ABSTRACT

In the comic issue Superman by Jurgens, Krause, and Williams Pete Ross is involved in a conflict. The Sons of Liberty are a group of men including a judge in the city who is involved in trying to take down Major Holcraft. Pete Ross finds himself involved within the group. While in court a man from Sons of Liberty who is sitting next to Pete Ross pulls out a gun and shoots Major Holcraft and escapes without anyone seeing. After he escapes the only one left around the area is Pete Ross who they assume was the shooter. Meanwhile Pete Ross means absolutely no harm to anyone and simply doesn’t agree with any of the Sons of Liberty’s goals and morals. After the shooting Superman rushes Major Holcraft to the hospital before it becomes too late. Afterwards Superman comes in hearing stories from witnesses on both sides trying to understand the true story behind what happened. The main conflict of this comic is that Pete Ross was involved in is being accused of killing a man even though he means absolutely no harm to anyone.

BODY LANGUAGE

On the left superman looks very powerful and in charge due to the angle of his stature being portrayed. Since it’s a slight angle where he's looking down upon someone it shows he is in power

Shown above is a direct representation of different body postures portraying how the character may feel during a certain point within the story

ANGLE PERSPECTIVE

On the left we have an example of angle perspective. Due to a lower angle reflecting upwards it shows the true meaning behind the story. The man is struggling to hang on to the helicopter which is visualized highly by the angle of the design

Above we have McClouds description of perspective and how important it is to comics. In superman the story is extremely emphasized through multiple perspectives

DIFFERENT DIMENSIONS To the left we have McClouds description of dimensions. Having multiple dimensions to a picture helps the audience interpret the meaning due to greater detail

Below we have an example of a different dimension because this is a longer frame in the comic extenuating the distance superman is going. This also provides the reader with a sense of 3-D imagination

EXAGGERATED EXPRESSION

Above is a prime example of an exaggerated pose/expression. Although you cannot see his entire body in this frame you can still grasp his emotion (fear) from great detail

On the left we have McClouds illustration of an exaggerated pose and expression. In superman many facial expressions answer questions from the readers on how certain characters react to different situations

FACIAL EXPRESSION

Above we have a sequence of emotions that all lead up to a lasting impression which is expressed at the end. Here we have terror which we see a lot throughout superman

Above is a great example of terror. Simply given the mans horrifying look, you can already depict the feeling and the situation that is occurring within the story

FACIAL EXPRESSION DISGUST

Here we have another sequence showing disgust mixed with surprise which in turn gives us a surprising and nasty look at the same time. McCloud stresses all throughout his story how important facial expressions are for the readers to depict the mood of the story.

Above we have a perfect representation of superman with the same exact facial expression caused by disgust and surprise

INTENSITY

On the left we have McClouds representation of how exaggerated intensity is. In comics it is essentially to fully exaggerate intensity so it heightens the readers thoughts towards the scene

Shown below the man has gotten shot however since we see the bullet entering the man plus his facial expression the intensity is heightened due to great detail

INTERDEPENDENT

Above we have an example of McClouds interdependent method which words and pictures combined to convey an overall idea but neither would alone

To the right we have a section where superman is trying to save Pete in jail and the words and pictures explain that idea. They also need each other in this series which is where the interdependent method plays in

MONTAGE

Next McCloud explains the idea of a montage where words and pictures are combined pictorially. There aren't many throughout this comic however I found one

To the right we have superman and Pete. Superman is exaggerating to Pete that he must get him out of jail which is expressed through words and the picture

PANEL EXPANSION

Above we have an example of superman flying away but we also have McClouds version of a panel expansion where the image “bleeds” off the page

To the right is McClouds description of a panel expansion which is when the image “bleeds” off of the panel without any edges

PICTURE SPECIFIC

Above we have picture specific which is pictures that provide all you need to know, while the words accentuate aspects of the scene being shown. In superman there are a lot of frames where McClouds method is expressed Above we have an image of Pete

where clearly the photo shows him holding someone else's lock of hair. Without words we are able to depict the situation

REALISTIC DETAIL To the left is an example of how to incorporate a greater level of realistic detail by using an up-close angle

Below shows the superhero from a higher angle looking down. The detail comes within his arms and how fast his movements are from the detail involved

SOUND

Above we have an example of multiple ways to express feeling, smell, or sound

Below is an image of the man being shot. We also see from separate text boxes the sound he makes from the impact along with the sound of the gun to express the dramatic scene happening

WORD SPECIFIC

Shown above is McClouds other theory of being word specific. What this means is the words in the scene describe what's happening while the expressions are also telling the story as well

Below superman is yelling “gunshots” which we can clearly see through great detail of his facial expression that something horrible is occurring in this scene

CONCLUSION

To conclude in superman many of McClouds ideas and thoughts on creating a successful comic is shown throughout. This PowerPoint goes through each method that is expressed within the comic superman followed by the overall theme and conflict expressed throughout the story as well