Week 3: The Comic Strip

This week I read a collection of Mickey Mouse Dailies, the Sacred Jewel. Personally, I thought it was incredibly interesting seeing a character that I know, in a form that I wasn't previously familiar with.

In contrast to the word-less comics we read the first week, it is clear that Walt uses words full force in his comics. Rounded boxes of type are in practically every frame, yet their hand-written-look doesn't distract from the beautiful compositions in each frame. As a designer, along with the graphics, the type is what I tended to gravitate towards. I appreciated the recaps at the beginning of the strips (since they were published each day), and how the writing is done so that the reader is reading in that characters voice. Words are spelled phonetically how the character would say them. I thoroughly enjoyed this, and although it was hard to read at times, I found it much more interesting and unique.

Aside from the type, I also appreciated the styling of the comic. Each character was so uniquely styled and designed that the reader was never left confused as to who was talking in each frame. With only black and white at Walt's disposal, he was able to create depth and contrast with the use of grays and harsh filled blacks.

Through the use of dynamic poses and descriptive words, Walt Disney found success with his Mickey Mouse comics. It's not surprise that this title character became a celebrity. Perhaps it was my knowledge of the character before reading, but I found these strips to read like a chopped up animation.