Enacting Graphic Mark-Making: A Review of <i>A Theory of Narrative Drawing</i>

Paul Fisher Davies

doi:10.16995/cg.127

Special Collection: Graphic Science

Review

Enacting Graphic Mark-Making: A Review of A Theory of Narrative Drawing

Author:

Paul Fisher Davies

University of Sussex, GB

About Paul Fisher

Researcher in graphic narrative at Sussex University.

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Abstract

A Theory of Narrative Drawing, by Simon Grennan, Palgrave Macmillan; XII, 277 pages, 16 b/w illustrations, 10 illustrations in colour; eBook ISBN 978-1-137-51844-6; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-51844-6; Hardcover ISBN 978-1-137-52165-1

This review in graphic form responds to Simon Grennan’s 2017 monograph ‘A Theory of Narrative Drawing’, describing its form and key ideas, and commenting on its contribution to the field, whilst enacting the graphic mark-making which is its focus. The review concludes that though some more framing material would have been useful for readers, the book repays a second reading and makes an invaluable contribution to the view of comics as an active process of meaning-making.

Keywords: comics, drawing, graphic narrative, storytelling, visual storytelling

How to Cite: Davies, P.F., 2018. Enacting Graphic Mark-Making: A Review of A Theory of Narrative Drawing. The Comics Grid: Journal of Comics Scholarship, 8, p.7. DOI: http://doi.org/10.16995/cg.127

Published on 26 Mar 2018

CC BY 4.0

Editorial Note

A Theory of Narrative Drawing, by Simon Grennan can be ordered directly from Palgrave Macmillan at https://www.palgrave.com/gb/book/9781137521651.

This book review is part of the Graphic Science Special Collection edited by Nicolas Labarre and Ernesto Priego. Though the Reference section has been listed in graphic form, references have also been typeset as text to enhance discoverability and citation practices.

Competing Interests

The author has no competing interests to declare.

References

Bakhtin, M M 1982 The Dialogic Imagination: Four Essays. Holquist, M (ed.). Translated by C. Emerson. Austin: University of Texas Press.
Cohn, N 2013 The visual language of comics: introduction to the structure and cognition of sequential images. London: Bloomsbury Academic.
Grennan, S 2017 A Theory of Narrative Drawing. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-51844-6
Johnson, M 2008 The Meaning of the Body: Aesthetics of Human Understanding. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Madden, M 2006 99 Ways to Tell a Story: Exercises in Style. London: Jonathan Cape.
Morris, P (ed.) 1997 The Bakhtin Reader: Selected Writings of Bakhtin, Medvedev, Voloshinov. London, New York: Bloomsbury Academic.
Seth 2004 Clyde Fans: Book 1. Montreal: Drawn and Quarterly.

[B1] Bakhtin, M M 1982 The Dialogic Imagination: Four Essays. Holquist, M (ed.). Translated by C. Emerson. Austin: University of Texas Press.

[B2] Cohn, N 2013 The visual language of comics: introduction to the structure and cognition of sequential images. London: Bloomsbury Academic.

[B3] Grennan, S 2017 A Theory of Narrative Drawing. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-51844-6

[B4] Johnson, M 2008 The Meaning of the Body: Aesthetics of Human Understanding. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

[B5] Madden, M 2006 99 Ways to Tell a Story: Exercises in Style. London: Jonathan Cape.

[B6] Morris, P (ed.) 1997 The Bakhtin Reader: Selected Writings of Bakhtin, Medvedev, Voloshinov. London, New York: Bloomsbury Academic.

[B7] Seth 2004 Clyde Fans: Book 1. Montreal: Drawn and Quarterly.

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