ANGLIA RUSKIN UNIVERSITY UNDERSTANDING GRAPHIC NARRATIVE THROUGH THE SYNTHESIS OF COMICS AND PICTUREBOOKS REBECCA PALMER A thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Anglia Ruskin University for the degree of PhD Submitted: August 2016 (part 1/3) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I could not have conducted or completed this research without the support of a number of institutions and many generous individuals. I am grateful to Professor Martin Salisbury and Will Hill, who supervised this research, for their guidance and encouragement throughout. The advice of Dr. Mel Gibson at Northumbria University during the first years of research helped me to refine my ideas. Her interest in this research motivated me to submit work for publication at an early stage. I am indebted to the AHRC for their generous funding, and to Anglia Ruskin University for awarding the studentship that enabled me to conduct this inquiry. Much thanks to family and friends for their interest and help with the project, especially to Daisy, whose willingness to critique the work, debate the ideas a n d read endless drafts has been immensely helpful. i ANGLIA RUSKIN UNIVERSITY ABSTRACT FACULTY OF ARTS, LAW AND SOCIAL SCIENCES DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNDERSTANDING GRAPHIC NARRATIVE THROUGH THE SYNTHESIS OF COMIC AND PICTUREBOOKS REBECCA PALMER August 2016 This study was undertaken to develop a better understanding of comics, picturebooks, and their relationship through progressive attempts to combine them in practice. The study was motivated by an interest in hybrid forms as a site where narrative techniques from different forms are put to alternative use in a new context. The research contributes to current scholarly discussion of graphic narrative from a practitioner’s perspective. Reflective practice offers unique potential as a method for critical study. Comparative analysis of changes over time throws light on each form’s typical mechanisms for graphic storytelling, and demonstrates their function in different contexts. Problems arising in practice are catalysts for a process of dynamic, analogical theory-formation and -testing, which often challenges or supplements existing knowledge, leading to a more nuanced understanding of the forms with which practice engages. Findings evolved, firstly, from the insight that conventions for graphic storytelling function differently depending on the mode of reading and the formal context. Secondly, the degree to which the practitioner is constrained by formal limitations was found to demand a disciplined distillation of content that deliberately creates space for different kinds of readerly engagement. The study concluded that, due to their adaptation towards solitary reading, comics exert greater control over their readers, whereas picturebooks tend to be more flexible in order to accommodate different modes of reading. The way readers engage with a work impacts on the function of conventions and techniques for graphic storytelling as much as a change in formal context. Moreover, the discipline of the picturebook form demands greater economy, which can create more space for reader participation. However, neither distinct modes of reading nor differing degrees of constraint constitute grounds for definitive distinction between comics and picturebooks: instead, they offer alternative frameworks for the critical consideration of graphic narratives. Key words: graphic narrative, comics, picturebooks, reflective practice ii Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................. i ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................. ii Table of Figures .................................................................................................... iv Chronology of Events ......................................................................................... vii Chapter 1. Introduction ......................................................................................... 1 1.1 Main Research Focus ............................................................................................. 1 1.2 Contribution to knowledge .................................................................................... 1 1.3 The thesis ................................................................................................................ 2 1.4 Terminology ............................................................................................................ 4 Chapter 2. Research through practice: theoretical framework and methodology .......................................................................................................... 5 2.1 Practitioner research: context and precedents ................................................... 5 2.2 An interdisciplinary approach ............................................................................... 8 2.3 The framework for research ................................................................................. 10 2.4 Reflective practice as methodology .................................................................... 14 2.5 Methods ................................................................................................................. 17 2.5.1 Forms for practice, reflections and analysis ..................................................... 17 2.5.2 Reading, imagined and real ............................................................................. 17 2.5.3 Presentation of the thesis ................................................................................ 21 2.5.4 Ensuring trustworthiness .................................................................................. 21 Chapter 3. Professional, cultural and academic context ................................. 23 3.1 Personal, educational and professional context ............................................... 23 3.2 Historical and academic context ......................................................................... 25 3.3 “The definitional project” ..................................................................................... 34 3.4 A description of formal characteristics .............................................................. 37 3.5 Graphic narrative as a dramatic art ..................................................................... 38 3.6 Medium and genre in relation to practice ........................................................... 43 Chapter 4. The Grand Old Duke of York ............................................................ 47 Chapter 5. Rudolphus & Brown ......................................................................... 62 5.1 Germination and growth ...................................................................................... 62 5.2 Pruning .................................................................................................................. 69 5.2.1 Narrative text and speech balloons .................................................................. 69 5.2.2 The comics grid ................................................................................................ 76 5.2.3 The page as diagram ....................................................................................... 80 5.2.4 Pace ................................................................................................................. 82 5.2.5 To explain, or not ............................................................................................. 86 Chapter 6. Conclusions ...................................................................................... 90 6.1 Areas for further research .................................................................................... 94 Bibliography ........................................................................................................ 96 Appendix 1. Planning for Rudolphus & Brown .............................................. 115 iii Table of Figures Part 1 Figure xi………………………………………………………………………………………...44 Figure xii………………………………………………………………………………………..44 Figure xiii……………………………………………………………………………………….44 Figure xiv……………………………………………………………………………………….45 Figure lii………………………………………………………………………………………...69 Figure liii………………………………………………………………………………………..69 Figure liv………………………………………………………………………………………..70 Figure lv………………………………………………………………………………………...71 Figure lvi………………………………………………………………………………………..71 Figure lvii……………………………………………………………………………………….71 Figure lviii………………………………………………………………………………………71 Figure lix………………………………………………………………………………………..72 Figure lx………………………………………………………………………………………...72 Figure lxi………………………………………………………………………………………..73 Figure lxii……………………………………………………………………………………….73 Figure lxiii………………………………………………………………………………………74 Figure lxiv………………………………………………………………………………………74 Figure lxv……………………………………………………………………………………74, 82 Figure lxvi…………………………………………………………………………………...76, 83 Figure lxvii……………………………………………………………………………………...77 Figure lxviii……………………………………………………………………………………..78 Figure lxix………………………………………………………………………………………78 Figure lxx……………………………………………………………………………………….78 Figure lxxi………………………………………………………………………………………79 Figure lxxii……………………………………………………………………………………...79 Figure lxxiii……………………………………………………………………………………..81 Figure lxxiv……………………………………………………………………………………..81 Figure lxxv……………………………………………………………………………………...81 Figure lxxvi……………………………………………………………………………………..81 Figure lxxvii…………………………………………………………………………………….82 Figure lxxviii……………………………………………………………………………………83 Figure lxxix……………………………………………………………………………………..84