Showing and Telling The Picture of Dorian Gray

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Showing and Telling

The Picture of Dorian Gray

~ A Critical Comparison of Two Graphic Novels ~

MA Thesis Literary & Cultural Studies – Rijksuniversiteit Groningen

Name: Tryntsje van der Steege Student no: 1570609

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List of Figures

Fig. 1 - EC19: panel before revealing plate with painting 21

Fig. 2 - MI7: plate with painting 22

Fig. 3 - EC20: plate with painting 22

Fig. 4 - MI63: Customary Moments During the Passing of the Years 25 Fig. 5 - MI62: Various Interests During the Passing of the Years 25

Fig. 6 - EC62: The Passing of the Years 27

Fig. 9 - MI69: The Murder of Basil Hallward 37

Fig. 20 - EC70: The Murder of Basil Hallward 43

Fig. 25 - EC13: Meeting Lord Henry 54

Fig. 26 - MI9: Meeting Dorian Gray 58

Fig. 27 - MI25, panel 5: Lord Henry 60

Fig. 28 - EC51: Arriving Home 69

Fig. 29 - MI37: Arriving Home 72

Fig. 30 - EC52: Discovering the Change 74

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Chapter 1 - Introduction

1.1 ~ Showing & Telling The Picture of Dorian Gray

Oscar Wilde‟s The Picture of Dorian Gray is as fascinating a read today as it was over a century ago, when it was first published in 1891. The story of the moral corruption of the young and beautiful Dorian Gray in the high – and low – society of Victorian London has been the subject of many scholarly debates and academic studies. That the theme of the book even nowadays appeals to a much wider audience is proven by the fact that The Picture of

Dorian Gray is still in print, and furthermore, that it has inspired several adaptations;

theatrical, musical, and even dance performances, and screenplays for films as well as television series. In addition, the book has been the artistic basis for other novels and even pop-songs. The latest accession to this collection of adaptations is Dorian Gray‟s appearance in Penguin‟s Twitterature – The World’s Greatest Books Retold Through Twitter, in which The Picture of Dorian Gray is re-told in 20 instalments of a maximum of 140 characters each, the length of a message on the digital social network Twitter.

Another epitomization of the urge to adapt, transform and renew The Picture of

Dorian Gray, is the recent and almost simultaneous publication of two graphic novel

adaptations. Ian Edginton and I.N.J. Culbard created an adaptation for SelfMadeHero in Great Britain which was published in 2008, and Marvel Comics in the USA published an adaptation by Roy Thomas and Sebastian Fiumara in 2009. The emergence of these graphic novels signals on the one hand the continuing appeal of the story of The Picture of Dorian Gray, and on the other, the popularity of comics and its rising status as a legitimate form of art. The fact that The Picture of Dorian Gray is retold twice using the same medium, but in very different ways and with very different effects, presents an interesting opportunity to compare and contrast the narrative possibilities of the comics medium. The objective of this thesis therefore, will be to examine how these two graphic novels represent the story of Oscar Wilde‟s The Picture of Dorian Gray. The focus is not so much on how the actual story

content is transformed from one medium to another, but rather the question is how the comics form, with its medium-specific characteristics constitutes a narrative.

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events that make up the story, but they regulate the distribution of narrative information, and literally shape the viewer‟s perception of space, time, and action in the story. In the light of the different and similar uses of comics‟ formal characteristics in both graphic novels, it will be possible to examine how the physical form of the graphic novels affects their respective contents, and to what extent the narratives in the graphic novels deviate from each other, and, to a lesser degree, from Oscar Wilde‟s original. The exact method and structure of this research will be further explained after some preliminary remarks on the history and contemporary situation of comic book adaptations, and on the theoretical basis for the research in this area.

1.2 ~ The History & Present Day of Comics Adaptations

The creation of the Classics Illustrated series under direction of Albert Kanter in 1941 is generally seen as the starting point of a clearly distinguishable practice of transforming literary works into comics. The series started out as Classic Comics, but the name was changed in 1947 (Sawyer 5) because Kanter wanted to distance his series from degrading „comic book‟ connotations at the time, and to promote the series as respectable versions of the literary masterpieces, „imitating‟ the comic book style to attract young readers to great books. Each issue featured an author profile and informative and educational articles, alongside the story. Until the early 1970s the series brought forth 169 titles, many of which have been translated and published in several other countries, including The Netherlands. Many companies have tried to equal Kanter‟s success in the 1940s and 1950s but just as many failed. Eventually, the glory of Classics Illustrated began to fade as well, mainly because of rising costs of paper, printing, and postage, but also because of the new mass media;

paperback books made the original novels much easier and cheaper to purchase, and television drew the attention away from reading altogether (Sawyer 14-15).

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text, plain text, and quick text), Graphic Classics (US), Marvel Comics and SelfMadeHero – who produced the adaptations of Wilde‟s The Picture of Dorian Gray under discussion here. Apart from specialised comics adaptations publishers, since the late 1990s even literary publishers have begun to incorporate graphic novels and adaptations into their lists or have an imprint to that end, such as Abrams and Jonathan Cape in the US and UK respectively, and De Bezige Bij (in association with comics publisher Oog & Blik) and Atlas in The

Netherlands.

1.2.1 ~ Marvel Illustrated

Renown American superhero-comics publisher Marvel produced a round of Classics

Comics from 1976 to 1978, producing 36 issues. Most of these titles had already appeared as Classics Illustrated, but Marvel made new adaptations in the „Mighty Marvel Manner‟ as

some of the covers stated. In 2007, Marvel gives it another try with the new imprint Marvel

Illustrated. Each adaptation is published in six instalments in magazine form, before being

collected into one graphic novel. This method is used for most Marvel comic stories; it allows the creators more space to (re-)tell a story as completely as possible.

The adaptations in the Marvel Illustrated series are mainly adventure stories, presenting a lot of action and fighting, suitable for thrilling visuals. Roy Thomas has been solely responsible for writing the majority of the Marvel Illustrated adaptations so far, to give the adaptations a “stylistic consistency” (Hudson 2007). The various artists on the other hand, are selected to bring action and dynamism into the adapted stories, inherent to the „super hero‟ art of Marvel. The Picture of Dorian Gray (2009, but published in instalments starting

December 2007) is the odd-one out in this Marvel Illustrated series, because it is more cerebral, and more character- and mood-driven than most of the adaptations in this series.

Roy Thomas has been writing scripts for Marvel and DC Comics since 1965, and also contributed to the Marvel Classics Comics in the 1970s. Thomas‟s collaborator on The

Picture of Dorian Gray, artist Sebastian Fiumara, works and lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The comics he draws for Marvel and Avatar Press are a fascinating mix of stylised sci-fi and ghastly horror. Fiumara‟s beautiful and detailed, but somewhat eerie and dark style is very suitable for an adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray. This graphic novel is drawn in a realistic style; the images are detailed and clear, with great attention to expressive anatomy and suitable backgrounds, which are all very much aided by the use of colour.

Marvel Illustrated‟s The Picture of Dorian Gray contains a „personal introduction‟ by

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designs are presented in the back of the graphic novel, alongside the cover designs by Gerald Parel for each of the six individual issues. Next to these insights in the creative process, the other supplements to this volume combine educational and commercial purposes; included is some information on Oscar Wilde, a selected bibliography, and a 4 page glossary.

Furthermore, there is a preview of the adaptation of Moby Dick, and adverts for several other “epic tales that have tested time, like you‟ve never seen before!” (MI 152). This version of

The Picture of Dorian Gray fits perfectly in the „Mighty Marvel Manner‟; it has the colourful

dynamism of a superhero comic, and the commercial appearance of one.

1.2.2 ~ Eye Classics

SelfMadeHero on the other hand, is a London-based independent graphic novel publisher, specialised in adapted literature. More recently it started with publishing original graphic fiction, and the Moomins series. SelfMadeHero launched in 2007 with Manga

Shakespeare, adaptations of Shakespeare with futuristic manga visuals, and Eye Classics,

adaptations of classic works of literature. In 2009 the company expanded their series to include Crime Classics – mostly adaptations of Sherlock Holmes – and Graphic Biography.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Ian Edginton and I.N.J. Culbard (2008) is part of the Eye Classics series, in which thirteen graphic novels have been published so far. Together,

Edginton and Culbard are also responsible for the adaptations of Sherlock Holmes. Ian Edginton has written fantasy and sci-fi comics for Dark Horse and Marvel, and an adaptation of H.G. Wells‟ The War of the Worlds. His stories have a strong inclination towards the gothic, science fiction, mystery, and surrealism. Edginton‟s collaborator at SelfMadeHero, I.N.J. Culbard, is an artist, writer and animation director. Culbard too has a preference for fantasy and mystery, and is inspired by writers such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and H.P. Lovecraft, and draws in a style indebted to Hergé‟s claire ligne. The images in their

adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray are drawn in a more abstract style compared to the

Marvel Illustrated version. They are less detailed and realistic, and render a more simplified

and restrained version of the story world. The characters and their surroundings are mostly drawn in clear outlines, with shading and folds in skin or fabric to provide emotional expression and expressive details. These stylised images provide the essentials of what is depicted, from which the viewer is able to complete the setting and the characters by relying on her own experience and imagination. This Eye Classics adaptation of The Picture of

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comprises a short introduction on the original novel, and closes with a biographical note on Oscar Wilde.

1.3 ~ Different Traditions

The different institutional contexts and artistic traditions within which these publishers function, have their effects on the form and style of the respective graphic novels. Though both American and British (or European) comics developed from illustrations, cartoons, and comic strips in periodicals of the 19th century, already these early instances of comics show a different attitude to subject matter and word and image relations. As Roger Sabin states, “the origins of the American [comics] industry were entirely different to those of its British counterpart, and were rooted not in satirical magazines but in newspaper strips” (133). The satirical caricatures and prints by British artists such as William Hogarth (1797-1764) and George Cruickshank (1792-1878), were meant to entertain and at the same time comment upon society and politics. The comic strips of the American newspapers‟ Funny Pages on the other hand, such as The Katzenjammer Kids or Polly and Her Pals, were mainly intended for lightweight (and more conservative) amusement – with the underlying motive to attract readers. They were rarely as satirical as The Yellow Kid (1895), which is generally seen as the first actual newspaper strip and the first to use text balloons for speech. In the British tradition however, “the great majority of cartoons were captioned below with a barbed comment or stinging libretto. This became standard format for the majority of British comic strips right up until the 1940s” (Pilcher 56). It is the copying of The Katzenjammer Kids from 1900 that introduced the use of speech balloons in those British comic strips that were aimed at a more juvenile audience (Pilcher 59).

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“a steady stream of artwork from some of the top European talent was crossing the Channel” (Pilcher 68), further diversifying and maturing the British comics tradition.

These very different cultural conventions, and different traditions of genres, subject matter, and humour, have influenced the style and the form of the graphic novels under discussion here. The Marvel Illustrated edition of The Picture of Dorian Gray, by its form and its style, is positioned clearly within Marvel‟s long tradition as leading superhero publisher, the imprint being specifically set up for illustrated classics in the same style and serialised publishing method as any other Marvel comic. SelfMadeHero however, was set up from the start to create independent graphic novel adaptations of literary classics, by

independent and innovative artists. They fit within the European tradition of publishing complete stories in one book, as opposed to the practice of publishing comics periodicals in the USA.

The Marvel Illustrated edition of The Picture of Dorian Gray has been published in six separate instalments before it appeared in one book. The practice of serialising not only influences the reader‟s perception of such a story, it also influences the creation of the story. The format of the instalments sets some limits for the adaptation of the story, for each issue has to end with a cliff-hanger to make the readers want to buy the next issue, and this next issue furthermore, has to start at a logical point in the story to bridge the gap between the issues. The fact that the instalments are eventually collected into one volume however, reinforces Pilcher‟s claim that readers now want complete stories in one book, and that the American comic book industry seems to be evolving into the European or Japanese model (51).

The different traditions can also be related to the material and formal differences between the graphic novels under discussion here. Coincidentally, both book covers show similar shades of brown and yellow, whereas on the cover of the Marvel Illustrated edition more different colours are visible too. The styles of these cover drawings however already are very different. Whereas the Eye Classics1 version shows more taut lines and a clear, modern image, the Marvel Illustrated2 version on the other hand, shows more realistic images in a sketchy montage of different characters – rather resembling the style of the western or romance stories of the 1950s and 1960s. The interior of EC then, is black, white and gray,

1

From here on referred to as „EC‟: Eye Classics.

2_{From here on referred to as „MI‟: Marvel Illustrated. Furthermore, since page numbering is missing from MI, I}

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with a more stylised manner of drawing resulting in a simplified representation of the story world, as opposed to the more realistic and detailed drawings in full colour of MI. The EC book is slightly bigger, has a sturdier cover (but no hardcover), and thicker pages than the smaller MI book, which has a glossy cover, and thinner pages. The EC version seems more durable, whereas the MI version seems more volatile, like the comics periodicals. As the

Classics Illustrated, the Marvel Illustrated series has an apparent educational function,

witnessing the glossary included in the graphic novels, and the teacher‟s guides to some of the adaptations that can be downloaded from Marvel‟s website. The producers of the series however, indicate entertainment as the primary objective (Hudson), since the adaptations are not specifically designed for children or teens, and are made available through libraries as well as comics stores and general bookstores. SelfMadeHero on the other hand, seems to have more artistic goals, with their emphasis on design and independence of their artists – but regardless of any ulterior motives, they too of course, produce and sell comics to entertain.

1.4 ~ Theoretical Approach

Now that the provenance and the appearance of both graphic novel adaptations of The

Picture of Dorian Gray have been outlined, it is time to turn to the theoretical foundations of

this investigation of their functioning as narratives. The different theoretical approaches that will be used in this thesis, are based on specific assumptions about what comics is – a question also dominating the debate on comics, in academia as well as in the public opinion.

Comics here will be approached first and foremost as a narrative medium, a specific form of art that employs its unique combination of formal characteristics to bring a story across. Comics is a form of multimodal narration, a form of narrative practice that exploits more than one semiotic channel to evoke a story world (Herman 2009 189).

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entity that often surpasses the sum of its parts (769). These parts then, are increasingly inclusive, words and images and everything in between (icons, onomatopoeias) composing the panels, which in turn compose the pages, which in their turn make up the physical book in its entirety. Each of these formal characteristics, on their own and in combination, perform specific narrative functions within the entity that is the comic book. It is these narrative functions that I will explore in the two graphic novel adaptations of The Picture of Dorian

Gray, mainly focusing on the combination of word and image, the materiality of the page, the

sequentiality of the panels, and the point of view that is constituted in the individual panels. This approach to the material form of the graphic novel and its narrative functions is inspired by the theory of transmedial narratology which departs from the question of how the intrinsic properties of the medium shape the form of narrative and affect the narrative

experience (Ryan 2004a 1). Marie-Laure Ryan, in her introduction to a collection of essays posing this question to different forms and areas of art, defines narrative as a cognitive

construct (ibid 11-2), a mental representation of a story, based on what and how the reader (or viewer, or listener for that matter) perceives, and therefore requiring active involvement on the part of the perceiver. This cognitive representation could take the form of a „multimedia‟ construct; “[w]hile its logical structure is probably stored as propositions, which in turn can only be translated through language, other types of images [to be understood in the broadest possible sense, as informational patterns stored in the mind], and consequently other „mental media‟, enrich the total representation in ways that remain inaccessible to language. […] There are, quite simply, meanings that are better expressed visually or musically than verbally, and these meanings should not be declared a priori irrelevant to the narrative experience” (ibid). A medium can be understood as a channel or system of communication, information, or entertainment, or a material or technical means of artistic expression. In either case, the medium imposes its material possibilities and limitations on the shape of the

message, and thereby affects the construction of the receiver‟s mental image.

Under discussion here are not so much the elements that make up the content of a story, but the means with which the story is represented. The formal and narrative means specific to the comics medium have been described and approached from different angles.

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show the workings of comics. McCloud treats practically everything you can see on a comics page, and discusses the varying degrees of abstraction or realism of images and their styles; the construction of time, space, and motion in the panels; the possible transitions between the panels; the function of the gutter; and the possible relations between words and images. However, despite McCloud‟s focus on comics‟ formal characteristics, he leaves comics‟ physical form, their material construction as printed objects undiscussed. Furthermore, possibly precisely because of his focus on formal and technical details, McCloud passes over the bigger picture of the narrativity of comics, how these details add up to actually bring a story across. The general observations about possible transitions between the panels for example (McCloud 70-4), are not related to the narrative effects of such transitions, or how they can be significant for the experience of the narrative. Comics is mainly described as a means of expression, focusing on technical details and their general effects on perception, but without much attention to how a longer narrative sequence is constructed. Still, the

straightforward, enlightening, original, and even funny exposition of formal aspects of representation through comics is a very useful starting point for an exploration of the workings of the comics medium.

Thierry Groensteen then, in The System of Comics (2007 (1999)), approaches comics as a medium in both senses of the word, both as a system of communication and as a material means for expression. Comics, precisely by its material, physical form, constructs a network of different levels of signification. Groensteen first describes comics‟ spatio-topical system, its physical essence, beginning from the notion of the multiframe. The multiframe is a framework containing several other frames, and can apply to a strip of panels, the page and the hyperframe, the double page spread, and the book as a whole. Within the multiframe these various physical spaces – but mainly the space of the panels – function according to their form, size, and location, which are important for a viewer‟s understanding of the narrative space. The connections between the different spaces of the spatio-topical system are discussed in Groensteen‟s second and third chapters. These deal with restrained and general arthrology, i.e. the compositional relationships within a sequence of panels, and the network of the book as a whole. Breakdown and layout of narrative information are described as the two

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the iconic solidarity of interdependent images that are separated and coexisting at the same time – a formal characteristic of comics that is central to Charles Hatfield‟s approach as well.

Whereas both Groensteen and McCloud focus mainly on comics‟ technical characteristics and spatial materiality, Charles Hatfield finally, in his study Alternative

Comics – An Emerging Literature (2005), emphatically brings the reader into the equation.

Approaching comics as a particular reading experience, Hatfield examines precisely the particularity of this experience. In his chapter “An Art of Tensions – The Otherness of

Comics Reading”, he unravels the tensions underlying (the reading of) comics, these tensions being fundamental to the medium and essential to the narrative experience. The tensions exist between codes of signification, or between word and image; between the single image and the image-in-series; between narrative sequence and page surface; and between

reading-as-experience and the text as material object (Hatfield 36). Because of these tensions, comics are always characterised by a plurality of heterogeneous messages, and offer a reader various interpretive options and potentialities. Apart from encouraging readers to try and solve them, these tensions can also be manipulated to achieve greater significance – which reinforces the idea that the material form of the medium actively shapes the content.

Each of these approaches has some thing or other in common with the others, just as they differ on many other points, and are liable to criticism on several occasions. By taking these studies as the starting points for my own exploration, I will try to assemble the best bits for my own approach, alongside several other shorter texts and articles focusing on specific aspects of comics‟ form, function, or meaning.

1.5 ~ The Structure of the Research

To answer the question of how the two graphic novel adaptations represent the story of

The Picture of Dorian Gray, I propose to focus the research on the following points of interest

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what this means for the narrative. If novels have narrators and focalisators, to what extent are such rhetorical devices present in the graphic novels? And is it possible to relate filmic narratology to narrative representation and perspective in comics? In the conclusion finally, I will summarise the results, and single out the most striking differences and similarities between the two graphic novel adaptations of The Picture of Dorian Gray, to elucidate how they relate to each other and to the original novel by Oscar Wilde.

It will have to be kept in mind however, that just as the publishers and creators of the graphic novels under discussion here are rooted in a specific historical, cultural, and

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Chapter 2 ~ The Materiality of Comics: The Page

Apart from the cover, title pages and any other paratextual information, the comics page as a whole is the first part of information about the actual narrative the reader gets, even before starting to read the successive panels. By a first glance at the graphic design of the page, the reader gains a preliminary understanding of the story, suggested by the style of the drawings, the use of colour, and the overall layout of the panels. The whole of the page as a graphic design unit however, is at the same time a patchwork of different panels, each of them existing as a graphic design unit in itself. The tension this creates, is a source of significance in comics and graphic novels. How this works on the level of the page and its general design will be the focus of this chapter. The comics page as a graphic design unit is supported and defined by the page as a material object. The physical limits and size of the page determine the size and borders of the hyperframe they enclose, and within which the narrative is constructed in juxtaposed panels, that are laid out in such a way they fit the page. In comics, the material space of the page is essential to the space of the story world. It is the relation between the space of the page and the form of the narrative that will be discussed here. First, I will examine the materiality of the page as an object and how it supports and surrounds the panels. Secondly, the page as a graphic design unit will be discussed, by looking at the layout of the pages in each of the graphic novel adaptations of The Picture of Dorian Gray.

2.1 ~ The Page and the Hyperframe

The notion of „hyperframe‟ is introduced by Thierry Groensteen to designate the exterior outline of the grid of panels as they are arranged on the page. The hyperframe has to be distinguished from the multiframe in the sense that „hyperframe‟ is only applied to the single unit of the page, whereas the notion of the multiframe applies to different “systems of panel proliferation that are increasingly inclusive” (Groensteen 30), including the page, but also a strip of panels and the comic book as a whole. The hyperframe is not only determined from within itself by the layout of the panels that shape it, but also from the outside, by the size and shape of the page and its physical borders. Groensteen states that “[t]he hyperframe is to the page what the frame is to the panel”(30), but actually the hyperframe is to the panel

layout what the frame is to the panel. The hyperframe encloses the entirety of panels on a

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However, it is possible for the hyperframe and the borders of the page to coincide, but since in the graphic novels at hand there is indeed a space between the hyperframe and the borders of the page, I will take a closer look at what this space entails.

2.1.1 ~ The Margin

Between and around the panels, the materiality of the page can function as the margins surrounding the hyperframe and the gutters between the panels. Margins and gutters are possible but not indispensable elements of the comics medium. When they are present, their space is in principle a neutral space, which gains significance through its possible content and the proximity of panel images it supports. The space of the margin and the gutter is both a part of the narrative and lays outside of it; it does not contain any narrative information, yet it does contribute to (the experience of) the narrative. The margin, and the gutter as an extension of it, each have a different function for the narrative. The margin can be a carrier of what Gérard Genette calls the „peritext‟ of a text; the framing elements within a work that “surround it [the work or text] and extend it, precisely in order to present it, in the usual sense of this verb but also in the strongest sense: to make present, to ensure the text‟s presence in the world”

(Genette 1, italics in the original). The margin of a comics page does precisely that, it presents the comic by means of verbal, iconic or other information in the margin, and at the same time, it makes the comic present by materially supporting it. The margin is not simply the periphery of a comics page, but it is actually part of the graphic image the comics page as a whole is, much like the frame of an artwork. Groensteen states that “the frame of an artwork

participates fully in its enunciative apparatus and in the conditions of its visual reception” (32), meaning that a frame, or margin in this case, contributes to and supports the expressivity and reception of the work of art it encloses.In the multiframe medium of comics, the margins and the gutters act as supplemental frames with respect to the exterior outlines of the

hyperframe and the panels respectively (ibid).

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the margins. The surface of the pages in the MI edition is black, while the surface of the pages in the EC edition is white – or at least paper-coloured. Whereas the drawings in MI are in colour, as opposed to the black-white-gray drawings in EC, the black surroundings in MI make the panels seem somewhat darker, literally as well as figuratively. The bright margins of EC on the other hand, give the story more openness and tranquillity. The surface colour of the page also has an effect on the lines of the frames around the panels. When the surface of the page is all black, as in the case of MI, there are no clearly delineated frames. The panels are separated by black spans, as Groensteen describes them (32 & note 14 p 170), which replace the thin lines of which the frames are ordinarily composed. The panels of MI seem to

submerge into the surface of the page. Even though the panels are separated by these solid black beams, at the same time these beams connect the panels, and the page as a whole becomes a cohesive coloured cluster of visual information.

In the case of EC on the other hand, the panels appear to be superimposed on the surface of the page. The panels are framed by plain black lines, and separated from each other by the white of the page, which makes the panels stand out from the page more clearly. At the same time however, and in an entirely different way than MI, these panels also form a

cohesive cluster of visual information, in this case by the meticulously fitting together of very straight and plain panels separated by narrow gutters.

The width of the margins and the gutters then, has an effect on the outlook of the page as well. EC has rather wide margins, especially at the top and bottom of the page, which enhance the horizontal layout of the panels and the panoramic view of the story. These margins indeed function as frame to the hyperframe, and emphasise the taut outline of the hyperframe on each page. The wider margins in EC also contain the page numbers and title of the novel, whereas the narrower margins of MI leave no room for page numbers or any other paratextual information. In fact, some pages do not even have a margin, which may appear as sloppy publishing at first, but it is more likely that it has to do with the fact that this graphic novel is a collection of six separately published issues. It is precisely the pages of the first and the last issue reprinted here on which a margin is absent. However, this absence is not

disturbing. In fact, it has the effect of a “bleed” as Scott McCloud calls it (103), by which he means a panel that runs off the edge of the page. Such a panel therefore escapes into the space beyond the page, the materiality of the page giving way to narrativity. This is not the case with EC, where the page always remains visible as the large spans of white around the panels.

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the hyperframes on each page are eventually smaller than those of MI. That the hyperframes of EC still seem bigger and more spacious has to do with the particular panel layout in each of the graphic novels. It is clear that different uses of width and colour of the margins, in

combination with the size of the pages and the panel layout, result in different page designs that each have different effects on the atmosphere of the story, and on the experience of the viewer.

Finally, I will discuss the degree of autonomy of the margins, which – according to Groensteen – depends on the closure or aperture of the hyperframe on the one hand, and the identity or the chromatic difference between the margin and the gutters on the other. In both graphic novels the hyperframe is open; the outline around the exterior of the panels is not continuous, but interrupted by the gutters which are connected to the margin. In both graphic novels too, the colour of margins and gutters is the same. However, whereas the proportions of the margins and the gutters in MI are the same, in EC the margins are much wider than the gutters. The width of the margin in relation to the gutters then, also influences the autonomy of the margin. In EC, the wider margin has greater autonomy in relation to the hyperframe and the panels within it, than in MI. The margin in EC functions indeed as a frame around the hyperframe, and contains paratextual information about the story, whereas the margins around the MI panels do not contain any information, and are blended with the gutters and panels to such an extent that it prevents them to function as an autonomous frame. The margins in MI are no different in size or colour than the gutters and therefore they seem to be more part of the page design as a whole, with no other frame than the borders of the page.

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2.2 ~ The Page as Panel

The margins and the hyperframe then, enclose the page as a design unit, supporting the layout of the panels as if it were a panel in itself. In the graphic novels at hand, there are several different instances where one image covers more or less the entire page, whether as a plate or a montage of different (synchronic) images, causing the page to literally become a panel in itself, with the hyperframe equalling the panel frame, and the margin functioning as a subsequent frame. It is striking that in each of the graphic novels roughly the same moments in the story are represented through plates or relatively large panels. The fact that these particular moments in the story are represented in the same way in both adaptations, sheds some light on the function and effect of page-covering panels in comics. In both adaptations, plates occur when the actual painting of Dorian Gray is shown, at the beginning of the story and at the very end. Furthermore, the actress Sybil Vane and her brother James are shown in large panels at different moments in the story. Also, the scene where Dorian Gray murders the painter Basil Hallward contains large panels in both graphic novels. This scene will be discussed in more detail in the final section of this chapter, comparing the page layout of both adaptations.

The viewer‟s first introduction to the complete, full length portrait of Dorian Gray happens much earlier in the Marvel Illustrated edition than in the Eye Classics edition. On the second page of MI (fig. 2) a plate shows the painting – which is not yet finished at this point in the story –, with Basil Hallward standing and Lord Henry sitting before it. The perspective in this image is such, that the viewer seems to be standing behind Lord Henry and looking at the painting over his shoulder – an instance of „vision avec‟. This point of view in

combination with the absence of margins or frame lines gives the viewer an impression of immediacy, of seeming to be present in the same room. In this plate, the painting is the

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Thirdly, when read in succession with the other textual instances within this image, it seems to follow the narrator‟s comment as an addition or elucidation, as if the comment in the caption were followed by a colon or semi-colon. This plate as a whole then, introduces the story and the painting on several levels at once.

In EC on the other hand, the very first panel of the story (EC 7) shows a detail of the painting, but the portrait as a whole is only presented to the viewer after it is finished (fig. 3). This moment coincides with Lord Henry and Dorian Gray seeing it for the first time, an effect achieved by clever use of the narrative opportunities provided by the spatial limits of the page. Within the material borders of the page some places enjoy a natural privilege, and gain narrative significance precisely because of their location at the border, like the upper left hand corner coinciding with the beginning of a scene, or the lower right hand corner gaining in suspense before the turning of a page (Groensteen 29), as is the case here. In the final panel on a page about to be turned (fig. 1), Basil announces that the painting is finished while Dorian and Henry walk into the room to look at it, all three of them directing their gaze at the same point in space where they perceive the painting, but in effect looking straight at the viewer. By turning the page, the viewer turns her own point of view 180 degrees and finds herself in the same position as the three characters in the penultimate panel, looking directly at the painting in its full impact. The finished portrait of Dorian Gray fills almost the entire panel, which in turn fills the entire page. Through the presence of the margins and the solid line around the frame the materiality of the panel on the page is emphasised, which,

paradoxically, is very suitable for this particular panel representing the painting as another material and visual representation.

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Fig. 2 - MI7: plate with painting

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2.2.1 ~ The Pose on the Portrait

It is striking that in both graphic novels, Dorian Gray assumes practically the same pose on the portrait, although mirrored. Standing erect, wearing a long coat, Dorian has put one hand to his side and leans with the other on a pedestal resembling a Greek column. Oscar Wilde did not describe this pose in his novel, only that the painting is a “full length portrait” (OW 5), and that both hands and both feet were depicted (OW 176). Since Dorian Gray has been the subject of many illustrations and adaptations3, the origin of this pose can only be guessed at. The first illustrated edition of The Picture of Dorian Gray was published in 1910 by Charles Carrington in Paris, the illustrations being contributed by Paul Thiriat. The portrait of Dorian Gray that Thiriat depicted shows Dorian standing straight, with his coat buttoned up and his right arm somewhat leaning on an indistinct piece of furniture, with a curtain or cloth draped behind him – a feature also present in the portraits in both graphic novels. This initial rendering of the portrait of Dorian Gray may have been the inspiration for the creators of the graphic novels, but then again, the creators could have been inspired by the several other portrayals and adaptations of The Picture of Dorian Gray that are in existence. One of those, the 1945 film adaptation, directed by Albert Lewin, shows a portrait of Dorian Gray produced by Ivan Albright. In this painting, Dorian Gray is accompanied by a statue of a black cat, a feature copied in the EC painting. Black cats are commonly associated with mystery,

witchcraft, and bad luck. The presence of a black cat in Dorian Gray‟s portrait symbolises the dark force of the painting and its mysterious influence on Dorian Gray‟s life. The Egyptian appearance of the cat, in the film as well as in the graphic novel, alludes to the Egyptian goddess Bast, who, in Egyptian mythology, has two sides to her personality; on the one hand docility, as the protector of the home and pregnant women, but on the other hand

ferociousness, as a leonine fighter and sensual seducer. Furthermore, the Ankh-cross on the painting in EC symbolises eternal life. These multiple cat-connotations, and on top of that, the presence of a skull on the cupboard behind the canvas are clear – even commonplace – omens for what is in store for Dorian Gray.

The viewer has to linger on this image of Dorian Gray‟s portrait to fully take in the meanings attached to it. This is precisely the function of page-covering panels: to call and focus the attention of the viewer to something that needs emphasis. When in a novel a narrator wants to emphasise an object or character, it or she is described in more detail, in a narrative passage where narrating (or discourse) time is extended compared to the narrated (or story)

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time, and effectively slowing down the story. Plates in comics work in a similar way; by inserting a page-covering panel into the sequence of smaller panels, the pace of that sequence is interrupted, or rather paused – having the same effect of stretching out or slowing down time. In MI however, the plate contains dialogue, so the narrating time in effect is not that different from the narrated time – the caption with narrative content nevertheless slightly extending narrating time over narrated time. Another factor in this then, is the reading or viewing time; the „precise‟, but at the same time subjective – and therefore always indeterminate –, perception of the duration is in the eye of the beholder.

Yet, apart from slowing down time and emphasising or stretching essential moments, plates are also used to speed up time and compress longer (more or less indeterminate) spans of narrated time into a few pages or panels of narrating time.

2.2.2 ~ The Passing of the Years

A longer passage of time is represented in the montage-like plates in MI representing the middle chapter of Oscar Wilde‟s novel. This eleventh chapter of the novel is purely descriptive, and relates Dorian‟s habits and activities over several (approximately twenty) years, under the influence of a book Lord Henry gave him. In MI these years and this chapter is summarised in twelve pages (52-63) of alternating plates and panels in sequence. Specific – or rather customary – moments are represented in the panels (cf. fig 4). The plates on the other hand, are not enlarged panels, but montages of different images and activities, to show Dorian‟s various interests and devotions during and taking up this unspecified period of time (cf. fig 5). By stretching these montages out over an entire page, again, the viewer‟s attention is captured, but instead of slowing down the story, it is accelerated by showing customary actions instead of specific moments. This generality is further realised by using only captions that give indications such as “At another time” (57), or “on regular occasions” (55), which enhance the indeterminacy of the narrated time and realise the compression of narrating time.

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Fig. 4 - MI63: Customary Moments During the Passing of the Years

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Whereas MI shows what happens to Dorian Gray during this time through a sequence of panels and plates taking up twelve pages, in EC narrating time is even more compressed into a sequence of large panels covering no more than three pages (62-4). On the first page of this sequence (fig. 6) we see a large panel showing a close-up of Dorian‟s twisted face on the painting, and below that a smaller panel showing Dorian looking up at the painting. The next adjacent page (fig. 7) consists of three horizontal panels, the first showing Dorian en profil presumably (still? again?) looking up at the painting – literally, as it is represented on the page preceding this one. The middle panel shows a wall with a window through which we can see the back of the painting while wind and leaves are blowing through our field of vision – a subtle image suggesting the passing of seasons and therefore the passing of time. The final panel on this page then shows Dorian (again) looking at the painting, but his appearance has changed; his hair is tidier, and his clothes more formal. This Dorian appears to be more mature, and at the same time more distant and almost haughty. Only as we turn the page do we understand the full impact of his transformation and the time it must have taken. For on the third page of this sequence (fig. 8), we see an almost page-covering image of Dorian‟s portrait, with a horribly distorted face, an evil grimace, decaying clothes and an erupting volcano in the background, all signalling Dorian‟s corruption over the years. The narrating time in EC is even more compressed than in MI, and the elliptical sequence leaves it mostly up to the viewer to fill in what happened to Dorian in this span of time. In EC too, the

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Fig. 6 - EC62: The Passing of the Years

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Fig. 8 - EC64: The Passing of the Years

To sum up so far; the hyperframe frames the page as a visual design unit, enclosing the different panels as they are laid out on the page, and sometimes functioning as an actual frame to enclose a single panel that fills up an entire page. The hyperframe and the panels are supported by the surface of the page, which in most – but certainly not all – cases remains visible through the margins and gutters around and between the panels. The margins then, function as frames around the page, and by their form, colour and content provide additional information or signification for the panels on the page.

The page-covering plates then, by interrupting the flow of the sequence of panels, either function to slow down or to speed up the story time, depending on the context, the content, and the text potentially accompanying them.

2.3 ~ The Panels on the Page

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structure of nested frames, each containing a fragment of the narrative, which can be inferred from considering the panels in sequence. There are no explicit rules for the composition of the panels on the page, but how they are shaped and laid out in a particular comic is essential to the narrative sequence, and to the reader‟s perception and interpretation of the narrative. The actual lay out of a page depends partly on the style of the artist and principally on the

narrative content, and on how the narrative is broken down into the semantic units that are the individual panels. By laying out the panels on the page, the time and space of the story are distributed over the space of the page.

The functions and effects of a particular lay out can be approached from different angles. Benoît Peeters in his seminal study Case, planche, récit – lire la bande dessinée (1998) came up with four conceptions of the comics page4, i.e. four modes of panel layout, each with their own function. He distinguishes these modes by looking at the degree of autonomy and the degree of dominancy of the narrative and the composition of a page. This leads to four utilisations of page layout, which will be discussed briefly here. The

conventional mode privileges the narrative aspect of the comic. This mode is characterised by panels of a strictly constant format, providing conditions for regular linear reading, similar to a page of writing. In the decorative mode, the tabular dimension is dominant, privileging the aesthetic organisation before anything else. To achieve this effect, the design of the page or the geometrical configuration of the panels is often developed before the narrative content of the panels is actually broken down. The rhetorical mode then, is most widespread according to Peeters. In this mode, the panels‟ primary function is to support the narrative, by adjusting their dimensions (and placement on the page) to the action being described or depicted – so the panels are made to fit the action instead of the other way around. Finally, in the productive mode, the organisation of the page (seems to) dictate(s) the story. Peeters presents this mode as being dialectically opposed to the rhetorical mode; whereas in the rhetorical mode the panels adapt to the dimensions of the characters, in the productive mode, the characters adapt to the dimensions of the panels.

However interesting his argument, well-chosen his examples, and seemingly necessary a starting point for analysis Peeters‟ classification may be, the typology he proposes does leave some room for discussion. The comments by Groensteen and Peeters‟ translator Jesse Cohns are sensible in this. In some cases it is possible to apply more than one of the modes described by Peeters to a single comics page. Furthermore, the distinction between each of the

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modes is hard to maintain, because each of them can overlap with any of the other, “without contradiction and without the possibility of separation” (Groensteen 94). Groensteen

demonstrates this with examples from his own study. Both conventional and rhetorical layouts can be decorative too – proving that the decorative mode very rarely is truly independent of narration. Furthermore, the rhetorical layout is not merely subordinate to the narrative, it definitely shapes the narrative too. Decorative layouts then, are not without meaning, for the aesthetic organisation of a page adds to the interpretation of the reader, whether this is intended by the creator or not. Although the application of Peeters‟ classification is not without question, the actual questions underlying this classification and the attention Peeters draws to the qualities and effects of the layout of a comic page are essential to the

understanding of the workings of comics.

Thierry Groensteen attempts to revise Peeters‟ classification, but in fact he comes up with a similar typology, based on the degree of (ir)regularity of the layout on the one hand, and the degree to which a layout is ostentatious or discrete on the other. In any case, the page layout as a spatio-topical configuration has to obey three specific principles, according to Groensteen (92). First, there is a material imperative, by which the frames must be drawn and arranged in such a way that they respond to compatible options for placing them on a page, with the inevitable consequence that each choice of a frame restricts the range of possibilities for others. This is the same imperative that governs the relation between the size and shape of the page, and the size and shape of the hyperframe. Secondly, there is a concern for

intelligibility, by which the frames must be placed in such a way that they deliver to the reader an unambiguous reading route, suggesting a direction to the reading. Groensteen subjects this principle to the exception that a reader may be presented with several

contradictory options when this is for the purpose of the narrative. However, this seems to be the rule rather than the exception for the multi-modal medium of comics. In either case, this principle for page layout requires an awareness of the possible path(s) of reading/viewing a reader/viewer should or may take, and an acknowledgement of the tensions between comics‟ different codes. The final principle Groensteen states is that of global composition, by which the frames are submitted to an aesthetic order on the page (92).

Groensteen‟s second principle contains the onset to taking into account the iconic and narrative content of a page, but as is the case with Benoît Peeters, the acknowledgement of the fact that it is necessary to judge a layout not only according to its material form, but also with regard to the iconic and narrative content, does not find its way into their respective

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effects of the conjunction of word and image. Both authors seem to hang on to the distinction between word and image, or between the linearity or tabularity of a comics page, when in actual practice these are not opposed but function simultaneously. It is not a question of „either… or‟ but of „and… and‟. What becomes clear from this, and in comparison to the approach taken by Charles Hatfield, is that the effect of a certain page layout can only be considered in relation to its content, as the integration of word and image.

Charles Hatfield then, departs from a set of tensions fundamental to comics, and the consequences these tensions have for the reading experience. Whereas Benoît Peeters focused on the construction of the comics page, to which Thierry Groensteeen added the dimension of the comic book as multiframe, Charles Hatfield brings the reader into play. The page layout poses to the reader or viewer a tension; between the narrative sequence and the page surface, between the single image as a point on an imagined timeline and as an element of global page design, or between “the concept of „breaking down‟ a story into constituent images and the concept of laying out those images together on an unbroken surface” (Hatfield 48). Hatfield acknowledges the productivity of these tensions, and the challenge they pose to the reader. In the examples he subsequently gives, the layout of the comics page gains significance through, and at the same time provides significance to, the content of the panels, not only linearly but also tabularly. The tension then cannot and should not be resolved, for it offers the reader various ways of reading and various interpretive options and potentialities (Hatfield 36). With these different approaches of and perspectives on page layout in mind, we will take a look at how they apply to the graphic novel adaptations at hand.

2.3.1 ~ The Murder of Basil Hallward

The majority of the panels in the Eye Classics edition of The Picture of Dorian Gray stretches out horizontally along the width of the page. On several occasions there are two panels in one strip, but never more than two. Mostly there are three or four strips on one page, with the occasional larger panel or plate in between, or on the contrary, a very narrow tier. The pages seem very spacious through these wide, panoramic panels, and the wide and bright margins. The space between the panels on the other hand is very narrow, reinforcing the panoramic view of the panels, and their connectedness. The clear, concise black, grey, and white images give the overall page a rather static and distinguished look, well fitting with the precisely measured panels.

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page to page and from scene to scene. Sometimes the panels are distributed symmetrically on the page, on other pages there are no two panels with the same proportions. There are more and smaller panels on each page compared to EC, causing a rather dense page layout. Together with the detailed style of drawing, the colourful panels, and the black spaces between them, the density of the pages in the MI edition makes it appear more energetic and eventful, even restless. In general, the positioning of the panels in comics, and their relative shapes and sizes, indicate a certain rhythm for the narrative and the perception of it. The way the space of the page is organised creates a sense of time and time passing, and the shape of the panels and the space between them dictate the rhythm of the narrative. In EC, a steady pace of the narrative is effected by the horizontally panoramic panels. The relatively smaller panels in MI seem to succeed each other more quickly, creating a more staccato narrative rhythm.

If we would try to apply Peeters‟ classification, the rhetorical layout would be best describing both graphic novels, since over all, the dimensions of the panels conform to the action being described. This does not mean that the dimensions of the panels are subordinate to the action being described, they often shape or cut off the action or actors being depicted, focusing on mouths, eyes, or hands – especially in EC. In the terms proposed by Thierry Groensteen, I would describe the layout in MI as irregular and discrete, but EC as irregular and ostentatious. The layout seems ostentatious to me because it draws my attention to its panoramic, page-wide panels, which are remarkable to me as a viewer because they deviate from my expectation of a tier being divided into several panels. This proves that Groensteen‟s criteria for classifying page layout are not objective, but spring from a reader‟s personal reading experiences and expectations. To properly evaluate the functions and effects of these layouts, I will compare the layouts to the iconic and narrative contents of a specific scene; the murder of Basil Hallward.

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that a tabular viewing makes clear that these two men are talking to each other, by mirroring their faces along a vertical and a horizontal axis – not only a rhetorical but also a decorative effect. The thrust of the argument then, can only be understood by a linear reading of the panels, from which becomes clear that Basil enquires into the rumours Dorian is implicated in, and states that he would have to see Dorian‟s soul to really know him. Dorian at first is scared by the remark about his soul, but then decides that he might just as well show it to the man who made the visibility of his soul actually possible.

The following page (fig. 21) consists of only two panels, the smaller top one showing Basil and Dorian entering the room where the portrait is. The second panel takes up more than half of the page, showing Basil looking at the portrait. I as a viewer experience no suspense in these two adjacent pages, and the shock of the unveiling of the portrait is minimal. Firstly because I already knew the state of the portrait because it was represented a few pages earlier (fig. 8 – discussed in the previous section on the passing of the years), and secondly because Basil‟s back is turned to the viewer, making his emotional response invisible, perhaps only slightly detectable in the words he utters. The layout of the first page in this sequence clearly reinforced and supported the meaning of its contents, each panel being a “design element that contributes to the overall balance […] of the layout” (Hatfield 52). The layout of the second page, provides this signifying function in a much less obvious way. Within the layout, there is a play with light and dark that seems to enhance Basil‟s position as the good force opposed to the dark force of Dorian and his portrait. In the top panel, Dorian and Basil step from the bright hallway into the dark attic room that holds the painting, and in the bottom panel, Basil is a small white figure against the dark and looming background of the portrait. Furthermore, the brightness of Basil Hallward and the darkness of the portrait move along two diagonal axes along the page, supporting the direction of reading; the upright figure of Basil in the middle of the top panel is in line with his figure in the bottom left corner of the second panel, and the silhouette of the painting in the right corner of the top panel is in line with, and is positioned under the same angle as the full representation of the painting in the bottom panel, which thereby seems to tower above Basil. The page layout here does support the narrative, by providing direction rather than meaning.

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(figs. 10 and 11) leading up to the unveiling of the portrait, there is also a play with light and shadow, which here functions less as signifying the opposition of good and evil than it is reinforcing the suspense. As Dorian leads Basil up the staircase (fig. 10) they are

accompanied by a gas lamp, but when they enter the attic room where the painting is,

shadows creep into the panels, and remain present after Dorian has lit a candle (fig. 11). The climbing of the stairs is represented in three vertical panels next to each other in the middle tier of the first page, enhancing the characters‟ upward movement, and the higher they come, the darker it gets. The panels on the second page then, stretch out horizontally along the width of the page, as in EC, signalling that their climb has come to a halt, and providing a view of the space and atmosphere of the attic. The suspense of the sequence is only intensified by making use of the significant location of the final panel of this two page spread, in which Dorian removes the sheet covering the portrait, allowing for the full impact of the transformed portrait on turning the page. The following page (fig. 12) is a plate allowing the viewer to look over the shoulder of a character – Basil Hallward in this case – to behold with him what the portrait has become. The angelic profile of Dorian Gray stands in stark contrast to the distorted face on the canvas – which the viewer had not seen before at this point, so the impact is stronger than in EC. In MI too, Basil has his back turned toward the viewer, but his response to the painting is shown on the adjacent page. This page (fig. 13) is laid out

symmetrically, with two strips of four narrow panels each, showing alternately Basil‟s and Dorian‟s response to the painting. The tension between the characters is enhanced by these upright narrow panels, the format of the page signifying the tight feeling of fear. Here too the layout of the page supports and enhances the opposition of Basil and Dorian, linearly as well as tabularly, similar to the page showing the dialogue between Basil and Dorian in EC (fig. 20). The following double spread in MI then, (figs. 14 and 15) gives the characters a little more space, and room to breathe. Strips of three panels are alternated with panoramic panels that stretch along the width of the page, providing a calmer pace to process the implications of the unveiling of the painting. At the same time however, this layout also functions to slow down the narrative to build up to the execution of Dorian‟s violent deed. The tension between the shape of the object being read and the experience of reading in sequence underlie this effect on the pace of the narrative (Hatfield 52).

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confrontation of Basil and Dorian, and of Basil and Dorian‟s portrait in addition – again in four panoramic panels, and again both vertically and horizontally. The first, third and fourth panels show the face of Basil to the left of the frame and Dorian‟s to the right against a bright background, while the second panel shows the painted face of Dorian to the left and Basil to the right against the darker background of the painting, resulting in four horizontal sightlines and two vertical ones, contrasting the characters. It is less the emotional impact and suspense, than the moral implications that are brought to the fore in EC, which can be only understood by relating the images and the words. The dialogue in these panels verbally supports the visual oppositions of the characters on this page, and of light and dark on the previous page. In the top panel (fig. 22), Dorian states that each man has heaven and hell in him, in answer to Basil‟s observation that the portrait has the eyes of a devil. These religious connotations and oppositions remain present in the rest of the scene. In the second (darker) panel, the face of the portrait with the eyes of the devil is depicted, in contrast to Basil‟s exclamation “My God, it is true!”, while in the third panel Basil urges Dorian to pray, setting the example himself in the following panels. The adjacent page (fig. 23) has two panels in the top tier in which we see Basil kneeling in front of the painting, in a wide beam of light, beginning to pray. Dorian on the other hand, is moving about in the dark in these panels, and emerges with a knife, saying “Those words mean nothing to me now”. Indeed no more words are used in this scene, and only images represent Dorian‟s murder of Basil Hallward, in a more subdued manner than in MI.

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neck, with blood splattering almost off the page, in the characteristic style of the Marvel superhero-comics. The double page spread after that (figs. 18 and 19) still produces a diffused sense of time. The stabbing continues in small, quickly succeeding panels in one strip,

followed by a larger panel of the slain Basil Hallward – hereby opposing the movement and violence of the stabbing to the stillness of the dead body (fig. 18). The top tier of the adjacent page (fig. 19) shows two small panels of Dorian still stabbing, and intermittent narrower panels of dripping blood – suggesting movement and therefore the passing of time, but still with a slow-motion effect. The centre of the page shows a larger panel in which Dorian leans over the body of Basil, followed by a tier identical in form to the top one, consisting of two smaller panels in which Dorian throws away the knife and bows his head, alternated with the narrower panels in which the blood is still dripping.

In EC, the focus is not so much on the bloodshed, but on the eyes of the characters involved. When Basil is stabbed (fig. 23) his eyes attract just as much attention as the knife in his neck, which is reinforced by the bottom panel that shows a close up of Basil‟s eyes. The top panel on the following page (fig. 24) shows Dorian‟s face with a set mouth, harsh eyes, and yet a somewhat doubtful frown, when he looks at Basil‟s contorted hand, and hears his dying rattle. The top three panels suggest movement and time passing in a similar way as MI, representing only small fragments – eyes, hand, knife – of the scene, without any indication of time. The final panel then (fig. 24), shows a larger image from a bird‟s-eye point of view. Though all in a large beam of light, both Dorian and his portrait are looming darkly over Basil‟s body sprawled on the floor at their feet, and at the foot of the page. The stillness and immobility of this image suggest a pause in the narrative, an indefinite span of time, leaving room and time for reflection on what just happened. The motivation for the murder – what exactly made Dorian decide to kill Basil – is lacking in EC, apart from Dorian‟s portrayal as a dark force. Combined with the static style of both drawings and page layout, the scene

becomes less suspenseful in EC than it is in MI, though it definitely is poignant, precisely because of its subtlety and cold(-blooded)ness.

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the words spoken in this scene and the composition of the panels instead of the shape of the panels as in MI, making the scene actually more symbolically and morally charged.

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Fig. 10 - MI70: The Murder of Basil Hallward

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Fig. 20 - EC70: The Murder of Basil Hallward

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Fig. 22 - EC72: The Murder of Basil Hallward

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Chapter 3 ~ The Narrativity of Comics: Panels in Sequence

Whereas the previous chapter focused on comics‟ materiality, the look and feel of the pages that make up a book, this chapter will deal with comics‟ sequentiality, the essential characteristic to bring a story across. This foundation for comics‟ ability to narrate is linked to Groensteen‟s statement that “what makes comics a language that cannot be confused with any other is, on the one hand, the simultaneous mobilization of the entirety of codes (visual and discursive) that constitute it, and, at the same time, the fact that none of these codes probably belongs purely to it” (6 – italics in original). This simultaneity is also the cause for what Hatfield names the fundamental tensions in comics, those between codes of signification; between the single image and the image-in-series; between narrative sequence and page surface; and between reading-as-experience and the text as material object (36). The tensions between these elements and characteristics of comics can only exist thanks to their being present simultaneously on the comics page. However, this simultaneous existence of different codes and modes side by side does not constitute a story. Actual meaning only arises when these codes and modes are integrated, when a reader perceives them sequentially, and

processes them in relation to each other. This relationship between codes or elements can take the form of a tension to be resolved, or of related elements reinforcing each other. Either way, the result is a particular narrative representation leading to a particular narrative experience of the comics medium. The relations and interactions between comics‟ elements, direct the reader forward through the story, and drive the story forward. In the combination of the specific characteristics of the medium and the specific competence of the reader the narrative gains meaning.

3.1 ~ Word and Image

Showing and Telling The Picture of Dorian Gray