TVAD Talk – Traveling through Time in the Comic Book Medium

October 14, 2020

Today I did something Incredibly scary for me and gave a TVAD Talk about my research. The experience seemed to go well, so I am sharing my script and slides for you all!

For people who don’t know me, my name is Mikayla J. Laird. I’ve been a student at the University of Hertfordshire since 2013, where I did my Undergraduate and master’s degree in digital media and now I’m a VL teaching on both the Digital Media and Animation departments. In the beginning of 2020, I started my PhD and if there was anything I was going to spend years studying, its comics.

Somehow, I have managed to turn my passion into a fledgling career. I gave my first conference talk last year in Germany, where I discussed the readers connection to Batman as a form of trauma therapy. I’ve written twice for the Eisner Award winning magazine, Panel X Panel, in the past year. When lockdown started, I banned together with a number of friends and fellow comic book fans from both the UK and America, to host a 10 hour livestream discussing comics that we called “At Home Comic Con”. We managed to raise $7,000 dollars for charity during the livestream. Finally, I became a steering member of The Superhero Project last year. Somehow I even got to talk to creators I really admire because they had seen my research. When the writer of Batman and Mister Miracle calls you a ‘dork’ I think you’ve done something right at least.

Luckily, in my quest to take my research further, and prove I didn’t waste time and money buying comics, I am supported by an amazing team of supervisors. Including Dr. Daniel Goodbrey, who was also the one who delivered my first lecture at UH as a student. Dr Steven Adams, who has kept pushing me further and further every time I came to him with a research concern. And Dr Alana Jelinek, who is above all, not afraid to tell me when I’m being dumb or worrying too much. And of course, the most important member of the team, Jones the Cosmic Cat of Comics. Who has made it her mission to sit in on supervision tutorials and take up the majority of the desk while I’m studying. But what is it I’m actually studying that Jones tries so desperately to interrupt?

Something that really fascinates me about comics is that they are able to communicate ideas, especially in relation to time, that no other medium is capable of achieving. Especially when it comes to the readers involvement. Which means that when a story actively plays around with the idea of time, I’m most likely to pick it up and read it. Luckily, being a DC fan, I don’t exactly have a lack of choice.

Largely, when discussing the use of time within comics, existing theories work to discuss comics as an entire medium. How we perceive moment to moment progression, etc. Little research is done on comics that specifically play with the concept of time as they appear in comics, outside of minor papers on specific short series or stories. Such as papers discussing the work of Alan Moore, and his comics Watchmen and Promethea. However, what I feel is missing from these studies, and indeed academic study in general, is a look into comics that specifically discuss the idea of time and use the medium of comics to its advantage in ways that no other medium can.

In 1985, comics practitioner Will Eisner released the book, Comics and Sequential Art, based on his own work and the many workshops he’d given to young artists and writers. Eisner was already famous in the field for creating characters such as The Spirit in 1940, and releasing the first Graphic Novel, A Contract with God, in 1978. A graphic novel being a fully finished comic released as a book, without being printed in single issues. Comics and Sequential Art largely acts as a ‘How-to-Guide’ on making comics rather than a full academic discussion.

This does not mean that Eisner’s work is invalid in the eyes of academic study. Eisner introduced the first definition for comics with the term ‘Sequential Art’. This is highlighted most noticeably when he discusses the panel border, “it’s primary function as a frame in which to place objects and actions, the panel border itself can be used as part of the non-verbal ‘language’ of sequential art” [Eisner.1985:044]. Eisner’s work acts as largely a starting point for comic theory, as he primarily discussed theory in relation to his own work. Due to just how simple Eisner’s definition is, theorists have taken issue with it as the words ‘Sequential art’ could describe anything from comics to frames of animation or film, even art being hung on a wall next to other pieces. In his 1993 book, Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud attempted to build on this by expanding the definition.

McCloud comes up with five different definitions that expand upon Eisner’s original definition. However, each of these new definitions also raises more questions. Many would also include cell animation, or film strips. A number excluded the idea of text as part of a comic or even conflated the two ideas. Ultimately, McCloud settles on just using Eisner’s definition of “Sequential Art”. Leading to some confusion as to why McCloud spent so much time trying to define his own definition, rather than just discussing the failings of Eisner’s original definition. Understanding Comics has been criticized by many theorists, largely due to it’s simplicity, though it’s worth mentioning that the book was released in 1993. Hannah Miodrag, in her book Comics and Language especially criticising how Understanding Comics is still considered ‘holy writ’ due to McCloud being what is considered the ‘founding father of comics theory’. Emphasising that Understanding Comics is important, and certainly is influential, but comics research has made great strives since its release. That we need to move on from simplistic discussions.

Aaron Meskin, in his 2009 paper, also discusses the problems that arise from both Eisner’s and McCloud’s definition, but Meskin also takes issue with definitions created by others such as Hayman and Pratt, Kunzle and Carrier. Meskin’s conclusion largely centres around the idea that the definitions that others come to are dependent on comics being just one thing, citing particular problems with Kunzle’s idea that the story within a comic must be a moral one. Meskin argues that comics need to have the same freedom awarded to books and film, to explore any narrative the author desires. Alongside defining comics as a medium, theorists have dissected how we discuss the elements of a comic, primarily the idea of panels and placement. Thierry Groensteen, in their 1999 book, The System of Comics, discusses the idea of Spatio-Topical Parameters within comics. The primary features Groensteen introduces are the concepts of Multi-Frame, Hyper-Frame, and The Site.

For reference, we’ll use a fairly simple page from Action Comics #747 from 1998. This page has only been chosen for the purpose of demonstrating Spatio-Topical Parameters. With the Multi-Frame, you are looking at the multiple frames shown in sequence. The space that each of these frames or panels takes up. These can take multiple shapes, but most often take to form of rectangles, squares or circles. But it’s important to note that the Multi-Frame is specifically referring to the space that the panels themselves take up. With the Hyper-Frame, you are looking at the collective space of these panels. This will always take the form of a rectangle or a square. It represents the collective space the material takes up on the page and presents it as a grouped spacing. One single entity, rather than multiple. With The Site however, you are considering the positioning of the panels and their relationship to the page itself. The layout of the panels, it’s relationship to the pages edge and the space between the panels. As Groensteen states, “the position of a panel in the page corresponds to a particular moment in the unfolding of the story, and also in the process of reading”.

Neil Cohn, lead researcher at the Visual Language Lab in the Tilburg University, takes Groensteen’s research and dissects it further. Looking at the margin space between panels, and how different layouts effect the readers perspective. Primarily, Cohn devised a series of definitions for how different panels interact and the path created by the margin space. His work was first formulated in the book The Visual Language of Comics in 2013. The first definition is the ‘Pure Grid’. This appears when the margin on all four sides are level. The most common example of this is with a simple four panel set up. Next you have staggering, this can occurs both vertically and horizontally, but it is defined by a ‘step’ created by the margin space around a set of panels. A whole row, is just that, a single panel that forms a row on the page, spanning from one side to another. In this case, there are three on this page. Blockage occurs when the pathway of the margin is blocked from continuing on in it’s original direction, and naturally leads to a 90% angle when followed. An Insert is where panels appear inside another panel. In this example from Dark Nights Metal, you have full page artwork of Batman speaking, with a set of insert panels showing the Justice League’s reaction and responses. Overlap acts similarly to an insert panel, however the panel only overlaps another panel without being fully inserted. This creates a separation, which can be seen here with the white space separating the overlapping panel from the above panel. Finally, the bleed is defined as empty space surrounding a panel and the edge of the page. This is much larger than the margin, and appears around the side.

We’ve looked at the form of the comic book medium, but other avenues of comic book research exists, some have been largely neglected, while others are still developing. These are the studies that I find most interesting when it comes looking at time. Marshall McLuhan, the celebrated philosopher, introduced the idea of media being an extension of humans. An idea that is fundamental in studies of interactive media. A classic example would be a car being an extension of your legs. McLuhan considered just how we experience the world, and it’s effect on us. In the 1964 book, Understanding Media, McLuhan discusses printed media. He describes print as a medium of repeatability, as print can be duplicated at infinitum, but also a medium of reduction as it “reduces even spoken language to a visual mode”. However, it also compels the reader into participating by completing and interpreting the written word within their minds. McLuhan discusses comics immediately after the chapter on Print, heavily signifying that comics could not be discussed without first discussing print. McLuhan considers comics as a medium that fully takes advantage of participation from the reader. Calling them a do-it yourself form of media. He draws attention to the fact that comics require the readers interaction for the progression of time within the medium.

As an example, we can use two pages from Batman/Superman #5 from 2020. For context, Superman and Batman are fighting against an evil version of Batman from a dark reality known as the Batman Who Laughs. The Batman who Laughs has corrupted a number of their friends, including Supergirl and Shazam, as well as bringing a ship from the dark universe into this one. While fighting, Superman crashes into this ship and finds the bodies of the Justice League from the dark universe. Proof of how cruel the Batman Who Laughs can be. However, when Superman turns around, he sees this… The body of not only his alternate universe self, but his wife Lois and young son, Jon. How long it takes Superman to turn around is decided by our own ability to turn the page. How long Superman sits in front of this horrifying memorial is dependant on how long the reader spends in front of it.

Scott McCloud heavily references McLuhan’s work, this can most evidently seen in the books titles. McCloud does heavily lean into this idea of a ‘do-it yourself form of expression’. This can be seen in his implementation of what McCloud refers to as ‘Leap of faith’ transitions. These ‘leap of faith’ transitions refers to the active role of the reader when filling in the gaps between panels. The idea of closure, where the reader closes the mental gap between the two images they are given. This comes in the form of six distinct transitions. Moment to moment can simply be described as a slow observation of an event over a short period of time. In this case, we see a series of four panels showing Superboy-Prime discovering he can fly. The panels give us a very clear idea of how Superboy-prime is moving in each frame.

Action to action shows a transition dependent on a single action, in this case, it’s the new Rorschach removing his glove to prove his identity and signifying he is indeed a different Rorschach to Marionet. With subject to subject transitions, the subject the panel is focusing on changes. In this case, you have three panels showing the ‘confession room’ in Sanctum. The three panels show three different subjects, Lagoon Boy, Wally West Flash and Booster Gold all using the room at different times. While the location stays the same, the subject, the characters, changes. Scene to scene transitions typically occur between pages but can also happen on the same page. It represents a transition from one scene to another. McCloud states that this transition takes the most reader involvement. You are transported across significant distances of time and space. However, the two scenes are connected. In this case, the scene transition is triggered by the Batman who Laughs talking about Perpetua and his overarching goal. Finally, you have Non-Sequitur transitions. These are transitions that have no obvious connections. In this case, one page depicts the Speedsters of the DC Universe being chased by The Darkest Knight, while the scene transitions to Superman and the rest of the League reuniting with their friends.

Groensteen discusses the idea of the Pregnancy of Panels. That the content of a panel can differ and change the panels weight within the story, even if two panels are the same size. Their size does not equal the length of time, its their content that defines it. It’s with this that Groensteen makes a very important distinction between comics and film. Three panels do not act the same as three frames of a film. A frame of film typically lasts 1/24^th of a second. They have a dedicated length of attached to them. While a moment can be extended depending on how long the director wishes to hold on a single shot. But the individual frame length will always be the same. 1/24ths of a second. As where a panels length is depended by both it’s content, the pregnancy of the panel, and the readers own involvement.

Pascal Lefevre’s work looks at the construction of space within a panel. His primary argument is that a comic, especially a printed one, can never truly be three-dimensional. This is most evidently seen with comics such as Batman: Digital Justice. Released in 1990, the comics was the first to be entirely created using a computer. The graphics were created using 3-D rendering software. However, despite this fact, The image will always be two dimensional as its printed on a flat plain. Comics can only ever imply the three-dimensional space the characters live in. This is achieved through elements relative positioning, colouring and shading. In this panel from The Dark Knight Returns, you see a fully armoured Batman ready to face off against Superman. The sense of space largely comes from the pairs relative positioning to one another, the size of both characters, and the use of lighting. Batman is firmly positioned on the ground underneath a streetlamp. Batman appears fully lit with defined detail within his design, while Superman appears above, drawn exclusively as a silhouette, denoting that he is far enough away for the light produced to not affect him. The surroundings show a row of buildings on either side, with the vanishing point extending to the horizon. A sense of space is given. We are aware that the pair are in a somewhat narrow street, with minimal lighting. We have a sense of roughly how high Superman is based on the lack of light reaching him, but also the relative size of his body. He is close to Batman on the x axis, but relatively high on the y axis. Batman’s positioning within the image does block off part of the row of buildings, this would be overlapping of a character with environment. However, the visual information available provides the reader with enough information to still gain a grasp of the represented three-dimensional space. The choice to present the panel vertically allows the reader to have that sense of scale in regard to Batman and Superman’s positioning. Had the panel been presented horizontally, the idea of Superman above Batman wouldn’t have been presented as clearly, though the background environment would have more of a presence.

I would like to just take this moment to point something out within the work I have just walked you through. Theorists are still trying to find an appropriate definition for the comic book medium. Eisner introduced “Sequential Art”, McCloud failed to expand upon it as it didn’t help to distinguish the medium from the likes of film or animation. Kunzle, Hayman and Pratt all discuss what the contents of a comic must be, particularly in the case of Kunzle who states that comics should tell a moral story. However, theorists do agree that time is an invaluable asset to comics, and personally it’s something comics can play with in the way that no other medium possibly can. A film will always be a specific length. You can calculate how long it would take you to read a book based on your words per minute speed. But with comics, they can play with time and actively bring the reader into the experience. Therefore, shouldn’t the definition for comics highlight this fact? Therefore, and while this has currently come out of my research and is not a central focus, I propose the definition “A Visual Representation of Time through Sequentially Juxtaposed Iconography”. Despite the work discussed, there are areas relevant to the field that lack extensive analysis, or only consider the subject matter from a generic standpoint.

Colour within comics is primarily discussed in the form of basic colour theory, when discussing character costumes, or when it comes to recolouring of older titles. Comic recolouring is less common as technology and printing abilities have changed. Both of these images are of the same panel within Crisis on Infinite Earths. However, the top panel shows the colouring used with the original 1986 printing. Due to limitations in printing, the original publication was very limited in the pallet it could display. A major reason why an old nickname for comics was the four-colour funnies. According to Paul Levitz, former president of DC Comics, recolouring for older comics followed the principle of wanting to convey information on the page as clearly as possible. A major reason why here, the original printing shows all background characters as being the same stock purple, while the recolour includes the finer details.

In his book Comics and the Senses from 2014, Ian Hague dedicates two pages to colour within comics, however he is more focused on how the eye perceives colour on the printed page. Hague does acknowledge the importance of both Lefevre and McCloud’s work. However, McCloud’s work on colour is miniscule within Understanding Comics, and Lefevre focuses mor eon landmark structures and spatial positioning. All three theorists do touch on the importance of colour, but with the expectation of Lefevre, who focuses on conveying space, they consider colour in a more general sense. Elements such as Speed-lines have also been briefly touched on when discussing comics, primarily in ‘how-to’ guides. Despite the purpose of conveying motion in a still frame, little is written about the subject on an academic level, along with an exposure time effect, affecting the readers perception of time as its happening.

So, where does my research come into this? Through looking at available research, I’ve drawn up a series of research questions that I’m currently working to answer. I expect that these questions will grow the more I research, but at the moment, its my goal to answer these.

As I think these slides have demonstrated, I am very much interested in Superhero Comics. Superhero comics began with Action Comics #1 released in 1938, as it introduced Superman to the world. Comics did exist before this point, most noticeably funny animal comics, westerns, and science fiction stories. The parameters for defining a Superhero comic can be seen in the work of Peter Coogan and his 2009 paper, The Definition of a Superhero, creating a series of criteria that defines exactly what is a Superhero. Primarily, this comes in the form of ‘Mission’, this acts as their overarching mission such as Batman and his drive to eliminate crime, the same crime that left him an orphan. Superheroes do have ‘Powers’, though this comes as some form of power over regular characters weather this be actual powers such as Static’s command over electricity, or powers that could come in the form of advanced technology such as Iron Man. Next is ‘Identity’, creating a persona or separate identity than their everyday identity. A big example of this would be the massive difference between Clark Kent and Superman. Finally, we have ‘Costume’, a signifying piece of clothing that identifies them. The relationship between ‘Costume’ and ‘Identity’ is often noted within Superhero comics, as Barbara Brownie and Danny Graydon explore in their book The Superhero Costume, that “the relationship between dress and behaviour is so commonly understood that people will modify their behaviour to suit their clothes”.

But to look specifically at stories using time and the medium to it’s full effect, we have to look at a specific kind of superhero comic. Within the realm of DC Comics, there exists a series of stories known as the Crisis Events. The purpose of these stories has always been to alter the DC Universe, either by changing continuity, or completely rebooting the cannon. However, simply having Crisis in the title does not make a story a Crisis event. Stories like Heroes in Crisis and Identity Crisis, despite having Crisis in the title, are not Crisis events. At the moment, there are seven crisis events confirmed. Crisis on Infinite Earths, Zero Hour, Infinite Crisis, Final Crisis, Flashpoint, Convergence and Dark Nights Metal. These range from 1986 to 2018.

Dc’s official definition for the Crisis Events comes from both Young Justice #1 and Action Comics #1008, both from 2019. During Young Justice, two characters discuss the idea of an Earth Crisis. They state; “Have you ever heard tell of an Earth Crisis? It is what they call it when an unnatural event changes the Earth against its natural evolution. And this really got to me – they say that Earth has survived seven of these crises. Every time a crisis happens to the Earth, everything the Earth touches, it seems is affected. Seven times this has happened”. The list of these Events then appears within Action Comics #1008. Within these events, two eras of the DC Universe can be represented. Post-Crisis, which takes place between 1986 to 2011, and the current New52/Rebirth era. Given the New52/Rebirth era is still in effect, and is currently adding to the previous event with the currently ongoing Dark Nights Metal: Death Metal. My study will be looking at the Post-Crisis eras of events. This includes four of the Crisis Events. Crisis on Infinite Earths, Zero Hour, Infinite Crisis and Final Crisis.

Released between 1985 and 1986, Crisis on Infinite Earths was written by Marv Wolfman with assistance and art by George Perez. The story’s goal was ultimately to make the continuity of DC’s comics easier to understand and allow new readers to follow the universe more clearly after the publication of Crisis on Infinite Earths. The 12-issue series providing the reasoning as to why stories had shifted the way they had. At the time, DCs continuity was separated into multiple Earths containing different Superheroes, and in many cases, the same Superheroes with varying details regarding their back stories. The story of Crisis on Infinite Earths involves an Anti-Matter wave destroying various worlds across the Multiverse. The Monitor, the cosmic being who watches over the multiverse, gathers various heroes from across DC’s continuity to protect and save as much of the various worlds as they can. Ultimately ending with continuity streamlined, and only one Earth remaining.

Released in 1994 with writing and art by Dan Jurgens, inked by Jerry Ordway, Zero Hour: Crisis in Time acts as an in-direct sequel to Crisis on Infinite Earths. Its inciting incident relates to Crisis on Infinite Earths ending and the merger of continuity. A wave of entropy is moving from the end of time towards the beginning, causing time to unravel. The storyline’s ultimate villain is revealed to be Parallax, former hero and Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, who plans to use this wave of entropy to rebuild the universe and undo the events of The Death and Return of Superman, which caused his mental breakdown and the destruction of his home, Coast City.

Infinite Crisis acts as a direct sequel to Crisis on Infinite Earths. Written in 2006 by Geoff Johns with art primarily provided by Phil Jimenez, Infinite Crisis takes place at a time where Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman find themselves in very difficult positions. No longer being trusted by the public, or each other. Following the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Earth-Two (Golden Age) version of Superman and Lois Lane, as well as both the Earth-Three Alexander Luthor and Earth-Prime Superboy have been watching on from a paradise dimension following their sacrifice during Crisis on Infinite Earths. The team find themselves overwhelmingly angry at what their surviving counterparts have become, breaking out of their paradise to steer the world into what they deem a more appropriate outcome. However, Superboy-Prime and Alexander Luthor have another plan, to separate the universe again and create a brand-new multiverse, wanting to return to their home worlds, even if it means tearing this one apart.

My final example is Final Crisis, written by Grant Morrison with art primarily handled by J.G. Jones, and released in 2009. Final Crisis took a look at the grand, cosmic scale of the DC Universe and put both it and continuity at risk. Darkseid, a long time villain of the DC Universe finally takes control of Earth, now time and space are at risk as heroes try to find a way to both save Earth, and the multiverse.

Even when cutting it down to just four stories, that’s a lot of reading. That’s not even all of it, I’m missing a book. But I do want to give you all a small look at what fascinates me about all this, and I’d like to use the book that got me to truly think about the perception of time within comics. On the left is the recently released Omnibus for Zero Hour, Which is the one I will be using in my study, as it contains every issue related to the event. On the Right however, is the paperback cover I originally read and that inspired my research. Unlike the omnibus it only contains 5 issues, collecting just the core story with none of the added detail. Zero Hour is largely overlooked when it comes to not only Crisis Events but also events in general from DC. People considered it a little unnecessary at the time, it was a lot shorter than Crisis on Infinite Earths, and had a lot of tie ins. From my point of view, it was just laying the blue prints for what DC is doing now a days.

Personally, I really enjoy Zero Hour for the outstanding character moments. This is from the second to last page where the team is celebrating beating the bad guy, but Green Arrow, who had to face a lot of harsh truths about the past, silently walks back to his home. The middle panels show him just stopping and contemplating what to do, before violently breaking his bow in anger. The moment of triumph the team had on the previous page, is now undermined by the true sadness of everything they needed to face just to get back. The more I actually look at this moment, especially after starting to dive into the research portion of my degree, the more I notice. Especially the use of colour and framing.

However, lets jump back to the end of the second to last chapter, you see Parallax, former hero Green Lantern, jumping into the story and essentially taking the role of the villain. He’d actually been pulling the strigs behind the scenes, but that isn’t that important right now. Parallax begins to enact his plans to restart time and attempt to get the world back to the point where the world made sense to him. He even states “The Universe shouldn’t be this way… it needs to be set right!”. When Parallax begins Zero Hour, you have this panel at the bottom of the page. You see Parallax at the bottom centre, surrounded by a rainbow of colour. However, the image that takes up the most space is a circle of blue and white energy. What you will notice however, is that the white, which is essentially time beginning to stop, now merges into the white margin of the page. While, yes, there is no distinct line drawing a panel here anyway, you can still easily draw where it would be by using the information provided by the colour within the page. With the White however, the panel and the page are becoming one. Time is beginning to stop, and the panels that represent moments in time must also begin to stop.

The last page of the second to last issue shows only Parallax, as the one who stopped time, being the last thing to fade out. Slowly fading away with time itself. Leaving us with an entirely white page. Time does not exist here. Panels do not exist. You can spend as long as you wish on this page, but it doesn’t matter. Time is none-existent. The final issue begins with two completely white pages, emphasising this none-existence of time. On the third page, it’s still white, but on the lower right hand side, a single thought emerges within the world. A thought coming from Parallax, “I used to be the errand boy for the Guardians of the Universe. It was a thankless job”. We are now four pages into the final issue, and the first thing we see are thoughts, and the beginnings of panels reforming. Time is beginning again. This issue heavily ties the idea of panel construction, literally with the progression and destruction of time.

I still have a lot of research to do, including Groensteen’s later works, Miodrag’s larger work surrounding comics as network, as well as other theorists who have discussed and furthered the work all the theorists I have discussed here. After that, Theory will be more closely applied to the examples in my case study. My goal in my research is to bring attention to one of the most amazing parts of the comic book medium. The way comics are able to use time and the readers engagement, to create stories that no other medium can tell. That they are worthy of just as much discussion as Film or Art. By following my research questions and using the DC Crisis Events as my example, my research will contribute to reader participation culture in comics.