Text - Rhodes University

Content is sometimes allowed to escape the rigid boundaries of the frames. Transitions
between panels are close, showing aspects of the same scene only slightly separated in
time, creating an even continuity. Thus, seemingly unrelated frames at the beginning of
the comic jar with this easy continuity. They seem to be providing a wider context for the
events narrated in the main body of the story. The first page functions as a kind of scenesetter,
with an apparently random cast of characters and locations. However, as the
frame-to-frame transitions become tighter on the last two pages, the sense of realism, of
a portrayal of actual possible events, increases. The pictures narrate, and the text supplies
the atmosphere and emotional content. This is a reversal of the procedure normally used
in this kind of surreal, poetic comic.
The text is almost like a list of slogans, each with its corresponding drawing, especially
on the last page [fig 21]. These drawings do not directly illustrate the text; their placing
in relation to the text links them with specific statements, demonstrating how
sequentialism and juxtaposition can influence meaning.
The graffitti-like punchline at the end expresses the underground, irreverent aspect of the
conuc.
In contrast to Sorfa's increasing control, Sididis merely continues to repeat previous
mistakes. CD-VD is rough, raucous, and over-ambitious. Text and pictures duplicate each
other, to the detriment of both. Too many words, too many pictures, and too many
details, makes the comic juvenile and selfindulgent. What appears to be the climax of the
story, is, after extensive buildup, condensed to a crowded box of text. Although actions
are illustrated accurately, individual frames are hard to decipher; the compositions are
overcrowded and unfocussed.
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