Comic Theory 101: In Place of Another
This article was originally written for my periodic column at the online magazine Comixtalk in October 2005. One of the most famous theories that Scott McCloud set forth in Understanding Comics was that […]
New paper: When a hit sounds like a kiss
I’m excited to announce that I have new paper out in the journal Brain and Language entitled “When a hit sounds like a kiss: an electrophysiological exploration of semantic processing […]
New paper: Action starring narrative and events
Waaaay back in 2008 I first posted about a phenomenon in comics that I called an “action star”, such as the third panel in this sequence: I argued that these […]
New Paper: Beyond Speech Balloons and Thought Bubbles
I’m pleased to announce that my paper, “Beyond Speech Balloons and Thought Bubbles,” (PDF) has now been published in the journal Semiotica. The paper dissects the ways in which text […]
Basic structures of visual language
One of the important basic tasks of doing research on the visual language used in comics is to identify the foundational components that go into our comprehension of sequential images. […]
Review: Emotion in manga through loss of hands
This paper continues Charles Forceville‘s research paradigm of looking at the metaphorical underpinnings of meaning in comics. Here, he and Michael Abbott look at a particular phenomenon in some manga where […]
A User’s Guide to Thought and Meaning
Lo and behold, I now have a new book out! My mentor, Ray Jackendoff, has a new book, A User’s Guide to Thought and Meaning, and it is chalk full of illustrations […]
New Essay: Extra! Extra! Semantics in Comics
I’m excited to say that I’ve just had another article published. This one is entitled “Extra! Extra! Semantics in Comics!: The conceptual structure of Chicago Tribune advertisements” and appears in […]
Metaphors go boom!
Derek Kirk Kim uses a fun and common conceptual metaphor in today’s installment of his ongoing series “Praxis & Allies” (which you should be reading). Here, the character’s head explodes […]
Review: Metaphor and Metonymy in Comics Storytelling
Kukkonen, Karin. 2008. Beyond Language: Metaphor and Metonymy in Comics Storytelling. English Language Notes 46 (2):89-98. This paper from the literature point of view explores meaning-making in comics, particularly from […]