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of the text, which is the reason for correspondence between frame and phrase taking
precedence over close frame-to-frame transitions. This is a very rudimentary comic, which
uses only a limited number of standard comic tools, and links between verbal and visual
are easily seen. The visual aspects of a comic are its grammar, in as strict and controlled
a sense as the grammar of a written text. The structure of the comic is not just aesthetic;
it serves a very mechanical function, enabling clarity of expression.
The comic shows restraint: the drawings are almost over-literal, and yet the overall view
is oblique. No blood is shown, although the script begs it at one point. In fact nothing
specific is shown.
Teargas Me and I reveals a few more of Sorfa's influences, as this story partakes of a
science-fiction genre known as cyberpunk. The leading female character is similar to the
heroines of Love and Rockets [Hernandez). 1987] and Tankgirl [Hewlitt, Martin, 1989],
both very influential to all the Komiksoc artists.
Knowledge of Japanese comics was apparent in his earlier comics, and here a simplified
drawing style allows him to develop idealised, cartoon-like characters, without the
idiosyncracies of feature so beloved of Bitterkomix. This occurs at almost the same time
as a similar tendency appears in my own work, also a result of a search for clear and
concise expression.
Sorfa frequently uses blank backgrounds: only the essential components of the story are
shown clearly, with no amplification and no symbolism, merely illustration. The style is
reminiscent of the photographic simplificaton of Love and Rockets. It is a linear rather
than a tonal style, with little background detail. When he does depict backgrounds, the
frames become confusing. Details essential to the plot (in this case the throwing of a
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