Saturday, August 20, 2016

Saturday Sermon--Recompression

I know, I'm an old man shaking his fist at clouds.

But I remember the days before decompression.

Take, for example, Avengers #95 (1972).

It starts thusly...

And just look at the layout, the flow, the storytelling of the next page, as Triton tries to make his way to the Baxter Building:

More happens in that one page than in many an entire issue these days. If drawn in 2016, each panel would be enlarged to be "widescreen," full-page and horizontal, filled with self-narrating captions spelling out what the Inhuman was thinking and feeling, because the writers and editors didn't trust the art to tell the story.

Four pages or more would be dedicated to Triton escaping the dock workers. Hell, probably the entire issue, given the pace of recent books (6 issues spent on one long, boring fight with Doomsday, Action Comics? Really?)

 I'm just saying, pick up the pace, modern comics.

[SPOILER ALERT--Triton can't make it to the Fantastic Four, so he goes to the Avengers for help instead. Because in those days, that's all the Inhumans ever did--go to other people for help resolving their own squabbles...]
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3 comments:

  1. Wayne Allen SalleeAugust 20, 2016 at 2:52 PM

    I'm sure you read MARVELS. There is a panel in the last issue that shows Triton driving away in that van. Later in the issue, I want to say it is the same day or at least the next day, Green Goblin kills Gwen Stacy.

    That scene sticks out because there are no really odd things happening and then, oh, look. Triton driving a truck.

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  2. Jonathan LinnemanAugust 20, 2016 at 3:15 PM

    Decompression has almost assuredly led to comics in general being less fun these days. Or maybe it's a result of less of an emphasis on fun. Not sure.

    At any rate, I love it when it's done right...Joss Whedon and Jeff Smith come to mind as folks who really know how to stretch out what wants to be stretched out. But it does so often lead to...just NOTHING happening...

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  3. Warren JBAugust 23, 2016 at 8:49 AM

    This post makes Baby Scott McCloud happy.

    ReplyDelete