Hello all! Welcome to Ribu, a geeky exploration of the relationship between storytelling and comics art.

I’ve always been fascinated by unique and engaging way comics can tell stories. I love the way it uses time, textual presentation, visuals and even the landscape of whatever reading medium it’s on (whether web, mobile or book) to effectively present a plot, action or emotion. It’s so cool!

But not many people talk about it enough, and especially not directly in discussion with artists or author/illustrators. Far too often readers or reviewers forget about the weight that artwork pulls in presenting a story in comic format. The script is the blueprint, yes, and writers are important. And yet, it’s the artist who constructs the facade, the interior, the pipes and furnishings to make a house out of that plan. There is so much hidden labour that goes into drawing a comic that doesn’t get appreciated by most. I’d know. I write AND draw my comics.

Ribu is here to discuss that hidden labour, and bring it out into the light. There are two ways I plan to do this:

1. Visually analysing a comic much like how an art historian analyses a painting, or an academic analyses a literary work. I’m a big nerd for literary analysis. I love deconstructing a novel and finding the bits/pieces and how they contribute to the overall storytelling and symbolic making. I want to do this with comics, since I’ve never heard of anyone else doing this (as a blog, at least).
2. Interviews with comics artists about their thought processes, and how their artistic decision-making contributes to the storytelling of their comics. This is the meat and potatoes of Ribu.

This two-modes approach is going to do some things — highlight an artist’s work and elevate their position as a literary force, encourage and teach visual literacy, and improve comics’ perception as a medium.

I’m very excited to see how Ribu develops. I’ve a list of artists I’m seeking out for an interview. Most of them are from webcomics! Super cool.

I hope you enjoy your tour around Ribu. Remember to subscribe so you don’t miss our fortnightly updates (with extra content). Before you go, here is the map of the blog:

About Ribu : the official version of what Ribu is about.

Submissions : Submit recommendations of comics or artists (or even yourself) for an interview. There are certain requirements in order to be featured in Ribu, so please read up!

Archives : just where I keep our old posts.

Cheers,

Reimena.