[bksvol-discuss] Re: Graphic novels revisited
- From: "Lora" <loravara@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 13 Apr 2008 19:32:08 -0600
Hi, Marcus,
I've read numerous graphic novels over the years, primarily those from
Marvel and DC Comics, but others as well. The only effective way I've found
to read them is to have a sighted friend read the text and describe all the
pictures.
I even tried reading graphic novels with an Optacon, but although I could
read the text, the pictures were beyond my comprehension.
Graphic novels are essentially comic books. Oh, they're larger, on better
paper, but they're comic books.
This means that even the text is basically a picture. Dialogue appears in
bubbles, thoughts appear in balloons, and all of it is written by a
letterer. Thus, it looks like handwriting, and every letterer's style is
different. Then the inker and the colorist come in and fill in the black
lines and all the needed colors for the art that appears in the book.
When all is said and done, I expect that the OCR software sees everything as
a picture.
Even if you could get the OCR software to convert the text, you'd still be
in the dark, for at least two reasons. First, there isn't the usual, John
says, and Mary yelled ... The word balloons are emerging from the
character's mouth, and the way the words are drawn conveys the emotion of
the character. There's usually no text description.
Secondly, much of the story is conveyed through pictures. Although there is
often a narrative, much of what you'd normally get from the narrator is
depicted in the drawings. So you'd have to get someone to write picture
captions for every drawing. Essentially, they'd be writing a text version
of the book.
Please understand that I truly wish there were a different answer. I read
comic books from the time I was sixteen until I was twenty-five, and I am
very well familiar with the X-Men and Marvel universe of the 1980's. God
Loves, Man Kills is an excellent example of a graphic novel that was well
worth my time to read. If it weren't for the efforts of very dear friends,
however, this is a medium that never would have been accessible to me.
If we can find another way, I'd be right there with you, adding my favorite
graphic novels to the collection. At the moment, though, I can't think of a
good way to accomplish this with OCR software.
Good luck.
_____
From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Marcus Williams
Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2008 1:54 PM
To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Graphic novels revisited
Hi list,
I didn't pay close attention to the recent discussions about scanning
graphic novels, so please forgive me if this has been addressed previously.
Has anyone actually scanned and submitted any graphic novels? If not, then
has anyone scanned graphic novels for their own personal use? That last
question is of particular interest to me since there is one title I have in
mind. It is the recently published Dark Wraith of Shannara by Terry Brooks.
If anyone is willing to tackle it, contact me off list via e-mail at:
marcus72@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Or by phone: 334-808-1408
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