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PART I
NEW (TO US) MODALITY
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A FRAMEWORK FOR UNDERSTANDING COMMUNICATION THROUGH COMICS (ILLUSTRATED)
Eric Yorkston and Xavier Drèze
ABSTRACT
We develop a four-factor conceptual framework to explain how information presented in comics differs from other media and therefore is processed differently. The unique ability of sequential art to manipulate time, prompt the reader for closure, utilize abstractions, and combine words and pictures to deliver a multimodal message mages comics an especially effected medium for marketing communications. The influence of these four factors is illustrated through the use of the comic medium in lieu of traditional text throughout this chapter. As a result, processing complex information is facilitated.
Keywords: Graphic art; illustrative research; sequential art; comics; marketing; consumer information processing
Dear Readers:
Please allow us to say a few words to assist you in approaching this chapter with the right frame of mind. This chapter is a bit unconventional, but be assured that it is a serious academic chapter dealing with a serious topic: the use of comics in marketing communications. Comics run the gamut from “high-brow” graphic novels such as Maus and Persepolis to serialized, “low-brow” superhero comic books such as Superman and X-men. Still, all these comics have one thing in common: they are a part of a vibrant medium that is vital to the publishing industry. Internationally, comics are a well-accepted art form that elicits academic criticism and sizable market shares in both Europe and Asia. In the United States, comics have taken longer to gain cultural acceptance. But the past decade has seen a golden age of graphic novels in the United States (Jaggi, 2012)1 that fully utilized the storytelling advantages inherent in the medium. More importantly, comics have entered the cultural zeitgeist and are influencing other mediums; in 2017, five out the top ten highest grossing films were based on comics (www.boxofficemojo.com).
These days, when you need to be provided complex information quickly, you are likely to be interacting with a comic. When you open the box of a new device you bought (be it from Apple, HP, or Ikea), notice that the first think you will see is a comic explaining how to set things up. If you need emergency evacuation information on a boat or a plane, you'll follow the steps of a comic to safety. But it does not stop there, Google released a full-length comic to familiarize programmers with the capabilities and functionality of its new web browser, Chrome. At the University of Minnesota and at MIT, comics are used to help teach the principles of physics (Gerde & Foster, 2008). We consume large quantities of information, and comics are often the best medium to enable this consumption.
We approach the topic of comics from a psychological point of view: trying to understand how people process information conveyed in a comic form. The nature of comics as “sequential art” has profound implications for how readers of all ages and backgrounds process the information presented to them. We develop a conceptual model of comic information processing based upon four important properties of comics and grounded in the existing information processing literature (e.g., MacInnis & Jaworski, 1989). We demonstrate how the properties of time, closure, abstraction, and multimodality uniquely blend in comics to produce a medium that enhances the processing of information and marketing communications. When developing our theory, we discovered that our points come across better when presented in comic form, and this led directly to our choice of utilizing this medium throughout the manuscript. We believe that comics allow us to both explain and display our theory better; they also allow you and the reader to experience our theorizing firsthand.
We would like you to experience both the successes and the potential hurdles the medium provides. For example, on the comic's fourth page, the characters will literally “walk you through” the theoretical framework, represented by house in which the information processing model we utilize is presented on the bottom of the page as it represents the “foundation” of our framework. Although this picture provides a useful metaphor for building upon extant theory, its operationalization contradicts the traditional “Z-pattern” of how we navigate visual space (Cohn & Campbell, 2015). With luck, you will experience the frisson caused by these processing incongruities as well as the delight when other panels make complex concepts easier to grasp.
We hope that you recognize the importance of our choice of presentation medium and can share in the spirit and excitement in which this manuscript was created. Mostly, we wish that after reading this comic you agree that comics are a medium that deserves serious study and are an important platform for consuming marketing information.
Sincerely,
The Authors
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