Reading Comics and Graphic Novels Some hints from Douglas Wolk and Scott McCloud

Two kinds of Information  Drawn Images  Written Words  Drawn Images  Written Words

Painting versus poetry  Drawn Images: Painting  Written Word: Poetry  =the same thing: “Poetry is a verbal picture; painting is a silent poem”  Drawn Images: Painting  Written Word: Poetry  =the same thing: “Poetry is a verbal picture; painting is a silent poem”

How Reading Comics Works  The viewer looks at a printed page and sees a series of drawn (cartooned) images,  They are surrounded by borders  And have empty space between them.  Each one is a representation of a single moment or very short, continuous span of time.  The viewer looks at a printed page and sees a series of drawn (cartooned) images,  They are surrounded by borders  And have empty space between them.  Each one is a representation of a single moment or very short, continuous span of time.

Reading comics, cont.  Some of those bordered images also include text, surrounded by lines or other visual cues that indicate whether it’s to be read as speech spoken (at the time of the moment seen in the image)  by one of the characters in the scene,  or as speech by another character who’s not visible in the panel  or as narration from an omniscient source.  Some of those bordered images also include text, surrounded by lines or other visual cues that indicate whether it’s to be read as speech spoken (at the time of the moment seen in the image)  by one of the characters in the scene,  or as speech by another character who’s not visible in the panel  or as narration from an omniscient source.

Single Panels and time  Symbolic tricks like special kinds of lines that imply speed and motion  Showing the same figure or different figures at slightly separated moments in time  Language, especially dialogue  Symbolic tricks like special kinds of lines that imply speed and motion  Showing the same figure or different figures at slightly separated moments in time  Language, especially dialogue

Space and time  There’s an element of space in any one panel and an element of time in some comic panels--  The domain of the word-and-image combination is both space and time  Another panel can add a gap in time and then a jerk forward, but flow may not be only in one direction  There’s an element of space in any one panel and an element of time in some comic panels--  The domain of the word-and-image combination is both space and time  Another panel can add a gap in time and then a jerk forward, but flow may not be only in one direction

Between Panels: The gutter  Blank space whose borders are also the borders outlining the images  May have only a line between panels or dissolve into blankness without specific panel borders  The bordered gutter has become the default. The gutter is where fun happens  Blank space whose borders are also the borders outlining the images  May have only a line between panels or dissolve into blankness without specific panel borders  The bordered gutter has become the default. The gutter is where fun happens

What happens in the gutter  Readers get to fill in the lapse of time represented by the blankness of the gutter.  Can serve as “pregnant moments” which give birth to the space before the next moment  Contributes to the process of imagining the relationship between the image in one panel to the image in the next as “closure”  Readers get to fill in the lapse of time represented by the blankness of the gutter.  Can serve as “pregnant moments” which give birth to the space before the next moment  Contributes to the process of imagining the relationship between the image in one panel to the image in the next as “closure”

Leaps of Imagination Through Comics  Narrative is one kind of guide  Style is another and provides the artist’s vision  Blank spaces intrigue  Comics serve as a guide to imagining the visual aspect of a story as it’s transformed through the cartoonist’s perception, as opposed to the reader’s own.  Narrative convert into an interpreted two- dimensional image that is actually four- dimensional: space in time  Narrative is one kind of guide  Style is another and provides the artist’s vision  Blank spaces intrigue  Comics serve as a guide to imagining the visual aspect of a story as it’s transformed through the cartoonist’s perception, as opposed to the reader’s own.  Narrative convert into an interpreted two- dimensional image that is actually four- dimensional: space in time

Terms to Remember  Panel: A box which contains a scene  Border: the outline of the panel  Gutters: Space between the panels  Tier: row of panels on a page  Balloons: container of text-dialogue  Tail: pointer leading to balloon  Panel: A box which contains a scene  Border: the outline of the panel  Gutters: Space between the panels  Tier: row of panels on a page  Balloons: container of text-dialogue  Tail: pointer leading to balloon

Terms to Remember, Cont.  Bird’s Eye View: scene as seen from above  Worm’s Eye View: as seen from below  Gesture: human movement or expression  Posture: attitude of the body  Flow: the arrangement of the panels  Typography: font type and size/special effects  Bird’s Eye View: scene as seen from above  Worm’s Eye View: as seen from below  Gesture: human movement or expression  Posture: attitude of the body  Flow: the arrangement of the panels  Typography: font type and size/special effects