Will Eisner, Some Theories.

Eisner, Will. Graphic Storytelling. Tamarac, FL: Poorhouse Press. 1996.

Some history:
Frans Masereel, Belgian political cartoonist, began producing "novels without words" and in 1919 published Passionate Journey, a novel told in 169 woodcuts. He creates 20 such novels.
Otto Nuckel, a German, Destiny, a novel in pictures, appears in 1930.
Lynd Ward also publishes grapic novels in woodcut form at this time. His novels chronicle a man's spiritual journey through life and his 6 succeeding books establish the "architecture" of future graphic novels.
Milt Gross, 1930 American cartoonist, writes satirical graphic novel He Done Her Wrong, as a spoof on the classic novel. (Forward, p. 1)

Eisner's Assertion:
"Despite the high visibility and attention that artwork compels, I hold that the story is the most critical component in a comic. Not only is it the intellectual frame on which all artwork rests, but it, more than anything else, helps the work endure. This is a daunting challeng to a medium that has a history of being considered Juvenile pap. The task is further compounded by the harsh reality that images and packaging elicit the primary reader response. Neverthless, comics is a literary/art form, and as it matures it aspires to recognition as a 'legitimate' medium." (2)

Storytelling focuses on the basic understanding of narration with graphics.

Comic reputation:
"Since comics are easily read, their reputation for usefulness has been associated with people of low literacy and limited intellectual accomplishment. And, in truth, for decades the story content of comics catered to that audience. Many creators are still content with furnishing little more than titillation and mindless violence. Little wonder that the encouragement and acceptance of this medium by the education establishment was for a long time less than enthusiastic." (Introduction, 3).

Rise of the Graphic Novel as literary work:
1965-1990, the graphic novel and comics begin to reach for literary content. Underground movements and artists propel this new direction. The opening of comic book stores provide new access to these texts. Themes addressed begin to show "maturation" on behalf of the writers: autobiography, social protest, reality-based human relationships, and history. The average age of readers begins to rise. Literary critics begin to examine and critique the form, generally with disfavor (Introduction, 4).

Comics as a Medium:
"Reading in the pure literary sense was mugged on its way tot he 21st century by the electronic media, which influenced and changed how we read" (5). Film and computer based texts monopolize readership. They become "a direct challenge to static print" (5).

Stereotypical Images:
"An accursed necessity" (17). "[Comics] depend on the reader's stored memory of experience to visualize an idea or process quckly. This makes necessary the simplification of images into repeatable symbols. Ergo, stereotypes. In comics stereotypes are drawn from commonly accepted physical characteristics associated with an occupation. These become icons and are used as part of the language in graphic storytelling" (18). Creating a stereotypical image for the purpose of storytelling is based on the principle that each society has it's own set of accepted stereotypes. Stereotypes are cultural in nature. Some stereotypes are globally recognized, for example: Good and evil.

Iconography/Symbolism of the object:
"Objects have their own vocabulary in the language of a comic. "Employed as modifying adjectives or adverbs, they provide the storyteller with an economical narrative device. For example, the icon of the gun/knife is highly recognizable by the reader as a symbol of violence. It's appearance illicits the reader to consider it in this way. The function of the gun is clear, but "how it is held is storytelling" (21) Similar to computer iconography, these symbols are derived from objects that are familiar to people. They carry instant meaning and recognition, without the use of words. Apparel as well, is symbolic. "In comics, as in film, symbolic objects not only narrate but heighten the emotional reaction of the reader" (22).

Control of the Reader:
"In comics, reader control is attained in two stages--attention and retention. Attention is accomplished by provocative and attractive imagery. Retention is achieved by the logical and intelligible arrangement of images. The reader's interest must be attained by content" (51).
This poses a problem when the storyteller hopes to create a situation of shock or surprise in the reader. Because the reader can simply browse ahead of the text, creating these situations is much more difficult (50-52)

Reader Influences:
Each reader comes to the reading experience under the influence of multi mediums.
Film: Audience is carried through the telling. No time is provided for pause or contemplation. The viewer is a spectator of artificial reality.
Interactive Video: The viewer is allowed to manipulate the rhythm of display and acquisition. There is no tactile sense as with printed text.
Text: Acquisition requires literacy, which involves thought, participation and recall. Readers convert words into imagery.
Comics: Acquisition is less demanding than text because imagery is provided. The quality of telling hinges on the arrangement of text and image. The reader is expected to participate. Reading the imagery requires experience and allows acquisition at the viewer's pace. The reader must internally provide sound and action in support of the text and imagery (69-70)

Film= spectator
Comics, graphic novels, traditional texts=Participant

The Writing Process:
Graphic narration = development of concept, the description of the concept and the construction of the narrative chain in order to translate the concept into imagery. Both dialogue and imagery should combine to create a seamless whole. Writing for the graphic medium, in effect, means writing for the artist. The writer supplies concept, plot, and characters, but the description of the action is addressed to the graphic translator. A script from the writer might provide the psychological content that the storyteller wishes to convey to the reader, however, it is up to the illustrator to convey this meaning to the reader through imagery.

Future Considerations raised by the text:
The idea of Visual Literacy, Other multi-model mediums of literacy developed since the book was published: Video games, MMO's, virtual worlds, Spoken word poetry, music, Ipods, Blackberries, Internet Chat, and Social spaces on the Internet.