tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30804236730537627532024-02-01T20:20:00.688-08:00Graphic Novels<p><strong>Course Blog for English 383 at Simon Fraser University,</p>
<p>"Studies in Popular Literature and Culture.' </p></strong>Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.comBlogger106125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080423673053762753.post-24691197052305122262009-12-02T14:48:00.000-08:002009-12-03T22:55:36.377-08:00In Search of Superman's Inner JewFrom this month's <a href="http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1679961,00.html">online Time</a> newsmagazine: <br />
<blockquote>The debate has raged for decades: is he Jewish, Methodist, Kryptonian Raoist? But finally, it's been settled: Superman is definitely... a non-Aryan Protestant. The complex origins of many a comic book character are deconstructed at the engaging and erudite exhibit, "From Superman to the Rabbi's Cat" — through Jan. 27 at the Museum of Jewish Art and History in Paris — which explores <strong>the impact of the Jewish experience on the evolution of the comic strip and graphic novel</strong>.<br />
</blockquote>Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080423673053762753.post-72215993901804856472009-12-02T14:47:00.000-08:002009-12-03T22:58:32.160-08:00Link of Note: MangaBook on Underground Manga Given Authorized TranslationThe ComiPress manga information site is <a href="http://comipress.com/special/manga-zombie" target="_blank">posting</a> online an authorized English translation of Manga Zombie, a 1997 book by "subculture researcher" <a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=16881">Takeo Udagawa</a> on 31 artists that created underground manga after World War II, but before widespread commercialization changed the field in the Eighties. Translator John Gallagher will post chapters from the 186-page book on a semi-regular basis. The profiled fringe artists include <a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=67930">Norihiro Nakajima</a> (<a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/manga.php?id=8840"> Astro Kyûdan</a>/Astro Baseball Team), <a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=67931">Yoshiteru Takano</a> (<a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/manga.php?id=8841"> Akanbô Teikoku</a>/Baby Empire), and Tarô Bonten (Konketsuji/Mixed-Blood Child Rika)."So far the preface and an introduction of sorts are translated and up, but more is supposed to be added in the future. Check it out here: <a href="http://comipress.com/special/manga-zombie/manga-zombie-preface-japanese-edition">http://comipress.com/special/manga-zombie/manga-zombie-preface-japanese-edition</a> <br />
<br />
Seems it mostly focuses on works from the 1960s and 1970s.Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080423673053762753.post-91592318243465890352009-12-02T14:02:00.000-08:002009-12-03T23:00:12.658-08:00Chester Brown & "Louis Riel"Some of our classfellows have noticed that the CBC is having an engagement with Chester Brown on its website at present, and they send along some of the video & audio links.<br />
<ul><li><a href="http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-68-2352/arts_entertainment/canadian_comics/">Comics in Canada: An Illustrated History</a></li>
<li><a href="http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-73-1482-9905/politics_economy/louis_riel/clip10">Riel: A Comic Book Hero</a> (Interview.)</li>
</ul>Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080423673053762753.post-61241659842993395682009-11-25T20:01:00.000-08:002009-12-01T14:33:25.446-08:00Classfellows' Web Comic Recommendations<strong>From classfellow Clinton Hallahan</strong>:<br />
<blockquote>Just a couple things I wanted to bring to your attention. [<em>I loved the TED McCloud talk when it first came out -- worth a Permannt Link, now I think about it. Prof.</em>]<br />
</blockquote><blockquote>The first is that in my internet travels I came across a video on the venerable <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/scott_mccloud_on_comics.html">TED Talks site of Scott McCloud</a> talking comics. Worth a watch, I think<br />
<br />
The second is <a href="http://m.assetbar.com/achewood/uua659RC5">a webcomic that I worship on a semi-professional level</a>. It's a bit of an acquired taste but the writing is just stellar. I have recently turned young Lucas Westhaver onto it and made him into an acolyte. It's excellent. It's almost impossible to link to one that can pique your interest immediately, but this one is funny. The characters are just...I am slightly obsessed.<br />
<br />
And finally, I am currently watching your friend Ken Steacy auction off prints for one of my favourite charities via webcam. <a href="http://www.desertbus.org/">You can find out about that here</a><br />
<br />
Thought that was kind of funny. A sketch he did of Wonder Woman is currently going for about $400 dollars in a live chat auction. Crazy.<br />
</blockquote><strong>From classfellow Daniel Lin</strong>:<br />
<blockquote>This is a web comic called <a href="http://buttersafe.com/">ButterSafe</a>, strange, but interesting. Since the link is to the homepage only, you may find a different comic in place of the current one (text based one), just click back.<br />
<br />
Also, I am currently following <a href="http://www.onemanga.com/Pluto/1/01/">a manga called Pluto</a>. It's a revisit (<em>sic</em>) of the classic Japanese robot genre, as opposed to superheros. It contains Astro Boy and what I think might be Black Jack.<br />
</blockquote><strong>More...</strong><br />
<blockquote>...two websites that look at the religions and sexuality of various comic book characters. I find it really interesting because for a long time these were two elements of comic characters lives that could not be explicitly stated in comics, but often existed as subtext. For example, the Thing of the Fantastic Four was always intended to be Jewish, but that was not explicitly stated for years, likewise the shapeshifting mutant Mystique was always intended to be bisexual, though likewise that could not be explicitly stated (apparently the original idea was that she had been Nightcrawler's FATHER while temporarily male, though later stuff puts her as his mother). The most intriguing idea, and something I've never been able to find explicit reference to was a rumour I heard that the Joker in the 70s was supposed to be gay. Certainly the graphic novels <em>Return of the Dark Night</em> by Frank Miller and <em>Arkham Asylum</em> by Grant Morrison make Joker sexually ambigious, having him gleefully call Batman "darling," cross-dress, use lipstick to highlight his lips, etc. Certainly his obsession with Batman often has a strangely sexual tension (as does Lex Luthor's with Superman, most creepily in the "Superman: Doomsday" movie).<br />
<br />
Here's the website. http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/comic_book_religion.html<br />
</blockquote>Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080423673053762753.post-46153790656678659602009-11-19T14:59:00.000-08:002009-11-19T16:03:39.064-08:00Graphic Novels Debate<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIHkgcE7OB6AC1TOAwMIvluicp0cjWjf-hvdTD_RjOdv8D8RywC2eFccoalq5VZhjKwXheWHfAjHCRDv_IDPxACPUvSXrjSLpxQukRfbH1aXsOStz2IMV48b4YSZ6_HoBZ267rFoOoW2RI/s1600/untitled.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIHkgcE7OB6AC1TOAwMIvluicp0cjWjf-hvdTD_RjOdv8D8RywC2eFccoalq5VZhjKwXheWHfAjHCRDv_IDPxACPUvSXrjSLpxQukRfbH1aXsOStz2IMV48b4YSZ6_HoBZ267rFoOoW2RI/s320/untitled.JPG" yr="true" /></a>All are invited to a laughably one-sided debate between <strong>Dr. Clint Burnham</strong>--finely-chiselled and prize-winning poet, novelist and hirsute intellectual--and some hapless makeweight fanboy by the name of "Ogden", on a question of literary merit between Frank Miller's <em>Batman: The Dark Knight Returns</em> and Mark Waid & Alex Ross' <em>Kingdom Come</em>. The great Dr. Burnham will school his opponent, and delight the assembled multitude, by the dialectical potency of his critical presentation of Mr. Miller's never-too-much-to be-praised work of comics genius. A few brief minutes will be wasted while the bumbling Ogden attempts a futile argument for what would be the other side, if there were one.<br />
</div><br />
The memorable event will be Monday November 23<span style="font-size: xx-small;">rd</span> in Blusson Hall 10021 from eleven thirty to twelve twenty.Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080423673053762753.post-12756446990853414852009-11-19T14:54:00.000-08:002009-11-19T15:56:55.041-08:00Local & Classfellow ComicsFrom bushel-averse classfellow Bevan Thomas:<br />
<blockquote>"[By me] ...<a href="http://www.sfu.ca/~ogden/Engl%20_383_1097/comic%20shorts.doc">a short piece about comic books</a> being adapted to television...also a short article on some comics I enjoyed as kid as well as one on Grant Morrison."<br />
</blockquote><blockquote>"...a group of cartoonists in the city....their website... <a href="http://cloudscapecomics.com/">http://cloudscapecomics.com/</a>" <br />
<br />
<br />
"...a couple of comic book writers who have their comics up on the Net ....[are] <a href="http://www.ninjaturtles.com/">http://www.ninjaturtles.com/</a> <br />
under the comic book section."<br />
<br />
"....the entire run of Elfquest was put-up on their official website ... <a href="http://www.elfquest.com/">http://www.elfquest.com/</a> under their comics section.<br />
</blockquote>Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080423673053762753.post-18585112990067467312009-11-15T14:29:00.000-08:002009-11-15T21:25:29.554-08:00Brilliant Book on Comics Heroes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.comicbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/spandex.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.comicbox.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/spandex.jpg" width="155" yr="true" /></a>For those of you writing on heroes and superheroes in comics, Christopher Knowles <em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Our-Gods-Wear-Spandex-History/dp/1578634067">Our Gods Wear Spandex: the Secret History of Comic Book Heroes</a></em> is <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">indispensable</span>. More than presenting comics heroes in a line with historical antecedents, the book gives large prominence to gnosticism, theosophy, occult groups and the entire magical <em><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">impedementia</span></em> of the Victorians as direct influences. Both Crowley and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Gaimon</span> are featured in a way that will be familiar to you from lecture, with some additional information and perspective.<br />
</div><br />
<div></div><div>I now have a copy of my own for anyone who wishes to a borrow be. [Image courtesy <a href="http://www.comicbox.com/">comicbox.com</a>]<br />
</div><div><br />
<blockquote><strong>Was Superman's arch nemesis <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Lex</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Luthor</span> based on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Aleister</span> Crowley</strong>? Can Captain Marvel be linked to the Sun gods on antiquity? <em>In Our Gods Wear Spandex</em>, Christopher Knowles answers these questions and brings to light many other intriguing links between superheroes and the enchanted world of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">estoerica</span>. Occult students and comic-book fans alike will discover countless fascinating connections, from little known facts such as that DC Comics editor Julius Schwartz started his career as H.P. Lovecraft's agent, to <strong>the tantalizingly extensive influence of Madame Blavatsky's Theosophy on the birth of comics</strong>, to the mystic roots of Superman. The book also traces the rise of the comic superheroes and how they relate to <strong>several cultural trends in the late 19<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"><span style="font-size: 78%;">th</span></span> century, specifically the occult explosion</strong> in Western Europe and America. Knowles reveals the four basic superhero archetypes--the Messiah, the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Golem</span>, the Amazon, and the Brotherhood--and shows how the occult Bohemian underground of the early 20<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9"><span style="font-size: 78%;">th</span></span> century provided the inspiration for the modern comic book hero.<br />
</blockquote></div>Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080423673053762753.post-89853766033352391582009-11-11T22:59:00.000-08:002009-11-11T23:00:30.386-08:00Classfellow BlurbFrom Classfellow Clinton Hallahan, this gonzo comment after recently first reading Will Eisner's <em>Contract With God</em>:<br />
<blockquote>I'm not surprised it's popular. It hits like a warhead, one of those pieces of fiction that upon subsequent readings you can't capture the way you felt about it the first time. Novelty becomes an asset for things like this, I think (and that may also apply to From Hell and Jack The Ripper too: the novelty of a media-fueled celebrity killer aiding it's legend).<br />
</blockquote>Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080423673053762753.post-90493798617497541742009-11-11T14:56:00.000-08:002009-11-11T18:03:18.789-08:00Alan Moore & "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen"From Douglas Wolk (author of <em>Understanding Comics</em>), found in <a href="http://www.salon.com/">salon.com</a>:<br />
<blockquote><span style="font-size: 78%;">Nov. 24, 2007</span><br />
Years before its publication, Alan Moore described <a href="http://www.salon.com/books/review/2007/11/24/alan_moore/"><em>The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier</em></a> as "not my best comic ever, not <strong>the best comic ever, but the best thing ever</strong>. Better than the Roman civilisation, penicillin ... and the human nervous system. Better than creation. Better than the big bang. It's quite good." <a href="http://www.salon.com/books/review/2007/11/24/alan_moore/">More>>></a><br />
</blockquote>Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080423673053762753.post-9891833807170388902009-11-05T14:03:00.000-08:002009-11-05T23:28:48.295-08:00Guest-Blogger<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdU_XnAyzit4lE-tDyLs6R1Ki0VeE8Xiqe6-qYJtS0zYr3I-a2p_0v1AFz1t_pZ1r-IcW3bRqrqtUguSb_BPBKHyBIkR8zHdE0e7tO0ZtDzN87tKBU8e7d2yBybOx0SAxpA8atFNOrz8ZH/s1600-h/Watchmen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" sr="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdU_XnAyzit4lE-tDyLs6R1Ki0VeE8Xiqe6-qYJtS0zYr3I-a2p_0v1AFz1t_pZ1r-IcW3bRqrqtUguSb_BPBKHyBIkR8zHdE0e7tO0ZtDzN87tKBU8e7d2yBybOx0SAxpA8atFNOrz8ZH/s320/Watchmen.jpg" /></a>[An excellent guest-post here from one of our number. All are welcome to submit any comics-related posts for wider publication.]<br />
</div><blockquote>Hello everyone: I’m Bevan, the tall pale guy with the black laptop that’s been bogging the class down with all those comments about <em>Sandman</em>, <em>From Hell</em>, and to a lesser extent the other books. Anyway, I was talking with Dr. Ogden about the <em>Watchmen</em> movie and expressed some comments about it that he suggested be posted on the blog. So here there are, and be warned that there are some spoilers:<br />
<br />
Unlike many people, I don’t think the movie was a good movie. The opening credits showing the effects of superheroes throughout different parts of history (Comedian assassinating JFK, Andy Warhol painting the heroes, etc.) was brilliant, but most of the rest of it didn’t work so well. There are various reasons, but two main ones:<br />
<br />
The first was that I felt the movie lacked “energy.” I just couldn’t get involved in what was going-on. I wasn’t carried away by the story. It’s hard, if not impossible, to give reasons for this sort of thing. Something either has it or it doesn’t, and Watchmen didn’t.<br />
<br />
The other is easier to explain. The movie took some of the more problematic or disturbing elements of the comic and cranked them-up to make them objectionable. For example, the murder of the Comedian and the sexual assault on Silk Spectre takes up relatively later paper time in the comic, but are very long in the movie, dwelling on very raw, disturbing, and ultimately uninteresting violence. Dr. Manhattan busts up a vice club by blowing-up many of its members, which is implied in the book (something that always bothered me), but is graphically shown in the movie. Nite Owl apologies to Rorschach for yelling at him, saying that he’s Rorschach’s friend (despite all the things the man’s done), which is exaggerated in the movie. <br />
<br />
But most objectionable of all is the fight with the gang. In the book, Nite Owl and Silk Spectre are attacked by a street gang, and after that they defeat the gang, they become seriously turned-on (one of the themes of the book is the erotic overtones of being a superhero). Now, in the movie this fight happens, but the two very clearly KILL many members of the gang. People getting aroused by being in a fight is one thing, people getting aroused by just killing a group of people is something else.<br />
<br />
Now obviously most of this stuff is already in the book, but I found that the movie cranked it up enough so that it changed from something artistically sound, to something that left a bad taste in my mouth. <br />
<br />
Anyway, that’s my two cents.<br />
</blockquote>Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080423673053762753.post-39697617189420902662009-10-29T23:02:00.000-07:002009-10-30T17:09:12.213-07:00Beowulf: Neil Gaiman Screenplay<a href="http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/images/200711/20071116ho_beowulf_500.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/images/200711/20071116ho_beowulf_500.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 200px;" /></a>The <em><a href="http://nationalpost.com/">National Post</a></em> has a feast of articles on the CGI movie from a screenplay <a href="http://www.neilgaiman.com/">Neil Gaiman</a> based loosely (very <em>very</em><strong> </strong>loosely) on <a href="http://www.humanities.mcmaster.ca/~beowulf/main.html"><em>Beowulf</em></a>. <br />
<div><ul><li><a href="http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/artslife/postmovies/story.html?id=d0e82f35-e827-47ac-b050-818d504da189">Academics bristle at adaptation's liberties</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/artslife/story.html?id=603cb3c6-293e-407f-9012-3a5be61f41fa">Jay Stone: 'Beowulf' review.</a> </li>
<li><a href="http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/artslife/story.html?id=07e3be86-f975-4c95-a587-af85c68195a0">Angelina Jolie feels exposed in Beowulf</a>.</li>
</ul></div>Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080423673053762753.post-31877589749677022172009-10-29T14:33:00.000-07:002009-11-06T16:33:44.755-08:00Copy-Editing Symbols<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdjfMGHE-7iLpGPQ48ulqY-4BCl8Wrp6nJJXznZn1nwHgwABF-OuywCsok6ozeMyQzPuJ1_0xp-v5hMEreaOzNU-_od9h3UVSRAc7tmzJ8WOe8lgQ2mlLdoA21AqhTCN6W0n8IDRjKj3cp/s1600-h/Copy+Editing.gif"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265433057418940338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdjfMGHE-7iLpGPQ48ulqY-4BCl8Wrp6nJJXznZn1nwHgwABF-OuywCsok6ozeMyQzPuJ1_0xp-v5hMEreaOzNU-_od9h3UVSRAc7tmzJ8WOe8lgQ2mlLdoA21AqhTCN6W0n8IDRjKj3cp/s320/Copy+Editing.gif" style="cursor: hand; float: right; height: 272px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 320px;" /></a>Follow <a href="http://www.wordsru.com/hard-copy-editing.php">this link</a>, as well as <a href="http://webster.commnet.edu/writing/symbols.htm">this other link</a>, for a legend of the standard copy-editing symbols used in the marking of your essays <br />
<div><br />
</div>Some of the more frequently-used are the following.<br />
<ul><li><strong>SYN</strong>: faulty syntax</li>
<li><strong>GR</strong>: faulty grammar</li>
<li><strong>AWK</strong>: awkward wording or awkward expression of idea.</li>
<li><strong>SP</strong>: faulty spelling</li>
<li><strong>PRON</strong>: missing or faulty pronoun.</li>
<li><strong>AGR</strong>: faulty agreement (grammar.)</li>
<li><strong>T</strong>: incorrect tense (grammar.)</li>
<li><strong>M</strong>: incorrect mood (grammar.)</li>
<li><strong>//</strong>: lack of correct parallelism</li>
<li><strong>¶ : </strong>faulty paragraph structure</li>
<li><strong>CAP</strong>: capitalise</li>
<li><strong>MM</strong>: mixed metaphor</li>
<li><strong>NO CAP</strong>: don't capitalise</li>
<li><strong>WDY</strong>: excessive, roundabout or unhelpful wording that obscures the argument.</li>
<li><strong>ARG</strong>: argument required.</li>
<li><strong>DEV</strong>: faulty development of the argument</li>
<li><strong>D</strong>: faulty diction (<em>e.g. </em>use of jargon or informal idiom.)</li>
<li><strong>PASS</strong>: passive (usually adjectival rather than adverbial) form </li>
<li><strong>WC</strong>: faulty word choice</li>
<li><strong>WW</strong>: wrong word</li>
<li><strong>RELEV</strong>: irrelevant remark.</li>
<li><strong>PETITIO</strong>: a <em>petitio principii ('begging the question')—</em>assuming as a conclusion that which needs to be established as a premis. Often in essay argument, a statement delivered as a proof which itself is as yet unproven.</li>
<li><strong>UNCL</strong>: unclear expression of an idea</li>
<li><strong>REP</strong>: repetitive wording or repetition of a previously-presented idea. </li>
<li><strong>REL</strong>: faulty relation of idea <em>or</em> no clear relation to surrounding idea. </li>
<li><strong>TRUISM</strong>: statement of the obvious: unnecessary.</li>
<li><strong>P</strong>: faulty punctuation.</li>
<li><strong>ITAL</strong>: italicise this text.</li>
<li><strong>DEL</strong>: unnecessary text requiring deletion</li>
<li><strong>PLEON</strong>: pleonasm</li>
<li><strong>REPORT</strong>: book report--<em>i.e.</em> absence of argument. </li>
<li><strong>CIT</strong>: missing citation</li>
<li><strong>DANGL</strong>: dangling modifier.</li>
<li><strong>STR</strong>: faulty or absent argument structure.</li>
<li><strong>R-O</strong>: run-on sentence.</li>
<li><strong>FRAG</strong>: sentence fragment</li>
<li><strong>THESIS</strong>: misplaced thesis-level sentence </li>
<li><strong>X</strong>: false statement.</li>
<li><strong>SS</strong>: faulty sentence structure</li>
</ul>Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080423673053762753.post-35780119952206140762009-10-29T13:58:00.000-07:002009-12-03T15:45:17.381-08:00Final PaperSee the course syllabus for deadline information.<br />
<ul><li>Three thousand to thirty-five hundred words</li>
<li>Open topic. An effective way of deciding upon a topic is to conceive of the possibilities in three categories. <strong>1.]</strong> An analysis of one literary aspect of the graphic novel that has captured your attention during lecture and seminar. <strong>2.]</strong> An analysis of one or two features of the visual art component, in terms of the ways that it supports or complements some specific literary aspects. <strong>3.] </strong>An engagement against, or development away from, any of the firm positions presented in lecture.</li>
<li>A minimum of two primary course texts</li>
<li>A minimum of one secondary source. Use the Bennett Library: I recommend the catalogue as a useful resource. Search with keyword "comic," "comics," or "graphic novel."</li>
</ul>The direction I would give you <em>pace</em> the topic is to discipline yourself away from the Egotistical-Hedonistic approach to graphic novels. I would also say that it will be very difficult to narrow your focus down too finely. By all means run a draft thesis paragraph by me in an Office Hour....<br />
<br />
A creative option is available. To use this option, submit a proposal in writing which details your proposed project with <a href="http://thegodfiction.blogspot.com/2009/05/group-polemical-project.html">clear failure standards</a>.Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080423673053762753.post-9981306026877277222009-10-29T13:56:00.000-07:002009-10-29T14:04:29.158-07:00Evaluative Essay ExamplesWith permission of the authors, I am posting here two of the Evaluative Essays that fall into the "A" range. The two both support and challenge course lecture, but in reverse proportions, both with admirable subtlety in their minor proportion. These essays can be used as comparative examples.<br />
<ul><li>"The Maus Mask"— <a href="http://www.sfu.ca/~ogden/Engl%20_383_1097/The%20Maus%20Mask.doc">Kali Thurber</a></li>
<li>"Maus: Icons & Idolatry"—<a href="http://www.sfu.ca/~ogden/Engl%20_383_1097/Maus%20-%20Icons%20and%20Idolatry.doc">Lucas Westhaver</a></li>
</ul>For the second, Review, part of the assignment, there is full detail in the assignment post. In brief, isolate your <em>particular</em> thesis statement and review your position on it now that you have much more information from lecture and have studied more course texts.Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080423673053762753.post-13544005797165228462009-10-29T12:13:00.000-07:002009-10-29T14:16:02.330-07:00Nazi Propaganda Film<img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.holocaust-history.org/der-ewige-jude/images/frame03.jpg" style="cursor: hand; float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 200px;" /><a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5849499994484879153&ei=rgXqSqacL6LqqAOL5OWyDA&q=der+ewige+jude#">Click here</a> for the link to <em>Der <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Ewige</span> Jude</em>, the Nazi anti-<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Semitic</span> propaganda film. The clip from it I that showed in lecture today was the section which Joseph Goebbels designed to draw equivalency between Jews and rats: the feature which <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Speigelman</span> engages directly through his <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">various representations</span> in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"><em>Maus</em></span>.<br />
<br />
The image I display in this post is from the website of the <a href="http://www.holocaust-history.org/">Holocaust History Project</a>, and shows the connecting imagery of Jews and flies from <em>Der Ewige Jude</em>, which Spiegelman references in the "Time Flies" section of <em>Maus</em>, as we discussed in lecture today<em>.</em><br />
<br />
As I said in lecture, I loathe this film and cannot watch it without being deeply saddened.Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080423673053762753.post-71474870504507818512009-10-26T19:30:00.000-07:002009-10-26T19:30:00.077-07:00Ken Steacy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kenspublishing.com/images/Kenportrait.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://www.kenspublishing.com/images/Kenportrait.jpg" vr="true" width="200" /></a><br />
</div>The homepage for our Guest Lecturer today, this year's <a href="http://joeshusterawards.com/">Joe Shuster Award</a> winner for visual artistry in comics, Mr. Ken Steacy <a href="http://www.kenspublishing.com/">is online at this link</a>.Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080423673053762753.post-5190153379236369102009-10-10T08:22:00.000-07:002009-10-14T08:25:23.778-07:00No 383 Classes Thanksgiving WeekAn on-line reminder that with the week's lectures and Monday tutorial falling on the Thanksgiving Holiday, there will correspondingly be no Wednesday or Friday tutorials.Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080423673053762753.post-24027951762817379532009-10-09T11:28:00.000-07:002009-10-09T12:46:18.957-07:00Seminar ContributionsSeminar discussion is going vigorously in all three sections for our course: this is partly by design (material is being presented and set stimulatively); partly by nature (comics evoke keen engagement); and partly by quality of participants (kudos, that is, to you.)<br />
<br />
I would like to give a recognition of the vigour and substance of the contributions; allow all three seminars to share in what each of the others is doing; and to give opportunity to perhaps continue the discussions.<br />
<br />
Here, then, is a summary from classfellow S.K., Monday tutorial, on a vector of approach to <em>Maus</em>.<br />
<blockquote>While looking at the chapter "Time Flies" in <em>Maus</em>, we discussed the idea of Art's mouse mask representing wearing his Jewishness on the surface. I can relate to this because it is not easy being raised Jewish in a Christian world. For example, everyone gets time off for Christmas and Easter, regardless of religion, but if I wanted to take a Jewish holiday off (like Yom Kippur which falls this coming Monday and is the holiest Jewish holiday) I could but I would have to miss class, so I choose to not take any holidays off because I can't afford to. I always felt like people couldn't relate to me either, like they don't understand what it is to be Jewish. I went to a private Jewish elementary school, but went to public high school and this transition was difficult. Anyways, with time I learned to adjust to my new surroundings. Again, many Jews may wear their faith as a mask in that they were born Jewish but are not religious, like me. I'm Jewish by birth but don't necessarily believe all of it. <br />
<br />
<br />
The bodies we see following Art seem to be representing the idea that the Holocaust is always lingering in our thoughts. From a young age we are told about what happened and often times forced to "stay" Jewish, like keep Jewish friends, marry a Jew, etc. I married a non-Jew and this was a huge issue for my father at first, but in time he learned to look past that and accept my husband for who he is. I think that because Jews have pretty much always been persecuted in one way or another and the fact there are now so few left is a driving force behind many parents urging their children to remain Jewish and keep tradition alive. For example, mt children will be Jewish because I, their mother, am, whereas if my brother married a non-Jew his children would not be. This is a big issue for my parents and they act very happy that he is dating a Jew so that they need not worry about it continuing through him. <br />
<br />
We also touched on the fact that Vladek appears to be perpetuating the stereotype of the miserly Jew. My aunt does this as well. She is bitter and very prejudiced (her daughters don't even have non-Jewish friends) and acts like everything she's been through is the worst ever and anybody's other problems don't matter. It's very frustrating. I wonder if it was hard for Art being the child of Holocaust survivors since nothing he'll ever experience will compare to the hell they've been through and seen. I don't have any direct family that survived the Holocaust, but my uncle was sent to Holland to live with a non-Jewish family while his parents fled to Canada in order to keep him safe. My husband is half German as well and his grandparents apparently were forced to bake for the Nazis and when his grandfather eventually refused, they locked him in a cellar where he almost died. This reminds us that not all Germans were Nazis; it's very important to distinguish between them.<br />
</blockquote>Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080423673053762753.post-7586963780449217712009-10-09T10:26:00.000-07:002009-10-09T12:37:52.090-07:00Dachua: Classfellow's PhotographyClassfellow A.K. took several pictures at Dachau concentration camp during a visit this past summer. Some samples are <a href="http://www.sfu.ca/~ogden/Engl%20_383_1097/Dachau/">online for us at this link</a>--helping visualise the experience, and contrast the modes of representation, in Spiegelman's <em>Maus</em>. The files number are glossed by A.K. as follows<br />
<ol><li>The gate to the camp-embossed with the now-notorious "Work sets you free" slogan</li>
<li>The rows of foundations behind the one building. These are where the barracks used to stand. There are a couple that have been reconstructed.</li>
<li>Map of all of the concentration camps in Europe.</li>
<li>One of the signs in the memorial</li>
<li>Upon entering the camp. To the right is a memorial monument, a black sculpture.</li>
<li>The camp was covered in gravel so the Nazis could hear if anyone was trying to escape. </li>
</ol>Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080423673053762753.post-81651221737715669862009-10-09T10:16:00.000-07:002009-10-09T13:01:48.662-07:00Seminar Contributions: 'Conan"From Friday's tutorial, here is <a href="http://www.sfu.ca/~ogden/Engl%20_383_1097/Conan%20Analysis.doc">a commendably solid literary analysis</a> of one of the "Conan" comics. <br />
(Posted as Word document to preserve formatting.)Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080423673053762753.post-73087838939654871152009-10-08T12:47:00.000-07:002009-10-09T12:54:44.016-07:00H1N1 Registry for StudentsSFU has created <a href="https://websurvey.sfu.ca/cgi-bin/WebObjects/WebSurvey.woa/wa/survey?43591193">an on-line registry</a> in order to have students register their absence in the case of flu.<br />
<br />
Students will inform their instructors in the usual way if they are absent due to flu <em>and </em>register on-line through the authenticated web survey.Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080423673053762753.post-31674793553485806242009-10-05T12:46:00.000-07:002009-10-15T14:11:31.501-07:00Seminar Group Project Proposals & ReportsYour Status Report of the Group Project will say (a.) what your proposed project is, (b.) what the schedule of the proposed project is, and (c.) where you are now.<br />
<br />
Proposals -- in this case, proposals to yourselves for the Group Project-- can be helpfully constructed as <span style="color: #3333ff;">failure standards.</span> Failure standards are a real-world use of the <a href="http://www.stephenjaygould.org/ctrl/popper_falsification.html">falsification concept</a> from experimental science, where a theory becomes ranked as scientific only when it is capable of being <em>falsified</em> in a replicable experiment.<br />
<br />
So, for your assignment proposals, you would list (in either essay or point form) the full set of criteria by which your project can be gauged to have failed. for example "Our project will have failed if:"<br />
<ul><li>it does not meet the criteria detailed in assignment post</li>
<li>the project does not advance an academic thesis.</li>
<li>the project does not have [some measurable degree of] quality</li>
<li>the project does not identifiably incorporate relevent scholarship</li>
<li>the project fails to relate to some number of the primary course texts</li>
<li>the project fails to represent and demonstrate advanced understanding of the central ideas of the course</li>
<li><em>&c</em>, <em>&c</em>. </li>
</ul>This effectively prevents <em>creativity</em> from being devalued to <em>open license.</em><br />
<br />
An effective proposal describes (<em>nb</em>. look up the etymology of this word in the <a href="http://cufts2.lib.sfu.ca/CRDB/BVAS/resource/5762">OED</a>) three components of a project:<br />
<ol><li><strong><span style="color: #cc0000;">Area</span> </strong></li>
<li><strong><span style="color: #cc0000;">Range</span></strong></li>
<li><strong><span style="color: #cc0000;">Structure</span></strong></li>
</ol>The <strong><em>Area</em></strong> is the specific subject of your project: e-mail writing, for instance. <em><strong>Range</strong></em> delimits the specific aspect of your subject: courtesy and professional manner in e-mail, say. And <em><strong>Structure</strong></em> outlines the manner in which the project will formed.<br />
<br />
One to two pages is a reasonable length for a proposal of this type, four pages at most.Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080423673053762753.post-11629840572791021592009-09-29T14:02:00.000-07:002009-09-29T14:04:22.406-07:00Maus, Jews and Neoconservatism<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrT2DwQ6tTf6oDPdWa8Gp_1VaYqAxn436qVe8YA5dfHXaGX4LJCInvudLZurcHzwaw0jcgCgRXVUBHV8mkHUmgReOYDwROmsSgIHsrRRnrUMAWJxfBH1etaavx7Y3mflp6Ucu8rfbwiuQm/s1600-h/maus.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" iq="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrT2DwQ6tTf6oDPdWa8Gp_1VaYqAxn436qVe8YA5dfHXaGX4LJCInvudLZurcHzwaw0jcgCgRXVUBHV8mkHUmgReOYDwROmsSgIHsrRRnrUMAWJxfBH1etaavx7Y3mflp6Ucu8rfbwiuQm/s200/maus.gif" /></a><br />
</div>Part of the significance—and artistic strength—of Art Spiegelman's <em>Maus</em> is its pointed engagement with antisemitism not only past but present and future. An example given of a present-day social controversy which has a Jewish component can be found around the term "Neo-Conservative."<br />
<br />
I have little personal or academic interest with, and no credibility in, present politics (outside, that is, ordinary citizen participation in our democracy) and so will simply point you to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoconservatism">the Wikipedia entry on neo-conservatism</a> and let you explore and judge for yourselves.<br />
<br />
Keep in mind what I have explained about Wikipedia. It is entirely worthless—indeed, it is pernicious—as a scholarly authority. It has, however, value as an aggregation of common opinion about whatever it has listed.Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080423673053762753.post-75551098259580436462009-09-29T13:45:00.000-07:002009-09-29T13:45:09.099-07:00Dan Brown & Bad Books<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi63HPcGl4iFWdQFU5he-Cmptb6xv-vO6h8mpCtdI3VLFrGfiLfEedcY2QqttZtVetZx9Pky8dNhfRijsgEpI6qKzxrWei3mheeeccb0ConDWSBE524axNUY4xedhw8w3qEbbC7AlgP5DeF/s1600/untitled.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" iq="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi63HPcGl4iFWdQFU5he-Cmptb6xv-vO6h8mpCtdI3VLFrGfiLfEedcY2QqttZtVetZx9Pky8dNhfRijsgEpI6qKzxrWei3mheeeccb0ConDWSBE524axNUY4xedhw8w3qEbbC7AlgP5DeF/s200/untitled.bmp" /></a><br />
</div>Mention made in lecture, <em>a propos </em>the concept of 'glorious junk', that Dan Brown, famous of course for his <em>The Da Vinci Code</em>, is an execrably bad writer. My colleague faculty Dr. Paul Budra includes this book in his excellent course on "Bad Books." When I teach it, I show in objective detail its manifold failings, yet conclude by explaining its one aspect of significant literary merit.<br />
<br />
<div>Judgement against Brown's dreadful writing is all-but a commonplace.</div><ul><li>Here is <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2121212/">a link to a Christopher Hitchens article</a> condemning Dan Brown's writing -- a condemnation with peculiar merit given that Hitchens is arguably the world's foremost anti-Catholic.</li>
<li>Britain's august <em>Daily Telegraph</em> lists & laments "<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/6194031/The-Lost-Symbol-and-The-Da-Vinci-Code-author-Dan-Browns-20-worst-sentences.html">author Dan Brown's 20 worst sentences</a>."</li>
<li><em>Slate.com</em> sees the humour in Brown's draughting disabilty and provides the world with "<a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2228327/pagenum/all/">The Dan Brown Sequel Generator: Plug in a city and a sect, and our computer will do the rest</a>." Have fun with this!</li>
</ul>Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3080423673053762753.post-38294628648175640352009-09-23T14:01:00.000-07:002009-09-23T14:01:45.388-07:00Biff! Bam! Pow!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG9Ao632i7YUfDaHArqTDWMpYNVl69p4ujGKf53pUAGO2WFsrhJE6RTfqYZPnGFDJNEBf4OvLZWsX6d7qtnl-u2D7qkGJDBVQCv4L9eQjDl_Vx5YkeaLJyV495ixdaV8Aod6eLFNqOhZtE/s1600-h/marvel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" iq="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG9Ao632i7YUfDaHArqTDWMpYNVl69p4ujGKf53pUAGO2WFsrhJE6RTfqYZPnGFDJNEBf4OvLZWsX6d7qtnl-u2D7qkGJDBVQCv4L9eQjDl_Vx5YkeaLJyV495ixdaV8Aod6eLFNqOhZtE/s200/marvel.jpg" /></a><br />
</div>"<a href="http://www.thebigmoney.com/articles/video/2009/09/16/behind-cape">What it's like to work at Marvel Comics</a>" (<em>Via</em> Slate.com)Dr. Stephen Ogdenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16765689515656935339noreply@blogger.com0