The Blending Art: "Twister"

Runaways: Season 1, Episode 2: "Rewind" // Volume 1, Issue # 2, "Pride and Joy"

Now, this is the type of art I would like to learn how to do. In this animated gif,
summersocietyvp (someone I now follow on Tumblr) has taken a brief clip from the new Hulu series Runaways and married it up with a panel from the original source text, a comic of the same name by Brian K. Vaughan (words) & Adrian Alphona (images).

I particularly like the design choices that went into this piece of art. First, keeping the frame from the source panel constant throughout the gif reinforces the logic of the comic being the source text that encapsulates the new video adaptation.

Second, I like how the video clip has just enough frames to generate movement (to make it clear that it is a video clip and not a still picture) but not so many as to overwhelm the gif and distract from the comic panel frame. (This also keeps the gif short for any attention-deficited viewers.)

I also like the touch of leaving the speaking balloon in place when switching from the comic panel to the video clip but changing the text content in the speaking balloon to create a sense of linear logic flow: the greeting in the comic panel balloon ("Oh, hey, Mom") is followed by the logical follow-up question: "How was the meeting?" in the video clip balloon.

Runaways (2003) Issue #2

Also, summersocietyvp manages to blow up the comic panel large enough to fit the video clip without losing too much quality in that comic panel image. And, the decision to cut out the door frame from the source panel to reveal the edge of the Twister game and the video image (of an AT-AT Walker from The Empire Strikes Back) on the TV within the video clip is masterful.

I have read the comic, but I don't have Hulu and thus have not seen the series yet. However, this gif does suggest that the TV series honors the original source text while still adapting the story into something new. That's good advertising, if you ask me.