As everything that was is the basis for new media, comic books are a good example of the combination of graphics and text to demonstrate a multi-media effect, even though all is essentially visual.
Have come within the last few pages of Scott McCloud’s "Understanding Comics" and have once again learned so much from tracing the roots of language based in picture images through their transition into written "words" via alphabet symbols universally understood–or rather culturally and locally.
Just finished a chapter describing the methods of using word language, word symbols–including style (italics, bold, etc.) and font, together with visual expressiveness (smiles, frowns, fear), symbols (lines indicating movement), and background (intensity, etc.) used to indicate emotion. Not an easy thing when you are depending upon only one sense–that of sight–to denote action and reaction of a cartoon character, calling upon the reader to recognize and relate to to fill in sounds, scents, moods, etc. to complete a story.
There’s so much more to this book, and I’ll get into it a little deeper once I complete the last fifteen or so pages (and decipher the twenty or so pages of notes I made!) because it covers more than just writers write and readers read the comic book art form of narrative. It has taught me to consider so much more when I’m creating a work not only in the new medium of powerpoint imagery, sound and word language, but in the sole use of text alone.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology