"The Intensity of the Presentation V.S. Story"

I found both of these concepts interesting, in Scott McCloud's "Making Comics." In the section entitled "Writing with Pictures," he goes into depth about how the organization of how the panels are presented can play a huge role in the comic's genre. Action sequences tend to have dynamic, faster paced panels and sequences, while 'daily gag' style comics can be much more simple and basic, often relying on story or clever wordplay, characters, jokes and puns. Whether we see the sequence up close or pulled out can totally effect the mood of the comic. I would guess that it might have something to do with how the comics are produced.
Daily newspaper comics are on a much shorter production schedule, since they were pumped out as quickly as possible. They had to be snappy and to the point, but interesting enough to catch the eye of a random reader, glancing through the funnies. Meanwhile, the dynamic staging and style of faster paced action comics, which makes me think of the superhero genre, are competing with a multitude of other comics on the shelf. Its much more of a visual contest, to which cover stands out the most, and who's pages are the most eye catching to a kid quickly flipping through them. Each target a pretty different demographic, but still manage to find an audience and remain interesting.

Max Ernst and Deadly Roosters

The sequence starts out tamely enough, with a figure leaping back from a small rooster. In the background, we see a figure crumpled in a heap at the bottom of the stairs, but no foul play is seen.

She knows though, that the roosters bring bad luck, so she was trying to steer clear. When it brought about her death, the rooster came back and began to haunt her mortician, and followed him home to haunt his family, and possess him which turned him into a where-rooster. Wherever he went after that, he brought death and tragedy, and the spirit of the rooster began to drive him mad. His family, his work, his wife, all suffered from his tragic luck. In the end he hoped to pass on the curse to another victim, with hope that it would free him and turn him human again.

The Arrival - Shaun Tan

In Shaun Tan's graphic novel The Arrival is a gorgeous mix of whimsical and surreal fantasy and very real themes, still relevant and applicable in our world. The feeling of traveling to a strange and bizarre new land, with different creatures and customs was captured in his signature whimsical way, though the topic was still fairly serious. Themes of immigration, industrialism, and feeling homesick were just as prominent as the striking visuals and playful creatures and cities he created. I've read some of Shaun Tan's other work, and this story had some of the most realistic characters I've seen from him. It also felt like it was targeted at an older audience, since most of his other stories have been aimed at children, though still maintain interesting themes for all ages. The wide shots really stood out to me, out of context I could see them standing independently in a gallery. I’ve noticed in Shaun Tan’s other work, (The Lost Thing and Tales from Outer Suburbia) also uses strong themes including our connection to technology and the balance between work, large industries, and technology v.s. more organic nature. I’m not used to reading comics that are wordless, I can only think of a few others that fit that description. I do get the impression that the choice to keep it silent was intended to make the reader really think about what the story meant to them. Since we don’t have a clear sense of who the main character is, we can imagine anyone in that position. I felt that made it that much personal to the reader. Since he was traveling to a fantasyland, the story could also take place anywhere, since it didn’t seem culture specific. I thought that comparing the family to the family we see in the end was a really interesting choice. It felt like bookends of the story, opening and closing in a way that compared the two felt significant. Even the tone used felt warmer, and learning to learn, live, love, and grow in a new world left the story on a more optimistic and progressive note.