The are many elements that can make a Graphic novel a complete success, not just in terms of money but also in terms of the cultural repercussions that it can have. And one of those elements is color and the use of the same. V for Vendetta is a great example of being able to express emotions and ideas just by the right use of colors or dimensions.
However, we need to remember that when V for Vendetta was first published in 1982 the episodes were just black and white strips. Therefore, Alan Moore and David Lloyd had to play a lot more with shadows and edges, so as to express the intensity of emotions of the characters and the intensity of the dystopian world that V for Vendetta was placed in. For many critics “The Warrior version of the story, colorless, is a blade to your throat, and the sound of jackboots in the distance.” (Callahan, 2011) According to some, that solid black and white version was the one which better project that feeling of unease that V for Vendetta should project. Let’s not forget that one of the main inspirations that Alan Moore had to write V was George Orwell’s decadent and colorless 1984.
But at the same time, there are many others, including David Lloyd, that argue that using the right amount of color was necessary to project V for Vendetta as one of the most influential graphic novel of all times. Even though, V for Vendetta was later coloured when published by DC comics, David Lloyd did not do something extremely opposite to what he did at the beginning. He followed the same line of using solid and dark colours, faithful to the message and emotions of the graphic novel.
In V for Vendetta, the color was used to represent the different stages of the day, the different situations or scenes that were about to happen, and the different emotions of each character. For instance, every time there was an scene in which Evey was in, the colors change to vibrant representations of Evey’s emotions and changing process. However, if it was a scene dominated by V the colors become less vibrant and with more dark and brownish tones, so as to represent his powerful and dangerous vibes. Besides there is the use of gray clouds representing emotional turmoil from the characters, from the earth, and from the Totalitarian world that was crumbling in front of everyone.
The use of color is important for any type of art. It was important for Sin City, it was important for The Dark Knight Returns, and it was important for V for Vendetta. Through colors the artist has the opportunity to deliver implicit messages that could not be carried out with any other resources. Having said that, I would like to ask all of you: How important do you think color is? Do you think coloring V for Vendetta makes a big difference? What other graphic novels do you know about that the use of color is so important?.
References
Callahan, T. (2011, December 5). The Great Alan Moore Reread: V for Vendetta, Part 1. Retrieved from http://www.tor.com/blogs/2011/12/the-great-alan-moore-reread-v-for-vendetta-part-1
Essays, U. (n.d.). V for Vendetta. Retrieved from http://www.ukessays.co.uk/essays/english-literature/v-for-vendetta.php
Steiner, T. (n.d.). Colour in Graphic Novels - Tristan J Steiner. Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/site/betweenmesses/Portfolio/prose/essays/colour-in-graphic-novels
Although there is a lot an artist can transmit though the sole use of black and white, there is a universe of options when using color. This is something I especially notice when the mangas I read become animes. You see, mangas are almost always in black and white. The only times you can see some color are on the cover, but the rest is black and white. Now don't get me wrong, it's not as if I'm displeased with this kind of style. There is amazing manga art out there that gets you thinking how on earth the artist was able to capture so perfectly the character's emotions or the "vibe" of a given situation with only monochromatic colors.
ResponderEliminarBut, once a manga becomes an anime, you can finally see what a scene you read would look like with color. And it is amazing. Leaving aside the fact the everything is animated, the use of color makes things more real in a way. It gives the characters more life than what you initially thought was possible. You become more aware of what is going on as well. I think that color grabs our attention.
I read on article online that featured Alex Sinclair, a DC Comics colorist. Sinclair stated that comic book readers today present a problem to the artists. Why? Well he says: "The new readership is used to the look of movies. We need to make comic books that feel cinematic to continue to appeal to our audience. The books need to feel real and look real. Comic books have to marry realism with the book form." I think this is a great difference between comic books today and the graphic novel V for Vendetta.
You see, although the use of color helped V for a Vendetta in the sense that it gave it more ways to transmit messages and overall gave it more options, there wasn't an urgent need for color. On the other hand, comics today need color so as to become more "real" and capture their audiences attention. Some may argue that color is only one aspect of a comic but I think it is more than that. Color has become an essential complement to the story a comic book author wants to transmit.
Actually, what you pointed put is quite relevant:
ResponderEliminar"In V for Vendetta, the color was used to represent the different stages of the day, the different situations or scenes that were about to happen, and the different emotions of each character. "
Now that you mention that, I realized that if i see the comic without colours I would not know what time of the day is, which is relevant to understant the transition from one stage of the day to another but also to understand the transition from one day to another and the timeline that is running through the novel (unless they point out that detail)
That also can be connected to the relation text image that we learned last semester, colours provide life to what has ben written and to what has been drawn, provides a hitch between the reader and the novel as well because you can see more details. Just thinking of seeing our own worl in black and white makes me think that I would not be able to perceive as many details as if colour are present. The same happens with this graphic novels.
Definitely, the color is an important aspect of an art representation; I think that in graphic novels like these, color plays a meaningful role as a way to express the emotions trapped in the static forms of the characters. Color is a tool used by the author to send you some of the emotions that are happening in each frame or scene. In the Antique art and mostly in Renaissance art there always existed the conflict between color and line, and which one was more important; the theorists of art claimed that color was a very powerful way to send messages through the painting, in that sense, some colors can play an important role expressing this.
ResponderEliminarColors like red represent passion (not only affective but violent, like blood and all that it represents). Other colors such as blue or purple represents royalty and divinity. So, based on that, I can say that colors are more than a way to fulfil images in order to make them more attractive, they are a weapon used by the artist to transmit a deeper meaning.
In V for Vendetta, and as you mention in your post, every time the group of colors change, it changes because it is following the context behind the scenes and it tries to make you appreciate what the characters are feeling. And as you mentioned Sin City, that is a comic in which colors are eliminated intentionally, so the creators “play” with grey, red and yellow, which highlights the perverse and violent environment in the story.