Duke Writing Studio 4
Finally, the sign text is an instance of text as image. While the “Fallout Shelter” text simply
mirrors the non-verbal icon on that sign, the “Missing Writer” sign in the third panel gestures
toward another part of the narrative (the writer turns out to be a character, introduced several
issues later). The “NY” under the apple on the workman’s jacket places the scene quickly.
More important than any of these three in isolation, however, is how they all work together. The
horrifying imagery of the pirate story gives a mediated image of the potential destruction of nuclear war
endorsed by the newsvendor’s dialogue, while the likelihood of such a war is given iconic reference
through the fallout shelter sign. Not all comics feature this degree of ironic interplay between different
types of text and image, but the example shows some of the ways that text and image can interrelate.
Recommended Texts
Eisner, Will. Comics & Sequential Art. New York: Poorhouse Press, 1985.
Although directed more at artists than academics, Will Eisner’s Comics & Sequential Art was one
of the earliest books to look at the mechanics of sequential art (a term coined by Eisner). He has
also written a companion (Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative. New York: Poorhouse
Press, 1996) focused specifically on narrative.
McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. New York: Harper Perennial, 1994.
This book, a primer for readers, creators, and students of comics, has become the default
handbook for those interested in studying or analyzing comics. Presented in comic form,
Understanding Comics offers a wealth of examples and analyses of different aspects of comics,
tied together with McCloud’s often polemical musings on the nature and future of the medium.
Helpful Links
The Edwin and Terry Murray Comic Book Collection
http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/rbmscl/murraycomics/inv/
This is a huge archive of comics from the 1930s through 2001, located in the Duke University
Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library. Duke University Libraries also has a
strong collection of graphic novels and non-fiction in its regular catalog.
The Grand Comics Database Project
http://www.comics.org/
A volunteer-maintained, searchable database of comics, this site is useful for locating primary
materials or historical background.
Comics Research
http://www.comicsresearch.org/
This annotated bibliography site for comics research is regularly updated, and contains
subsections on different aspects of research into comics. The first subsection, “Comics in
General,” is of particular interest to those looking for more academic resources on comics.