P2

Task 2:  Charles Burns Case Study

Genre:

Content / style

Example of 'Robot Love' that illustrates Gould’s visual and narrative influence on Burn’s work:

Meaning

Charles Burns focuses on a different style of dark humour, which isn't seen much or noticed to a lot of people in the world. He wanted his comics to mean something different and have a unique feeling that made people reflect on what they are watching, which was indeed 'internalised horror'. He wanted to avoid physical and mental horror and keep it internalised. The story itself is a story of a kid that suddenly becomes aware of the adult world and the changes that will be made in becoming an adult, which gives a sense of fear of becoming an adult. In my opinion, Charles Burns did a very good job in doing this as he didn't overdo his idea of the adult world, but made it scuttle and pulled across the idea of fearful, internalised darkness.

An example of this in 'Robot Love' that I can interpret visually in its imagery, is when the kid says he see's a monster outside and yells for his Dad to come and see what he is seeing and then his dad doesn't spot the monster. Thats the moment I get an idea of the fear of the adult world, as the kid realises there really is no monster outside.

Target Audience

The target audience for this graphic novel is both male and female, between the ages of 12-18 with possible interests in things like video games as well as reading comic books. The characters in this graphic novel are very unique, this is because as a reader you can relate to them and the situations they face. E.g. towards the start of the novel the main character Evie looses her dad, then has to move in with her cousin who she doesn't like or get along with, which could relateable or sympathized.

Characters

Here is an example from Charles Burns comic, where El Borbah's character has developed. This specific example shows how el borbah was a victim with a sense of loss, but then he develops into a strong, tough and angry individual wanting revenge on his enemies.