Word and Image with Brian Fies at UCD

Brian Fies presentation in design class on Tuesday was truly inspiring and eye-opening. He had initially started off as a chemist, and there he stood before us as a published graphic novelist. (I thought that was really cool, since I, myself, have an interest in science, but I've decided to major in design.) His graphic novels, Mom's Cancer and Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow?, both have won much praise and awards.

Mr. Fies was really honest about his works and how they came to be. I liked how he had a personal connection to his books, and I thought that it was very evident in his comics. He spoke about how the words and images came together to produce something better than each of them would have been standing alone. McCloud also underlined this point in his book, Understanding Comics. Words on their own can allow the reader to imagine their own images; and pictures free the viewer to create their own dialogue. But when both are combined together, the artist is able to convey a more specific idea to his audience, they present the true concept and message of the artist. Fies pointed this out to us through his powerpoint, highlighting specific panels in his graphic novels, such as the panel with his mom in pieces, and the conversation between his mom and sister having two different versions. As I read Mom's Cancer I noticed many more panels that also presented how powerful words and images working together can be.

Photo Credits:
Forbidden Planet
Inkstuds