The technique of graphic storytelling is an effective way for to individuals to write and share stories while refining their artistic communicative skills. Graphic storytelling is often applied in the comic book and graphic novel writing and is invaluable to comic artists and filmmakers. Today’s American comics seem to be more diversified than ever before in the sense of genre, style, and market and Prisoner on the Hell Planet by Art Spiegelman employs the graphic story telling technique. Having comprehensive comprehension of structure, layout, context, but most importantly, the capability to tell a story, are essential for graphic storytelling and that makes it a good method to address complex topics. An excellent illustration of how graphical storytelling can be employed to efficiently to handle complex topics is seen in Arthur’s comic, Prisoner on Hell Planet, about his mother, Anja, who committed suicide when Arthur was 20 (Spiegelman).
Anja, who sadly died before to the commencement of the story, is a prime example of the unfathomable yet overwhelming burden of reminiscence. Her legacy and life style have a significant impact on her relatives and friends’ lives and how they view the past. I argue that Anja acts as a symbol for the Holocaust’s everlasting memory and the manner in which its aftermath impacts the lives of her family members. The author places a great emphasis on the individual experiences of the key characters: these would be unpleasant recollections for Arthur’s family, not for the rest of the country. Moreover, this graphical design assists in more vividly expressing the characters’ thoughts and feelings.
The incorporation of this particular comic in this section of the book highlights the complex nature of Arthur’s bond with his dad. The helps the reader observe that the scenario tenses up sometime before the insert since Arthur declines to aid his father with a roof (Spiegelman). Vladek later stated, “With my life today, you know, it can’t be everything okay,” in a conversation with his kid and this helps reveal a key aspect of their own past to further illustrate this tension and this is a clear illustration of how graphical illustration can help address certain topics.
It is apparent that Art’s relation to Anja is one of immense sorrow, uncertainty, and loneliness, and that his reactions to the Holocaust mimics this relationship with his mother’s memories which is a graphical representation of how he felt. Their shared familial trauma stemming from the Holocaust is discreetly referenced in Art’s comic with its lamentations over Anja’s demise. Art compares his unique relation to his mother to his complex relationship with the Holocaust by addressing both tragedies at once in his comic graphically.
Through a few ideas that are expressed in the formal components of “Prisoner on Hell Planet,” Art conveys his feeling of loss and perplexity about Anja’s death by comparing it to the Holocaust. The Holocaust and images of Anja’s suicide are prevalent in Art’s representation of his grief, which shows that the guilt he suffers for his mother’s suicide is comparable to the guilt he feels for the Holocaust and this is a representation of a graphical way of telling a story
Another crucial aspect of “Prisoner on Hell Planet” that is graphically demonstrates is how Art ends up feeling that Anja and her Holocaust experiences are holding him captive. Art is basically being held captive, symbolizing how graphical storytelling can be used to accurately portray one’s feelings.
Overall, graphical storytelling can be employed in comics and books and will aid in expressing different ideas artistically and it calls for a thorough knowledge of anatomy, design, perspective, but most importantly, how to tell a story. I believe that by adopting to graphical storytelling standards, one could develop an understanding of identifying comics or stories that pays close and detailed attention to the methods in which living thing, non-human elements manifest storylines.
Reference
Spiegelman, Art. “Prisoner on the Hell Planet:” A Case History. 1972.