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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 kind of comics are generally entertainment-oriented?

2. What does Eisner depict in three panels as an example of the inseparability of words and images?

3. What two types of applications is sequential art normally divided into?

4. When words are used, the task of rendering body and face grows more?

5. What should the artist study before making comics?

Short Essay Questions

1. Give a brief synopsis of Chapter 6.

2. Give a brief synopsis of Chapter 7.

3. Which works are generally entertainment-oriented, and why?

4. Why does Eisner reproduce several pages from his graphic novel To the Heart of the Storm along with a close-up pencil dummy page?

5. How does the "blue line" method work?

6. Why do entertainment comics deny to the readers/viewers much of the freedom they would enjoy in pure prose?

7. Why are comic book artists frequently hired to produce storyboards for movie scripts and motion pictures?

8. Why must frozen moments convey both time and emotion?

9. Why does artwork dominate the reader's initial response?

10. How can the artist successfully convey an image of the human body?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Chapter 1, Eisner examines a few panels that break the left-to-right convention. His analysis suggests that the panels are read easily because of the reader's understanding of gravity and of visual cues. Using this example, and others found in Chapter 1 or 2, agree or disagree with the following statement: should panels try to conform to normal conventions for easier reading?

Essay Topic 2

In Chapter 2, the relationship of the sequential artist and the reader is examined. Eisner suggests that the reader and the sequential artist must communicate through mutual life experience. Answer the following question: Why must the sequential artist and the reader share life experiences for communication to occur? Use one of your own supporting ideas to back up your statement and at least two examples from the book.

Essay Topic 3

Eisner promotes the idea that storytelling is not only an expression of language. First, examine the relationship between images and words in comics as Eisner explains it. Second, decide whether or not stories can be told through imagery alone. Support your agreement or disagreement with at least two examples.

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