LO4: Justification of how visual style follows codes and conventions

The format of the comic is inspired by western superhero comics like DC and Marvel. Hence, the text and paneling of the story go from left to right, unlike Japanese comics/mangas that read from right to left. The visual style of the comic is in keeping with the conventions of superhero fantasy comics and graphic novels as seen in the Dark Knights of Steel comic series I studied previously. I have included elements that are typical of the genre like character archetypes, design, costumes, setting and storyline. The protagonist Ira is a typical hero archetype in the story. She possesses unique powers and abilities that she uses to overcome hurdles and achieve her ultimate goal. She has an overwhelming desire to help others and has an overall positive outlook on life. To reflect the medieval setting of the comic, I designed various outfits for the protagonist and made sure they also reflected her aristocratic social background. She wears well tailored, high quality clothes, compared to what a peasant would wear. The signature colour I chose for her is green as it connotes a down-to-earth personality along with growth and new-beginnings. Though, on the other hand, it also symbolises a lack of experience which reflects Ira's naivety, which created problems in her journey as an aristocrat and vigilante.

Common plot-points in a superhero storyline include, but are not limited to- A culturally significant setting, superpowers that are learnt/enabled by a special item, a secret identity, a supervillain and a sidekick or superhero team. While I was not able to explore all of them in the 3 page comic, the story surrounding the main character follows the above mentioned plot stereotypes. 

On the first page of the comic, I introduced a villain character that challenges the protagonist. Characteristics of a good villain character include but are not limited to- properly developed and compelling motivations, complex ideologies that often oppose that of the protagonist, threatening persona, intelligence and a tragic backstory. While it is not possible to touch on all of them in one page, I have been able to include a few. Though, as this scene is supposed to be a small glimpse at a conflict in the protagonists story, much of the villain's motives and character are left to interpretation. The dialogue in this scene subtly reveals many major factors in the story- "Even if you run, I already know who you are." This hints to the fact that the protagonist has a secret identity that this villain character knows of- something they can use against her. Her secret identity is also ephasised through the clothing she is wearing (mask). "You will pay for your foolishness and your family's cowardice." This gives the readers and overview of the major problems/plot points that could be explored throughout the story- Ira's decisions and her family's history or role in the story.

I chose two opposing colour palettes for the two sections of the comic (page 1 is section 1 and page 2-3 is section 2). The reason behind the opposing colour palette was to show the readers the time of day and the fact that there is a time skip/ flashback in section 2. I have strategically used analepsis in this section to tell an engaging story. For section one, the dark blue and purple colour palette connotes mystery for both the characters in the diegesis and the readers as they are not yet introduced to the characters yet. Though, I have purposefully included the name of the protagonist in the first page itself to give the readers some context and emphasise the fact that she is the main character. This trend follows through to the second section as despite the readers seeing another character, they are still only familiar with the protagonist Ira, whose name is repeated on both pages in this section. This will also help the readers remember her name better than the others even if they are introduced later, solidifying key information that the audience must know. 

          

The second section takes place in the morning and has a lot of medieval motifs in the architecture and backgrounds of the scene. In the examples above, I chose to show where the scene is taking place using a wide shot of the location, just like the inspiration I took from the Dark Knights of Steel comic. I also kept the warm, yellow tones consistent to show that it is all taking place in the same location and time of day. Another thing I noticed was the use of contrasting colours. The example page from the DKS comic have used tones of orange and blue. I did the same thing for my comic but showed the contrasting shades through the use of props and costumes instead of integrating them into the backgrounds themselves. Though, as one can see, the character in the purple dress/outfit stands out a lot. This is due to come contextual factors in the story. The character in the purple dress is Ira's older sister and the middle child of this aristocratic family. Unlike the other siblings, she chose to follow a completely different path (becoming a seamstress) despite her family's background in the military and politics. This makes her stand out compared to her other family members, which is reflected in her clothing. This is a common tactic used in character design to reflect the character's personality and character type. The colour purple connotes rarity, which is a reflection of her career choice. It can also symbolise royalty, mystery and femininity, which are accurate portrayals of her character.