Denny O'Neil Coming to Asheville
Oct 14, 2010 9:38:54 GMT -5
Post by Pun on Oct 14, 2010 9:38:54 GMT -5
I wish I had known about this earlier.
MARS HILL — Freshmen writing students at Mars Hill College are getting tips from a kind of superhero this week.
Denny O'Neil, the legendary reinventor of Batman with the “Dark Knight” books of the 1980s, is on campus today to offer the students his take on how to write. O'Neil will also give a public talk at 11 a.m. today.
O'Neil's book, “The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics,” has become a centerpiece of an introductory writing course taught by Dr. Marshall Angle.
Introductory courses, called Liberal Arts in Action at the college, allow instructors to pick the themes by which to teach academic skills.
“We have some people who do mythology; we have some who do financial success,” Angle said. “I wanted mine to be writing for comic books.”
Comic books had been a big part of Angle's life — along with psychology and American history — from his north Georgia upbringing through his academic career. He has the comic book collection — more than 2,000 issues — to prove it.
While returning home from a history teachers conference in Washington in 2004, Angle said, he had a revelation.
“I was in the train station, and I saw Denny O'Neil's book, ‘The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics,'” Angle said. “When you look at his work, you see he's … teaching people about … rising action, conflict and denouements.”
Comics such as Batman, Spider-Man and the Green Lantern — all O'Neil subjects — squeeze drama and dialogue down to their most tight-wound and depend on inventive story structures. To Angle, these were valuable lessons for beginning writers.
In Angle's class, students will fill in speech balloons, keep photo journals of their college adventures (including thought balloons) and create villains.
Angle said he might also throw in some Joseph Campbell and Plato.
“I grew up mostly reading Marvel Comics in Winder, Ga., ” Angle recalled. “My granddaddy (Jim Smith) was an independent pharmacist in Florence, S.C. He had his store there, and they had funny books. My grandmamma would give us a quarter or 30 cents, and say, ‘Here, go get a funny book.'”
MARS HILL — Freshmen writing students at Mars Hill College are getting tips from a kind of superhero this week.
Denny O'Neil, the legendary reinventor of Batman with the “Dark Knight” books of the 1980s, is on campus today to offer the students his take on how to write. O'Neil will also give a public talk at 11 a.m. today.
O'Neil's book, “The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics,” has become a centerpiece of an introductory writing course taught by Dr. Marshall Angle.
Introductory courses, called Liberal Arts in Action at the college, allow instructors to pick the themes by which to teach academic skills.
“We have some people who do mythology; we have some who do financial success,” Angle said. “I wanted mine to be writing for comic books.”
Comic books had been a big part of Angle's life — along with psychology and American history — from his north Georgia upbringing through his academic career. He has the comic book collection — more than 2,000 issues — to prove it.
While returning home from a history teachers conference in Washington in 2004, Angle said, he had a revelation.
“I was in the train station, and I saw Denny O'Neil's book, ‘The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics,'” Angle said. “When you look at his work, you see he's … teaching people about … rising action, conflict and denouements.”
Comics such as Batman, Spider-Man and the Green Lantern — all O'Neil subjects — squeeze drama and dialogue down to their most tight-wound and depend on inventive story structures. To Angle, these were valuable lessons for beginning writers.
In Angle's class, students will fill in speech balloons, keep photo journals of their college adventures (including thought balloons) and create villains.
Angle said he might also throw in some Joseph Campbell and Plato.
“I grew up mostly reading Marvel Comics in Winder, Ga., ” Angle recalled. “My granddaddy (Jim Smith) was an independent pharmacist in Florence, S.C. He had his store there, and they had funny books. My grandmamma would give us a quarter or 30 cents, and say, ‘Here, go get a funny book.'”
