Visual Language Theory and the scientific study of comics

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterScientificpeer-review

    11 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    This chapter reviews the basic assumptions and constructs of Visual Language Theory (VLT), emphasizing its multi-pronged methods of research. Visual languages arise in several different cultural contexts. Thus, it is important to emphasize the separation between visual language and 'comics.' Moreover, different types of comics may be characteristic of different visual languages. Japanese Visual Language (JVL) is highly associated with manga, while 'Kirbyan' American Visual Language characterizes superhero comics from the United States—i.e., the 'drawing and storytelling styles' most associated with those contexts. The vocabulary of visual languages arises in how people draw. A lexical item is a mapping between form and meaning stored in the long-term memory of a language user. Cross-cultural variation in visual morphology is often recognizable. Unless we know that bubbles from the nose means sleepiness in Japanese Visual Language, this may seem unusual. The processing of visual morphology has mostly focused on a few morphemes like carriers, motion lines, and upfixes.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationEmpirical Comics Research
    Subtitle of host publicationDigital, Multimodal, and Cognitive Methods
    EditorsAlexander Dunst, Jochen Laubrock, Janina Wildfeuer
    PublisherRoutledge
    Pages305-328
    ISBN (Print)9781138737440
    Publication statusPublished - 2018

    Keywords

    • visual narrative
    • comics
    • page layout
    • visual morphology

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