Friday, January 16, 2015

Four Women: Frames/ Panels

 Sam Kieth's "Four Women" showcases an exemplary panel layout.  I was given Volume #4 (of 5) and  this was my first time reading the comic; as such, I was not very familiar with the story and relied heavily on the layout and images for narrative and filled in the blanks with a story of my own.  

I was particularly drawn to panels that were on full pages.  The first was a panel with a hand holding a pipe. I found this particularly eye catching because of the angle used, and the use of black space around the arm; and was additionally drawn in by the shape of the lines around the arm.  The lines are crooked, and come to a point at the end which to me indicates aggression or conflict.  


The second panel to catch my eye was another full page panel; this one simply had the word "WUNK" written in distorted and bloody letters.  This was both eye catching and told a narrative in relation to the previous hand and pipe panel.  The pages to follow were rather gory, as one may imagine.


My favorite panel in the book takes up two pages; unlike the previously aforementioned panels, this one uses straight lines and remains confined to the rectangular shape of the book itself.  The first panel is both beautifully illustrated, and also does an excellent job telling a narrative.  The detail of the drawing is phenomenal, from the nail polish on the women's fingernails, to the shards of glass on the door.  This to me conveys movement and when I look at this panel, I feel like I can hear all of the characters as they make their escape from the crushed car.  The angle of the car is also extremely useful to the narrative; it allows the viewer to look at it as if the viewer is outside of the car looking on as the women escape.  The second panel on the two page spread is also very evocative, the expressive faces on the characters are very well done and the manner in which it is laid out, much like the car panel, allows the reader to look on almost as if the reader were there.


Images from Four Women #4 by Sam Kieth  (p.12, 15, 21-22).  Story and Art: Sam Kieth.  Colors: Alex Sinclair.  Lettering: Sergio Garcia.  Edits: Scott Dunbier

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