The Secret Language of Comics: Visual Thinking and Writing

To pick my pages I went through the methodical practice of randomly flipped through the books until I stumbled upon one that I remember intriguing me when I first read them. From the very first line of tracing I noticed how the panel boxes of Stitches were purposely not drawn perfectly. From then on I did slowly notice some new things about the specific panels. I think it was the slow process of tracing that allowed my mind to grappled with the design of the images better. One major realization for me was when I finished tracing and I looked at how different my Stitches tracing was from the original, and this was because my tracing did not have shadows. This annoyed me so much that I went back through my tracings and added shadows. For some reason the shadows of the scene added so much it felt like I would be misportraying the art if I didn’t include them, and this realization about the shadows ended up in part of my essay.

I found myself naturally thinking of the broad ways I was going to connect the two pages. I actually had an idea for a thesis but forced myself to ignore it and just start writing analytically about one of the pages. This was a hard process, but eventually I got it working. I had to do a lot of revisioning and cutting out because the only way for me to not think about writing to a conclusion was to just write as much analysis as I could. Even still the essay was still pretty long.

My biggest take away was from the analysis of how each author portrayed themselves as powerless. Their different styles influenced their respective scenes, but the way Walden presented hers in a minimalist style while Small presented his in an almost overdramtic lens really showed me how the same feeling can be captured by two different styles.

My Post

Tracing Spinning

Tracing Stitches

Back To Assignment Prompt

Whenever I am tasked with writing a paper I usually start by writing down my thesis statement and then provide evidence to support that claim; however, the inductive format of writing proved to be much more challenging than I thought. Instead of having some faint idea to base my whole essay off of, I was forced to just write and hope for the best. Although this style was new to me having the opportunity to sit down and analyze the though process what went into crafting these novels was eye opening. I felt that as I was tracing I was able to see why the author’s chose to stylistically implement some format of their writing over traditional prose. I felt as though tracing the pages of the novels helped me to see why Tillie Walden chose to manipulate her gutters in a way that created tension and why David Small chose to draw lighthearted situations with more curves and details than serious panels.

Assignment Prompt: https://eng181f19.davidmorgen.org/assignments/projects/tracing-pages/

Main Page: https://andresvelasquez905687008.wordpress.com/a-stitch-in-time-saves-lives/

I started this project by trying to pick a page from each book that I thought would both be interesting to trace and meaningful. As I was skimming through the books I came across two scenes in which the respective characters where alone and having fun because of the lack of parental presence. I was curious to see if there was some connection or possible take away. As I annotate the the tracings the qualities of each page began to stand out. I finally noticed that though the two were telling quite similar stories on the page the way they did this and the feeling they conveyed was different. As I wrote my essay I noticed traces and indicators of their childhoods. As I concluded my essay I noticed that the abuse they experienced played an important role in how they reacted to the situations. Check out my essay here.

The act of tracing a comic for this assignment was a really good brainstorming technique for me. Before tracing the panels, I had a theme in my head that I wanted to write about, however I didn’t have any specific details in mind that I could talk about. As I traced the different panels, it gave me time to think about what I was going to write about. By the time I had finished annotating, I felt confident that I could refer to certain details from the page to support the theme I wanted to talk about. Actually writing the essay was probably one of the easier tasks of this assignment. I had never written inductively before but I believe it was an easier process because I didn’t have to worry about an extra intro or conclusion paragraph. The one comic technique that I really took away from reading these comics was that position of the characters in the panel. Height differences matter, facial expressions matter, it’s as if you’re watching a movie and you have to look out for certain small details that give clues to how the characters interact. Overall, I feel as if my knowledge of graphic novels has expanded and I am better equipped with reading techniques the next time I read a graphic novel. 

https://nixstudent.wordpress.com/what-did-i-do-wrong/

Prompt

Selecting and tracing my pages was actually much more challenging than I originally thought it would be. I found myself looking through both books multiple times trying to find pages which would suit the purpose of this assignment and were also genuinely interesting to me. During this process, I bookmarked a few pages on both books which were possible options and then went back to each one looking at ways that the pages could be compared. I was pretty satisfied with the page I selected for Stitches however the page of Spinning that I was gravitating towards seemed pretty bland at first glance leading me to almost disregard it. I didn’t disregard it though mainly because there were several comparisons between that page and my already-selected Stitches page that were building up in my head. While I was tracing my pages, I didn’t annotate at all because it felt easier for me to do one part at a time. Instead, ideas and comparisons between the two pages would pop into my mind while I traced both pages and I would write them down on a sticky note to include in my annotations later.

I initially had trouble beginning my essay just because I had no idea of where to start. After pondering for a while without getting anywhere, I simply just started writing and the essay began to form from there. In previous writing classes, there was usually a more clear cut structure that’s meant to somewhat guide you through your essay. With this format however, I had no idea of what my thesis was until I actually got to the point where I needed to write it down. At this point where I have already written two full paragraphs, it seemed like it would be extremely difficult to write a thesis that somehow related everything together yet it came much easier than I expected. Most likely, this is because after analyzing and comparing both pages, I somewhat already had a thesis in my head that I just needed to organize and straighten out.

Doing the tracing, annotations, and analysis, in a way put me in the place of the author in how each aspect of the page was deliberate and has meaning behind it. When I originally read Stitches and Spinning, I knew that to an extent, the authors of these books were using it as an outlet to express their feelings during this time and share their personal stories. After completing this assignment however, it became much clearer how these books strongly show their feelings not only in the past as a child, but even in the present as the adults that are creating these books hence the title of my essay, “The Past and The Present”.

This essay was very fun to write about because it required a lot of different elements that needed to be pulled together for analysis. From finding the pages to tracing them, the entire process made me feel as though I was professionally critiquing David Small and Tillie Walden. Before this assignment I’ve never traced because I don’t have access to the materials so this project also allowed me to go out of my comfort zone and delve into something new and creative.

I aslo enjoyed the new writing style. I did take some time to introduce the panels and provide context but I felt that was essential in understanding the concept of my essay. It was also an interesting process of putting my essay together with the thesis as the last paragraph because I felt as though I was writing my entire paper backwards.

Overall, assignments like these, where we are tasked to look at and analyze comics have increased my interest in writing. There is so much to write about and its fascinating how much each panel can mean to the author and the reader.

The process of tracing and annotating two pages (three in my case) was a rigorous process for me. The tracing Pages assignment was a very unorthodox for me; the traditional 5 structure thesis statement was not followed and that the whole writing process had to be revamped. I felt that the writing process for me was not to present a thesis statement and present evidence supporting that statement but to undergo a process of “discovering” your thesis statement. I definitely understood both books better after this assignment, but the tracing and annotating process was more time consuming for me. The thesis statement shows that the general story outlines portray the mothers as antagonists but both authors show rare moments of care and concern exhibited by both mothers for their children. The link to the assignment is given here.

By Ja’Mya Yancey

I already knew what I would be confronting when we read Stitches and when the assignment was announced. The page I traced in David Small’s graphic novel was a page that drew me in even before I knew I would have to analyze anything. Seeing that something similar was occurring in Spinning made me excited because everything was there. For my tracing pages I analyzed how words do not have to be there in order for the author to express that they are processing and internalizing a situation that is about to change them and/or hit deep. It moved me personally because I know how it feels to go through something but not have the words to describe it, its just a feeling that hits you hard and I feel like they showed that through the dark shadows and colors.

Structuring the analysis was not that much of a change for me because this writing structure was introduced to me my senior year of high school. Also, I never really liked having to write an introduction or conclusion paragraph. I felt like it was over doing it and it was a hit-or-miss type of thing. One thing that did surprise me about this entire experience though is how it feels more personal reading in this medium. I expected the same thing I would get from a regular novel with this but just with pictures. Graphic novels though has drawn me in more and allowed me to reflect and internalize what they want to convey.

The first noticeable aspect of the page from ​Stitches​ that a reader picks up on lies within the odd, spurious energy of the doctor. Small crafts this energy by placing an odd shadow that lies directly in the middle of the doctors face for the first two panels. This shadow splits his face directly down the middle, which splits the reader’s attention between the two bright sides of his face where his small, intense eyes reside. Further emphasizing the odd feeling garnered from the doctor, Small slants the angle of his frames, as well as slowly getting closer and closer to him throughout the scene. In contrast, ​Spinning​ presents a much easier image sequence to follow. Walden frames out Tillie’s eyes which places all focus on her tears and slight arm movements throughout the six identically framed panels. This minimalism allows the reader to notice the smallest movements of her arm, or even how she flinches as her mom throws insults at her in the right middle panel. There is no unsettling energy from a doctor or dramatic shifting angles. This comparison makes Walden’s moment of a forced coming out to her mom seem almost tame. InStitches,​ on the other hand, the creepy over-expressive smile of the doctor along with the dramatic framing of each new shot places the reader actively in between the doctor and David. Both pages share a simple two by six paneling, but the dramatization of ​Stitches​ places the reader in the inner fear and disorientation of David as he awakes from his operation, whereas the audience takes on almost an observer’s perspective as they watch Tillie nervously shift in her chair.

The revelation of the dreaded procedure not working and the unfortunate circumstances of Tillie’s coming out are portrayed in violently different lights between Small and Walden. In Stitches​ we only see one panel of David’s static face as he stares with his big eyes at the chatting doctor, whereas in ​Spinning ​we stay locked in on Tillie’s upper left torso for the entirety of the six panels. This difference makes sense when one considers the nature of their problems. When looking at the story as a whole, David faces the external problems of having cancer caused by his father, whereas Tillie faces the internal problem of being her true self to her mother. The focus of their respective pages reflects this contrast. David focuses on the external doctor and the words he has to say, which reflects in the close up canted shots of the doctors face in this stylized lighting. Tillie cannot face her mother with the truth about her sexuality, which reflects in the focus on her shifting arm as that is presumably all Tillie could focus on in that moment. When looking at these moments through the lense of their memories, a clear –and obvious– connection can be made: they are both told from the perspective of the authors. This idea of an auteurist creating a “singular intimacy of one person’s vision of the world across words and images” can be used to great dramatic effect (Chute, 18). With this in mind, one can now consider how the differences in stylistic choices of the panels are actually an artistic choice made by the authors in order to best present their perspectives and memories on the page.

Walden’s minimalism is present throughout her novel, however, there are many ways she could have presented this scene. She presumably chose to use the same basic framing on her shoulder because that was how she remembers the moment. In one of the most dramatic moments of her life she can only focus on how she slightly moves her arm and leans away from her mother. In the moment, this attention to her body position not only reflects the larger narrative of femininity through ice skating, but also acts as a focal point to distract from making eye contact with her mother. David, on the other hand, does not even have the power to look away. The doctor looms over him as he sits helplessly in the static hospital bed. This powerless perspective is reflected in how the majority of the frames are focused on the doctor and his words, whereas all of Walden’s frames focus on Tillie. Despite this difference, Tillie clearly has no power in this situation. She begins the page with her arm crossed over her chest. She lowers it when she affirms her sexuality to her mother, and then when her mother rejects her she raises her arm again and is left in the same defending position at the end of the page as the beginning. When considering these panels with the lens of how each story is told from what the authors memories, the reader can understand how their two positions of powerlessness are similar, despite their varied framing. The panels from each page show very different images, but understanding that each shows the focus of each of the respective author creates the feeling of helplessness that each person shares.