Text - Rhodes University

Sorfa's technique saves, lives up to and even surpasses his intentions. Sididis' does not.
Confusion can be used purposefully, the way Casey does, but this is not what Sididis is
trying to do. He is inarticulate and muddled, even though his vocabulary of comic
techniques is extensive.
Similar both in theme and execution to my Last Week are Prism and Showcase, by Casey.
Prism [fig 22] is elegant in its simplicity. The decorative busyness of the pictures contrasts
strongly with the typed lettering, isolated on a black ground, which gives nothing away.
The juxtaposition of the two lends the drawings an emotional intensity that they would
otherwise lack. Tension is created by the balance between the text and the pictures.
Words contained within the frames are classic comic soundeffects, loosely handwritten;
the typed text is not describing the action, merely commenting on it in poetic, almost
archaic, language.
The drawings are stylized and linear, yet voluptous and sensual at the same time. The
idiosyncracy of her style strengthens the story by making it appear more personal.
Showcase is like another episode of the same story. It is also a monologue by a female
narrator, about love and victimization.
Showcase is more sophisticated and less literal, more allusive and elusive than Last
Week.
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