comment

Corruption at 9:16PM, Dec. 1, 2022

There are some good ways to handle exposition, like showing someone learning something, or having someone recount something so you know it is a story. The "As you know Bob" method is not that good. One method that is used on TV to show characters inner thoughts is when their facial expressions change when they are not facing anyone in the room. For example, a guy causing problems by destroying someone's life may act caring and concerned for them, but when they go away to get get some drinks for them, he has a smug look on his face that vanishes when he returns. Sometimes you might have a crazy person come in to spout off a theory about how things are (if it fits their character) and other people have to explain why they are wrong (and it latter turns out they were at least partly right for extra fun).

Ironscarf at 4:22PM, Dec. 1, 2022

EssayBee - most would've had to take the reduced rate too, but Steranko is a master of all the martial arts. Not a man you'd want to get into a fight with, according to his autobiography! On a side note I read Stan Lee wanted to pay Gil Kane a lower rate because he only drew the lines and didn't do the shadows! Another artist had to talk Stan out of that.

EssayBee at 12:26PM, Dec. 1, 2022

Ironscarf--I have a collection of old Silver Surfer comics written by Stan Lee, and it feels like it's 80% exposition in thought bubbles. I think some of that may have been a matter of money. I think it was Jim Steranko who said he did a comic where the prologue was purely visual, and the publisher at first said they'd pay him for the art but not for writing, since there was not text. Steranko had to fight (and literally threatened to physically fight) in his explanation that the images tell the story, so it counts as writing.

EssayBee at 12:20PM, Dec. 1, 2022

Your comment about "who is Freddy talking to?" is something that always bugged me about a lot of first-person comic narrations. Green Lantern in particular annoyed me because he often explained in exposition, "My name is Hal Jordan, Green Lantern of..." It's one thing to have a character's inner thoughts, but when they have to identify themselves, it begs the question of "Who are you talking to?" On the plus side, this provided the main inspiration for Fusion's inner dialogue being a direct conversation with the readers. If you're gonna use such a device, I figured it'd be cool to use it as a means of more directly involving the readers and making them feel more like a participant in Fusion's life.

RobertRVeith at 10:21AM, Dec. 1, 2022

Looking at that page from The Hulk (as someone who has read decades of Hulk), I can't help but think which is more ham fisted? A page of exposition or the way that the verbal Hulk has to explain to everyone in great detail what is motivating him any any given time. My least favorite use of exposition has to be that moment in every anime I've watched where one character explains to another the weird rules peculiar to that particular anime universe. It always begins like, "Oh, how could you not know how the world works?" said to a character who really *should* understand how the world works. The best use of exposition comes when you have a character who really wouldn't know something, but needs to, paired with a character who knows about the subject. The Marty/Doc example is perfect. The reader needs answers as much as Marty does.

Ironscarf at 9:09AM, Dec. 1, 2022

Old comics (really old ones) tended to tell the story in captions in addition to word balloons and pictures, which seemed bizarre to me when I was reading pages like the one above as a kid. Now that page strikes me as stuffed with far too many 'remnants of verbal agility' too. The balance of words and pictures has changed quite a bit over time and I find myself gravitating towards short and to the point. Oddly I read that one of the big platforms, possibly Webtoon, like you to start a story with at least three pages of exposition, explaining who the characters are and introducing their world. They are obviously not fans of storytelling.

bravo1102 at 5:02AM, Dec. 1, 2022

I just did a scene where exposition happened in a bar between comrades who had served together. It was a series of flashbacks that I hope didn't overwhelm the story. I agree that the best exposition is casual as it's pertinent. People don't go around explaining things unless it's like Marty and Doc Brown and even then that's because the time machine is a vital part of the plot so knowing how it works is important but if it was just incidental no detailed explanation be necessary. Look at how the time machine is handled in the various version of H.G. Wells' book. Rod Taylor never explains the mechanics to anyone. They're shown instead and much is left unexplained because the audience just doesn't need to know. Some things just never come up, like I am intentionally vague with the space propulsion systems in all my stories. It'd be like your mechanic going over how an internal combustion engine worked every time you brought the car in for an oil change.

hushicho at 3:34AM, Dec. 1, 2022

Conspicuous exposition is usually a bad idea. Freddy vs Jason was a bunch of lines taken from better, earlier movies in the series, so it probably wouldn't have made much sense without the constant exposition. It didn't even make sense with it. Usually I find that exposition is best done incidentally. If you can't accomplish it simply and with a somewhat natural feel, it's probably going to disrupt the story more than it adds. Sometimes this means that readers don't get all the details, but they don't always need to. Look at Moebius's Arzach for compelling vignettes that don't really indulge in exposition but stand well on their own.

bravo1102 at 12:22AM, Dec. 1, 2022

There are always readers who just wander in off the street asking questions and everything has to be explained all over again.