Gail Simone's Blog, page 954
August 8, 2012
Accents And Dialects
“ There’re accent variations within English, it’s not just an ESL thing. And having one character mention another’s accent is more awkward than some triggering grammatical idiosyncrasy within their dialogue.”
This is continued from the previous question about dialects, and I would agree with the first bit. No one really seems to get offended by a broad Boston accent, but attempts to portray some dialects are pretty horrible from the get go.
The second part I take a bit of issue with, because it’s just an example of a way to convey the information. And it depends 100% on execution. If it’s done clumsily, it will look awkward and obvious. Done well, you won’t even notice.
I would actually say that a big part of comics is compensation, we have to compensate and substitute for the lack of audio and movement (and other limitations of the form and individual artists). A good comic is usually full of such techniques. As I say, if done well, they are pretty unobtrusive.
Hello there! I'm curious about something I hoped you might shed some light on for me. When writing a character with a strong dialect in comics (Rogue, for example), what is the typical protocol? In screenwriting, it's frowned upon to write in dialect (rath
Wow, this is a great question. Let me see if I can do this justice.
Here’s the thing, ethnic or national dialect is a serious minefield in comics, when done carelessly.
There is definitely something about print on the comics page that amplifies attempts to portray a strongly accented voice. Something that comes across as a sensitive and honest portrayal from an actor often looks absolutely hideous on a comics page, typed out (usually, but not always, by a white writer).
If an Hispanic actor says a perfectly dignified line in a manner that shows that his English is accented (I’m not talking about offensive racist portrayals), all that dignity and humanity shows through and it hits the ear naturally and humanely, it’s just a person talking. English might be his second or third language, there’s no intrinsic value placed on the inflection.
But with the fewer visual and audible clues in comics, it can really come across as caricature very very quickly. The long history of racist and well-intentioned-but-still-clueless portrayals of non-Native English speakers in Western comics doesn’t help.
So my feeling is, tread lightly, be sensitive, consult experts, and watch very closely for cliche, they can be hurtful very quickly regardless of your intentions. I have a few portrayals in the past that I wish I had downplayed a little more, as the comics page really multiplies the effect, particularly out of context. And that can be really hurtful.
The PLUS side is, comics allow lots of visual and verbal clues that serve the same purpose but are less problematic to look at. You can have another character remark on a character’s accent and the reader will slot that information in immediately and add that to the character’s voice.
I think accents and dialects are one of the reasons why so many Western comics writers are leery of creating characters that weren’t born in the U.S.A., but it’s obviously a bad excuse. It just takes a little bit more effort and a willingness to listen.
So, think of it as a powerful spice, used cautiously and sensitively, it adds to a wonderful flavor. But too much ruins the entire dish.
People want variety, they like to see a diversity of characters, but that means we have a responsibility to be accurate and thoughtful about it.
I hope that makes sense!
Wow!
Thanks to the support of readers and comic shops, in just a few hours, my kickstarter project with co-creator and artist Jim Calafiore, LEAVING MEGALOPOLIS, e is already way over a third of the way funded…it could easily be halfway funded in a single day.
Jim and I are just overwhelmed at the response…some of the incentives that we thought would last for ages are already sold out or selling out. It is absolutely humbling that people are so supportive of our dark little project.
Due to popular request, we have a lowered rate for our Canadian friends. We are also working out a Canadian retailers incentive package for those shops up there that have asked.
I am excited. I just want a great book that readers will enjoy, but it ALSO feels like a cool experiment that could mean good things for comics.
Thank you so much for the pledges and the reblogs and all that signal boosting! LOVE TO ALL!
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2069222802/leaving-megalopolis
Please take a look…if you enjoy my work, or Jim’s work, we are really proud of this thing!
HAIL LEVIATHAN: gailsimone: katefatale: A scene from Villains United #1, and one of my...
A scene from Villains United #1, and one of my all-time favorite Talia moments. Not only is she not going to take orders from Dr. Light, she’s also clearly not at all intimidated by his threat in the last panel — she’s pissed. (Gail really ought to write Talia…
Heh. I love you, too! And that gif made me laugh out loud for real.
August 7, 2012
While researching something I came across Repulse from your Action run today, and damn, she was pretty awesome!
Thank you! I loved Repulse, sort of a dark Bettie Page, in a way. If you read the story, you know why she couldn’t really come back, but I loved how she actually made Superman sweat!
pixystitches:
Batgirl - finished! on Flickr.
After stitching...
Batgirl - finished! on Flickr.
After stitching Deadpool and Hellboy, I decided I needed to stitch some more DC. More so, after seeing The Dark Knight Rises. At first I was all BANE! Then I decided I needed some female representation, and was torn between Big Barda and Scandal Savage. Then I dug out this purple frame and realized it just HAD to be Batgirl. I picked Babs.
Well, it all my perfect sense in my head.
Just over 8,500 stitches, 1 over 1 on 22ct.
What what what?
THAT IS AWESOME.
I was rereading the Khund story in Wonder Woman tonight and I noticed the "Swamp Thing Says Relax" tshirt. 1. Where can I get one? 2. Was this your idea or Bernard Chang? I think its genius :)
That was my idea…I THINK I got away with it because no one got the reference at the time!
Just looked at your kickstarter page about Leaving Megaopolis. I'm assuming this is the project Jim mentioned when I asked him about his work with you on Secret Six, at Heroescon. Can you give us a little background on the story and whether or not this is
This is definitely a told-in-one story, but if the response is great, it could lead to more tales in this world.
It’s a story we are dying to tell, it has all the stuff we love, a lot of the stuff that was in Secret Six but with the envelope pushed even further. It’s got some of my favorite characters ever.
The idea is that one day, all the superheroes go bad at the exact same moment. Our story is what that’s like for those that survive.
We are really, really committed, it’s quite a story!
Gail Simone's Blog
- Gail Simone's profile
- 1223 followers
