Saturday, April 19, 2008

Hey Kids, More Comics!

Okay, not comics. Visual storytelling. Comics are on my mind today because it's the big New York comic book convention weekend. I'm exhausted from running around, my voice is hoarse, and I'm in the kind of daze that can only come from constantly being "on" and chatty while simultaneously keeping an eye out for real live Stormtroopers, Boba Fetts, and Mister Ts. (I was keen to send camera phone photos to C down in Princeton, as I suspect he is still a bit baffled by this world that I live and work in. I doubt the Boba Fetts cleared things up much.)

One thing I've noticed in my world travels is that many cultures have heritages of visual storytelling. Papua New Guinea has its storyboards, carved boards that feature a scene or sequential scenes. Sri Lanka has paintings in temples. Ethiopia does too. Egypt has hieroglyphics. Heck, even cavemen made pictures to communicate stories.

Here are some examples of visual storytelling from around the world.





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