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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is another word for panels?

2. What kind of things does the storyteller use to tell a story in comics?

3. What characteristic of a sentence acts as framing with lines in comics?

4. In "Contract with God" by Eisner, what does the stone tablet suggest?

5. After which century, did artists start to depend on expressions, postures, and backdrops?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where does the emotion or "intuitiveness" of a panel come from?

2. How does the panel function as a stage?

3. What obstacle of the eye must the artist try to obliterate?

4. Explain how composing a comic strip panel is like designing a mural, illustration, painting, or theatrical scene.

5. Give a brief summary of the historical evolution of comics according to Chapter 1.

6. What convention does Eisner break while depicting the scene of the hero's flight?

7. Describe the nature of calligraphy.

8. Why do images without words require extra sophistication in the reader/viewer?

9. Give a brief synopsis of Chapter 4.

10. What can the artist be tempted to compromise for the sake of attracting buyers?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Generally, style has been lauded as "a form of imperfection." However, now that technology has harnessed the ability to produce artwork, the personal style of the artist might be encroached upon. Explain the tension between individuality and technological perfection. Use two examples from Eisner's last chapter to demonstrate the consequences of technology in art and the response of humans to computer-generated artwork.

Essay Topic 2

Chapter 3 stresses the contrast between time and timing. Using evidence from Chapter Three, explain the differences and similarities between time and timing in comics. Be sure to supply examples from sample comics and panels in the book.

Essay Topic 3

Chapter 2 focuses on the juxtaposition of words and imagery. However, it also addresses the idea that images express a visual language in a limited amount of pages. Discuss three examples that explain how the artist can present images that clearly signify meaning to the viewer.

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