REVIEW: Howl the Graphic Novel

Howl: Poetry, Animation and Graphic Novel Adaptations

Poetry written by Allen Ginsberg 1955.

Animation was published 2010

Graphic Novel was published by Drooker 2010.

Howl Graphic Novel analysis

· The graphic novel was definitely built around the narrative of the poem, making it not necessarily an amalgam of text and illustration but rather illustration purely a means for aesthetic representation of Ginsberg’s work for the reader

· The graphic novel further has the handicap of being a graphic novel adaptation of the animation to which came before it, as illustrations were made in favor of a scene by scene nature as opposed to a panel by panel

· Furthermore, the graphic novel provides a comparison to the film and the real life Ginsberg, to which further solidifies this piece as a but the after work of the poem, the animation and the film, not making this graphic novel a piece of its own

· The poetry had its own mental interpretation to the reader whereas the graphic novel forces a specific interpretation of the poem to the reader, although Ginsberg had a hand in Drooker’s work so it would be as accurate to Ginsberg’s intent as it could be

· The spilt page of the phallic symbol of the woman was unnecessarily split between the pages in a spread, as the animation had not this handicap. It felt almost as censorship to the animation by this(Drooker 110-111)

· The imagery of Jazz in the graphic novel felt fixed as opposed to fluid as with the animation and the reading of the poetry, going against what Jazz is supposed to represent as a free flowing form of expression(Drooker 22-23)

· The imagery at the end as opposed to the forced narration to the illustration was arguably the best part of the graphic novel as it felt organic in its composition: the artist was illustrating a paneling that seemed coherent in its composition as opposed to the illustration being built exclusively around the text(Drooker 217-220)

· The illustration merely holding the place of Ginsberg as opposed to any context besides the implied lobotomy served little purpose as the panel tells nothing secular about the event. Little can be inferred visually from the panel and this page more than others forces the readers to take the text as the only source of information for the section (Drooker 118-119)

· The imagery of the building on the island overlooking the city was gorgeous. In context to the text it gave a feeling of intellectual isolation that I liked about the poem (Drooker 90-91)

· Drooker’s composition of the illustration in a V shape didn’t have a natural flow of the eye as readers are forced to take the text out of context to the panels. Had the poem be place under the V, this wouldn’t have been a problem. However, this method of storytelling seemed slipshod at best (Drooker 120-121)

· The Moloch segment excluded a powerful segment in the animation where children were sacrificed in a baptism of war to the god, which felt lacking in context to the graphic novel should one had seen both

· The scene with the fire typewriter seemed lacking in intensity as opposed to the animation where the scene was emphasized by the movement of the fire. In a still, there is no subtle means of indicating movement and this felt lacking in the graphic novel (Drooker 132-133)

Bibliography

Ginsberg, Allen, and Eric Drooker. Howl: A Graphic Novel. New York: Harper Perennial, 2010. Print.

REVIEW: MoCCA: Uslan, Bat-Manga and Howl short essays

Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art exhibits

Michael Uslan: The Boy Who Loved Batman, Bat-Manga: The Secret History of Batman in Japan, The Art of Howl: A Collaboration between Eric Drooker and Allen Ginsberg

Part of the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art (Feb. 2012)

Michael Uslan: The Boy Who Loved Batman

It was interesting to note how the influence of one fan had on the portrayal of Batman as seen with the case of Michael Uslan. Displayed in the museum was the literature that depicted the so called vile nature of comic books, the various rejections from film producers to make a Batman film and the triumphant posters of publishing on those Batman films that came. It was clear that there were many hardships to making Batman the icon we know of him today, as roughly quoted from our tour guide on Michael’s undying diligence to bring Batman to a more serious tone as with the graphic novels, “it wasn’t about being at the right place at the right time as much as continuing to pursue a goal until the right time made itself available.” However, it was noted that his efforts did pay off as the posters displaying the gritty Batman we know of contemporarily were hung, as with the case of “The Dark Knight Rises” poster, the poster of the Batman film done by Tim Burton and the acclaimed animated series movie poster of Batman that hung not too far from the displays of Uslan’s papers with rejections and the like. What was notable about the exhibit is that the transition of Batman’s theme was done not by an artisan or a writer who necessarily worked on hand for Batman’s change. Rather, it was someone who worked hard to influence the tone of his favorite comic book superhero as seen by the public eye.

Bat-Manga: The Secret History of Batman in Japan

While in contemporary times the transition of an American superhero series to a Japanese manga may seem less unusual nowadays, there existed a time during the late 1960’s where Batman was adapted into a manga done by the now defunct Shonen King. During an age where artisans were still inspired by the narrative and artistic styles of the influential Osamu Tezuka, it was an interesting artifact of a Western concept brought to the East. As with most Shonen manga magazines of the time, the original prints were more likely to have been discarded once read; however, Chip Kidd, an influential novelist, managed to receive the raw drafts of the series from the archives of Shonen King, which was displayed to great detail at the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art. While it may not seem plausible nowadays, but back when the manga was published in Japan Batman was a sensation amongst the Japanese. This was evident with the artifacts of Batman Japanese toys that were with the display. In fact, the series would return to a cult piece of trivia in Batman lore with a Bat-Manga plot written with the television series Batman: the Brave and the Bold. In said show, they took a chapter of the original Bat-Manga, the tale of Lord Deathman, and transitioned it for a Western audience.

The Art of Howl: A Collaboration between Eric Drooker and Allen Ginsberg

As the poem Howl was considered risqué at its time, it was interesting to see how the illustrations for the animated version were made in relations to its adaption as a solo series and its shoehorned state in the Howl film starring James Franco. It was interesting to note that the animated segments were made before the film was even conceived, which has its own connotations as to Drooker and Ginsberg’s interpretation before Ginsberg’s death. Some reviewers have noted that the animations had nothing to do with the movie, and as the status of it being originally intended to be its own thing existed it can be seen why that is so. It was noted that the phallic imagery displayed existed to coincide with the phallic poetry in Ginsberg’s poems. Statements about sex were followed with almost cosmic pictures of reproduction, with sperm as constellations circling a lover’s embrace and the like. Overall, such an adaptation for what was for a spoken monologue could have been done terribly had it not been for animator and poet both working together to make said animation. It is then a pity that such works were not noted for its elegance of balance between the two creators when taken into account for the third factor: the film, where a third party took that animation and used it to interpretation of a different note.

Bibliography:

“The Art of Howl: A Collaboration between Eric Drooker and Allen Ginsberg.” New York, NY. Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art. Feb. 9, 2012

“Bat-Manga: The Secret History of Batman in Japan.” New York, NY. Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art. Feb. 9, 2012

“Michael Uslan: The Boy Who Loved Batman.” New York, NY. Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art. Feb. 9, 2012.