Text - Rhodes University

The scenesetting frames do not only supply physical details but also contribute towards
the dreamy atmosphere [fig 41]. They serve to distance the reader from the action, an
effect enhanced by the absence of cartooning. The characters are observed not as if we
are part of their world, but from an outside vantage point. Their actions and
conversations have a different significance, to us, than the significance they have for the
characters themselves. This distancing is a subtle visual equivalent for narrative boxes,
and compensates for the lack of narrative comment in the story. Changes of pace are not
dramatic, as everything is presented in a even, unjudgemental way. The characters are as
important as the ideas they illustrate, and are viewed sympathetically. They are real
people as well as tools for expression.
In contrast. A Boy Called Julia: Part 3, by Joe Dog is, although narrative, an exploration
of an idea. The overall tone is calm, although the story is about disorientation, mental
as well as physical. Almost military precision in the drawing [fig 42] seems to be a
desparate attempt at orientation. Yet all these very specific details add up to nothing,
emphasising the impossibility of deriving a specific meaning from them [fig 43] .
Figure 42 Dog A Boy Called Julia: Part 3 pI (reduced) 137