I think “Safe Area Gorazde” does an effective job with its look at the Bosnian conflict, and I think one of the reasons is that Joe Sacco transmits a lot of information artistically, especially in terms of splash artwork (a midterm focus of mine). I counted five notable variations on the splash in his work, and I think it lends strength to the narration, because it recognizes both the multitude of characters and the fact that the sprawling town itself is a central character to this story. It’s hard to present a town effectively in only a nine-panel grid.
Here are the different variants I saw:
1. One-page splash (pages 1, 4) – Introductory shots of the town at the beginning of the book, one with the U.N. column, and the other of the crowd waiting to greet the trucks. It’s been noted in class the amount of detail that went into these, and the way that Sacco keeps us moving across the page with the text boxes.
2. Double-page spread (pages 14-15) – This is the only time in the book when Sacco uses this … again, an early introductory feel to the town, with all the bits and pieces we discussed in class. Effective as a mood-setter and first large-scale picture of the town.
3. Double-page top-half variant (pages 30-31) – This is where we get up into the hills and see a panorama of the town. I’d argue that Sacco could have resorted to this at least once more, during the “94 Offensive,” when the Serbs are looking over the same view (page 166). I think this would have created a nice bridge in the reader’s mind with the view we get after the fact in 30-31.
4. One page splash with “snapshot panels” (pages 46, 57, 65, 146, 188) – As we get into the book, we see these more and more, where Sacco keeps his story moving in a series of panels over a full page splash. I think the most effective use is of with the U.N. convoy winding its way in between the panels. In a way, the panels almost become motion lines for this column.
5. Panel splashes over a half-page (pages 8, 17, 27, 132, 195, 213, etc.) – Sacco resorts to these when depicting party scenes and when he wants to push the town into our consciousness (like a camera pulling back from the face to reveal the scene behind). A classic example is when they talk about giving bon bons to kids, and the final shot emphasizes the blasted town in back of the child (there’s bigger problems than tooth decay in Gorazde).
The strength of “comics journalism” has to be the combination of compelling artwork with comprehensive reporting. I think we could argue for some time about how Sacco reported things, but I think in terms of artistry, he definitely showed both a sense of experimentation and keen understanding of his craft.
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2 comments:
I'm glad you posted about this, for I had also noticed how much splash artwork Sacco used. I especially like what you have to say about the half-page panels and how they are used to push the town into our consciousness. I agree that he has an amazing sense of how to effectively use art, and this is exhibited in many different ways throughout "Safe Area Gorazde".
Seconded--Sacco's splash panels definitely get across a "feel" for the town that a smaller frame would limit. Additionally, I found it interesting that the "flashback" sections didn't utilize the same technique. It added to the meaning for me, suggesting that the breadth of the splash artwork matches the stretch of his memories, as opposed to the limited view of events he got from his interviews.
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