Schneider summarises that the everyday is present in comics, not only in panels, but also in the form of emotional responses in our reading experience (1). This exegesis has stood to outline the manner in which comics can evoke emotion, but this analysis is by no means based in hard science – in fact quite the opposite. Comics, after all, are subjective – what may be emotionally loaded to one person may not evoke an emotional experience at all to another. The techniques and theories outlined in this research show how complex the medium of comics can be. It is clear that autobiographical influence requires the comic creator to insert an air of authorship and presence into the work, supporting our perspectives on the authenticity of the emotions within, while iconography encourages us to project our own selves onto the world that they have created. As such, the diegetic world of the comic is one made of self construction as much as it is artist construction.
Autumn, Grey is essentially the conclusion to this research. I have actively sought and applied the techniques and structures discussed in order to tackle emotional description from as many avenues as possible. The success of this will ultimately be how relatable the comic is in its representation of the everyday and how common place these elements are for the reader to perceive the intended purpose. If a comic is able to speak to the person reading it to level in which it can evoke familiarity, than that person is able to be receptive of the emotional context of the work. If it can achieve this, then there is no limit to how vast or emotionally captivating that comic can be.
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- Schneider, G, ‘Comics and Everyday Life: From Ennui to Contemplation’, European Comic
Art, Vol 3, No. 1, 2010, p. 63