You start with a nine-panel page. The one Marlon made for us is a more traditional square tic-tac-toe grid, though you could also use a traditional nine-panel comic page. Each player takes a turn drawing one panel.

The game is played on three levels:

1) Tic-tac-toe: One player is X and one player is O. You take turns making “moves” by drawing a panel. Three X’s or three O’s in a row wins. I think we are all familiar with this game. In this case, even after one player gets three in a row, play continues to fill in the rest of the panels.

2) X’s and O’s: Each player has their respective letter which they must use within the panels. You can use the letter as part of text, or as shapes, or as design elements, whatever you like. How much or how novelly can you integrate your letter into your panels? Tom and Matt’s examples (linked above) have some novel uses of the letters.

3) Narrative Coherence: Since the comic is being made out of order (because of level 1), the players must work together to create a coherent narrative from the nonlinearly drawn panels. Or, alternately, you could try to make it hard for your opponent. One hopes the end result does make some sense.

So here’s Marlon’s and my attempt. Marlon went first and drew panels 5, 8, 3, 4, and 9. I drew panels 1, 2, 7, and 6. No one got three in a row. Some of Marlon’s panels are kind of fuzzy, because he was on vacation and using his phone camera as his scanner. I was just drawing onto the file in Photoshop.

Download readable slides (1MB pdf)

Credits for Images by Slide:
1. Steranko, Jim. Strange Tales #168 (Marvel, 1968).
2. Little Lulu detournement by Ken Knabb.
3. Art: Schulz, Charles. The Complete Peanuts 1959-1960 (Fantagraphics). Text: Lefebvre, Henri. “The Everyday and Everydayness.” Yale French Studies 73 (1987).
4. Ayroles, Francis and Herge. Oupus 2 (L’Association).
5. Marsh, Jesse. Tarzan 19 (Dell, 1951). (Whoops this one got left out accidentally.)
6. Marsh, Jesse. Tarzan Annual 4 (Dell, 1955).
7. Powell, Bob. Cave Girl 13 (Magazine Enterprises, 1954).
8. Marsh, Jesse. Tarzan 14 (Dell, 1950).
9. Art by Ernie Bushmiller from Nancy. Remixed by Bill Randall. More on Five Card Nancy from Scott McCloud.
10. Damn, I didn’t take notes for where the images came from. Someone on Flickr. Sorry. Text by me.
11. Peter, H.G. Sensation Comics 14 (DC, 1943).

Much credit goes to Thierry Groensteen’s “Un Premier Bouquet de Contraintes” in Oupus 1 (L’Assocation, 1997) for some of these ideas.

Mini-Morph: A Second Life Web Comics Comic-Con and Conference. March 18, 2009, 9:00 – 1:00 SL/PST

We’re proud to present a special half-day conference devoted to discussing the comics survey course, showcasing the recent work of several web comics artists. The event is held entirely in Second Life, on the Front Range Island. Everyone is invited.

Sponsored by The Center for EduPunx, The Comic Book Bin, and The Institute for Comics Studies, the conference will bring together practitioners, educators, academics, students, journalists and others for a half-day event aimed at lively discussion and fruitful exchange.

Schedule:

8:30 a.m. SL/PST: Front Range Island Opens

9:00 – 9:30 a.m. SL/PST: Make Like an Action Figure!

Not only can you dress like comics characters in SL, you can act like them too! Let us show you how, following opening remarks from Hervé St.-Louis, publisher and editor, The Comic Book Bin

9:30 – 10:00 a.m. SL/PST: The Importance of Watchmen and Its Place in the Comics Survey Course

A discussion of Alan Moore’s importance by Andrew Edwards of Sequart.

10:00 – 11:30 a.m. SL/PST: Teaching the College Comics Course

Advice and experience from panelists Leonard Rifas of Seattle Central Community College and Gail de Vos of the University of Alberta. Moderated by Peter Coogan of the The Institute for Comics Studies

11:30 – 12:00 p.m. SL/PST: The Librarian’s Role in the College Comics Course

Examples of “transformative constraint” to get students making their own versions of comics even if they can’t draw.
An examination of how librarians support the college comics course, especially by adding resources such as web comics and Web 2.0 tools to the course toolbox.
Mini-Morph librarian-in-residence: Derik Badman, Temple University

12:00 – 1:00 p.m. SL/PST: Open Gallery and Discussion from Comics Creators

Web comics artists: We still have room in our gallery, if you would like to display samples of your work!

[Some of my work will be in the gallery!]

For inquiries and clarifications, please write Beth Davies-Stofka: beth AT comicbookbin DOT com

Second Life is free to access. I’m a novice at it, but feel free to contact me with easy questions. Take note, Second Life time is Pacific Time. So my presentation is at 2:30pm EST.

Issac also commented:

It’d be interesting to hear you talk a little more about the ways in which the form of, for example, a sonnet counts as “constraint,” when other formal considerations (Schulz’s four-panel layout in Peanuts or the generic assumptions of, say, detective fiction) don’t count. In some ways, the formal constraints of a sonnet are dictated by genre, so that they hardly seem optional for Shakespeare; on the other hand, if someone chose to draw a webcomic with the same constraints of panelization that Schulz used (four square panels only), wouldn’t that be a formal constraint?

Some key differences are apparent between the sonnet, the Schulz example, and generic conventions. Generic conventions are easiest to place outside the realm of constraint because they lack systematization in almost all cases&em;excepting an Oulipo offshoot, called Oulipopo (the extra po standing for “policière”) which worked to apply constraints to detective fiction.

The case of Schulz and comic strips are “institutional” constraints (a term which I think I took from Jan Baetens (this article)). The key part for me is that these constraints are pushed onto the artist from above. Granted, the artist voluntarily chooses to create work within the institution (in this case newspaper comic strips), knowing the constraints that will be applied, so they probably do fit into all the elements of my definition of constraint as I list them in my presentation.

How does this differ from the obstruction model taken up by Madden and Hart, where Madden passes the constraint down to Hart? Perhaps there is no real difference, and I should modify my statements in that presentation. I can’t help feeling that an issue of power and authority comes to play here that makes me want to push the institutional constraints to the side. I would say that your example of someone choosing to work under a panel structure similar to Schulz’s would be an example of constraint. That element of choice contrasts nicely in my mind with the idea of constrained creation. The institutional power issue is what makes me balk at including the Schulz example in my particular categorization. Though, if you’ve seen the Von Trier film, The Five Obstructions (where Madden and Hart’s project originated), the exertion of power is a major part of the film and its tensions.

The case of Shakespeare and sonnets may be even more thorny as my knowledge of the subject is limited. I’m not clear on how sonnet structure is dictated by genre (perhaps you could elaborate on that). I don’t see poetic forms as genre, but a sonnet is a systematized form. The goal of the Oulipo at its early stages (and perhaps still, though I believe the idea has lessened greatly in importance) was to create forms for use by other writers. The actual creation of works would serve as examples of those forms. This harkens back to forms such as the sonnet where it is shared and used by many writers. One can imagine that a form gaining such widespread use would create a different perception (more genre-like) than, for example, the constraint used by Harry Mathews to write his book Cigarettes (a constraint based on permutations that he has never fully divulged) which was only used once.

To connect this to the previous case, I don’t believe anyone was imposing sonnets on Shakespeare. He could have easily written some less structured type of rhymed couplets (though at the time, I believe there were expectations of what a poem was that are more restrictive then modern times). The difference between the sonnet form as genre-like and a prose genre like detective fiction is the strict formal constraint of a sonnet, absent in detective fiction. Detective fiction has certain expected elements, but there is no definitive structure to it. In some strange sense this makes me think of different ways people have tried to define “comics” from the very clearly delineated definition (like Kunzle in his History of the Comic Strip) to less structured ideas like what I put forth in my column on the topic.

[Edit: 10/4/08 11:05am: This may be broken right now. Edit: 11:43am: I think it's fixed. You could also go here to see it.]

[Edit (10/08/08): Per Isaac's request, here are links to everything from the presentation. Items that aren't webcomics are links to the record in WorldCat.]

• Wonder Woman Archives (DC Comics)
• City of Glass by Auster, Karasik, Mazzuchelli
• Verbeek art from Art Out of Time edited by Dan Nadel (Abrams)
• Complete Peanuts 1959-1960 by Charles Schulz (Fantagraphics)
• La Litterature Potentielle by Oulipo (Gallimard)
• Oupus 1 by Oubapo (L’Association)
• Oupus 2 by Oubapo (L’Association)
• Oupus 3 by Oubapo (L’Association)
• Oupus 4 by Oubapo (L’Association)
• Dinosaur Comics by Ryan North
• Orchid Anthology edited by Dylan Williams (Sparkplug)
• Nogegon by Schuiten and Schuiten (Humanoids)
• Exercises in Style by Matt Madden (Chamberlain Bros)
• Hutch Owens 5 Obstructions by Tom Hart
• Satisfactory Comics 8 by Isaac Cates and Mike Wenthe
• Things Change (that sequence) by Derik Badman
• Tintin reduction from Oupus 2 (see above)
• TNT en Amerique by Jochen Gerner (l’Ampoule)
• Garfield Minus Garfield by Jim Davis and Dan Walsh

To the extant that these fictions work through a limited number of motifs, they pointedly critique the notion according to which true filmmakers are those who refuse to repeat themselves. For Rohmer, the art of the film director lies not in the search for new subjects, genres, or tones but in orchestrating now subtle, now overt effects of similarity and difference. The challenge is to find an equilibrium between content and form such that the return of motifs is not confused with sterile repetition or the mere application of a rule along neo-classical lines. As the director remarked upon completing Contes des quatres saisons [Tales of Four Seasons]:

What’s to be avoided is confining oneself to any one manner. And paradoxically working within a series keeps that from happening. Since my stories are more or less alike, I have to seek variety elsewhere.

Schilling, Derek. Eric Rohmer (Manchester UP, 2007), 159.

This relates in some ways to the theory of constraint. By limiting oneself in certain areas, one is forced to be innovative, or at least variable, in other areas.

Every task involves constraint,
Solve the thing without complaint;
There are magic links and chains
Forged to loose our rigid brains.
Strictures, structures, though they bind,
Strangely liberate the mind.

James E. Falen. Quoted in Le Ton Beau de Marot: In Praise of the Music of Language (p. 272) by Douglas Hofstadter. (Thanks to Stephen Frug for this one: Attempts: James Falen, An Odelet in Praise of Constraints.)

The narrative structure within which these oppositions are realized is usually overtly or covertly circular, with an extensive central element constituting a “digression” or hole in time through which the temptation of the temporal intrudes. The digression will seem to promise escape from a trap which the protagonist feels closing around him or her, but will come to be seen rather as itself a trap from which the protagonist must escape–hence the circularity. In the course of closing the circle, a threatened distortion or inversion of the “natural” order of things will be corrected. (106)

…the narrative chain is not segmented into the ceaseless shot/reverse-shot clusters that are typical of psychological editing. There is little recourse to the “informative” close-ups of face, hand or object which standard filmmaking employs in order to “orient” the spectator and avoid any indecision or ambiguity.

This avoidance of the two more sophisticated sets of editing practice is characteristic of the technical discretion of Rohmer’s films. In fact, the avoidance of such “normal” practices as film music, optical punctuation, expressive camera angles, and most tracking shots is at times so marked as to register as itself a form of aggressive technical experimentation. Cumulatively, these absent techniques would have served to structure the spectator’s response to the profilmic material, and the contemporary spectator is accustomed to expect such subconscious orientation. Its absence serves to endow that profilmic material, in the spectator’s eyes, with something or the same ambiguity and indeterminacy which it holds for the central protagonist, who, craving certainty yet trapped in endless conjecture, is finally constrained to an act of largely irrational commitment, of faith.

[...] The reason is simple: Rohmer associates with his enigmas neither the plot elements (threat, deadlines, intercutting) nor the technical practices (close-ups, expressive editing, expressionist lighting) which construct suspense in mysteries and thrillers. This avoidance of the viewer manipulation inherent in dramatic narratives is perhaps the strongest evidence supporting Rohmer’s claim to be producing both a moral and a realist cinema. (108)

Crisp, C. G. Eric Rohmer, Realist and Moralist. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1988.

The majority of my friends and our activities were D&D (or some other role-playing game) based throughout my pre-teen and teen years. I met one of my best friends because we both played the game, and while we haven’t played the game in years, we’re still friends. I’m not sure what we would have done in high school if we weren’t playing D&D.

You could say my comics reading goes back to D&D as the first comic I (or rather one of my parents for me) bought was Dragonlance #2 from DC Comics, based on a D&D product. I quickly moved on to X-Men and then to indies, but that, probably really bad, fantasy comic was what first directed my attention at comics.

I’d hazard that my interest in rules (constraint) in relation to narrative goes back to D&D. What is D&D but rule-based collaborative narration? Structures and rules have stuck with me. Even my first (sad) attempts at writing were fantasy stories based on my D&D characters (thankfully I moved away from that before I got out of elementary school).

I haven’t played D&D in a few years, keeping a group together and all the time for preparation was just more than I wanted to deal with, but I still have a few books and polyhedron dice in the closet. I’ve moved on to other activities, but I owe a lot to that game and, thus, to Gygax. I don’t know what he was like as a person, but I hope he knew what an effect he had on so many people (dorky/geeky as we are).

I, drawing on a number of authors, define constraint as a non-conventional rule applied systematically and voluntarily to the creation of a work.

Non-conventional in the sense that rules of grammar are excluded as are limiting factors such as the conventional paper size of a comic pamphlet. Using a consistent six-panel grid for a comic is conventional and not a constraint as such.

Systematic meaning applied across the entirety of a work (or a contained part of a work (a chapter for instance). The rule is not applied selectively or at whim. Some form of system is involved.

Voluntarily to say that issues such as censorship do not constitute a constraint, though they may constrain what an artist may do and often produce similar results.

When I say rule, this could mean numerous forms of principles, restrictions, or structures applied to the creative process. Prominent examples, include Georges Perec's famous novel written without the use of the letter "e", Matt Madden's use of the same basic story told 99 times in his Exercise in Style, Doug Nufer's "Never Again" a novel in which no word is repeated, or a few of the examples I'll mention below.

To what purpose?

Conventional wisdom has it that the artist has complete freedom. Struck by some inspiration the artist creates. But if one thinks about artistic creation any number of choices are made which conflict with this idea of freedom. Simply by choosing a medium or form (comic, film, writing) limits are set on possibilities. Conventions of genre are limiting in some ways (though almost never in a systematic manner), as are limits on skill, tools, or knowledge.

The idea of a constraint, in this context, is to set restrictions for creation as a spur to art as problem-solving exercise. By taking charge of the constraint the creator is forced to think in new ways, to explore paths they might not otherwise have taken, to stretch their mind and creative abilities. The use of constraint is an excellent way to break out of a rut, to vary one's output, to discover new avenues.

I use constraint rather frequently in my webcomic, Things Change, to force myself to experiment with different aspects of comics (such as color, panel layouts, text, etc). In a current sequence, I'm doubling the number of panels on the page from one to the next, starting with a single panel page and moving to a page with 32 (or maybe 64) panels. This creates a sense of increasing pace and fragmentation which ended up directing the path of the story (which I had a final point for, but wasn't sure how to get there).

Voluntary constraints are becoming more and more prominent in comics lately. I've seen a number of things going on, which spurred on my writing this column. Here's a few that are very recent and others that have been around for years:

A) The 24 Hour Comic

Probably the best known example in comics circles. The rules are simple: produce a 24 page comic in 24 hours. This is a formal and procedural constraint which leaves the content completely open. As such it serves to encourage spontaneity. With the associated sense of informality this brings, artists are more likely to work outside their normal comfort zone. (Similarly, for prose writers is National Novel Writing Month, which happens to be this month.)

B) 52 Comic Challenges

I only recently discovered this site, which offers a different challenge (constraint) on a weekly basis (52 challenges for 52 weeks). As their about page says: "52 Comic Challenges is a weekly exercise designed to shake you out of old habits and encourage you to try new things and push your limits in comic making." I haven't tried any of these yet, but there are a few familiar (24 hour comics, draw a wordless comic) constraints and a few new ones (draw a comic using all five words from a Pictionary card). The latter is an interesting example of a constraint on the semantic content of a comic. This type of thing can easily lead to artists taking on subjects, places, or people that they would never have thought to deal with previously. The site has some great ideas but I think the weekly challenge seems a little too much too often (particularly if you are someone already doing weekly pages for your webcomic). They're only up to challenge #12, so there's plenty of time to join in.

C) OuBaPo

Constraints in Comics are most famously the province of the OuBaPo (Ouvroir de Bande Dessinee Potentielle, that's Laboratory/Workshop for Potential Comics in French), an off-shoot of the OuLiPo, a group formed to experiment with constraint in literature (and pretty much the modern origin of the idea). The OuBaPo have a few volumes of their "Oupus" out through France's L'Assocation. Lewis Trondheim is the member most known in the US, though I don't believe much if any of his constrained work has appeared in translation. For reviews of some of their publications see this list.

D) Tom Hart's Hutch Owen

Taking a cue from the Lars Von Trier film "The Five Obstructions", Matt Madden created 5 sets of constraints for Tom Hart to follow in creating a week of his Hutch Owen strip. Unfortunately many of the final strips were a little too outlandish for Hart's publisher. Some of the constraints: use 20 panels in one strip, writing one strip from last panel to first panel, a strip that could only include text, panel borders, balloons, solid black, and emanata, and a strip based on the tracing of a Roy Crane strip.

E) Satisfactory Comics

Isaac Cates and Mike Wenthe have been creating constrained mini-comics for years under the title Satisfactory Comics (2001-present), and now they've got a website. Most recently they been blogging the creation of a story for the indie "Elfworld" anthology. The got a number of comic artists (Tom Hart, Jesse Reklaw) to provide constraints for them in 2 page groups (borrowing from Hart's process mentioned above). It's a fascinating process to follow along with (still ongoing), which you can through this category on their blog.

F) Matt Madden

Madden is probably the most well known proponent of constraint in comics. His "99 Ways to Tell a Story: Exercises in Style" is a tour-de-force of comics creation that every comic artist should read. In it, Madden retells the same banal story in 99 different ways from genres, styles, forms, perspectives, and all kinds of other things. His pamphlet comic "A Fine Mess" (2 issues) features a number of constrained comics including a comics sestina. He occasionally posts comics to his blog, like this one.

G) Oubapo-America

A mostly non-existant group based on the OuBaPo that exists in the form of a listserv and a website. Originally formed by Madden, Hart, and Jason Little, there isn't much activity, but their website has a translation of OuBaPo member (and comics theorist) Thierry Groensteen's list of constraints, which is as fine a place as any to get some ideas.

H) Dinosaur Comics

I can't neglect Ryan North's long running webcomic which features the same art everyday with altered text. The unceasing fun of this comic is some form of testament to the power of the constraint.

If you'd like to learn more, you can check out the Constraint category on my blog, which has about 90 posts going back a few years.

[Originally published at: http://comixtalk.com/panels_pictures_constraint