Week 2 Notes: History of Comics — Layouts, Precursor Traditions, and Mass Media

Overview: Purpose and structure of layouts in comics

  • Layouts organize a story visually by breaking events into sequences that can be read panel by panel and page by page.
  • The process of breaking events into visual sequences/segments is called breakdowns.
  • A cohesive layout results from taking a story, breaking it down, then putting it back together to guide the reader through event after event.
  • Key figures: Jim Lee is used as a prominent example of breakdowns leading to a cohesive, fully-rendered layout.
  • The layout is the complete assembled page that includes PANELS and GUTTERS; the arrangement of panels, the shape/size of panels, and the spacing between them form the overall reading experience.

Layout fundamentals: panels, gutters, and the assembled page

  • A layout consists of:
    • Panels (the individual images/framed moments)
    • Gutters (the spaces between panels)
  • Conventional comics use a latticed system of panels connected by gutters to form a complete layout.
  • Artistic choices in panel size, shape, and placement affect storytelling speed, emphasis, and emotional impact.

Why layouts matter: artistic choices and storytelling goals

  • Page layouts, panel sizes/shapes, and balloons/captions placement are artistic choices driven by
    • Efficient storytelling of the visual narrative
    • Creation of the most emotionally evocative experience
  • These choices balance readability with aesthetic expression and emotional tone.

Positioning of comics: between fine art and film

  • Comics are described as somewhere between fine art and film:
    • Fine art: a singular image that implies an entire experience.
    • Film: a stream of images providing a sensation of motion.
  • Comics require reading panel-by-panel and page-by-page to gain the intended complete experience and a sense of motion.

Fine art meets motion conventions (panning, pacing, and composition)

  • The combination of a single image and sequential panels creates a rhythm akin to motion but realized through still images.
  • JAE LEE's double-page splash example demonstrates how artists play with conventions while maintaining narrative clarity.

Comics and films share conventions: establishing shots and cuts

  • Example: Love and Rockets #20 ( Hernandez Brothers ) demonstrates an establishing shot followed by an elliptical cut.
  • Elliptical cut definition: a cut between two shots of an event that implies time elapsed and creates the impression of narrative duration without showing everything explicitly.
  • Purpose: to manage time and perspective within the reader’s mind, similar to cinematic pacing.

Irony and juxtaposition in comics (panel-text fusion)

  • Example: Daniel Clowes' "David Boring" (illustrative text accompanying image).
  • Juxtaposition: Next to a vacant lot filled with garbage, layers of flotsam (tires, sofa, mattress) accumulate and take symbolic value as the level rises.
  • Fusion of imagery and words yields new meaning beyond either element alone (e.g., a caption intensifying or reframing the image).
  • Example quote: "I'll never understand your taste in women…" as part of the juxtaposition between image and dialogue.

The Great Riddle of Comics (discontinuous narration vs. perceived continuity)

  • A comic page presents multiple vantage points at once, but they are disconnected in space/time.
  • Our minds assemble these panels into a continuous story, giving the illusion of continuous time despite deliberate gaps.
  • Contrast with film/TV: shots may be filmed out of sequence or years apart, yet viewers perceive continuity when viewed in sequence.

Core concept: discontinuous enunciation

  • Comics rely on discontinuous spatial arrangement: jumping from panel to panel across gutters with clear jumps in time/space.
  • Narratology aspect: readers fill in gaps so the overall story flows continuously in their minds, even if panels leave things out.

Iconic solidarity (Groensteen) and its operations

  • Thierry Groensteen’s concept of ICONIC SOLIDARITY: how images and their meaning are connected across the page.
  • Three major operations where ICONIC SOLIDARITY applies: BREAKDOWN, PAGE LAYOUT, BRAIDING.
  • Significance: provides a framework for analyzing how meaning is produced in comics through visual and textual connections.

Braiding: redundancy and connective tissue in image sequences

  • Braiding is the redundancy of informative and connective images across a two-dimensional surface.
  • Comic layouts exploit redundant characters and settings to create connective tissue across sequences.
  • Purpose: to provide visual and thematic continuity across panels, guiding interpretation and maintaining coherence.

Diegetic reality in comics (and what counts as space in the story)

  • Diegetic: internal world created by the story that characters experience; the narrative space can include elements shown and not shown.
  • Comics explore diegetic reality by presenting a space where not every detail is shown, yet the reader infers the missing portions.

Symbolic braid and visual storytelling (case study: Love and Rockets #44)

  • Layout uses a three-row sequence: PLAY, VIOLENCE, REACTION.
  • Deep visual connectivity between characters is conveyed purely through images.
  • Concepts to consider: Magical realism, fairy-tale logic, and what ideas/emotions are conveyed by the visual echoes and cues between characters.

What does combining panels achieve? (Goals of composition)

  • Establishing relationships: character-to-character and character-to-setting relationships.
  • Redundancy: repetition or reinforcement of characters and/or settings across panels.
  • Symbolic braiding: connecting images and ideas to build meaning.
  • These outcomes enable analysis of core elements of comic books.

Three core artistic questions for reading comics

  • How are characters and settings represented with lines?
  • How are words and images combined?
  • How are actions/events broken down into sequences forming layouts?
  • When appreciating/interpreting, focus on LINES, WORDS, PANELS.
  • Guiding questions: What’s going on with these lines, words, and panels?

The technological timestamp and historical elements of comics

  • Recap: Comics are line-drawn narratives that juxtapose words and images and break actions into panels/layouts.
  • The invention of the printing press was pivotal in shaping how comics developed and circulated.
  • Historically, the sequencing of line drawings predates modern comics and appears across various media and cultures; printing enabled mass production and standardized distribution.

Prehistoric and ancient precedents: cave painting to antiquity

  • Cave painting (France, ~20{,}000 BCE): used crushed dyes to depict sequences of events (e.g., herd movements) without explicit panels or gutters; suggests multiple perspectives on a single event.
  • Parthenon sculptures in Athens: depict a sequence of events through a series of vignettes that resemble a comic-strip-like reading of action.
  • Garden of Earthly Delights (1515) by Hieronymus Bosch: triptych with clear sequential themes (Afterlife: Limbo, Paradise, Hell) bound in a single composition.
  • Netherlandish Proverbs (1559) by Pieter Bruegel: running themes of human folly; sequential-like visual storytelling.
  • Bayeux Tapestry (11th c.): textile narrative with image and text on the same plane; action and words coexist visually, akin to early comic language.

The printing press and the rise of mass narrative forms

  • The printing press is identified as the singular most important invention for comics because it enabled reproducible, scalable visual storytelling in sequences.
  • Before printing, strips/strips-like narratives existed, but printing standardized form and distribution.

Inception of comic strips in newspapers via broadsheets

  • 1700s Europe: broadsheets appeared in weekly magazines and artist books, precursors to modern comic strips.
  • They were mass-produced, widely distributed, and often carried moralistic or everyday-life narratives.
  • Professional printers could print many copies for middle-class consumers; accessibility increased.

Hogarth’s A Harlot’s Progress (1732) and Goya’s And There Was No Solution (1810)

  • A Harlot’s Progress (1732): William Hogarth’s broadsheet with a continuous narrative about a woman’s decline; sequential and morally instructive.
  • And There Was No Solution (1810): Francisco de Goya; satirical, morally charged; more chaotic stylistically than Hogarth; a forerunner to political/editorial cartoons.

Gustave Doré: career and ideas about exaggerated form

  • Doré’s rise as a master of caricature and social critique.
  • Doré’s career included illustrating military life, politics, and daily life; he used exaggerated forms and a playful, sometimes disturbing, visual language.
  • Doré’s work demonstrates that exaggeration of the human form can be a powerful tool for social critique and humor.
  • Moral: talent must be cultivated; raw talent is not the same as developed skill.

The rise of ideas used by comics

  • Doré’s work popularized exaggeration and caricature as a vehicle for critique and satire.
  • This shift supported the growth of artistic choices in comics that could lampoon contemporary life and politics.

The formation of periodical literature (19th century)

  • By the 19th century, periodical literature became easy to produce due to the printing press, enabling new distribution systems and a mass-reading public.
  • Emergence of a reading public interested in leisurely, accessible content.

Le Charivari and Daumier: political caricature in Paris

  • Le Charivari (1832–1937): illustrated magazine in Paris featuring caricatures, political cartoons, and reviews.
  • Honoré Daumier: “Michelangelo of Caricature”; known for lampooning the French middle class through exaggerated depictions.
  • Daumier’s sketches targeted fads and fashions, reflecting social critique through line drawings.

Dissemination to the Western world: Punch and the rise of cartooning

  • In the 19th century, ideas from Paris spread to the English-speaking world.
  • Punch (The London Charivari) began in 1841 as a British weekly magazine of humor and satire.
  • The term cartoon originated here, linked to quick sketches and satirical drawings.

The emergence of “cartoon” and visual humor in mass culture

  • The term cartoon evolved to describe small, quick, humorous drawings that satirize contemporary life.
  • Punch’s humor emphasized essential features of line drawing: sketchy lines, the relationship between images and words, and the use of dialogue.

The English-language comedic print era: Punch and the middle class

  • Punch’s style simplified hatching, emphasized economy of lines, and integrated dialogue with images.
  • Gag-style and satire-based cartoons offered social commentary on middle-class life and politics.

U.S. rise of weekly humorous magazines and the Golden Age of Illustration

  • 1871: Puck becomes the first successful humor magazine in the U.S.; featured cartoons, caricatures, and political satire.
  • 1870s–1880s: The period is labeled the Golden Age of Illustration in the U.S.; there was high demand for original line drawings.
  • Artists responded to mass demand with distinctive visual storytelling.

Thomas Nast and the American cartoon legacy

  • Thomas Nast: famed American illustrator often called the “Father of the American Cartoon.”
  • Credited with iconic images (e.g., Santa Claus), influencing how popular culture visualized characters.
  • Coca-Cola leveraged Nast-like imagery in advertising; public domain and corporate use of visual iconography were common.

Howard Pyle and the illustrated American canon

  • Howard Pyle: a leading American illustrator, renowned for definitive illustrations of Robin Hood and other characters.
  • Pyle’s work contributed to shaping American visual storytelling and narrative illustration.

St. Nicholas Magazine and literary-ballad poetry

  • St. Nicholas Magazine (1873) featured illustrated storytelling (e.g., The Ballad of Charles Martel).
  • The Ballad of Charles Martel (from St. Nicholas) demonstrates literary-poetic storytelling through illustrated narrative, blending text with images.
  • Example excerpt (illustration + verse in periodical format) showcases early multi-genre storytelling in print.

The early DNA of comic books and strips: two master forms of cartoons

  • Two master forms in early comics:
    • Political cartoons: drawings commenting on real-world events/controversies.
    • Gag strips: drawings making fun of people or situations (humor-based narratives).
  • These forms laid the groundwork for modern comic strips and comic books by combining image and caption to convey meaning.

Politics and gags as early comic content

  • Early examples illustrate how political commentary and gag humor operated in serialized print.
  • Political cartoons used satire to reflect societal issues; gag strips used humor to comment on everyday life.

Frederick Burr Opper: magazine covers vs. comic strips

  • Opper demonstrates the evolution from magazine illustration to comic strip style.
  • The shift shows economy of lines and simplified hatching, with more concise visual storytelling and dialogue.

The European art scene and the rise of artist books

  • 19th century European art popularized broadsheets and weekly/monthly magazines.
  • A precursor to American comics emerged in the form of artist books—complete story volumes sold as a single unit.

The Adventures of Mr. Obadiah Oldbuck (Les Amours de Mr. Vieux Bois, 1837)

  • Rodolphe Töpffer is credited as the first recognized comic artist.
  • Les Amours de Mr. Vieux Bois (translated as The Adventures of Mr. Obadiah Oldbuck) pioneered panel-based storytelling.
  • Characteristics include exaggerated human forms, a stylized sketch style, and a thinking-in-panels approach where the narrative unfolds through changing panel shapes and layouts.

Thinking in panels and narrative pacing

  • Töpffer’s work exemplifies panel-based pacing and flexible panel shapes to suit narrative needs.
  • Early panel design demonstrates how form adapts to storytelling, anticipating modern panel boxes and page layouts.

Rise of the newspapers and mass readership after the Civil War

  • Post-Civil War (around 1865): a surge in newspaper circulation accompanies urbanization and shifts in labor and leisure.
  • Technological advances in agriculture freed people from farm work, enabling migration to cities and new mass audiences.
  • This mass audience provided a larger potential market for illustrated narratives.

The mass audience and the profit motive in print media

  • New mass audiences created opportunities for higher profits through broadened distribution.
  • The idea: catering to mass culture could yield significant financial returns if a broad cross-section of society bought in.

Leisure time and literacy as engines of print growth

  • Wage labor freed time for leisure, boosting demand for reading material.
  • This shift supported growth in functional and recreational literacy in the United States.
  • By the 1870s, cheap daily and weekly newspapers dominated as entertainment.
  • Vaudeville remained popular, while paperback novels and radio were still years away.

Late 19th-century newspapers: style and objectivity

  • Newspapers aimed to present information in a way that appeared objective and universally appealing.
  • The goal was to produce content that wouldn’t offend widely but would attract broad readership.

The syndicate business model: scaling content and distribution

  • The Invention of the Syndicate: big business drives economies of scale.
  • Example: A publisher with one successful newspaper could expand to another city by leveraging existing presses, distribution networks, and content.
  • Concept: Multiply profitable operations by distributing the same content across multiple markets to maximize profits.

Side effects of syndication

  • Nationwide distribution of the same information and comic strips.
  • Readers in different states consume identical news and comic content.

Technological innovations that fueled newspaper growth

  • Key technologies:
    • The Telegraph (1844): rapid long-distance communication.
    • The telephone (about three decades later): voice communication over distance.
    • The expansion of automobiles and trucks: distribution and newsstand logistics.
    • Systems for moving large quantities of material.
    • The Offset Rotary Press: the mechanical system enabling mass imprinting of multiple pages efficiently.
  • The Offset Rotary Press details:
    • One cylinder that carries the image continues to rotate; ink is transferred to a secondary roller, then paper contacts the secondary roller.
    • The process is called offset because the paper does not directly strike the engraving.

The new hot media of the late 1800s

  • 1870–1880: around 5,000 new newspapers in the United States.
  • 1880–1890: on average, about two new print publications in the U.S. every day.
  • Overall: roughly 7,000–8,000 new print publications appeared in a 10-year span, indicating rapid media expansion.

Summary of historical trajectory

  • Prehistoric and ancient narrative forms laid groundwork for sequential storytelling (cave paintings, sculpture sequences, triptychs, tapestries).
  • The printing press transformed sequential imagery into mass-produced comics and strips with standardized formats.
  • 19th-century Europe and the United States saw the rise of periodicals, political satire, gag strips, and the concept of a mass reading public.
  • Syndication and technological innovations enabled rapid growth, distribution, and profitability of comics and related visual storytelling.
  • The interplay of art, journalism, and satire shaped the evolution of comics from decorative caricature to modern sequential art.

Connections to broader themes

  • The evolution from rough line drawings to polished layouts reflects a shift toward efficiency, economy of line, and narrative sophistication.
  • The oscillation between high art influences (Groensteen’s theoretical framework, braiding symbolism) and mass entertainment (punchy gags, serialized strips) characterizes the medium’s tension and adaptability.
  • The development of diegetic worlds and discontinuous narration aligns comics with broader media theory about how audiences construct meaning from fragmented visuals.

Key terms to remember

  • Layout, panels, gutters, breakdowns, establishing shot, elliptical cut, diegetic reality, iconic solidarity, braiding, discontinuous enunciation, narrative pacing, mass culture, syndication, offset rotary press, golden age of illustration, artist books, broadsheets, gag strip, political cartoon, thinking in panels, two master forms of cartoons.

Notable figures and works to recall

  • Jim Lee (breakdown and cohesive layout)
  • Hernandez Brothers (Love and Rockets #20, #44) – establishing shot, elliptical cut; symbolic braiding
  • Daniel Clowes (David Boring) – ironic juxtaposition of image and text
  • Frank Miller (Daredevil) – notable panel framing, negative space, explosion dynamics, balance and perspective
  • Rodolphe Töpffer (Les Amours de Mr. Vieux Bois / The Adventures of Mr. Obadiah Oldbuck) – early panel thinking, narrative boxes and changing panel shapes
  • Hogarth (A Harlot’s Progress) – sequential moral narrative in broadsheet form
  • Goya (And There Was No Solution) – satirical political narrative
  • Doré (Gustave Doré) – social critique through caricature and narrative scenes
  • Daumier (Michelangelo of Caricature) – political caricature in Le Charivari
  • Nast (Thomas Nast) – iconic American political cartooning and Santa imagery
  • Pyle (Howard Pyle) – American illustration tradition
  • Le Charivari and Punch – development of illustrated satire
  • Bayeux Tapestry, Garden of Earthly Delights, Netherlandish Proverbs – historical narrative devices in non-comic art