Heterogeneous Narrative vs. Homogeneous Narration

     Hello, all! It's hard to believe that this blog entry brings us to the end of the semester. I hope everyone is staying healthy and well rested, and that your final DIY comics are coming along smoothly. That being said, let's dive in to a final analysis of the works we've been reading for the last five months.

     I thought that the question on the difference between comics and novels presented by Professor Serrano was important to consider. Additionally, I think that this question lends itself to the most reflection on the fundamental function of the comic as an art form and/or narrative device. As such, that is the question I've decided to respond to.

     First and foremost, throughout the course of this semester, I have come to realize that comics is truly a sort of narrative mosaic. Unlike the “traditional”novel, comics can communicate information to readers through a multitude of narrative mechanisms. Whereas in a novel, character development, setting, and plot are portrayed to the reader via text and text alone, comics can simultaneously employ numerous visual tools to divulge these narrative elements. In comics, the narrative is present not only in the text, but also in the specific and deliberate use of color, shading, drawing style, emanata, panel layout, panel composition, gutter space, typeface, and more. Examples can be seen in the haunting, atmospheric art style of Tatsumi's Good-bye and in the symmetric, plot-driving panel composition of Windsor McCay's Little Nemo.

     After reading others' blog posts, it seems that many students would adhere to the notion that comics and novels both have their respective benefits and shortcomings. While I would agree that the novel is in no way, shape, or form obsolete, I would not argue that there exists a narrative form and/or device that is unique to the novel. Anything the novel can do, the comic is capable of as well. A solid example can be seen in Alan Moore's Watchmen, in which bodies of "traditional" text (such as mock newspaper clippings or academic journal entries) are interspersed between each chapter of the graphic novel.Seeing as how comics are capable of containing a large corpus of traditional text, it should naturally follow that comics are capable of telling any story with the same attention to detail and subtlety seen in novels. It can be said that whereas the novel is a homogeneous narration, the comic is a heterogeneous narrative that encompasses the novel, the image, and more.

     That being said, the sheer fact that the novel is a more limiting platform than the comic does not mean that it is inherently inferior. Looking back to our group comics earlier on in the semester, I remember that one of the things that surprised me the most at the end of the project was the extent to which I valued having to work around the limits of the Comics Code Authority. Sure, the group faced many limitations during the course of the assignment, but I believe it was these limitations that gave our comic order and direction. The same can be said of the novel as a narrative format. Although the novel as a platform has many inherent limitations, I believe that by having to "tell" rather than "show" guides the creative process and often leads to moving, poignant, and substantial stories. So, in short, I would say that the comic and novel are equal in their artistic and literary value, but that objectively speaking, the novelist faces many more concrete limitations during the creative process than the graphic novel creator does.

     As someone who wasn't an avid reader of graphic novels before attending this class, I want to say as a closing statement that I hope more people can appreciate the artistry and complexity of graphic narratives in the future. Over the course of the semester, I've come to see that the graphic novel as a narrative form has tremendous potential. Unfortunately, this narrative format is often undervalued by contemporary scholars. I hope that in the future, more people will be able attain a familiarity with the beauty and complexity intrinsic to this sort of heterogeneous narrative.

     Thanks for a great semester, everyone!

Be well,
-Matt