Last semester I took a course on writing processes and pedagogies in which we discussed multimodality often, especially as it relates to fonts, images, visual transitions, etc. One of the reasons I am taking this course is to work more with images as they relate to text, which also prompted me to take a course called "Tangible Textuality" this semester. There were a couple of images that caught my eye in the first chapter of Craig Thompson's Blankets. I noticed a strong correlation between the final image of Phil in "the cubby hole" on page 17 and the final two images of Craig on page 25. The markings left by the brothers' hands on the door and mirror represent two different modes of entrapment, Phil being physically trapped in "the cubby hole" and Craig being trapped in a life he does not want for himself. Escapism seems like it will play a large role in the novel, and I found it to be an absolute tragedy when Craig burned all of his artwork. I also appreciated the use of text, dialogue, and thought bubbles on page 53. Thompsons use of a thought bubble to block his teacher's words seems to imply that religion itself has become a new mode of escapism replacing artwork. I also found the content of the frame to be somewhat humorous, despite Craig's dismal situation.
I enjoyed the first two chapters of Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, but I also found chapter two to be fairly confusing at times. I recognize and appreciate the echoes of Saussure, but I don't know if it's something I'm ready to tackle in my blog before we've had any class discussion on the material.
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