Special Issue on Multimodality
So we have
some different
images here of The
Flash in action.
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Neitzke/JOGLTEP 2015 3(1), 405-421
Uh,
anyways you
get the
idea.
Well,
and
jumping.
And spinning his
arms.
Look how
lines are
added to show
how fast he is
running.
And
stomping.
The Flash is
constantly moving!
There are
another ways to
show speed,
however.
Sometimes the
background is blurred
and the subject looks
stationary.
Like so.
Motion lines
don't only indicate
speed.
They are
primarily used to
show any type of
action.
And the amount of
lines used to
illustrate this vary.
It can be
many or few,
maybe even a
single line.
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Okay! So let's
move onto
emotion lines.
Something
about lines on the
face and emotion.
Oh right! If
you add lines to a
character face you
can represent
different
emotions, thus
Emotion
lines!
Eh-he, I
forgot what
I wanted to
say...
I look
pretty sad
right?
Like this.
Oh the
despair!
Let's kick it
up a notch.
Special Issue on Multimodality
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For
instance, what
do you feel
when you see
Think about how
often color is used in
novels to symbolize
an emotion or tone.
Emotion
can also be
depicted
through
colors.
Red?
Keep this in
mind when
reading color
comics.
And also
question why
black&white
comics decide
not to use
color.
Okay, so why is Hellboy red?
Okay, well
that's all I have
to share with you.
Let's go re...
Excuse me...
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Special Issue on Multimodality
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Oh!
What do
you mean
"why read
comics?"
Heh, that's a
pretty common
thought.
But
really,
comics are
pretty
complex.
But why read
comics?
Aren't they just for
kids? You know, not
real literature?
For
example, here
are three ways
the two work
together in
panels:
When we think of
comics, we think of
two things:
Pictures
and words.
Word specific,
picture specific, and
interdependent*!
The ways comics use
both is what makes
comics so cool.
So word
specific is were
the words drive
the story
Such as....
And the
pictures can
illustrate the
mood and tone.
The words inform us, while the
pictures illustrate an ominous mood
in Hellblazer.
* McCloud, 1993, p.153-155
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Here pictures
drive the story
and words add
sound effects or
amplify a tone.
Picture specific, as you can
guess, is the opposite.
Interdependent
panels are used most
often in comics and
really let this specific
medium shine!
Here, words and pictures work hand
in hand to convey an idea that is
dependent upon both of them!
So, to
recap, when
we think of
comics we think
of words and
pictures.
But
really,
comics do
so much
more!
The words tell us
that this is the birth
of Ant-man, and that he
can use ants for his
bidding.
The pictures, on the
other hand, illustrate his
size in comparison to his foe
and really drives home the
urgency of this
situation.
Comics are
actually
multimodal
texts!
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Special Issue on Multimodality
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So we've
already
discussed
words and
images
Which takes
care of the
linguistic and
visual modes.
But comics also
utilize the spatial,
gestural, and aural
modes.
Space is
used through
page layout,
gesture through
body language, and
audio through sound
effects and speech
volume*.
And
gestures,
well...
On a scale
from one to
happy, how happy
am I?
So space
includes things
like panel size and
variance, which we
talked about
earlier.
And audio is
well...
So there you
have it, comics are
pretty complex.
This!
* Jacobs, 213, p.13-14
'Nuff said.
Except maybe...
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Excelsior!!!
Now go
read some
comics!
Special Issue on Multimodality
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References
Jacobs, D. (2013). Graphic
Encounters: Comics and the
Sponsorship of Multimodal
Literacy. New York: Bloomsbury
Academic.
McCloud, S. (1993). Understanding
Comics: The Invisible Art. New
York: Harpercollins.
Assets
Amazing Spider-man
#42
Walking Dead: Days
Gone Bye
Watchmen
The Silver Age of
Comic Book Art
Akira #1
Hellboy: The Third
Wish
Hellblazer #31
Batman: The Killing
Joke
Tales to Astonish #35
Peter Parker
says cite your
sources!
421