EXPLORING PICTORIAL RUNES IN LUCA ENOCH’S COMIC BOOK SERIES GEA

Miloš Tasić, Dušan Stamenković

DOI Number
10.22190/FULL1702123T
First page
123
Last page
141

Abstract


Drawing on the work of Forceville (2005, 2006, 2011), who employed linguistic tools in analysing comics, the paper deals with pictorial runes as a specific type of visual information found in comic books. As Kennedy (1982) proposes, pictorial runes are graphic devices used in pictures to modify the literal depictions of objects, intended to convey certain aspects of those objects that are otherwise difficult to depict literally. In comics, they are usually employed to imply various emotions, such as anger, fear, pain, or surprise, and indicate speed or the direction of a moving object, among other things. Using the research model presented by Forceville (2011), the paper aims at identifying and categorising pictorial runes in a popular Italian comic book series Gea, in an attempt to corroborate the above method and add to the list of already inventoried runes. Furthermore, the new runes found in this comic book series show evidence of being indexical, rather than symbolic, signs. The paper also briefly outlines the distribution of runes across the entire series.

Keywords

pictorial runes, visual language, comics studies, rune catalogue, metaphor, metonymy

Full Text:

PDF

References


Bateman, J. and Wildfeuer, J., (2014), “A Multimodal Discourse Theory of Visual Narrative”. Journal of Pragmatics 74: pp. 180–208. doi: 10.1016/j.pragma.2014.10.001.

Bounegru, L. and Forceville, C., (2011), “Metaphors in Editorial Cartoons Representing the Global Financial Crisis”, Visual Communication 10, Vol. 2: pp. 209–229. doi: 10.1177/1470357211398446.

Bridgeman, T., (2005), “Figuration and Configuration: Mapping Imaginary Worlds in BD”, In: Forsdick, C., Grove, L., and McQuillan, L. (eds.), The Francophone Bande Desinée, pp. 115–136, Rodopi, Amsterdam.

Cohn, N., (2003), Early Writings on Visual Language, Emaki Productions, Carlsbad, CA.

Cohn, N., (2007), “A Visual Lexicon”, Public Journal of Semiotics 1, Vol. 1: pp. 53–84.

Cohn, N., (2010), “Japanese Visual Language: The Structure of Manga”, In: Johnson-Woods, T. (ed.), Manga: An Anthology of Global and Cultural Perspectives, pp. 187–203, Continuum Books, New York.

Cohn, N., (2012a), “Comics, Linguistics, and Visual Language: The Past and Future of a Field.” In: Bramlett, F. (ed.), Linguistics and the Study of Comics, pp. 92–118, Palgrave MacMillan, New York.

Cohn, N., (2012b), Structure, Meaning, and Constituency in Visual Narrative Comprehension, Doctoral dissertation, Tufts University.

Cohn, N., (2013), The Visual Language of Comics: Introduction to the Structure and Cognition of Sequential Images, Bloomsbury Publishing, London.

Cohn, N., and Ehly, S., (2016), “The Vocabulary of Manga: Visual Morphology in Dialects of Japanese Visual Language”. Journal of Pragmatics 92: pp. 17–29. doi: 10.1016/j.pragma.2015.11.008.

Cohn, N. and Maher, S., (2015), “The Notion of the Motion: The Neurocognition of Motion Lines in Visual Narratives”, Brain Research 1601: pp. 73–84. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2015.01.018.

Eerden, B., (2009), “Anger in Asterix: The Metaphorical Representation of Anger in Comics and Animated Films”. In: Forceville, C. and Urios-Aparisi, E. (eds.), Multimodal Metaphor, pp. 243–264, Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin/New York.

Eisner, W., (1985/2008), Comics and Sequential Art, W. W. Norton & Company, New York/London.

Engelhardt, Y., (2002), The Language of Graphics: A Framework for the Analysis of Syntax and Meaning in Maps, Charts and Diagrams, ILLC/University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam.

Forceville, C., (1994), “Pictorial Metaphor in Advertisements”, Metaphor and Symbolic Activity 9, Vol. 1: pp. 1–29. doi: 10.1207/s15327868ms0901_1.

Forceville, C., (1996), Pictorial Metaphor in Advertising, Routledge, London.

Forceville, C., (2005), “Visual Representations of the Idealized Cognitive Model of Anger in the Asterix Album La Zizanie”, Journal of Pragmatics 37: 69–88. doi: 110.1016/j.pragma.2003.10.002.

Forceville, C., (2006), “Non-verbal and Multimodal Metaphor in a Cognitivist Framework: Agendas for Research”, In: Kristiansen, G., Achard, M., Dirven, R. and Ruiz de Mendoza Ibáñez, F. (eds.), Cognitive Linguistics: Current Applications and Future Perspectives, pp. 379–402), Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin/New York.

Forceville, C., (2008), “Metaphor in Pictures and Multimodal Representations”, In: Gibbs, Jr., R. (ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Metaphor and Thought, pp. 462–482, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Forceville, C., (2011), “Pictorial Runes in Tintin and the Picaros”, Journal of Pragmatics 43: pp. 875–890. doi: 10.1016/j.pragma.2010.07.014.

Forceville, C. and Urios-Aparisi, E. (eds.), (2009a), Multimodal Metaphor, Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin/New York.

Forceville, C. and Urios-Aparisi, E., (2009b), “Introduction”, In: Forceville, C. and Urios-Aparisi, E. (eds.), Multimodal Metaphor, pp. 3–17, Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin/New York.

Gasca, L. and Gubern, R., (2001), El discurso del comic, Catedra, Madrid.

Gibbs, Jr., R., (2006), Embodiment and Cognitive Science, Cambridge University Press, New York.

Gubern, R., (1972), El lenguaje de los comics, Peninsula, Barcelona.

Hünig, W.K., (1974), Strukturen des comic strip, Olms, Hildensheim.

Johnson, M., (1987), The Body in the Mind: The Bodily Basis of Meaning, Imagination and Reason, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Kennedy, J., (1982), “Metaphor in Pictures”, Perception 11: pp. 589–605.

Koch, W.A., (1971), Varia semiotica, Olms, Hildensheim.

Kövecses, Z., (2010), Metaphor: A Practical Introduction, 2nd ed, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Lakoff, G., (1987), Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things: What Categories Reveal About the Mind, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Lakoff, G., (1993), “The Contemporary Theory of Metaphor”, In: Ortony, A. (ed.), Metaphor and Thought, 2nd ed., pp. 202–251, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Lakoff, G. and Johnson, M., (1980), Metaphors We Live By, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Lim, V.F., (2006), “The Visual Semantics Stratum: Making Meanings in Sequential Images”, In: Royce, T. and Bowcher, W. (eds.), New Directions in the Analysis of Multimodal Discourse, pp. 195–214, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, New Jersey.

McCloud, S., (1993), Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, Harper Collins, New York.

McCloud, S., (2006), Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels, Harper, New York.

Ojha, A., Forceville, C., and Indurkhya, B., (2013), “Pictorial runes and their role in depicting emotions”. Paper presented at Researching and Applying Metaphor Seminar on Metaphor, Metonymy and Emotions. Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, May 2013.

Pederson, K., and Cohn, N., (2016), “The Changing Pages of Comics: Page Layouts Across Eight Decades of American Superhero Comics”. Studies in Comics 7, Vol 1: pp. 7–28. doi:10.1386/stic.7.1.7_1.

Potsch, E., and Williams, R.F., (2012), “Image Schemas and Conceptual Metaphor in Action Comics.” In: Bramlett, F. (ed.), Linguistics and the Study of Comics, pp. 13–36, Palgrave MacMillan, New York.

Saraceni, M., (2000), Language Beyond Language: Comics as Verbo-Visual Texts, Doctoral dissertation, University of Nottingham.

Saraceni, M., (2003), The Language of Comics, Routledge, London/New York.

Shinohara, K. and Matsunaka, Y., (2009), “Pictorial Metaphors of Emotion in Japanese Comics”, In: Forceville, C. and Urios-Aparisi, E. (eds.), Multimodal Metaphor, pp. 265–293, Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin/New York.

Stainbrook, E.J., (2003), Reading Comics: A Theoretical Analysis of Textuality and Discourse in the Comics Medium, Doctoral dissertation, University of Pennsylvania.

Stamenković, D. and Tasić, M., (2014), “The Contribution of Cognitive Linguistics to Comics Studies”, The Balkan Journal of Philosophy 6, Vol. 2: pp. 155–162. doi: 10.5840/bjp20146221.

Sweetser, E., (1991), From Etymology to Pragmatics: Metaphorical and Cultural Aspects of Semantic Structure, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Tan, E.S., (2001), “The Telling Face in Comic Strip and Graphic Novel”, In: Baetens, J. (ed.), The Graphic Novel, pp. 31–46, Leuven University Press, Leuven.

Van Eunen, T., (2007), Angst, woede, liefde en trots: De visuele representatie van emoties in Asterix en Donald Duck, Master’s thesis, Universiteit van Amsterdam.

Walker, M., (1980), The Lexicon of Comicana, Comicana, Inc., Port Chester, NY.

COMIC BOOKS

Enoh, L., (2010), Gea 1: Zaštitnica, Darkwood, Beograd.

Enoh, L., (2010), Gea 2: Dionisova povorka, Darkwood, Beograd.

Enoh, L., (2010), Gea 3: Priče o duhovima, Darkwood, Beograd.

Enoh, L., (2010), Gea 4: Majka nasilja, Darkwood, Beograd.

Enoh, L., (2010), Gea 5: Nerov put, Darkwood, Beograd.

Enoh, L., (2010), Gea 6: Bauk, Darkwood, Beograd.

Enoh, L., (2010), Gea 7: Klajvov krst, Darkwood, Beograd.

Enoh, L., (2010), Gea 8: Gde voda teče, Darkwood, Beograd.

Enoh, L., (2011), Gea 9: Sin groma, Darkwood, Beograd.

Enoh, L., (2011), Gea 10: Uljez, Darkwood, Beograd.

Enoh, L., (2011), Gea 11: Poludeli zaštitnik, Darkwood, Beograd.

Enoh, L., (2011), Gea 12: Knjiga razotkrivenih tajni, Darkwood, Beograd.

Enoh, L., (2011), Gea 13: Pucanje pečata, Darkwood, Beograd.

Enoh, L., (2011), Gea 14: Pad kapije, Darkwood, Beograd.

Enoh, L., (2011), Gea 15: Najezda stranaca, Darkwood, Beograd.

Enoh, L., (2011), Gea 16: Zima rata, Darkwood, Beograd.

Enoh, L., (2011), Gea 17: Doba surovosti, Darkwood, Beograd.

Enoh, L., (2011), Gea 18: Kuća pevova, Darkwood, Beograd.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.22190/FULL1702123T

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


ISSN 0354-4702 (Print)

ISSN 2406-0518 (Online)