Chapter 7 Summary and Analysis

"Application (The Use of Sequential Art") begins by considering how sequential art is generally divided into two types of applications: instruction and entertainment. Periodical comics and graphic novels are generally entertainment-oriented, while manuals and storyboards are intended to instruct or sell. There is considerable overlap, as when an entertainment piece needs to explain how to open a safe, assemble parts, etc. This is imbedded into the story. Purely instructional comics often use humor - especially exaggeration - to show relevance.

Entertainment comics deny to the reader/viewer much of the freedom s/he would enjoy in pure prose. The creator relies on the reader/viewer to supply from his or her own experience "in-between" actions, but in general, passages are rendered quite precisely. This encourages participation rather than voyeurism. Comic book artists are most challenged in selecting the particular moment in...