This is still the overwhelming norm in all types and genres of comics from superheroes and manga to contemporary 'literary' (if I dare call it that) graphic novels.Ĭlarity can take a number of forms: representationally, such that the reader looks at a drawing and it is clear that that person is character A and that thing is a car and that thing is a tree sequentially, person A in panel 1 is talking to person B in panel 2, person A left the room and walked home narratively, x meets y, w betrayed q because of z, scene 1 happens before scene 2 happens before scene 3.

The form grew out of newspapers and pulps, mass media meant to be read by the masses (and often children) and thus art is iconic, simplified, characters are easily differentiated and stories are linear, with consistent beats and a plethora of narrative cues (see: the ubiquitous and unnecessary narration in so many comics). It is a truism in comics that they should be clear and easy to understand, both visually and narratively. (And I should state right now that I will to a certain extent be giving away aspects of the plot, and my interpretations of same that could constitute spoilers if you are concerned about such things.) Having read this book multiple times I have found something new to strike my interest each time, and if in the end I don't think I have all the answers to the narrative mysteries, I do end up with a feeling when I close the book, even without totally understanding what it is. I did not pick up the book just from reading that except, instead learning elsewhere a little more about it, past the banal sounding ad copy that makes the story sound much more direct than it is. Even visually, those pages are mostly monochromatic, not conveying to a potential reader how well the vibrant warm colors integrate with the cool blue/green monochromes featured in those pages, not to mention the large pools of black. Unfortunately that excerpt does not really showcase the qualities of this comic I found so interesting.

I first heard about Borja Gonzalez's A Gift for a Ghost from an excerpt published right here at The Comics Journal. Too often comics are so cliched and dull and I take a chance on them and then wonder why I even bothered.īut sometimes marketing works… sort of. It is a too infrequent pleasure to pick up a book by an artist I am unfamiliar with and be delighted by it.

Ghost graphic novel book