Monday, May 19, 2008

Monstrous imagery

Now that I have a working scanner, here's that double-page spread I was talking about in volume 7 of Monster:





It works a lot better as comics than as my description, if you ask me. The way Urasawa holds that image of Richard from behind at the top of the first page, or the slow "zoom" to focus on the drinks, or the emphasis on Richard's facial features on the second page all work better as imagery. And the subtlety! He's not gritting his teeth as beads of sweat pour down his face; it's a silent battle with himself, all internal. The biggest displays of emotion on both pages are when his adam's apple bobs and his hand shakes. Or maybe the slight softening of his features when he stutters as he orders the drink. It's incredible stuff, and this is just two pages out of a couple hundred, in one volume out of eighteen! God, Urasawa is a master. I need to go get volume 8 really soon.

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