Wednesday, 3 October 2012

So I Read The Nightly News

A 250 word (or less) review of The Nightly News Graphic Novel,

By Jonathan Hickman, Image Comics


 As an aspiring Scientist I read a lot of Research articles. Occasionally I'll read about an experiment that is just exceptionally elegant, insightful, and brilliant. You know, the kind of brilliant that's just "wow... fuck me that's smart". The kind of brilliant that, as much as it's a showcase of great Science, is also a challenge to everyone else to do better. I can't help but wonder if The Nightly News has that effect on other comic book creators. Regardless, I think it’s one revolutionary book. The Nightly News is a book about a pseudo-cult who, directed by The VOICE, commit acts of vengeance/terrorism against members of the news media. It's brutal and unflinching but also darkly funny and very very smart. It's also disorienting, with A LOT of information, misinformation, and much between the two. Visually The Nightly News is very unconventional. Instead of a normal approach of sequential pictures arranged in some variation of grid, The Nightly News is this glaring white canvas overlayed with story artwork, graphic design elements, iconography, and infographics. The visual and written information onslaught plays to the thematic discussion about propaganda, the news media and education, by appropriating their methodology. The Nightly News is a book with a message: beware the media (it's power, corporatisation, and abuses), be wary of education, be aware that, as a member of the public, you are being constantly conditioned to behave in certain ways. The Nightly News, in no uncertain terms, cries THINK FOR YOURSELF. Read it.

Word count: 250

Previously:
So I Read The Red Wing

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