Leticia Neria PhD thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText ...

story. They were identified by highlighting the place they occupy in the frame, their
regularity and size, among others, according to the focalisation criteria. 13 In the comics
these criteria are more obvious, owing to the fact that there are not as many elements
composing the frame as in the films. In Hermelinda Linda many of the objects that
appear in her house show her to be a witch, such as hanging skeletons, skulls, various
bottles, and the archetypical cauldron. In La Familia Burrón the elements which suggest
that someone is wealthy are exaggerated and constant, such as giant diamond rings, fur
stoles, giant bottles of champagne, among others.
These elements were then examined using the theory of humour, in order to
pinpoint the historical references. In some cases it was relevant just to focus on the
focalisation criteria, as when I described the policemen’s gestures and activities in La
Familia Burrón, or in the indicios, such as the references to president Luis Echeverría
sometimes embodied in the Mayor Licenciado Trastupijes in Los Agachados. Moreover,
by observing and assembling these elements, I identified cultural topics such as
machismo and acarreo. 14
Specifications for comics 15
Miguel Angel Muro states: ‘El comic da más facilidades al analista para delimitar
unidades que el cine o el teatro, por su condición estática y porque –entre otras cosas-
ya da realizado un corte en cada viñeta’. 16 But comics are less static than they may seem
at first glance. The reader needs to fill the gaps missing in the images and narrative. The
13 Casetti and di Chio, Cómo analizar…p. 158.
14 The identification of these topics (machismo, acarreo, abuso de autoridad, etc.) were made using Eco’s
idea of isotopies, in which facts which are related in meaning are put together to reveal a correlation that
allow us to ‘label’ these facts. Lector in Fabula. La cooperación interpretativa en el texto narrativo
(Barcelona: Editorial Lumen, 2000), pp. 131-144.
15 The illustrations for this section were made specifically for it by Professor Will Fowler. I am fully
thankful that he permitted me to make them part of this work.
16 Miguel Ángel Muro Munilla, Análisis e interpretación del cómic. Ensayo de metodología semiótica
(Logroño: Universidad de la Rioja, 2004), p. 71.
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