L D E V I C E S
Moment to Moment.
This device is perhaps the most popular device between panels, documenting a flow of time that allows for movement between the sequential panels. Is often used to depict a characters/ stories movement within seconds.
Subject to Subject.
A device that shows an object and then shifts focus to another object. On the right, for example, the first panel possesses focus on the glass, but then shifts focus to the character that is seated.
Aspect to Aspect.
A way in showing the same scene but in different angles and, in some cases, different perspectives. The first panel to the right shows a mans smirk face but the following panel is focused on the angle by what he is seeing. A good device in allowing to further expand the storyworld.
Instead of narrowing down into a specific focus of comics, I desired to find out about the various narrative devices that are used and how they affect the flow of the narrative and the story as a whole. I looked into Christin M.Newell’s essay titled ‘Closure as Perception and Interpretation: Ikeda Manabu’s negative space through comic studies’, in which she explains the thought process behind comic panels and blank spaces within comics. I had always thought that blank spaces within comics depict the passing of time within a story, and with that being true, there is actually a lot more to it. She states that ‘panels control the viewpoint of the reader’, which may seem obvious but it’s something I never thought of too intently. When one is reading a comic, all they see is what’s presented to them in the panels because that’s what the artist wants you to see, and that’s why they use panels as a way to convey movement and time.
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Experimenting with Moment to Moment panels and the space and time between panels.
The space between the panels can document the length of time between the panels, where larger spaces can portray more time, panels that are closer together are conveyed as a shorter period of time between the panels, with the Moment to Moment device being a popular use for split seconds between panels.
A great example of this is the ‘Hawkeye’ comic, where there are a vast variety of panel sizes, spaces between and the occasional lack of panels, which are all used to help progress the narrative forward.
‘He doesn’t say anything at all, for a couple seconds, as of his brain’s a computer still buffering the situation. Then he begins to laugh, low and bitter, muscles stretching taut beneath the vulnerable plane of his bare chest. “You want Marcellus.”
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Left. example of blank space within comic books, taken from ‘Hawkeye’ issue 6 page 1, by Matt Fraction and David Aja.
Right, my interpretation of negative spaces in comics and how I could make it beneficial towards m storytelling.
Christin M.Newell claims that Will Eisner (maker of ‘A Contract with God’), ‘states “critical to the success of a visual narrative is the ability to convey time”’, later following up with referencing Scott McCloud’s infamous ‘Understanding Comics’, where he describes that the space between panels are ‘mere fractured moments’ that our imagination expands upon through what he calls ‘the process of closure’.
This means that our brains automatically fill in the spaces between panels, which help aid the flow of the narrative being told. To me, this expands on my previous knowledge of panels having to flow smoothly in order to portray the apparition of the sequence of events coming to life. With this, I took to finding examples of graphic novels that evidence these findings, as well as how they use more devices to dictate their narrative.
Another example of comic books using colour to help aid the storytelling process is the Marvel series ‘Hawkeye’ by Matt Fraction and David Aja. The unique colouring stands out, with the colour artist saying that ‘the book is coloured as one whole unit rather than as separate pages’, using ‘as few colours as possible’. This means that colours often reappear throughout an issue but are used for different purposes such as ‘the flesh tone from one scene is used as the sky colour’ in the next. This allows for a smooth flow and comfortable read of the story. Negative space is used here not just for manipulating the space in time, but also the space in physical settings, which creates a lot of depth and adds to the story world of the narrative.
used throguhout a story.
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Left, strict use of colour palette, experimenting with what colours can be N E G A T I V E S P A C E
Whilst researching particular comics, I came across the works of Dash Shaw, an American illustrator and animator. At first I stumbled upon his new graphic novel ‘Discipline’, which recounts a teenager’s accounts of the American Civil War. It follows a very personal story of this character which produces a relatable story for the audience, allowing them to feel and relate to the protagonist on his journey. This is a key device in letting the audience feel more connected to the story, intriguing them into wanting to find out more about this story. The artwork present differs from the typical comics that I’ve grown up with reading. Simpler, linear black and white illustrations compose the book with no decrease in conveying the emotions that make stories engaging.
As well as this, the main reason this story piqued my interest was due to the fact that it challenges the conventional norm of graphic novels by taking out the panel borders that present the narrative. What this graphic novel does well, is evidencing what Christin M.Newell stated, in the importance of negative space within comics. She claims that ‘A comic artist could manipulate the lapse of time by adjusting the spaces between panels or even removing the panels altogether’. The loss of the panel borders here allow for a more free flowing narrative due to the lack of constraints for the sizes and shapes of the desired illustrations. What Shaw does well is still using the typical comic devices, such as Moment to Moment, Aspect to Aspect and such others. This, combined with no panel borders, allow for the story to flow as smoothly, if not more, than a regular bordered comic. One image leads to the next sequential image in a way that doesn’t feel forced. Each spread acts as all one piece of work that flows seamlessly allowing us, the audience, to fill in the gaps ourselves with our imagination.
Page 5 from my illustrated adaptation of ‘The Man in the Crimson Coat’, documenting a narrative with and without panels.
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P A N E L B O R D E R S E X P E R I M E N T A T I O N
Another example where Dash Shaw expertly uses specific comic narrative devices is in his book ‘Doctors’, which deals with the themes of the afterlife and what it means to be fully conscious. Contrasting with ‘Discipline’, Shaw uses panel borders to help portray a more constricted feeling to this deep and harrowing story. It’s a fitting choice given the subject matter to help affect the reader’s perception of the story. Another thing that stands out from this graphic novel is its use of colour- another difference to ‘Discipline’. Bold coloured backgrounds are used throughout to help evoke a certain feeling that is reflective of the narrative being told. Engaging an audience like this allows them to feel more entwined with the story, pulling them in and feeling what they are seeing.
Experimentation with a coloured background, inspired by ‘Doctors’ by Dash Shaw. The image being the first page of my adaptation of ‘The Man in the Crimson Coat’, by Andrea Tang. Necessary in finding the right colour that suits the tone and mood of the narrative of events that take place within the page.
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‘The Man in the Crimson Coat’, Page 1, experiemnting with panel sizes and devices, as well as digital colours and inks.
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Inspired by Dash Shaws ‘Doctors’.
‘The Man in the Crimson Coat’ double page spread inspired by Dash Shaws ‘Doctors’ and O. Schrauwen’s ‘Parallel Lives’. Experimenting with more panel devices, text and a full double page composition.
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In long lost days when the world was free, and the land still whole, there lived a man whose life was his country. At least that’s the story I swallowed, once upon a time. The man who fed it to me had his pick of stories, but he figured out fast that a shrieking orphan, plucked from the smoking remnants of a corporate raid, will gobble up a fairytale like nothing else.
The way he looked - tall and fair and blue-eyed, just like an old-world storybook hero- helped him sell it. Folks are always keen to buy fairytales from someone who looks like he belongs in one. Especially when those folks are nine years old, covered in blood and rubble, and newly homeless.
You don’t question a storybook hero pulling you from your family’s collapsed corner-store. You let him carry you past the trigger-happy corporate enforcer troops. You bury your face in his fine crimson coat when he shields you from the crack of elesctric gunfire....
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He had this swirling red tattoo on his inner wrist, same colour as his coat, like a rose blooming in cream. “It’s a promise,” he explained, when I asked.
“For me, and for you, and for many others. When you’re old enough, perhaps you’ll have one too.”
...and much later, when he wraps a blanket around your shoulders and cradles your face between the kindest hands you’ve ever known. when he says, very seriously, “I’ll take care of you,” you believe him. How could you not do anything, but believe him?
Back then, in that moment, I wanted nothing more than one of those red, red tattoos.
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Flashback scene from ‘The Man in the Crimson Coat’ inspired by Dash Shaws ‘Discipline’. Experimenting with a lack of panel borders, meaning no constraint to the shapes and size of the illustration, as well as looking into composition and piecing together separate drawings into a double page spread.
‘The Man in the Crimson Coat’ pages taking the inspiration from Dash Shaws ‘Doctors’, but this time experimenting with free hand inking straight onto coloured paper (incorporating the hand drawn style I tend to work in). Also incorporates a blend of with and without panels to show the contrast between the two forms.
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Pages from ‘The Man in the Crimson Coat’ inspired by the wrks of ‘Hawkeye’,
Dalrymple. Experimenting with panel sizes and negative space within comics, as well as working with a fairly strict
an attempt to see how the flow of narrative is aided with that.
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by Matt Fraction and David Aja, and ‘The Wrenchies’ by Farel
colour scheme in
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Experiment showcasing how a narrative can be read differently by how it is presented. A concertina comic allows for a smooth flowing story that unfolds out until the full scene can be viewed.
