This blog post examines how film and comics utilize time and space to express reality and imagination. We explore the narrative approaches and visual differences between the two media.
In the traditional sense, one major difference between cinematic representation and comic representation is the presence or absence of movement. Film is an art form that reproduces the motion of objects—that is, time—which photography lacked. Film possesses the characteristic of attempting to convey the movement and changes occurring in reality through a sequence of frames, and this movement acts as a crucial element in immersing the audience in the film. In contrast, comics only know the dimension of space. Comics are essentially a spatial arrangement of static images in an intended sequence. If time exists in comics, it is created retrospectively by the reader during the act of reading. The reader draws movement from the static images through imagination. Effect lines drawn around characters or objects to suggest speed further stimulate the reader’s imagination. This provides the reader with the unique experience of actively creating the story’s time.
Comics overcome the absence of physical time through spatial flexibility. Unlike the frames that border movie screens, comic panels vary in size and shape. This free structure opens up diverse interpretive possibilities for readers and grants flexibility in storytelling methods. Furthermore, comics possess the freedom to contain not only images within a single panel, but also speech bubbles and both verbal and non-verbal information revealing character psychology or the situation within the story. This allows for the interaction of diverse information, combining with the reader’s imagination, rather than relying solely on visual imagery. And this alters the reader’s reading time. Rather than reading every panel on a page sequentially, readers sometimes choose what to read based on a panel’s size or position. In film, however, the speed at which images are projected is constant, forcing a fixed viewing pace.
Film and comics also contrast in the nature of their images. While film uses captured images, comics employ hand-drawn images. The film’s image production process, based on the photographic principle where light passes through a lens and is projected onto film, is technically automated. In this process, film tends to strive for a more objective and realistic recording of reality. Therefore, it is not easy to discern the director’s presence within the film image. While the director’s intent may be revealed through cinematography or editing, fundamentally, because it is a record based on reality, its subjectivity is inevitably limited. In contrast, comics naturally reveal the artist’s personal interpretation of the world through the process of manual creation. This manifests in the style and touch of the drawings, which, combined with the comic’s narrative, conveys a unique atmosphere and message. Thus, comic images are ‘signed images’.
The relationship between filmed images and hand-drawn images defines how film and comics relate to reality differently. Film inherently becomes a factual record of objects, as the actual subject and the image are causally linked. The process of film recording is constrained by factors like the conditions on set or the circumstances of shooting. Consequently, film often employs various technical means to overcome the limitations of reality. However, recent years have seen an increase in cases where filmed images are composited on computers or utilize graphic images with the aid of digital special effects. This development has expanded cinema’s expressive potential, enabling it to create non-existent subjects or locations, much like comics. Nevertheless, cinema still tends to maintain a connection to reality.
In comics, the stage of translating conception into execution does not mediate through reality. Therefore, comic images are images whose production stage is subsumed under the artist’s control. The artist’s intent can be thoroughly reflected, giving comics a strength in transcending reality or expressing unique imagination. This aspect acts as the driving force of comic imagination. Because it does not directly confront reality, readers can be drawn by the artist’s imagination into a comic reality. Comics are thus an art form where the artist’s individuality and creativity are directly revealed, easily immersing readers into this unique world of imagination.
