End Punctuation. The period, the question mark, and the exclamation point are all examples of end punctuation. End marks tell the reader where a sentence ends. They also show the purpose of the sentence. A period ends all sentences except for direct questions or genuine exclamations. As you read through this selection, pick out three sentences—one that uses a period, one that uses a question mark, and one that uses an exclamation mark.
Chronological Order. Chronological order puts events in the order in which they happen. In writing, transition words such as first, second, next, then, and finally are used to connect a series of events. In this selection, however, chronological order is represented by the order of pictures, not by the use of transition words. As you read the comic strip, notice the order in which the pictures are placed. How do you know which picture frame is next? How is this similar to reading?
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• Arts Connection. Comic strips are a sequence of drawings that tell a story. They typically have dialogue printed in balloons and are arranged in horizontal strips. The first comic strip introduced to the United States was the German comic strip, “Max and Moritz,” by Wilhelm Busch in 1865. Almost 30 years later in 1894, the first color newspaper page was published in the New York Recorder. Three years later, Yellow Kid by Richard Felton Outcault began publication as part of the Sunday comic supplement in Journal American. By the early 1930s, Little Orphan Annie, Dick Tracy, Popeye, Little Nemo, Buster Brown, and Krazy Kat were all in publication. Action comics were introduced in the late 1930s. The most popular action comic was Superman. In 1939 Batman came on the scene. Throughout the century, comic strips expanded to explore science fiction, crime, and horror.
• The materials used in drawing comics are very different from the materials used in everyday drawing. They require paper and pencils like other types of drawings. However, the paper and pencils are designed specifically for cartoon drawing. For example, comics are drawn on two-ply bristol, which is thick, durable paper available only in art supply stores. Another type of paper comic artists use is called Vellum paper. Vellum paper is like tracing paper. It is used for artists who redraw a lot since erasing over and over can wear down paper. Cartoonists also use special art pencils when they draw. They range from 6H to 6B. H pencils have hard leads. They require less sharpening and produce a faint but sharp line. B pencils have soft leads. They wear down more quickly and produce a darker but fuzzier line than H pencils. However, B pencils are easier to erase than H pencils. Another type of pencil that most cartoonists cannot live without is called the non-photo blue pencil. These pencils contain a particular shade of light blue that is not picked up by cameras used in most black-and-white printing processes or by copy machines. Therefore, cartoonists don’t have to erase every time they print or make copies.
• The two police officers who appear in the section of The Adventures of Tintin: The Black Island shown here are Thompson and Thomson. The only way you can distinguish one from another is by their mustaches. Thompson has a pointy mustache, and Thomson has a more rounded mustache. Their relationship with Tintin is curious in that they never hesitate to arrest him, yet they call him “old boy” and are quick to be his friend.
Think back to a time when you were accused of something you did not do. How did you react?
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