Life and Death: Reflexivity in "The End" by Anders Nilsen

The End by Anders Nilsen, published in 2013, is a collection of comics created by Nilsen in the year following his girlfriend’s death after her battle with cancer. It is certainly one of the most unique comics I have encountered both in its style and content. The presence of the author can be felt on every page, so I want to discuss reflexivity as it is manifested in this comic.

Matthew T. Jones describes reflexivity as “a process by which the author of the text and/or the audience of the text functions to call attention to the text as an artificial construct.” (Jones 270). Knowing that this collection of comics comes from the author’s own period of mourning gives the reader a context to understand the comic and its meaning. The reader notices instances of authorial awareness, “the insertion of the author into the text,” (271) because we understand that the figures signify Nilsen and his loved one. This additional layer arguably makes the comic as a whole more powerful, because it is a sad, honest, and even humorous depiction of how humans deal with death.

We also see demystification in this comic, which is “the act of revealing the mechanisms of production responsible for creating the particular text” (Jones 276) evident in the lines that are scratched out and re-written. This allows the reader to recognize the process of creating comics and can also reveal the author’s state of mind which, at this time, may have been nervous and unsure.

We are also aware that the comic is constructed due to the drawing and writing style. The lines are thin and shaky, mirroring the author’s sadness and confusion about the fragility of life. The characters have no faces and this allows the reader to see his or her self, or perhaps a loved one who has passed away, within the figures of the bodies. The characters in the comics refer to one another as constructions, in that the protagonist figure representing Nilsen begs his partner not to disappear, for she is kept alive only in memory and on these pages. When the comic is over, she will be gone, and this is a real fear for the protagonist.

Jones describes how “reflexivity closes the distance between the author and the audience” (Jones 270). As we read though this comic we experience a fraction of the pain and turmoil Nilsen experienced. Due to the impact of reflexivity we are required to look inside ourselves and consider our own relationships with life and death, and our relationships with the ones we love. This powerful work is an example of the ways in which comics as a medium can break preconceptions and can portray even the most painful of subjects.

Lauren Farquhar

Jones, Matthew T. “Reflexivity in Comic Art.” International Journal of Comic Art 7.1 (Spring 2005): 270-86.

Watchmen - Creating a Web of Meaning

Here's an exercise in creating meaning between images, between panels, between moments. After looking at this picture to the left, what do you assume?

This could be anything, after all. But experience and convention has taught us that the body language of these two suggests that they are winding down from something strenuous. The smoking is often used in fiction as a means of winding down post-coitus, but really, this could be anything. Let's not assume things.

How about this image to the right? This one technically happened before the above scene, though clearly not too long before. Both parties are panting, and they are clearly in an alleyway. Upon casual reading, we might again assume that sex was the order of the day here. They are panting and we see no sign of clothing on the woman apart from her coat. Perhaps something untoward occurred here?

But look at the bottom of the panel. There is a face-down human body with their head in a trash can. I sincerely doubt a couple would partake in carnal pleasures in the presence of an unconscious (perhaps even dead) body. Clearly, something else is going on here.

How about we provide the full context? Keep in mind that these panels are all clearly related, though none of them touch. They are a connected narrative (told chronologically, unlike how I present them here), though there is more than a gutter between them. It is for this reason that Groensteen's web of meaning, his theory of interpretation through the relation of panels throughout the piece as a whole, has practical application. As we make connections between various panels, the sequential nature of the panels gives way to an overall understanding of meanings that are conveyed outside the chronology and the individual contents of each panel.

Watchmen provides this piece of context before the panels I showed earlier, but I merely wished to convey that in order to create meaning in a comics text, the relations between the panels are some of the most important method with which we create meaning. That's not to say that we cannot create meaning otherwise.

In this page that shows the fight between muggers and the heroes they mistake for helpless civilians, we have a piece of the narrative that I neglected to mention: the interview of the only hero with superpowers, Dr. Manhattan. While the two narratives played side by side in their entirely do not directly relate to each other in a literal sense, the juxtaposition of the two is notable to readers when they read the text displayed in the mugging scenes. Each one of these phrases makes evident the dichotomy between the public criticism of the heroes (in this case, Dr. Manhattan) and the clear evidence contrary to those criticisms in the heroes shown in the mugging scene. The symbolic connection between the two allows the reader to make connections wherein the mugging scene reinforces the language of the Manhattan scene. At the same time, the language of the Manhattan scene reinforces the violence, the emotion, and the normality of what these "super-people" encounter on a day-to-day basis while also spelling out exactly what is occurring in that specific scene.

If that's not a web, a non-linear creation of meaning that exceeds the literal content of the individual panels, then I have no idea what is.

-Stephen St. Louis

Repitition in "Godzilla in Hell #3"

So here, finally, I do a follow up to the previous two "Godzilla in Hell" series. While this issue does have words they do not fulfill the role that both Groensteen and McCloud have given them; that is explain what is going on and what it is we are seeing. This issue sees Godzilla facing off against the forces of Hell and the forces of God (I think). Both sides try to get him to join with the phrase "Consume his heart! Enter his throat" for the former and "Submit! Server Peace!" for the latter.

Since there is very little variation between the two phrases we are once again forced to relay on the pictures to tell us most of the story. What these repeating phrases do tell us is that neither side is really worth fighting for. While God is God and seems to want peace, that peace seems to only be obtained through the slavery of those who might oppose it. At the same time Hell is Hell and being with it does not seem to be all that pleasant. In the end Godzilla's angry looks and his laser beams are enough to tell us that he will not pick a side and will continue to go about this on his own. Once again action seems to speak louder than words which is a running theme of the comic series, it seems. 

The Underlying Traits of an Autobiographical Comic

The Comic I chose to look at for this blog post is from the article “A perilous journey: Hasko’s flight to Europe from Syria- an illustrated account” and it tells the tale of a Syrian Refugee that flees Turkey in search of a better life. Stories of refugees fleeing their current circumstances are quite common in light of the recent migrant crisis taking place in Europe; however, most of these stories are told through photographs or mere words. To address this journey through comics has greatly heightened the severity of the journey itself and the struggle of refugees themselves in deciphering whether such a risk is worth it. This comic is also an example of a non-fiction, autobiographical comic, which adds to the importance of the narrative.

I read this comic via The Guardian website. The comic was illustrated by Lindsay Pollock, and depicts the life of Hasko, a refugee from Syria, who fled to Turkey, only to take a dangerous journey over the waters to find asylum in Italy. The entire comic is done in black and white, which holds a diegetic purpose in this comic.  The diegetic use of colour is a concept that McCloud supports in his view of colour and comics. The use of black and white embodies the black and white premise available to Hasko’s situation. Hasko must face adverse conditions for the possibility of finding a better life for his family. For this reason to use black and white in this comic comments on Hasko’s lack of other opportunities to survive in Turkey. His life itself is black and white, as he must choose one unsafe situation for another unsafe situation. The lack of option in Hasko’s life is reflective in the colours used to draw this comic.

It is unclear whether this comic was meant to be placed online or not because under some panels, textual captions are placed that continue the flow of the narrative. In other ways, the comic looks hand drawn, with trace marks and white paper outlines. Either way, the fact that is comic is most probably hand drawn adds to the personality embedded in the text and the factual content of the comic itself. It adds to the reality that the comic portrays to know that it is hand drawn.

The ways textual elements used vary drastically throughout the comic. The comic utilizes speech bubbles, caption boxes, and caption lines below the panels, to tell the narrative. The speech bubbles, caption boxes, and captions both have a narration function in this comic, as Baetmans would say, as the character is speaking directly to the reader. By directly speaking to the reader through many textual elements, the reader is able to always know that this is a reflexive story and that the speaker is always Hasko.

Upon beginning my reading of this comic, I did not realize that Hasko was the sole narrator until I read the text more carefully to realize Hasko gave every piece of textual communication. By having Hasko speak directly to the reader, the reader is able to connect more so to Hasko in an emotional sense because the reader is aware of whom this comic is about. The reader can also connect to the comic emotionally because of the simplicity in the drawings of Hasko’s life. The text fuels the imagery used to depict the journey as the artist merely portrays exactly what Hasko says, rather than adding any element of surprise or exaggeration to the story.

Panel sizes were also a very distinct element in this comic as the panels vary greatly throughout the comic. Bigger panels are contrasted by smaller panels, rectangle panels are placed next to square panels, and vertical images are contrasted by horizontal, landscape images. The imagery set in the bigger panels usually embody a close-up of facial expressions and showcase hardships on the journey. In the smaller panels, we see more portrait drawings of objects or just Hasko on his own. The purpose of making the bigger panels showcase facial expression serves to allow the reader to focus on the struggle of the refugees themselves and their thought process upon travelling such a journey. This is important for the comic and the readers because it serves to heighten the perspective from which this comic is told: it is told from the perspective of a refugee. Often from the media, we hear of the “difficulties” in the journey from the middle east to Europe or we see what happens upon the arrival of the refugees. Rarely are audiences provided with the perspective of the refugees upon their journey and what they witness and endure. Audiences are not exposed to this perspective, but through this comic, we see this perspective and the reality of these dangers. This should make those who are unaware of the severity of this crisis more aware and insightful about what risks are truly involved in undertaking such a task.

By: Kirthana Sasitharan

Toil & Trouble #4 - Transtextuality, It's Still Here!

Before I begin, I would like to warn any potential reader that this post will contain spoilers, especially if you have never read Macbeth.

The fourth issue of Toil & Trouble begins directly with a reference to Shakespeare's Macbeth. Our experience with the previous volume would place us directly after Act I, Scene 5, and so, while the first two pages orient our view of this new narrative, our place with respect to the hypotext (Shakespeare's Macbeth) is confirmed in this, the third page, wherein Duncan and Banquo speak of Macbeth's castle. The specific choice of words here is what finalizes the connection between the texts; the king distinctly says that Macbeth's "castle hath a pleasant seat" and is replied to by Banquo with talk of martlets.

In the hypotext, the martlet is a mistaken good omen which lends irony to Duncan's (and eventually Banquo's) impending death. Our knowledge of this poor augury allows Scott to show us how she intends us to interpret what they portend; they represent the innocence of the children buried. Cait understands that the birds are not attracted to sweet air, but the sweet innocence of the ghosts of many children who had met their untimely demise here. It is a terrible omen, one befitting a tragedy.

Finally, we have the dagger scene. In the previous page (I do not show it only due to the fact that there are multiple pages in a row that show a relation to Shakespeare - I haven't enough space), we are able to see Macbeth speak his famous lines: "Is this a dagger I see before me?" He continues with a direct quote in this page. The previous pages show Lady Macbeth's hesitance to kill being caused by Riata, her inner turmoil caused by an external sources rather than internal. Here, we see the same with Macbeth. Where Shakespeare's characters became impossible to relate to in their ambition, these characters continue to earn our empathy when their ambition and paranoia, and the actions that create it, are no fault of their own. Scott is turning the hypotext's story into a modern tragedy - Macbeth's greatness is his humanity, and his loss of it, along with the subsequent realization of this fact, is what will create Aristotle's catharsis. As a modern audience, we no longer care for Macbeth's station and reputation so much as we care for his inner peace and morality.

As a counter-point, we see a mirror image in the witches as they slowly lose their humanity, their governing rules, and their own morality as they begin to fight each other behind the scenes. Even the colouring on the page reflects the conflict - Riata's red against Smertae's blue. We know whose plan prevails in the end - Riata influence on Macbeth allows him to gain the throne for a time until Malcolm, the one she advocated for from the beginning, eventually takes his throne back. This implies that Smertae loses in some way, but we have no idea what that entails. That is what makes Toil & Trouble so interesting, so foreboding.

An interesting thing to note about this (so far) unresolved conflict is that neither side will be eliminated. Or can they? After all, every witch but Hecate, a Greek goddess that has a high likelihood of behind left out of the hypertext, is nameless in Shakespeare's tale, and so the addition of other witches may occur. However, that would involve the resolution of Toil & Trouble before the resolution of Macbeth, which cannot happen since the resolution of Macbeth is promised to us, the readers, by the nature of the woven narrative between hypertext and hypotext.

Our knowledge of the hypotext, then, betrays us. We create expectations based upon the hypotext and, with those expectations we create a rudimentary direction for the hypertext to follow. It is this betrayal that lends this form of transtextuality so much power - the deviations in the path surprise us and compel us to continue reading. We know where Macbeth ends up, and his tragic story (though with modified emphasis) sets our expectations and generates familiarity - the unfamiliarity of the witches, and the unresolved tension between them, keeps us reading, keeps us invested, as we attempt to determine how we arrive at Act IV, and how the witches, who never appear afterward, finish their part of the story.

-Stephen St. Louis

Use of speech bubble in "Deadly Class"

So to be completely honest before this class I did not read comics, it wasn't a genre that I really didn't take seriously because I didn’t believe you could become attached to a narrative that didn't contain pages of words. However, after analyzing and reading so many comics in class, I certainly hold a very different outlook on comics now. Through multimodality you are able to gather so much information and detail about how a comic is made and why it is chosen to be made that way. Using theories that we have spoke about in class I was able to analyze a monthly magazine entitled “Deadly Class” made by Rick Remender, Wes Craig, Jordan Boyd. The owner of the comic store where I purchased it said “it was growing fast in popularity” so I decided to give it a try. Right away the book was not what I pictured it to be, even though I really had no preconceived notions as I mentioned before, I am not avid comics reader. The monthly spread was about a group of teenagers who are assassins and all live together at some sort housing unit. The comic was very fast pace and I really did have to go back and re-read sections of the magazine in order to understand the full story. What helped analyze and comprehend the narrative was my newfound information on comic theories. I noticed that when the main character is talking to himself the authors chose to use rectangle speech bubbles but when someone else is talking to him it a more rounded speech bubble. This leads into David Carrier’s notion on speech balloons in which he says “since comics are also a visual art, we are concerned as well with the strictly visual qualities of balloons. We contrast elegantly shaped balloons and are aware of the visual qualities of the chosen type, which we read in the ways we read handwriting for signs of someone’s character” (30). Not only are readers able to quickly follow what is going on in the characters mind but easily compare it to what is being said to the character. The different shaped balloons add another level of understanding what is happening in the narrative. Carrier also adds “the balloon thus is not just a neutral container but another element in the visual field. Indeed, even identifying balloons as containers already is to hint at some ways of identifying their expressive significance” (44). These containers that enclose written information about the character and make up a huge part of the narrative are extremely important. It is not just about the words that are part of a speech bubble but the location, size, and outline of the word balloon. 

Use of Color in Plutona

 In the first issue of Plutona, written by Jeff Lamire and Emi Lenox, color definitely adds to the experience of the reader. By looking at the cover, the reader can already be engaged in the story, without even knowing what happens in it. On the cover of this specific issue, the reader is introduced to the main character, Mie. Mie takes up a large portion of the front of the comic, and in the background the reader can identify that the image represents a forest. The use of purple  here draws in the reader as the colorist, Jordie Bellaire, has blended multiple shades of purple together to achieve a mysterious element to the forest. Bellaire also adds tones of faint purple in Mie’s shirt and also in her face. The way he uses these colors to compliment each other emphasizes the facial expression of Mie (as her black hair stands out and frames her face, drawing attention to her expression), thus making the cover as a whole intriguing for the reader or a potential reader. By seeing these elements on the cover, the reader automatically wants to know why this character is in a forest, and what she seems to be uneasy about. The use of color on the cover also offers the idea that the pages of the comic will also be colorful, and used to enhance the readers experience. 

Throughout the pages, artist Lenox and colorist Bellaire work together to help the reader understand the personalities of the characters presented in the comic. This idea is shown as each character has a different colored background that identifies them. The character which stood out the most in the comic is Ray. He is introduced on page six, and has the darkest page among the characters, which can be seen to be depicting his personality. The almost grey wash that lingers over the panels on this page, give the reader the idea that he is recognizably different than the other characters, as their background colors are bright. Here, the colors work in unison with the scene going on within the panels. By seeing Ray’s dad surrounded by beer, and Ray having to wake his dad up for work (when he is up and ready for school), it shows that he comes from a different home life than the others. The grey sort of adds a sad element to the page, also persuading how the reader should feel whilst looking at these panels. The way color works with the scene helps identify Ray, and also helps the reader to understand why he is the way he is, when he is represented in further pages. 

In this comic, it is easy to see that color strongly influences the way the reader views the comic. Aside from Ray, the other characters are represented by certain colors as well, but they are lighter and almost add a happy element to those pages. If these pages were not so colorful, perhaps one would not have the same connection to the characters, which would then change the way the comic makes the reader feel as a whole. In comics, color definitely adds something beyond what just picture, words, and black and white can do. 

By: Emily Lukas