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Jul 01, 2025
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2021-2022 Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
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VISC 120 - Comic Books & Sequential Art
PREREQUISITES: ENGL 111 - English Composition
PROGRAM: Visual Communications
CREDIT HOURS: 3
LECTURE HOURS: 1
LAB HOURS: 2
DATE OF LAST REVISION: Fall, 2017
Just like comics themselves, this class is for everybody. No previous experience with comics is necessary-simply be prepared to challenge and to be challenged. The course examines the history of comic books, their place in culture, and the philosophy and technique of their creation. Students will develop research skills, communications skills, and work with elements of visual narrative and design. You, dear student, have stumbled upon a class that promises to be academically rigorous and tremendously fun.
MAJOR COURSE LEARNING OBJECTIVES: Upon successful completion of this course the student will be expected to:
- Identify major movements within the history of the comic’s medium.
- Identify major artistic and narrative voices within the medium’s history.
- Place works within a specific historical, cultural, literary, and/or artistic context.
- Develop multiple short reading log entries that demonstrate a nuanced and academic perspective for a given text.
- Write a short essay tat appropriately applies the research process, includes multiple secondary sources, and demonstrates the student’s comprehension of the historical and cultural context.
- Create a short comic utilizing strategies and approaches to visual narratives developed in class.
COURSE CONTENT: Topical areas of study include - This class focuses on three major points. First, through the lens of Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics, a foundation of the visual techniques and philosophy will be explored and challenged. Second, through an examination of comic’s history and specific works, the course will propose that comics offer a transformative artistic and literary experience that participates with literary and popular culture. Finally, the course argues that while comics are similar to other narrative and artistic mediums, comics are distinct from those other forms
Specific areas of study include (but are not limited to) the following categories:
| Comics History |
Major Contributors |
Comics Production/Techniques |
| Example Areas of Interest: |
Example Artists: |
Example Areas of Interest: |
| Beginning of comics and pre-Comics Code Era |
Steve Ditko |
Layouts/Panel placement |
| Senate hearings on juvenile delinquency |
Jack Kirby |
Penciling |
| Comics Code Era |
Wally Wood |
Inking |
| Underground Comix |
Marie Severin |
Coloring |
| “The black and white boom” |
Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez |
Lettering |
| Post Comics Code Era |
John Workman |
Scripting |
| Publishers and publication history |
Will Eisner |
Narrative structure |
| Changes in distribution method |
Robert Crumb |
What are comics? |
Course Addendum - Syllabus (Click to expand)
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