Okay, I get it now. The Clockmaker is a play. The series, or at least these four issues, make much more sense in that context. In a play we don't necessarily have room or time for exposition, nor for movement to too many different locations. Act One introduces the main characters, gives us enough of their personalities to make sense of decisions and conversations, and provides a place in which these things can occur. And then ends on a crux point that changes the direction and scope of the action.
I think I'm gonna have to track down act two.
My understanding is that the art of the next act is not reproduced 1:1, which is a shame as I really did enjoy the size of the artwork here. It reminds you that comics started out in that tabloid size and that the art was far more spectacular (in that it was a spectacle) than it is in current comics. I think we see artists like Jack Kirby and Bryan Hitch using the smaller contemporary venue to its fullest, but not too many other artists do. Or they use it in a way that appears to be self-limiting. Having the 1:1 reproduction size in The Clockmaker, coupled with the notion of the series as a play rather than a serialized story (or as well as) really creates a singular comics experience. I wonder if it's been reprinted, and if so, in what format?
Okay, moving on from The Clockmaker tomorrow. Moving through the collection, Neil Gaiman's 1602 is next up, but I'm not sure I feel like reading that. I've also dug out the four issues of The Score from Piranha Press, so maybe that. But, fair warning, we're having a "Death by Whiskey" party this evening, so tomorrow might be a fill-in post.
Unless I can find a comic about either whiskey or hangovers.....
No comments:
Post a Comment