Comics Studies

Ben Katchor and What's Left Behind

by Kathleen Dunley

Published on The Comics Grid: Journal of Comics Scholarship (ISSN 2048-0792)

Kathleen Dunley continues her exploration of Ben Katchor’s work, this time looking at an example from the Cheap... more Kathleen Dunley continues her exploration of Ben Katchor’s work, this time looking at an example from the Cheap Novelties collection. Dunley zooms in to show how Katchor’s work can offer complex notions of memory and narrative.

Comiczeichnen als komplexe Praxis [Vortragsmanuskript]

by Lino Wirag

München, April 2012

Zu einer Produktionspoetik des Comics

by Lino Wirag

Der Essay skizziert Comiczeichnen als zu entdeckendes kulturwissenschaftliches Arbeitsfeld. Die Begriffe... more Der Essay skizziert Comiczeichnen als zu entdeckendes kulturwissenschaftliches Arbeitsfeld. Die Begriffe ,Produktionspoetik’ und ,Poetik‘ werden diskretisiert, anschließend Quellen der Zeichnungsforschung vorgestellt, mögliche Fragestellungen eingeführt und erste Thesen, beispielsweise zu den poetologischen Implikationen von Zeichenratgebern,
angerissen.

(Pea)nuts and bolts of visual narratives: Structure and meaning in sequential image comprehension.

by Martin Paczynski

Cohn, N., Paczynski, M., Jackendoff, R., Holcomb, P., and Kuperberg G. (2012) Cognitive Psychology, 65, 1–38

Just as syntax differentiates coherent sentences from scrambled word strings, the comprehension of sequential images... more Just as syntax differentiates coherent sentences from scrambled word strings, the comprehension of sequential images must also use a cognitive system to distinguish coherent narrative sequences from random strings of images. We conducted experiments analo- gous to two classic studies of language processing to examine the contributions of narrative structure and semantic relatedness to processing sequential images. We compared four types of comic strips: (1) Normal sequences with both structure and meaning, (2) Semantic Only sequences (in which the panels were related to a common semantic theme, but had no narrative structure), (3) Structural Only sequences (narrative structure but no semantic relatedness), and (4) Scrambled sequences of randomly-ordered panels. In Experiment 1, participants monitored for target panels in sequences presented panel-by-panel. Reaction times were slowest to panels in Scrambled sequences, intermediate in both Structural Only and Semantic Only sequences, and fastest in Normal sequences. This suggests that both semantic relatedness and narrative structure offer advantages to processing. Experiment 2 measured ERPs to all panels across the whole sequence. The N300/N400 was largest to panels in both the Scrambled and Structural Only sequences, inter- mediate in Semantic Only sequences and smallest in the Normal sequences. This implies that a combination of narrative structure and semantic relatedness can facilitate semantic processing of upcoming panels (as reflected by the N300/N400). Also, panels in the Scrambled sequences evoked a larger left-lateralized anterior negativity than panels in the Structural Only sequences. This local- ized effect was distinct from the N300/N400, and appeared despite the fact that these two sequence types were matched on local semantic relatedness between individual panels. These findings suggest that sequential image comprehension uses a narrative structure that may be independent of semantic relatedness. Altogether, we argue that the comprehension of visual narrative is guided by an interaction between structure and meaning.

A different kind of cultural frame: An analysis of panels in American comics and Japanese manga

by Neil Cohn

The growing interest and influence of Japanese manga (“comics”) in America has inspired comparisons between the... more The growing interest and influence of Japanese manga (“comics”) in America has inspired comparisons between the properties of the two cultures’ graphic systems. Various theories have hinted to the existence of structural variation between these cultures’ books, yet little quantitative data has served to support these claims. This study seeks to provide empirical evidence for these cross-cultural theories by examining 300 panels in each of twelve American and twelve Japanese comic books. It examines 1) how they highlight amounts of information, 2) their depiction of subjective viewpoints, and 3) the angle of view taken by their representations.

A Visual Lexicon

by Neil Cohn

One of the most recognizable graphic components of the visual language of “comics” is the “panel,” a demarcated frame... more One of the most recognizable graphic components of the visual language of “comics” is the “panel,” a demarcated frame of image content put into discrete sequences, thereby seeming to be the primary unit of expression. However, meaningful visual elements do exist that are both smaller and larger than this encapsulation of image and text. Spoken languages also have vari- ation in sizes of lexical items above and below their primary sequential unit of the “word.” This paper will address these varying levels of representation in visual language in comparison to the structural make-up of verbal language, to aim toward at what it means to have “visual lexical items.”

Review: The System of Comics by Thierry Groensteen

by Neil Cohn

(Pea)nuts and bolts of visual narrative: Structure and meaning in sequential image comprehension

by Neil Cohn

Co-authored with Martin Paczynski, Ray Jackendoff, Phillip Holcomb, and Gina Kuperberg

Just as syntax differentiates coherent sentences from scrambled word strings, the comprehension of sequential images... more Just as syntax differentiates coherent sentences from scrambled word strings, the comprehension of sequential images must also use a cognitive system to distinguish coherent narrative sequences from random strings of images. We conducted experiments analogous to two classic studies of language processing to examine the contributions of narrative structure and semantic relatedness to processing sequential images. We compared four types of comic strips: (1) Normal sequences with both structure and meaning, (2) Semantic Only sequences (in which the panels were related to a common semantic theme, but had no narrative structure), (3) Structural Only sequences (narrative structure but no semantic relatedness), and (4) Scrambled sequences of randomly-ordered panels. In Experiment 1, participants monitored for target panels in sequences presented panel-by-panel. Reaction times were slowest to panels in Scrambled sequences, intermediate in both Structural Only and Semantic Only sequences, and fastest in Normal sequences. This suggests that both semantic relatedness and narrative structure offer advantages to processing. Experiment 2 measured ERPs to all panels across the whole sequence. The N300/N400 was largest to panels in both the Scrambled and Structural Only sequences, intermediate in Semantic Only sequences and smallest in the Normal sequences. This implies that a combination of narrative structure and semantic relatedness can facilitate semantic processing of upcoming panels (as reflected by the N300/N400). Also, panels in the Scrambled sequences evoked a larger left-lateralized anterior negativity than panels in the Structural Only sequences. This localized effect was distinct from the N300/N400, and appeared despite the fact that these two sequence types were matched on local semantic relatedness between individual panels. These findings suggest that sequential image comprehension uses a narrative structure that may be independent of semantic relatedness. Altogether, we argue that the comprehension of visual narrative is guided by an interaction between structure and meaning.

The limits of time and transitions: challenges to theories of sequential image comprehension

by Neil Cohn

The juxtaposition of two images often produces the illusory sense of time passing, as found in the visual lan- guage... more The juxtaposition of two images often produces the illusory sense of time passing, as found in the visual lan- guage used in modern comic books, which creates the sense that this linear sequence presents a succession of moments or temporal units. Author and theorist Scott McCloud took this view to an extreme, proposing that sequential images are guided by a notion that ‘time = space’ (McCloud 2000), because this temporal passage occurs on a spatial surface. To McCloud, this ‘temporal mapping’ results in a movement of time with a move- ment of space. This sense of temporality, then, is the ‘essence’ of comics, which is manifested in McCloud’s taxonomy of transitions of panel-to-panel relationships (McCloud 1993). While less specific, this same type of ‘essence’ of connection can be reflected in Groensteen’s types of ‘arthrology’ across a linear sequence or disparate panels in a broader text (Groensteen 1999).

"Tintin in the Arab World and Arabic in the World of Tintin." Alternative Francophone 1.5 (2012): 26-39.

by Ziad Bentahar

Errance dans les ruelles graphitiques de Matsumoto Taiyo

by Cyril Lepot

Penser la bande dessinée au travers de l'oeuvre de Matsumoto Taiyo - Partie 1.

Thinking the comic book through Matsumoto Taiyo's art - Part 1.

Cet article fait appel au problème de la représentation de l’espace public dans la bande dessinée japonaise et du... more Cet article fait appel au problème de la représentation de l’espace public dans la bande dessinée japonaise et du rapport entretenu avec celui-ci qui s’illustre dans ces mêmes images, majoritairement abordées au cœur de l’espace public de par leur support et leur format portatif. On retrouve ainsi enchevêtrés la rue dans les images et les images dans la rue. Il s’agit ici de montrer combien la bande dessinée est partie intégrante de l’univers urbain, se révélant ainsi comme une forme de la vie urbaine et comme élément issu de ce milieu et de ses objets. En fin de compte, l’auteur réalise de l’intérieur, au sein de la culture populaire de masse et non comme projet politique entrepris hors de la sphère sociale et quotidienne de la production et de la consommation d’image, le tour de force de renvoyer la bande dessinée à sa propre condition pour mieux en produire une double critique, celle de son objet à la fois comme art et comme extension d’un milieu.



This article deals with the problem of the representation of the public space in Japanese comic-books, and the relationship to it that these same images illustrate, mostly used in the public space for their portative format. Hence are intertwined the street in images and images in the street. The matter at hand is to show how comic-books are a constitutive part of the urban universe, revealing themselves as a form of urban life as well as an element originating from this world and its objects. The author manages, from inside the popular culture – instead of a political project coming from outside the daily sphere of image production and consummation –, to throw comic-books back to their own condition, in order to produce a double critic: that of his object altogether as art and extension of space.

Felix: En Series Väg Från Dagstidning Till Album

by Ulf Hagen

"Dangerous Strips. The Reception of American Comics under the Italian Fascist Regime"

by Caterina Sinibaldi

In Other Words, Issue 34, Autumn/Winter 2009 (BCLT, University of East Anglia)

"Black and White Strips. La razza nei fumetti americani tradotti durante il Fascismo"

by Caterina Sinibaldi

Parlare di razza: Italia e America, ed. by Tatiana Petrovich Njegosh and Anna Scacchi (Verona: Ombre Corte, forthcoming September 2012)

"Dangerous Children and Children in Danger. Reading American comics under the Italian Fascist regime."

by Caterina Sinibaldi

The Nation in Children's Literature. Nations of Childhood, ed. by Kit Kelen and Bjorn Sundmark (London: Routledge, forthcoming 2012)

“Dude! You mean you’ve never eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?!?” Nut allergy as stigma in comic books

by Simon Weaver

with Sarah McNicol, Health Communication, Online 10th May 2012

This article examines the representation of nut allergy in comics aimed at children and young people. It maps the... more This article examines the representation of nut allergy in comics aimed at children and young people. It maps the signification and stigma of nut allergy in comics, and includes an outline of the imagery, stereotypes, and connotations that are created on this condition. Three texts are examined: first, Allergic, a semi-autobiographical story by Adrian Tomine aimed at young adults; second, What's Up With Paulina? from the Medikidz series of comic books that aim to help a pre-teenage audience learn about medical conditions; and third, Peanut, a forthcoming comic book by Ayun Halliday aimed at those in their early to mid teenage years. Using textual analysis, we focus on three principal areas of the texts. First, we consider the way in which the allergic character is represented in relation to examples of felt stigma, typified by feelings of shame and rejection, and compare this representation to common stereotypes of disability. Second, we look at the representation of other characters, drawing attention to the way in which stigma is enacted, highlighting acts of overt discrimination. Last, we examine the way in which the event of an allergic reaction is portrayed, considering how this might be used to help children and young people better understand nut allergy and combat the stigma attached to it. Throughout the article we compare the representation of stigma in comics with that depicted in empirical research on children living with nut allergies.

Koomiks kui totaalne tekst

by Mari Laaniste

M. Laaniste, Koomiks kui totaalne tekst / Comics as a Total Form of Text – Kunstiteaduslikke Uurimusi / Studies in Art and Architecture 2004, vol. 13 (no. 1), p. 128-151, English summary p. 148-151.

Calvin and Hobbes, la démesure contrainte

by Nicolas Labarre

Two Flashes. Entertainment, Adaptation: Flash Gordon as comic strip and serial

by Nicolas Labarre

This article studies the relationship between Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon comic strip and its adaptation as a serial... more This article studies the relationship between Alex Raymond’s Flash Gordon comic strip and its adaptation as a serial in 1936. It focuses on the second episode, “The Tunnel of Terror”, and on the three Sunday pages from February 1934 on which this episode was based, in order to examine the adaptation process from a technical and pragmatic point of view. Because the serial aims at being faithful to its source material, very similar scenes exist in both versions, which makes it possible to conduct a detailed comparison of narrative techniques. In addition to replicating certain panels from the comic strip, the serial contains examples of alternative narrative choices devised to replicate some of the effects of the source material, notably its temporality. This study suggests that the two versions differ mostly in the articulation between scenes and in the proximity established between the reader/viewer and the characters.

“How 'ya gonna keep'em down at the farm now that they've seen Paree?”: France in Super Hero Comics

by Nicolas Labarre

Any extensive reading of super hero comics will reveal that the representation of France within the genre borrows... more Any extensive reading of super hero comics will reveal that the representation of France within the genre borrows mostly from touristic clichés, using the country as a foreign, exotic yet not too disorientating setting. Narrative economy and gradual refinements have led to the creation of a codified, consensual and unrealistic depiction of France, centered mostly on Paris and the Eiffel Tower. However, this efficient codification is not value-free. A study of Justice League Europe, a rare example of super-hero series set in France over a long period reveals that France is consistently depicted as a place of history, while being denied a contemporary significance. The country appears as a fascinating but subordinate neighbor, and this evaluation can in turn be found, albeit in a more elliptic way, in numerous series portraying France only in short episodes. The self-consciousness of modern super hero comics, however, suggests that the notion of representation should be handled with care. The depiction of France in super-hero comics originates in part in the perception of the country in the United States, but it also derives in a significant way from the internal evolutions of the genre.