the subtlety of this piece is absolutely captivating, and i'll be covering three tidbits that i've picked up on which coalesce and work together in order to make this single page one of the best pages i've seen yet.
the juxtaposition of detail and simplicity.
the high level of detail emphasized in the shadings and texture detailing, in contrast to the simplicity of the character design. the punchline character, a simple oval, rounded rectangle head, with a large nose that can fit both of his eyes in between the space of the nose bridge; parted hair with bangs that only go past his forehead, while being parted still emphasizes the gargantuan space of his forehead; and thin glasses that encompass and cover a set of dead pan eyes that allude to a serious tone referred to in the later half of the page's makeup that leads to the punchline. all of this, equally juxtaposed by the contrasting appearance of the other present characters; taller stances, lacking the awkward posing of the punchline character. hair that barely shows any part of the forehead. the natural expression and formation of the characters' faces. the reality of the situation being that the punchline character is deliberately deformed in comparison to the other characters not only adds to the awkwardness in the page, but also gives extra value to the subsequent aspects of the page mentioned later on.
the simple punchline, and the reaction.
the very first thing you notice in the panel isn't the detail of the art, nor the confused response from the other three characters involved in this scene; it's the extremely awkward and "weird" pose of the character committing to the punchline. his arms extended well above his head, hands layered over each other while his palms face up; the very subtle setup that prepares the reader for what comes immediately after, the second thing they notice in the panel: "ten gallon wiener". with the element of detail and simplicity mentioned in the previous paragraph, these two components work together in order to create not only the punchline of the page, but the ensuing reaction from the aforementioned three characters in the scene: purely. uninhibited. confusion.
they look at the student with unsurety, hesitant to take his words at face value and ignore his disturbing gestures and words, or to follow where his narrative is going and find his destination; still unsure of where that destination would inevitably lead them to. the student doesn't care about their uncertainty, and continues with his description, leading to:
the full intent of seriousness, subsequent regret of doubling down... and the limitation of context.
the punchline character is entirely serious in his actions in this scene. the way he poses awkwardly, forcibly pulling attention to himself in order to ensure that people know he is there; the deadpan stare from his empty eyes, a sensation of pure confidence in his actions, surety that this will catch him the attention and interest of the conversation... and it does. however, not the attention nor interest that he may have actually desired, but more close to the spectacle of watching something fail so miserably, but they've already submerged their leg into the rabbit hole, already too deep in to the point that they can't help but keep sinking into the bit, until they finally sink the top of their head below the top of the rabbit hole. the lack of sweat at first, emphasizing his absolute conviction in his thought process, the confidence in his exclamation - "ten gallon wiener"; only to subsequently emit a droplet of hesitation in the form of a single sweat drop, as he spoke "pure...", before taking a break to consider if the rest of what he wanted to say was going to yield the same results he desired; before ultimately doubling down on his second sentence... with a simple continuation: "beef. wang."
this page is by far one of the greatest portrayals of art i've ever seen.
...anyways i really wanna read call of the night, watch hellsing ultimate, and catch up on dandadan.
