Deep Sequencing: East-SLASH-West

Or a look at action composition and the use of symmetry in East of West Vol. 5
by Jonathan Hickman, Nick Dragotta, Frank Martin, Rus Wooton; Image Comics

East of West is a pretty great comic. It is a comic about the end of the world in a kind of Sci-fi/Western alternate universe. In the world of East of West the US Civil War (and concurrent American Indian Wars) ended in a stalemate when a comet crashed and decimated much of the continent. As a result the US is divided into a number of warring states, once locked in an uneasy peace, and now openly warring. Oh, and the four horsemen of the Apocalypse stalk the land while Death rides in search of his lost son, the harbinger of the Endtimes. East of West is choked full of memorable characters, cool Sci-fi concepts, intrigue, and beautifully composed action. It is absolutely a comic worth reading.

I want to take a closer look at a particularly nifty action sequence from East of West Vol. 5 to try and unpack what I like about it and to showcase something cool it does using symmetrical layouts.

There will be *SPOILERS* below.

 

 

 

The sequence I want to talk about is a selection from a longer, excellent action set piece. The story of this chapter shows a number of ninja-like assassins infiltrating the palace of The People's Republic of America to murder Mao Xiaolian, the leader of this polity. Specifically sequence has the assasins corner the leader bathing, apparently vulnerable, and Xiaolian fighting back against her wouldbe killers. The entire story is wonderfully composed and very effective comics.

I'm going to focus in on these three pages though, since I think they showcase the strength of the storytelling and because they do a couple interesting things.

The first page is a pretty good example of the majority of the action storytelling in East of West. The composition here makes great use of how the reader naturally wants to navigate a comics page to deliver the action in a compelling way. The reader traces the arc of a tangent to quickly take in the key elements of the first panel in a way that creates a sense of the assassins charging at the naked, and seemingly vulnerable Xiaolian. This brings the reader to an across the page carriage return that is abruptly stopped by Xiaolian catching the sword blade in one of her robotic fists. The reader then sweeps up into the next moment and then into another carriage return that delivers the speed and force of Xiaolian's kick. It's overall a page that feels quick and visceral.

The second page initially uses the many of the same storytelling elements, except this time the flow of motion opposes the readers natural eye tracking. The first panel has a hilt-chop that moves against the left-to-right flow of the reader, making the moment more visceral, and then an impaling which also happens against the grain. And then this page does something really important: it zooms out and gives a static feeling glance of the action. This large panel reminds the reader that four of Xiaolian's servants sacrificed themselves to save her, reminding the reader of the stakes, shows how many assassins have been dispatched, and reveals how many killers are still active. This choice really highlights the scope of the remaining danger and provides critical context for just how dire the situation is. It is a great example of why pulling the lens out and establishing a sense of space can improve action storytelling.

The final page in this selection is the most interesting to me. Unlike the previous pages which use the normal back-and-forth path through the page, the third page here is all about convincing the reader to navigate straight down the page. I think this is largely accomplished through the use of symmetry in the layout. The way the top panel frames Xiaolian in the centre of the page makes her the obvious focal point of the first panel. When the reader moves down to the next tier, the narrowing of the central panels and simple, tall outer panels function to funnel the reader through the centre and into the final dramatic panel. When combined, this makes the page read as one clear motion, through the straining, splitting blade and into the double block in one amazing flurry of activity. It's a glorious page of comics that conveys a pretty complex sequence of events clearly, stylishly, and evocatively. It is fantastic stuff.

Previously:

Criticism:

Violence and character design

Dialogue composition

Reviews:

East of West Vol. 1

East of West Vol. 2

East of West Vol .3 

East of West Vol. 4

Deep Sequencing: Hostile Babylon

Or a look at depictions of violence in East of West. Vol. 4
by Jonathan Hickman, Nick Dragotta, Frank Martin, Rus Wooton; Image Comics

I think violence is seldom portrayed in truly visceral, satisfying ways in most media. In comics, I find depictions of violence tend to be mitigated, rendered down to a palatable, symbolic state that conveys that injuries and pain are happening in a story sense without the felt-in-the-guts-horror of the violence being depicted. A lot of this, I think, comes from the tamed down nature of most depictions: a lot of violence in comics reflects that weird videogame/movie/TV language where consequences are cartoonishly minimized. (In a way that I find endlessly messed up when I actually think about it. Selling, like, gun violence as commonplace or where victims of gunshot wounds basically walk it off as opposed to being irrevocably damaged is super fucked up.) So I always find it interesting when comics find a way to depict violence in a way that captures the sheer awfulness of it.

Generally, I find most effective depictions of violence use two general strategies. The first is that they make heavy use of eye-guiding and layout to build a significant element of velocity into the artwork, making every action kinetic and maximizing every impact. The second is that they portray realistic violence: realistically drawn people are injured in the horrible ways that real people would be if stabbed, or bludgeoned, or shot. It's authentic and traumatic in a way that more sterilized depictions just aren't. A great example of a kinetic, realistic, and horrible depiction of violence was in the Ellis/Shavley/Bellaire run of Moon Knight.

What is interesting about East of West is that it uses a very different approach to depicting visceral violence that is pretty interesting.

There will be *SPOILERS* for East of West Vol. 4 below.

The context for the next sequence has to do with Babylon, the son of Death, who is the harbinger of the end times. Or, at least the fated harbinger of the End Times. Right now, Babylon is just a generally innocent child, raised by an AI in seclusion who is being manipulated by pro-apocolypse forces into growing up to end the world. In the course of Volume 4, his AI "balloon" is reprogrammed to push young Babylon into choosing to do violent, evil things in an effort to catalyze his development into a monster.

What I find so interesting about this effective sequence of violence, where Babylon is driven to kill a herd of wild pigs, is how it uses omission to create a visceral portrayal of violence. Rather than show snapshots of Babylon murdering the pigs, this sequence uses shadows and splatters to hint at the violence being done. This allows the reader's imagination to fill in whatever grisly moments of violence they picture occurring, which I find a weirdly effective choice. Part of this is the size of an imagination compared to the size of a page: the reader can picture more events, more moments of graphic violence than there is space in the page to show. Similarly, by not showing the actual events, the creators leave an ambiguity that allows the reader to picture an endless spectrum of depravity. It's a really cool use of the reader/creator/comic relationship to encode extra meaning and to use minimalist storytelling to make a really visceral moment.

Another aspect of this choice that I find interesting is even a bit more meta. By inviting the reader to envision the horrible things Babylon is doing to his victims, the comic is essentially making the reader choose to kill the pigs in their imagination. It's putting us in the characters place, putting us ideologically through the same process as Babylon, and making us complicit in his acts of violence. It's a really effective, transgressive bit of comics.

Of course, despite the apparent simplicity of the sequence, this bit of comics is filled with some really astute bits of layout and tracking to make the page kinetic and exciting. The central tool being used throughout this sequence is tangent lines (or honestly, I've always thought of them as "speed lines", but I have no idea if that is a term of art... but screw it, let's call them speed lines). Anyway, these speed lines, give every panel a sense of motion and an orientation of that motion. This makes every stab and slash, bloody splatter and splash, feel dynamic and in motion which substantially increases the drama of the sequence. It is also significant how the vectors of the action clash with each other and work against much of the eye tracking in the page giving each action a brutality and sense of chaos that wonderfully feeds into the ambiguity of the panels. Which I think is the true magic here: the exciting and dramatic storytelling creates a sense of danger and violence that allows the ambiguity to drive the reader into manufacturing a truly horrific episode of violence. 

Another aspect of this sequence that I think is kind of cool has to do with the character design of Babylon. When the sequence starts, an innocent Babylon is dresses in his all-white outfit. However, after enacting his slaughter of the pig herd, Babylon becomes covered in blood and gore, which shows prominently on his white garb. This works as a wonderful visual metaphor for the corruption that Babylon is undergoing in this sequence. It's a seemingly small choice, but it evocatively depicts the evolving status of the character.

Previously:

East of West Vol. 1

East of West Vol. 2

East of West Vol .3 

East of West Vol. 4

So I Read East of West Volume 4

A 250 word (or less) review of East of West Vol. 4
by Jonathan Hickman, Nick Dragotta, Frank Martin, and Rus Wooton

East of West is an ongoing comic. To read the first chapter go here.

East of West is a Sci-fi Western comic about the end times. The comic is set in an alternate reality United States that is divided into a series of opposing nations, a result of an asteroid impact that occurred during the concurrent American Civil and American-Indian wars and calcified the political landscape of the time. East of West Vol. 4 is very much a logistic issue, giving the various plot threads a chance to mature and develop: we check in with each of the nations of the fractured United States, we visit with Death and the other major characters of the story, and there is even an encyclopedia about the various polities of East of West. If there is a central narrative of East of West volume four it is about Babylon, Death's son, as he is tempted into fulfilling his role as the harbinger of the apocalypse. Overall, East of West Vol. 4 is an important set up chapter that seems to be getting the pieces of the comic ready for a tremendous pay off. It isn't the best chapter of comics ever, but it contains the smart world building, relentless storytelling, and beautiful and cerebral artwork that has made East of West so enjoyable. Basically, Vol. 4 a solid chapter in a great comic you should be reading.

Previously:

East of West Vol. 1

East of West Vol. 2

East of West Vol .3 

So I Read East Of West Volume 3

A 250 word (or less) review of the third East of West collection,
by Jonathan Hickman, Nick Dragotta, Frank Martin, and Rus Wotoon; Image Comics

This review will have *SPOILERS*. For a clean reviewof East of West Vol. 1 go here.

East of West is a Science Fiction Western comic about the end of the world. The Chosen and the Horsemen of the Apocalypse are preparing for The Beast and paving the way to the end times. Meanwhile the Horseman of Death is acting against his erstwhile allies as he hunts for his kidnapped son and for the chance to win back his stolen wife. Previous chapters of the comic have done a fantastic job introducing us to the Horsemen, The Chosen, and to the fractured world of East of West's ravaged and divided American continent. Volume 3 is the issue where it begins to all fall apart: the ironclad armistice that has kept the nations of America at peace is challenged and broken, the Horsemen revolt against their role and plot to kill The Beast and usurp his mantle, and Death continues to do whatever it takes to reclaim his son. It really feels like the end times are finally beginning. East of West is one of the best comics I am reading. It is this magnificent creation that balances an ingenious plot with pitch perfect dialogue, seamlessly wedded to spectacular artwork that is wonderfully imaginative, beautiful to look at, and brilliantly composed. It is a great example of every element of a comic book working together flawlessly to create a perfect comic reading experience. I cannot recommend this comic enough. It is must read comics.

Word count: 237

Post by Michael Bround

Previously:

East of West Vol. 1

East of West Vol. 2