Navigating Comics Plus

Since various concerns have popped up here and there about my latest essay on page layouts (pdf), I figured I should take the time to reiterate responses to some of them here...

First off, the types of navigation I talk about here are absolutely intended to be part of a broader network of how people move through layouts. Certainly, panel locations aren't the only influence on people's movement through layouts. Among the other things potentially are color, content, etc.

What I was trying to get at is that people do have idealized preferences for reading directions given various conditions and that those preferences emerge *even in the absence of content* in non-left-to-right ways. My suspicion is that people use these sorts of preferences from panels as their first influence for navigational choice, which can then be further influenced by content and maybe color. However, that's something that would need to be empirically tested.

Another reason for creating this study that I didn't mention in my last post was that the year before I did the study, John Barber came out with his own paper about layout (unfortunately now taken offline). While he had some great ideas and observations, I disagreed with his basic claim that layout and meaning were expressly tied. Layout and content most definitely can be connected in important ways, but I think that this experiment nicely shows that they are governed by separate (yet interfacing) systems.

Finally, several people have been curious about instances where panels do not have borders at all. I do mention borderless panels, but only in a footnote, where I basically say "more testing needed"! My guess is that certain permutations follow the same principles that I outline in the paper, but others lead to greater violations because of the ambiguities they create (ahem, testing needed).

As with many of my papers, this should just serve to lay the groundwork for future work (by me or others). I'm still convinced that the really cool stuff will come far down the road!

Essay origins

So far I've been very pleased at the response to my latest essay, "Navigating Comics", on how people navigate through page layouts (pdf). As several responses have been rolling in via email and elsewhere, I intend to do a post soon addressing concerns in that feedback. However, I think it'd be informative to first talk about the origins of this paper.

Back in 2003 when I was drawing our political book We the People, every now and then my editors would tell me they had trouble knowing exactly where to go in the sequence. Often this happened in consistent situations (like what I call "blockage" in the paper).

Most of the times I'd either simplify the layouts or make some graphic fix (like a trail) to indicate a clearer path. However, it got me thinking... My editors were quite a bit older than I was, and weren't all that experienced comic readers, so I wondered if this lack of experience mattered in their reading habits? (or if I was just needlessly making things difficult)

So, I designed this study to test that. I had a booth at ComicCon 2004 that year to promote the book and my other works, so I designed a simple pamphlet people could make responses in and tested people throughout the convention.

I could tell immediately that the results would be interesting, I just had to wait another three years to learn the statistics necessary to show them (d'oh!). The theory with the tree structures predated the experiment by at least a year, but it didn't really say much without knowing about people's actual preferences. It's exciting to see that my suspicions for creating the experiment were borne out in data.

Every now and then I get a response to my work along the lines of "Why do theory? Why not do something related to praxis?" While theory can be interesting, enlightening, and much of science is simply about discovery without practical applications in mind (ex: penicillin), another reason is that theory can sometimes wrap back around on praxis. I like to believe that this is one of those cases, especially given that it came from those origins.

New Essay: Navigating Comics

I'm very happy to announce that I have a new essay online: Navigating Comics: Reading Strategies of Page Layouts (pdf). This paper reports the findings of an experiment I conducted looking at how people navigate through comic pages. The big finding: people don't just mimic text going left-to-right and down.

The full abstract:

The spatial domain is often considered to be non-linear, given the analog nature of visual information. However, the visual language of comics defies this by siphoning images into a deliberate reading sequence. Most often this sequence is assumed to be read in an order that mimics text: left-to-right and down, a “z-path.” However, several scenarios can violate this order, such as Gestalt groupings of panels that deny a z-path of reading. To investigate these concerns, an experiment asked 145 participants to number empty page layouts in the order they would read them, and showed that readers use an alternate strategy extending beyond both the traditional “z-path” and Gestalt groupings to navigate through comic page layouts.

I should also say that this paper took a very long time to complete. The study was run in 2004 and I know I've been talking about releasing the results all the way since last summer. Thanks to all who participated in the study and to all for being patient as I finished it up!

Enjoy!

New Essay: Japanese Visual Language

For the first time in a long while, I've got a new essay up for download. This one discusses the visual language that underlies manga, and will be part of the Manga: The Essential Reader collection published next year by Continuum Books. Here's the abstract:

Over the past two decades, manga has exploded in readership beyond Japan, and its style has captured the interest of young artists all over. But, what exactly are the properties of this "style" beyond the surface of big eyes and "backward" reading? This paper explores the structural elements of the Japanese Visual Language (JVL) that comprises the "manga style" — ranging from looking at the “big eyes, small mouth” schema as a “standard” dialect, to examining the graphic emblems that form manga’s conventional visual vocabulary. Particular focus will be given to JVL grammar — the system that creates meaning via sequential images — and how it differs from the visual languages from other parts of the world. On the whole, manga provide an excellent forum for understanding the scope of the visual language paradigm.

Reruns: Fight the Comic Aristocracy

I have a "rerun" of my older article Fight the Comic Aristocracy over at Sequart. It deals with the the "aristocratic" structures that are in the comic industry and the democratizing force that the notion of "visual language" can have in contrast to it.

I used the term "aristocratic" there pretty much to stand in for "Bourgeoisie" or "elitist", but in a somewhat broader more abstract sense. In retrospect it does admittedly sound a bit hokey, but I couldn't really think of something better. Ah well.

When it was originally posted over at (the-then-) Comixpedia, they broke it up into two separate articles, while here I've retained it in its intentional one big piece. I've also cleaned it up a bit and junked a few parts that I thought were clunky. So, if you didn't get enough when it came out a couple years ago, enjoy it once again!

Essay in The Public Journal of Semiotics

Way back in January, I had a piece published in the innaugural issue of the online Public Journal of Semiotics, yet kept forgetting to post about it. The essay there is an expanded version of my downloadable essay "A Visual Lexicon", which people seem to find as one of the most interesting of the papers posted (at least, that's what the vocal feedback says).

Naturally, I think the PJOS version of the paper is much better than the original, though the interface is a little funky since they're experimenting with electronic delivery beyond simple pdfs. Unfortunately, that means they lost all of my formatting, in addition to putting my images in places that don't always make sense for the flow of reading. Grr...argh.

Neverthless: an expanded essay for your reading pleasure.

New Article: Loopy Framing

At long last, I have a new article up at Comixpedia called "Loopy Framing"! This one tackles the similarities between word balloons, thought bubbles, and panels, arguing that they are all essentially the same thing. Oh, and it reveals some nice aspects of human cognition along the way.

I should also note that this article wouldn't have been nearly as good looking (or timely) without the fantastic illustrations by Tim Godek. Since I'm generally swamped with schoolwork, Tim kindly agreed to help out and make this happen, to which I'm greatly appreciative. Be sure to thank him too, by checking out his site and blog (which are on my regular reading list).

I look forward to hearing your feedback, either here or on the article's thread. Enjoy!

More reruns! Comics≠art

Continuing with the re-posting of my Comixpedia articles, Sequart.com has a posting of my old article Comics’ Identity Crisis: Claiming “Art” is a Misguided Quest. It's weird to see these older papers of mine as if they're new again, and kind of fun. Perhaps if people jump into them again they'll find something new in there...?

For anyone who surfs over from Sequart: thanks for dropping in and welcome to my site!

New Article: Visual Poetry

Flatteringly ask and you shall receive: After a bit of a haitus, I finally have a new Comic Theory 101 article up Comixpedia entitled "Visual Poetry."

Expanding on my riff on poetry from the last article I did on "Seeing Rhymes," this one explores what a formal visual poetic structure might be like. Throughout the piece I construct a new "poetic trope" based on some theoretical principles. For those curious, I literally made up the poem and its characteristics as I wrote the piece, no planning whatsoever.

Actually, the main reason it took so long to finish was that I had to draw the examples, and drawing time is hard to come by these days. It's an okay example, but I imagine (hope?) more people will take up the idea and run with it better than I did.

See! See! My theories can be applied to practice too!

New Essay: Time Frames... Or Not

Wow, its been a really long time since I last posted a new downloadable essay. Well, if you've been anxiously awaiting one, today is your lucky day! I've just posted my latest theoretical offering, "Time Frames... Or Not," where I tackle the assumptions that lead to the (false) belief that successive panels equal moments in time. Here's the full abstract:

The juxtaposition of two images often produces the illusory sense of time passing, as found in the visual language used in modern comic books. While this linear sequence may seem on the surface to present a succession of individual moments, the understanding of graphic narrative is hardly so simple. This paper will explore how the linearity of reading panels and the iconicity of images create various assumptions about the conveyance of meaning across sequential images relation to space and time.

Astute and long-time readers of this blog will remember that I mentioned writing this paper way back in January of this year. Its good to finally get it done and out!

Like many, I'll be back to school come Tuesday, so hope you all enjoy the day off!

Reruns at Sequart.com

So, after discovering my post about them, the folks over at Sequart have kindly offered to repost some of my essays on the comic industry that initially appeared at Comixpedia over the last few years. I'm grateful for the exposure to a new audience, and if you've surfed over here from there, welcome to my site!

The first article is "Dissolving Comics' Boundaries", addressing how I think the comic industry can expand and what exactly that means.

Comics Generation Thesis

Jason Alderman has completed his (downloadable) Masters Thesis on "Generating Comics Narrative to Summarize Wearable Computer Data." Here's the abstract:

As people record their entire lives to disk, they need ways of summarizing and making sense of all of this data. Comics (and visual language) are a largely untapped medium for summarization, as they are already subtractive and abstract by nature (the brain fills in the blanks and the details), and they provide a way to present a series of everyday events as a memorable narrative that is easily skimmed. This research builds upon the work of Microsoft, FX Palo Alto Labs, ATR Labs, and others to further ground the procedural generation in the comics theory of Scott McCloud, et al.

The paper poses some very intriuging ideas, and he does a great job summarizing and comparing a lot of the work that's been done in comic theory, including my own. Alderman's paper also has a good discussion of various comics computer programs and a very interesting discussion of adapting comic theory issues into programming code. The appendices also have a wealth of summarized theory and analysis as well. Particularly interesting was the taxonomy of panel types and gutter spacing. Go check it out!

He has some good criticism concerning my old model of visual language grammar though those should be asuaged by my newer work (which can be found at my ComicCon talk next month...hint hint).

And since its been mistaken before, I should point out that I don't consider my notion of "visual language" to be comparable to or a subset of the "visual language" proposed by Robert Horn (though his work informed my early stuff, and I subsequently developed a personal relationship with him when I was in college. He's a very nice man and enthusiastic about all things related to visual communication). Horn is more talking about a broader type of visual communication, largely diagrammatic, but mainly from the union of text and image. To me, the visual language is only the visuals (and only in specific conditions), which then unites with the verbal to create a multimodal whole (see my paper, Interactions and Interfaces for more).

"Comic" Theory 101: Seeing Rhymes

At long last, I finally have a new "Comic" Theory 101 article up at Comixpedia. This one delves into the possibilities of "visual rhyming" and how we can play with it in practice, particularly in visual poetry.

For those who are curious, the first two examples come from a piece I did waaaaay back in 1998 called "Life is where Love is" that has yet to be posted online (though its in the Meditations book already). The large pages, of course, are from my La Belle Dame Sans Merci adaptations, the second version of which is being serialized twice a week. The final poem is brand new for the article.

More essays... kinda

In my noble attempts to categorize my papers more clearly, I've broken up the Essays page of my website into a few different parts. So, now the main page is primarily just for downloadable essays, and the Visual Language Manifesto page for articles on the comic industry. Added are a separate page for my now ongoing Comic Theory 101 essays, and a brand new page pointing to notable blog posts.

Hopefully, this will help make it easier for people to find the things most interesting to them.

Too Many Twos

I've got a short new piece up at Comixpedia for my ongoing "Comic Theory 101" column called "Two Many Twos." This one continues my series of short pieces where I try to illuminate issues involved with the intersection of “comic theory” and linguistics, here probing into the quandary called the "Problem of 2."

Like the last one, I've just tried to pose the issue and a little demonstrative visual puzzle, hoping that people might ponder/discuss it. Really, the whole thing just grew out of the last four panels, and I thought they'd be fun to work into a full piece.

I suppose this is also the first work I've done with my "avatar" as a narrator. Rather than turn myself into a kind of character, I've instead opted to keep it casual. I'd hoped for this to downplay the "me" in favor of the emphasizing the ideas more, but unfortunately in this case the ideas are demonstrated through the "me." Doh!

Passing Judgment

I've got new article up at Comixpedia discussing how intuitive judgments can lend towards developing a theories on the structure of visual language. I'm trying a new approach with this one, which I'm hoping to do more of: I'm laying out basic principles of methodology, and then leaving the actual theorizing to the readers. Its sort of an instructional textbooky approach.

So, my question to those who read this is: Do you like this sort of thing? Want more of it? I'd like to hear your feedback...

Cross-Cultural Space

I have a new essay available at my site entitled "Cross Cultural Space". This paper is not very heavy on theoretical issues, but rather represents my efforts to diversify my methods through the coding of individual panels. For this one, I looked at 300 panels in each of 12 American and 12 Japanese books to compare the way they depict various types of spatial representation.

Another major issue that I'm dealing with here is that of "Diversity." So often the graphic form is assumed to be universal, whereas Language is always thought of as being culturally relative. I think that this is an illusion cast by iconicty. Since the meaningful elements look like what they mean, we immediately assume that everyone can understand them. But, no matter what, graphic images still must pass through the filter of our minds, which allow for relativity far more than they allow for universality (at least on such surface type things). Identifying the structure of various cultural visual languages, and how they might differ from each other, is an endeavor I'd love to see delved into more.