to $44.95 commercial and $19.95-29.95 educational pricing.
Comic Life comes in three versions: Comic Life Standard, Comic Life Deluxe, and Comic Life Magiq. Standard and Deluxe are available for both Macs and Windows PCs. Magiq is only for Macs and only those with the latest operating system. Installations of these versions are available on machines in the Weigle Information Commons, in the Vitale Media Lab in the library, and in the computer lab in the Anthropology Department thanks to an SAS Instructional Technology Grant.
Comic Life is ideal for students who do not have production experience and/or are not familiar with comic books as a medium of expression and communication. It provides page templates that are varied enough to cover most story telling needs (with the more expensive versions providing more templates). Especially important are the image processing tools that are available in the Magiq version (available for use in the Vitale Media Lab). These can correct and exposure problems and have comic book filters to change photos into graphics. One of the best tools removes the background from an image, making it possible for students to professionally blend images from two different sources.
Preset panel layouts make production easy
Using Magiq Cutout feature
New backgrounds seamlessly placed
Student are given basic instruction in class on the use of the software and are encouraged to attend workshops at and ask help from the Vitale Media Lab during production.
Evaluation of the projects is based on production criteria such as using the software, producing an asset file, writing and designing the story, and successfully combining text and images in ways that give a consistent and coherent message. Student are also judged on their application and documentation of the appropriate class theories that are required for the project. In some classes, a short essay describing the theories and the process of translating theories into visual/text combinations is described and analyzed.
The software can also be used for image processing, poster production, storyboarding,presentation design, exhibit design, and publications.
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Thanks Louise for a great post on Comic Life! I also wanted to mention that Louise’s spring 2008 Anthropology and Cinema class created wonderful comic books – the student work is at http://wic.library.upenn.edu/faculty/anthcinema2008.html