Comics and designs often need dialogues in order to tell a certain plot or story, but illustrator David Yurkovic has captivated the imaginations of people with his graphic novel in the EC library exhibit.
The March library exhibit showcases certain pages from Yurkovich’s graphic novel, “Altercations: A history of super-hero activity in 20th-century North America.”
With acclaimed projects such as “The Broccoli Agenda,” “Death by Chocolate,” and “Threshold,” the Xeric-Award winning creator created this unique graphic design to captivate the reader’s imagination.
Ed Martinez, public access librarian thinks this is a unique exhibit because it is something that the library has never had before.
“I think it is a unique style, a nice exhibit,” Martinez said. “We never had anything like it, so I think it is pretty interesting.”
Each of the five chapters in Altercations has it’s own unique color scheme. The intent was to make each of the five chapters in volume 1 easily identifiable through a dominant color: purple, yellow, red, blue, and green. The stories in volume two will be colored inversely to those in chapter one; Thus, the volume 2 color scheme will be green, blue, red, yellow, and purple, respectively, creating, in effect, a full-circle.
Certain artwork in the exhibit has been on display such as photography, oils and mixed media,but Martinez likes this one because it is a unique style.
“This style of graphic illustration is pretty nice because it is something that we don’t see a lot of,” Martinez said. “We often see comics and paintings, but graphic novels are pretty nice.”
With the growing popularity of graphic design, Martinez said a lot of students have enjoyed the exhibit.
“Graphic design is a growing trend among artists and it is slowly becoming popular,” Martinez said. “A lot of students like the artwork because it opens up their imagination.”
The intent is to provide as little escapism as possible while still presenting characters and events that are much larger than life. The idea is to remind readers that these events really happened. The stories might be heroic fiction, but the intent behind this project was to approach it from a realistic, almost scholarly, speculative point of view.
“If you look at anyone one of them, all comics each sell has its own,” Martinez said. “It actually makes the readers think and each picture creates a different part of the story.”
To create representative heroes and villains for the entire 20th century, Yurkovich referenced his preview projects from the past such as “death by chocolate” and “death by heroes.” Mainstream superhero readers will find many of the archetypes present in Altercations; the patriotic hero, the science hero, the bored millionaire, the bored female who’s looking for adventure, creepy hero with powers no one really understands and dozens more.
“I think it is pretty unique,” Kevin Lam, undecided major said. “I’m a very big fan of mainstream comics and this one doesn’t have the mainstream feel to it, but at the same time it draws you to it because it makes you solve a mystery.”
One of the favorites that students had was Case in Point, Chapter 1. The First Conflict, a battle between Jonathan Alexander and Aaron Lawson (who would later become the Spatial Man). The two are former friends who battle on the morning of the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906.
This gives the readers the impression that Alexander and Lawson were the ones that caused the earthquake which gives it that semi non-fiction twist.
“I like that one the most (pointing at case one),”Andy Melendez, architect major said. “It kinda makes you think that the San Francisco earthquake was caused by them. Pretty interesting.”
Those are just some of which Martinez thinks students will enjoy as well.
“I think some of them are really great because they are true to life events that are put in a graphic art,” Martinez said.
For more information on David Yukovich and “Altercations,” please visit http://www.sleepinggiantcomics.com/preview.php
