L'Avventura

I was pretty worn out yesterday; however, I did get three pages of IJ#3 done, which leaves just three to go, I think. Eager to wrap this one up and get onto #4 and on and on.

Steven Grant continues his excellent series on creating comics the right way, this time looking at characterization. Anyone trying to make their own comics (or write any fiction, for that matter), will find good advice here. I certainly have.

Also, writers and especially artists might want to check out a classic film I watched yesterday, Michelangelo Antonioni's L'AVVENTURA (The Adventure), from 1961. This is really my first exposure to Antonioni, but I'm going to follow it with the next two films in what's considered his trilogy of alienation, LA NOTTE and L'ECLISSE, all starring the lovely Monica Vitti, his muse. L'AVVENTURA is described on the commentary by film critic Gene Youngblood as "a mystery in reverse". That is, it begins with a solution--a young woman on a cruise to some Italian islands with her boyfriend, best friend and some members of the idle rich, either disappears or kils herself, and the traditional mystery unraveling plot points fall away after some teasing to become a real mystery: why can't people communicate? The lead character is not this girl, in fact, but her friend, Claudia, who subtly changes identity with her and soon becomes the lover of Anna's boyfriend, Sandro, a man who wants to be a great architect but is too empty to create anything. Antonioni is not presenting a critique of the rich and/or jaded here; not really; it's just that these people add more color to his theme. And besides, Claudia is not one of them, and turns her back on their petty affairs and cruelties, and eventually, on Sandro, too. I must admit, while I enjoyed the film and loved the imagery and composition, I really didn't "get" the movie until I watched it with Youngblood's astute commentary. Antonioni films in a complex language that Youngblood calls "metanymic" (metanymnic?), meaning that the backgrounds and objects in the frame constantly reenforce his themes, yet they are not metaphors or symbols as such. For example, in an early scene, Anna's father talks to her, and behind him is an old cathedral, while behind her, closer, are some newly erected condos. So this emphasizes the theme of the Old World vs. the New World, and yet these are not symbols, because they actually are what they represent. The cathedral and condos are really there--Antonioni just found them and found a way to compose them together. Another example is when the pathetic--can't remember his name; he lusts after society dame Patrizia--begins scuba diving, though he professes to loathe it. He feels he has to conform. But he is quite literally adrift, even as he's spiritually adrift. These things occur frequently, plus there are some wonderful moments such as Claudia sitting next to two shoots or branches growing out of the ground. One is broken, and she touches it, trying briefly to stand it straight again before she gets up and leaves. It doesn't really mean anything, yet it's a powerful image that seems to mean something, and is hard to forget. The actual "metanymic" effects couldn't honestly be used in comics, as an artist is consciously placing everything s/he wants in the panel, rather than finding meaning in natural settings as Antonioni does, yet I think there's still a wealth of ideas to stimulate good comics here, and of course there's nothing wrong with consciously placing symbols in the panel. In general, comics talk too much and make sure you see everything important right away, when a deeper resonance can be achieved with a subtler, more enigmatic approach, I think.

Started listening to the new Ryan Adams (& The Cardinals) double-disc, COLD ROSES, which is pretty strong so far, though nothing has jumped out as classic quite yet. I liked the first disc of the Eels' BLINKING LIGHTS AND OTHER REVELATIONS, though I do see why I abandoned them so many years ago--I get a little tired of the guy's hush-hush voice after a while. Also downloaded the new Ben Folds, Bjork's most recent one, MEDULLA, and had a hankering for the Stones' LET IT BLEED. I noticed there's a new Beastie Boys mix album, with what looks to be all the mixes by one DJ Green Lantern (no "Shadrach, Meschach and Sinestro", though). I also listened to Blur's last album, 13, which holds up really well for me. It's probably too self-indulgent, but still musically interesting throughout, as Damon Albarn fights his naturally melodic tendencies with layers of fuzz and blips and trip-hoppy drums and all sorts of effects, all to let you know just how sad he is to have broken up with his girlfriend. "Tender" is a wonderful song of heartbreak, while it's near-bookend (the last track, "Optigan 1" is a dull instrumental), "No Distance Left To Run" is strong but really immature; it works because it's touching that a good-looking pop star is so broken up and adolescent over this failed relationship. It's significant that Albarn has done nothing really serious since, at least lyrically.