Introducing Project P.R.O.J.E.C.T.
From Issue 10, Page 14, Panel 3
I ended my review of All Star Superman #12 (which I’m thoroughly happy with, by the way) by comparing Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s landmark run on the book to the book’s subject. A remarkable and alien artifact, crash landed in a medium that was not prepared for its sheer spectacularness, and whose presence had forever altered it. I stand by the assessment. All Star Superman was certainly one of the best comics I’ve ever read. And as a writer and an artist, Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely stand as two of the most influential figures in their respective fields, at least as far as my own work goes.
And so it got me thinking. As readers of this blog and my reviews might already know, I’m awfully keen on deconstructing the mechanics of how comics work on the page. Part of this is because it’s obviously quite important and not very talked about, but part of it is because I’m just saying out loud what my brain is always thinking when it reads comics. ”How does this work?” ”What goes into making this work?” All, naturally, in the hopes that some of that process and problem solving might seep into my own work.
And so, along those lines, and carrying through on this All Star Superman as Superman himself idea, I thought it’d be neat to do what Clark does for Leo Quintum, both throughout the book and specifically in the panel cited above. Examine, in detail, the genetic structure of this book, how it was built, in the hopes that, if necessary, we (okay, “I”. I admit it. I’m both selfish and egotistical.) could build another one.
Now, one thing you won’t see me talking about are the kind of Barbelithy (but seriously, I love you guys!) kinds of discussions about arcane symbolism and that sort of thing. I just don’t have the head for that. I’ll be talking more about the straight ahead storytelling stuff. The book is obviously not without it’s overt symbolism, and I’ll of course touch on that, but if you’re looking for a guide to what chakras the Kryptonian Bloodline represents, you’re in for a disappointment. A lot of criticism of Morrison’s work tends to focus a bit too much on that sort of thing when, on the surface, I always feel that his work is far more straightforward than people give it credit.
I’m making no promises about how frequently you’ll see installments of Project P.R.O.J.E.C.T., or provide any kind of schedule. I am a simultaneously very busy and very lazy man.
But hopefully it won’t be too long before you and I take an extraordinarily close look at one of the best first pages of any comic, ever, and why it’s not the four panels themselves that make it so amazing, but rather the double page spread that follows it.
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Benjamin Birdie
Suddenly kind of aged, Benjamin lives in Queens with his cat. His Master's Degree in Creative Writing has helped him immensely with his primary responsibilities of drawing things.
He can be reached at benjaminbirdie (at) gmail (dot) com.
And do feel free to follow him on Twitter.
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His Comics
Every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, this charming comic strip by myself and Kevin Church receives a sparkling new installment. A Comic Strip About A Comic Shop.