Objectifying Visual Language in Autobiographical Comics

Visual Communities: Comics in Interaction

A growing number of online communities create or share visual imagery. In a few of these communities, visual imagery is used to support interaction. However, studies of online communities have often focused on text exchange. In contrast, this study describes a community centered on web-based comic strips created and shared by its members. These comics provide a unique mechanism for interaction....

Comics, Linguistics, and Visual Language: The past and future of a field

Segmenting Visual Narratives: Evidence for Constituent Structure in Comics

We have proposed that visual narratives in comics are organized with a hierarchic narrative “grammar.” Inspired by classic “click” studies of syntax, we inserted blank “disruption” panels Before, At, or After the constituent boundaries of comic strips. In self-paced viewing, Experiment 1 found that blanks After the boundary were viewed slower than Before or At the boundary. Panels immediately f...

Autobiographical Memory and Language in Bicultural Bilinguals

Research focusing on autobiographical memory in bilingual speakers has revealed different patterns of memory retrieval depending upon the language in which memories are being accessed. The present study examined narrative properties of autobiographical memories retrieved by RussianEnglish bilinguals. Results suggest that bilinguals’ languages may influence cognitive styles. When speaking Englis...

Comics and cognitive systems: The processing of visual narratives

Humans have drawn sequential images as a means of expression throughout history, from cave paintings and frescoes to wall-carvings and tapestries (McCloud, 1993). In contemporary society, we find them most prevalently in comics of the world, and over the past two decades, increasing attention has turned to this communicative system in the cognitive sciences. Earlier work often focused on theory...