Prior to taking a class in Comics Theory, I never would have
been able to rightly appreciate some of Scott Snyder’s fascinating and
intriguing techniques in Wytches. His
intense art style captivates a more mature audience, illustrating dark and
obscure imagery to highlight his admirable horror theme. The chaotic placement
of paneling and specialized use of colouring help the reader to symbolically
uncover Snyder’s true intentions in constructing this comic.
One of the first techniques I noticed in Wytches was Snyder’s use of a neutral
and dull colour palette throughout. It seems that he does this to contrast
against the times he includes bright and vibrant colours for emphasis, such as
sound effects. He also uses washout paint splashes of colour on top of his
images whenever the witches are present to impose a sense of evil. Because of
his use of arthrology, and the way the reader is able to make these
associations between panels, we know the witches must be present when he
includes the splashes of paint on his pictures.
The beginning of the comic uses square or rectangle frames
with fairly regularized paneling to demonstrate the normalcy of the main
character’s ordinary life. After the introduction of the witches, however, the
panels are never regularized and are always scattered about to
depict the crazy and chaotic distortion of the remainder of the story. Snyder
purposely allows the spatio-topia to deliver an overwhelmingly chaotic impact
during his action scenes.
For some of the more dramatic instances, he allows for one
widespread image to encompass an entire page.
With such a dominating image, the
intensity he includes in his art style almost gives off the impression of
sound. Readers can almost hear the violent blows this image intends to exude.
It is, furthermore, capable of getting the whole intention across without using
text. Considering this idea, Wytches relies
on telling its story solely through the character’s word balloons. Excluding a
narrative voice makes it difficult for the reader to determine which character can be
trusted without the guidance of the omniscient voice. The idea of questioning
all of the characters’ motives, however, certainly adds to the suspense and
eeriness of the story that Snyder intends for.
There are
some techniques used in the comic that can be likened to methods used in film.
After Synder’s violent and chaotic introduction, he chooses to slow down the
progression of the story with a calmer and more relaxed second title page.
This
second title page embodies many of the same techniques that can be seen in the
introduction of film. He changes the scene to a bright and sunny day and uses
word balloons to depict a background conversation, while focusing on a neutral
setting. He also implements a complete change in colour palette to happier and
brighter colours to suggest a safer and more cheerful scene.
Snyder
concludes Wytches with a personalized
note to the reader, written in first person, offering background information
about the comic.
This immediately establishes a relationship with the reader
and almost creates the desire to continue to support him throughout his series.
Although it is not placed directly in the comic, the insertion of reader and
authorial awareness still reminds the reader that they are, in fact, a reader.
This relates to Jones’s idea of reflexivity and how authors will often try to
be transparent so that the reader gets lost in the story. In this case,
however, the creator wants to pull the reader out from that realm and remind
them that the text is an artificial construct. Snyder is thinking about his
audience and how his story affects them, certainly aware that the comic relies
on the participation of his readers as co-creators of meaning.
He blatantly
offers demystification of his comic at the end as well, depicting potential
scripts and alternative options in the construction of Wytches, revealing the mechanisms of production responsible for
creating his work.
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