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December 13, 2005
On Definitions
I kill time at work every now and then, and one of my favorite places to do so is at The Engine.
For instance, yesterday I got involved in a little conversation about what to actually call 'comic books', as that name just doesn't really encapsulate what the form of expression really does.
I came into the discussion with:
"I think it brings us back to being the Form of Expression With No Name. Comic book? Comix? Graphic Novel? Sequential Art? Manga? Comic Strip? Fumetti? Graphic Album? It seems each one is its own thing, but all fall under the same umbrella.
"I went to a lecture by Art Spiegelman, and he spent a little while on how there's really no proper name for this form of expression. It's like we need to create a word for it, like Poetry, Music, Prose, etc.
"What word can we create that is suitable for "A sequence of images used to express an idea"? Anyone speak Latin? Klingon? Interlac? It should come from a dead language, I think. One of the near-dead Native American languages, maybe?"
to which Warren Ellis replied to my bit about the Klingons with:
"I hope a terrible accident happens to your balls today."
so I shot back:
"Oh come on, Warren, it'd be fucking great if your life's work ends up falling under a Klingon word. I'd take a ball injury for that bit of black humor.
"I personally just go with 'comix'. It fits for me."
and Ivan Brandon replied with:
"you can call them whatever you want, but when you show them the girl at the coffee shop, SHE'S going to call it a comic book.
"so that's what i call them."
which I mostly agreed with:
"I totally agree. It all depends on who the conversation is with.
"Although I've found that because of The OC, a lot of those girls at the coffee shops call them graphic novels. No lie. The girls here at my day job refer to what I do that way, actually.
"What's Klingon for "Graphic Novel"?"
to which I was a little disturbed by finding out from Ralf Haring that:
"I have no idea, but I just found this:
http://www.google.com/intl/xx-klingon/
And also this:
http://robots.org.uk/art/klingon%20che%20guevara.png"
which made my brain do this:
"nnnnnnnnnnnNNNNNNNNGGGGGGgggggggg!"
and then we finally got to the good stuff, thanks to Maddie Greene:
"Ghoch paq, or "destination book." The name of this unusual form of Klingon art echoes our term "sequential art," but on the Klingon homeworld historically refers to a triptych-like series of paintings depicting battles.
"...what?"
GHOCH PAQ! I love it. There you go, that's the name for comix from here on out. ROB SCHAMBERGER MAKES GHOCH PAQ!
Posted by Schamberger at December 13, 2005 08:10 AM