1-4-06

"late attacks and other sharp tricks"

Starting midstream, in the middle [or muddle] of things. Jumping into the height of the action without warning or preparation. However you want to describe it, the Late Attack is wonderfully sly plot device for grabbing the reader's interest from the outset, setting the narrative hook deep.

Still, the sad fact is that, although it's truly a thrill-a-second experience when it works, the Late Attack has become one of the more commonly used devices in the collective toolbox of storytellers--and particularly among comic creators. And, as is inevitable when there's so many different uses of any device by such a wide variety of individuals, it's also on track to becoming one of the most abused, perhaps even clichéd of storytelling contrivances. That's because, even when done with little real skill, this method of grabbing the reader's attention almost always works, even if only for a few pages or frames, even if only until the action slows or even stops and the characters open their mouths. And that's good enough for some creators and readers, which is fine. Still, this observation's meant more of an indication of the allure and power of one of the simplest of the storyteller's diverse array of tools, and one must always remember that the Medium itself knows no real limitations other than those imposed upon it by individual artists.

Regardless, after I'd completed and sent in yesterday's entry, it occurred to me that DANGER GIRL represents almost a perfect case study in "How To Do Late Attack Right." Better still, it's filled to bursting with examples of how to avoid the pitfalls of dealing with backstory when using this device. After all, sooner or later just about every creator has to deal with presenting the particulars of their story's characters and world; typically all of that information has to be provided to the reader at some point during the proceedings for them to develop any kind of real and deep seated empathy or emotional involvement with the characters, and with Late Attack all chances for exposition are largely lost. Finding ways to introduce information about the players that don't effectively halt the action are a very valuable commodity. In Danger Girl: The Ultimate Collection," Andy Hartnell and J. Scott Campbell prove more than capable of handling Late Attack and the many other devices they use to keep their readers turning pages, while also maintaining an almost perfect balance between high octane action and backstory, visual thrills and telling character moments throughout.

And if you somehow have the notion that this is accomplished easily and without any real thoughtfulness, well, you'd be wrong. This kind of seemingly-simple "fun and games" style of story, like comedy in comparison to drama, is much more difficult to do well than anyone thinks...especially if they've never tried to do it themselves. Please, trust me on this one. As I've heard said by some friends who happened to be actors note, "Dying is easy. You should try falling in love convincingly!" That's because aspects of the art suddenly shift importance, and things that might be easily overlooked--stuff like body language and facial expression, pacing in the visual and verbal channels, among many other things--suddenly have an importance which is ignored only at the greatest of risks to the quality and effectiveness of the final tale.

One other thing I forgot to mention last post is Campbell and Hartnell's unfailing ability to create visually interesting and verbally effective "Previously in Danger Girl" pages. Even if you've already read the issue and remember it well, or even if you've literally just finished the issues in question, as was my case, it's fun and informative and absolutely painless. Everything the reader wants and, more importantly, _needs_ is there at the start of every chapter.


There's a real art to the synopsis, and not every writer--much less artist or editor--is up to creating a well wrought "Story so far..." paragraph or panel, to say nothing of a full page version. Yet the Danger Girl team proves up to that task again and again, and do it with some real vigor and verve. Still another reason to check this book out, especially if you've any interest in working in a field like American mainstream comics, where serialized tales are the dominant storytelling mode.