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Post by whitecomics on Jan 11, 2024 2:05:12 GMT
...have been on my mind. Comics are famously bad at them, maybe? Or at least many good comics, even great comics, have subpar endings. I remember this was a common criticism of Optic Nerve - that the stories just end, instead of concluding.
I'm curious to hear what comics people think have particularly strong endings. Or movies, prose, etc.
Jaime comes to mind. Love Bunglers, of course, but also many of his other strips. Death of Speedy.
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Post by fatherspukashells on Jan 11, 2024 3:45:19 GMT
I was actually extremely angry at the ending of Monica for all of about five minutes. It felt surprisingly schlocky and lazy for Clowes. But then how the conclusion "reveals" the general project of the book started to sink in. And sometimes it feels good to be antagonized by what you're reading.
Blue Italian Shit might be my favorite Clowes ending. Also Death Ray as divisive as that book is.
I've also never felt that those Optic Nerve stories needed any more closure than they offered. They're called "slice" of life stories for a reason, and I always respected the commitment to that.
I was kind of let down by Blood of the Virgin, a feeling that has lingered as much as I love that comic. I'm curious how people who only read the collected version reacted to it, as I think that picking it up serialized with so much time between issues fucked with my expectations.
Jaime is great at endings. Gilbert too -- I just re-read Love and Rockets X for the first time in like ten years and forgot how beautiful those last dozen pages or so are. Ware is really good at them too imo, although I guess Building Stories refutes the importance of an "ending" when we're talking about comics as physical objects, something I also admire.
Not to just talk about like the five most famous dudes in indie comics lol.
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Post by bluebed on Jan 11, 2024 4:35:59 GMT
The recent Why Don't You Love Me comes to mind. Ebisu is good at ridiculous endings that feel just right. The last chapter of Clyde Fans is probably the best part of the book. Schrauwen's Cartoonify story has a brutal and perfect ending. I actually really liked the ending of Blood of the Virgin, just found it a bit rushed--I think the same thing would've worked better if it was a bit slower. But yes, it's a tough thing to pull off, for sure.
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Post by owaddled on Jan 11, 2024 5:05:22 GMT
I've liked the endings for Alex Graham's Dog Biscuits and Angloid.
More Gilbert greatness: Luba Conquers the World, Chance In Hell
Jaime too with Wig Wam Bam.
Jimbo: Adventures in Paradise.
They're short stories but Sexcoven by Jillian Tamaki and Eleanor Davis' Frontier issue and that short comic Stick and String.
The last issue of Promethea is pretty great.
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Post by addley on Jan 11, 2024 6:03:28 GMT
Parasyte! Perfect ending, imo. Perfect series. Prefer the flipped MixxManga version tho, better translation.
Arsene Schrauwen (even just aesthetically, the way it seems almost in full color except not really)
Terror Assaulter
Many of the Megg and Mogg books leave on quite a mood
Definitely agree with Love Bunglers, Dog Biscuits, and Promethea
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Endings
Jan 11, 2024 14:43:53 GMT
via mobile
Post by grubcubman on Jan 11, 2024 14:43:53 GMT
I don't clearly remember the lead-up to the ending of The Hard Tomorrow by Eleanor Davis, but I found the last few pages profound. I think of that often.
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Post by eheitner on Jan 11, 2024 15:12:25 GMT
The ending of "Asterious Polyp" annoyed me. I love the ending(?) of "BUMF" which apparently no-one but me read.
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Post by whitecomics on Jan 11, 2024 16:45:44 GMT
Yeah, Asterios Polyp is a great example of a bad ending. From the meteor (spoilers??) onwards it falls apart for me. Too clever by half, neither emotionally nor thematically satisfying. While I love parts of that book, I also can't forget Jog's comment in several CBABIH episodes that it has the same plot as Cars. In prose I think my favorite ending is Tom McCarthy's Remainder. That's partially due to my own relationship with that book, where I first found the ending unsatisfying many years ago; then found it good; then on my most recent reread felt like it was the only possible ending. It's surprising, a little frustrating, references themes and motifs built up throughout the work. Really good. EDIT: Remainder's ending is also good (and I won't spoil it) because it concludes with a specific and memorable plot twist. I'm totally a sucker for an ending sequence composed of images that just set a tone, or a nice bit of prose, but it's especially impressive when an ending sticks in your mind for what it is in addition to how it's done. I think often about a John McPhee quote on how to write a good ending: "look upstream" -- i.e. the ending might actually be earlier in the work than you realize. From this essay: www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/01/14/structure
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Post by bluebed on Jan 11, 2024 20:29:29 GMT
I really fell out of love with McCarthy's recent books, but Remainder's ending definitely makes it work--it is a strong closing image. Sorokin's Ice Trilogy is kinda similar, as well as Their Four Hearts, both can be pretty grating, but the endings wrap it up nicely and make the build-up feel justified. In classics, Gogol's Dead Souls and Joyce's the Dead both have exemplary endings, too.
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Post by robindh on Jan 11, 2024 23:38:50 GMT
Personally I really loved the ending of Blood of the Virgin as it's where the book really clicked for me. The monologue in particular was superb IMO.
A good example of a subpar ending to a comic is David B.'s Epileptic. The nature of the comic means that it didn't really damage its 'classic' status though, which is I guess is why it isn't mentioned much. Also FWIW Incidents in the Night is better despite remaining unfinished.
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Post by pietrykowski on Jan 12, 2024 0:57:41 GMT
Jimbo: Adventures in Paradise. My vote is for this too! That ending really caught me off guard. It's a fun book but damn is the ending heavy.
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Post by slugfizz on Jan 12, 2024 3:19:53 GMT
whitecomics said: "I'm curious to hear what comics people think have particularly strong endings. Or movies, prose." short stories: 'In the Cemetery where Al Jolson is Buried' by Amy Hempel 'A Good Man is Hard to Find' by Flannery O'Connor 'Guests of the Nation' by Frank O'Connor novels: 'The Wings of the Dove' by Henry James 'La Bete Humaine' by Emile Zola 'Pick Up' by Charles Willeford (I love this bleak book. By the way, CW's bio says he studied art in Biarritz, France and in Lima, Peru. Would love to see images of Willeford's paintings.) comics: The ending that seems to linger with me is from 'Ghost World" (book)
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TomMurphy
New Member
Something to do with Colossive Press, South London
Posts: 16
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Post by TomMurphy on Jan 12, 2024 10:35:07 GMT
I'm curious to hear what comics people think have particularly strong endings. Or movies, prose, etc. Jaime comes to mind. Love Bunglers, of course, but also many of his other strips. Death of Speedy. In c40 years I've never had a visceral reaction to reading a comic like the one I felt with The Love Bunglers - after that spread, I was almost too scared to turn the page, and then the resolution is beautiful. It's been a while, but Chicken with Plums left me devastated (I think I actually saw the film before reading the comic) In prose, Kate Atkinson's A God in Ruins seems a little mundane compared to the pyrotechnics of its sister book Life After Life, but it pulls off an audacious narrative coup at the end
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Post by awfulquiet on Jan 12, 2024 13:30:09 GMT
I don't know why endings in comics would ever be difficult. If you get stuck you just have a character fall over with a "PLOP!" sound effect.
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Post by eheitner on Jan 12, 2024 15:16:55 GMT
I don't know why endings in comics would ever be difficult. If you get stuck you just have a character fall over with a "PLOP!" sound effect. Persepolis, Maus, Footnotes in Gaza, Black Hole, Diary of a Teenage Girl, Watchmen, there's a reason why all the classics, the great works of the canon, do this, its bc it WORKS
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