CLARA: WEEK 2

4) Compare the relationship between how images and words differ in Herge (1933) and Spiegelman’s (2004) works.

In Herge’s work with the Tintin series, there is a clear link between the images and the texts as they are both a necessity to guide the reader along the narrative. However, the main focus of Herge’s work is the visual graphics which has demanded a lot of his time (Khordoc, 2001). He means to say, that his audience should be able to follow the actions of his characters and the direction that the plot is headed, in order to understand the narrative. In contrast, Spiegelman’s (2004) section of The Sky is Falling, uses only one visual component with associated text. That is, ther is a grahic image in the centre and the narrative is laid out in print form around it. Therefore, the relationship between the image and words are different as Herge relies on the image to do the storytelling, whereas Spiegelman focusses on descriptive text toward the image for audiences to follow his main idea.

REF LIST

Khordok, C. (2001). The Comics Book’s Soundtrack: Visual Sound-effects in Asterix.

In Varnum, R. & Gibbons, C. (Eds.), The Language of Comics: word and image, (pp.156-173). Jackson: U Press of Mississippi.

Spiegelman, A. (2004). The Sky is Falling. In In the Shadow of No Towers (pp. ii-iii). New York: Pantheon.