Text - Rhodes University

Another example is figure 8, from A Boy Called Julia: Part 2, in which the picture is
clearly not illustrating the text; yet the two are interdependant.
Ii'
f/ {
ft· '
I {
~ !"
\ '- \
'
\ '
, \' ,
''- \ ,
DRESSED
"
Figure 8 Dog A Boy Called Julia: Part 2 pI
The reason they cannot be completely independant is that they are linked by the
conventions of comics. However bizarre the link between the two, it will still be accepted
as a link and some reason will be found for it, because that is how comics, by definition,
work. Often such frames or inserts rely on a wider frame of reference than the comic
itself; often this is how the link can be deduced. In An Occurrence this device is blown
out of proportion to become a thing in itself, and a reason for the comic. The joke is the
comic. In contrast Drug Raid at 4am [fig 9] plagiarises Tintin by Herge, in the tradition
of underground comics, and the comic illustrates the joke.
Issue 2 as a whole appears more confident and focused, therefore less flamboyant, than
the first one. Dog's Missileman has the same feeling as The Tommy Saga but it is more
comprehensible and accessible, although still highly personal. Frames are composed
classically, favouring narrative over pure expression; the drawing style is clean and
102