Okay, let’s talk about punch reactions in comics. I’ve always been a huge fan of comic books, the whole superhero thing, you know? So the other day, I was reading through some old comics and started noticing how differently artists draw characters reacting to getting punched. It’s kinda funny when you really look at it.
I was thinking, “I gotta dive deeper into this.” So, I started gathering a bunch of my comics, both old and new ones. I spent hours just flipping through pages, specifically looking for those punch scenes. I even tried to find some more sources related to funny memes online.
I made notes on how the reactions were drawn. Some were super exaggerated, with characters flying across the room, eyes bulging out, the whole nine yards. Others were more subtle, just a slight flinch or a grimace. I started to see some patterns.
- The Classic: This is the over-the-top, cartoony reaction. The character’s entire body goes flying, limbs flailing, maybe some stars or tweety birds circling their head.
- The Subtle: Here, the character barely moves. They might clench their jaw or squint their eyes, but that’s about it. It’s supposed to show how tough they are, I guess.
- The Delayed: In this one, the character gets hit, there’s a moment of stillness, and THEN they react. It’s like they’re processing the pain before going flying.
After I had my categories down, I started sketching. I’m no professional artist, but I wanted to try drawing these different reactions myself. I filled up pages of my sketchbook with rough drawings of people getting punched in various ways, sometimes trying to draw some funny 2b memes. It was actually pretty fun, and I think I got a little better at drawing dynamic poses.
Then, I thought, “Why not try to act these out?” So, I did. I stood in front of my mirror and pretended to get punched, trying to mimic the different reactions I had observed. It was pretty silly, and I’m sure anyone watching would have thought I was crazy, but it helped me understand the physicality of each reaction.
I even tried to rope my friend into it. I had him (carefully) throw a soft pillow at me while I tried to react in different ways. We were laughing so hard, but it was a good experiment. I took some pictures during the whole thing.
In the end, I put together a little presentation of my findings. I had my notes, my sketches, and even some photos of me acting out the reactions. It was a fun little project, and I learned a lot about how artists use different techniques to convey impact and emotion in comic books. Plus, I got some good laughs out of it. I think I’m gonna start paying more attention to those punch reactions in comics from now on. It’s a whole art form in itself!