Monstress
Melody
How to Represent What Can't be Seen? Worldmaking.
In Monstress, Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda skillfully introduce us to a fantastical world with its own species, rules, politics, and history. As I haven't read a graphic novel since childhood, I appreciated the guidance on analysis provided by Hoogie Espinosa, which breaks the major composition decisions into 5 categories: choice of movement, frame, image, word, and flow. Below, I use these techniques to highlight how Liu and Takeda achieve worldmaking and the representation of what cannot be seen.
Choice of moment: How many frames you need, and much stuff you need in each frame, to communicate your message.
Liu and Takeda move relatively quickly through the frames. They are concise. Most of the time, they combine worldmaking elements with narrative details so both inhabit and share the space of a few frames. For example, on the very first page, they introduce some worldbuilding elements, such as stating that our character is of a species/race called Arcanic, while also showing that our character is being sold.
Choice of frame: How to portray a moment in a single frame; from which angle/perspective?
The frames that step back to show the surrounding environment are the most helpful for worldmaking. We see the lovely, desolate landscape that houses Tuya and Malika's yurt, and how this contrasts to the busy city of Zamora. The closeups help us better understand our characters' emotions.
Choice of image: How to set the tone and mood, and to communicate without the need for words.
Images are worth a thousand words. Before Liu and Takeda use words to explain what the Arcanic are, they use images. We see the little kids with animal heads who are being sold. We instantly understand that there is a power differential, since we see them in captivity.
Choice of word: How to add clarity and purpose to your images.
Images alone cannot help us understand this world. We need a little explanation, especially when it comes to historical details (such as the creation of Zamora) and when introducing names/races. This is mainly obtained through dialogue, but also through some external narration bubbles and through Malika's past thoughts and dreams.
Choice of flow: How readers go through and between panels on a page or screen.
Throughout the book, Liu and Takeda slowly release details about the fantastical world the characters are in. At the beginning, we don't know anything about this land. The first scenes introduce several worldbuilding details, such as the Arcanic, the Cumaea, and that there is some neutral territory. However, we don't really know what any of these things mean, not yet. Liu and Takeda like to introduce action and characters before she explains their history or significance, such as the lilium and the Dusk Court. Every now and then, we get flashbacks that provide us with a little more information about this world. Eventually, we get more exposition in the guise of lectures by the esteemed Professor Tam Tam. By the end, we have finally started to piece together this world, and all of its many complexities.
How to Represent What Can't be Seen? Worldmaking.
In Monstress, Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda skillfully introduce us to a fantastical world with its own species, rules, politics, and history. As I haven't read a graphic novel since childhood, I appreciated the guidance on analysis provided by Hoogie Espinosa, which breaks the major composition decisions into 5 categories: choice of movement, frame, image, word, and flow. Below, I use these techniques to highlight how Liu and Takeda achieve worldmaking and the representation of what cannot be seen.
Choice of moment: How many frames you need, and much stuff you need in each frame, to communicate your message.
Liu and Takeda move relatively quickly through the frames. They are concise. Most of the time, they combine worldmaking elements with narrative details so both inhabit and share the space of a few frames. For example, on the very first page, they introduce some worldbuilding elements, such as stating that our character is of a species/race called Arcanic, while also showing that our character is being sold.
Choice of frame: How to portray a moment in a single frame; from which angle/perspective?
The frames that step back to show the surrounding environment are the most helpful for worldmaking. We see the lovely, desolate landscape that houses Tuya and Malika's yurt, and how this contrasts to the busy city of Zamora. The closeups help us better understand our characters' emotions.
Choice of image: How to set the tone and mood, and to communicate without the need for words.
Images are worth a thousand words. Before Liu and Takeda use words to explain what the Arcanic are, they use images. We see the little kids with animal heads who are being sold. We instantly understand that there is a power differential, since we see them in captivity.
Choice of word: How to add clarity and purpose to your images.
Images alone cannot help us understand this world. We need a little explanation, especially when it comes to historical details (such as the creation of Zamora) and when introducing names/races. This is mainly obtained through dialogue, but also through some external narration bubbles and through Malika's past thoughts and dreams.
Choice of flow: How readers go through and between panels on a page or screen.
Throughout the book, Liu and Takeda slowly release details about the fantastical world the characters are in. At the beginning, we don't know anything about this land. The first scenes introduce several worldbuilding details, such as the Arcanic, the Cumaea, and that there is some neutral territory. However, we don't really know what any of these things mean, not yet. Liu and Takeda like to introduce action and characters before she explains their history or significance, such as the lilium and the Dusk Court. Every now and then, we get flashbacks that provide us with a little more information about this world. Eventually, we get more exposition in the guise of lectures by the esteemed Professor Tam Tam. By the end, we have finally started to piece together this world, and all of its many complexities.
I think you articulate here the complexities of this art form very effectively. You also brought up a very interesting point about the way this text uses images to evoke mood and sensations of empathy that are not reliant upon reading the frames in the order they are presented.
ReplyDeleteI also really liked how you reflect back upon the importance of meaning, as opposed to the superficial elements of plot which here take a backseat to both world=building and symbolism. I find it really intriguing to consider why authors choose to focus on the specific elements of storytelling they do, and how this serves the story and what it renders invisible.
These are good questions! I can't wait to talk more about them in class.
Thanks for being as analytical with the points from the article. It does help to have elements to guide in the analysis of the story. This will move into our discussion tonight.
ReplyDeletee
Hello, Melody
ReplyDeleteI too, noticed how action and character relationships are illustrated, and then how context and background information follows in late text and flashback scenes. I think Liu and Takeda's structuring of the graphic novel adds complexity to the world they are presenting to the reader with each frame. I mentioned media-res in my post, to describe the author and illustrator's use of a non-linear, and "in the middle of the story," narrative. I think that these techniques add complexity, texture, and believability to the world they have created. I wonder if the structure of the storyboard was in a different order, for instance if the illustrations stared at the beginnings of the war or even when the protagonist is a child, if the character and the world would have the same complexity and richness? The solemn tone and the intensity of the character's quest for truth would be diminished because we as the reader would know more than she does. I appreciate Liu and Takeda's choice in not giving up too much information too quickly; it adds to the excitement and moves the readers along with the progression of the story.