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October 15, 2005
Comic Analysis
The comic I chose to analyze is Zits by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman. Zits is based on the life of a teenage boy who epitomizes society’s stereotypes of teenagers in general. I cut this particular comic out of my Sunday newspaper a year or so ago because I thought (and still think) that it is a good representation of my life.
There are a few symbols in this comic strip. The first is the white sheets, which symbolize paper, and thus, homework. This is abstraction because a pile of homework has been simplified down to a single white sheet. Another symbol is the shapes formed by these white sheets. For example, a few clumped together on the top of a brown branch is an abstraction of a tree, presumably part of a jungle. Also, the white sheets which are shown cascading in a wavelike shape are meant to represent a tidal wave, something that will capture Jeremy eventually. Lastly, the papers are clumped in a cylinder shape to represent the wheels of a cement roller, threatening to flatten Jeremy. The last symbol is the expressions on the family’s face. Jeremy’s blank stare is representation because it looks exactly like individuals look when they are fed up with a situation and not willing to discuss something. In addition, the facial expressions of his parents are also representations because they look expectant, ready for an answer from their son. Their faces resemble those of real-life people.
This comic is interesting because there is one big panel, but there is also a smaller panel inside of the larger one. The transition between the two panels is scene-to-scene because our mind shifts to another location within the larger story. In the larger panel, we are inside Jeremy’s brain, where he is trying to combat the large amount of schoolwork he has to do. In the smaller panel, Jeremy is interacting with his parents as they ask him how much homework he has to do. (In typical Jeremy style, he refuses to interact with his parents.) In terms of the connection between the words and images, it is different for each panel. The larger panel is picture-specific, as there are no words; the pictures are all that are needed to tell the story. The smaller panel is additive, because the words get the message across, but the picture amplifies the message and makes it clearer and more interesting. Basically, I think that this comic works on only one level. It is fairly simple and cleverly visualizes the “battle” that students fight everyday, a battle that many adults deny exists.
Posted by lciscotis at October 15, 2005 07:51 PM
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