"Persepolis" and "Stitches" are two graphic novels that delve into the authors' childhood experiences but employ different styles in both text and imagery. "Persepolis" by Marjane Satrapi uses simple text and black-and-white illustrations to narrate a dark period in a light manner, reflecting a minimalist approach to storytelling.
The Graphics: Graphic Weight A term that describes the way some images draw the eye more than others,
creating a definite focus using color and shading in various ways including:
• The use of light and dark shades; dark-toned images or high-contrast images draw the eye
more than light or low-contrast images do
• A pattern or repeated series of marks
• Colors that are more brilliant or deeper than others on the page
In this graphic novel, Satrapi also uses black and white imagery for her novel. These images are very basic compared to how the images in Stitches are illustrated. For example this is an image of many dead bodies yet the image does not give you that eerie, disturbed feeling that the images in Stitches give you because of the simplicity of the images.
In this image the light and dark shading is used to make it look like there is a light on them and they are looking down at you. The way this image is shaded gives the reader a very eerie feeling that is captured in every other image throughout this graphic novel.
Figures: Faces can be portrayed in different ways. Some depict an actual person, like a portrait; others
are iconic, which means they are representative of an idea or a group of people.
The figures in Stitches keep that same eerie feeling mentioned in "Graphic Weight". These figures represent the actual people in David Small's life but they are illustrated this way because of how he feels about his childhood. These portraits of his mother, or abusive grandmother are scary and unsettling but that is because of the role they played in his life and the only way he can depict that uncomfortable feeling is through his images.
The figures in Persepolis are all portrayed the same way and the style of illustration does not change based on who they are depicting. Just like the other images, the figures are very simple in how they are drawn. Even when drawing God, Satrapi kept the same simplistic style.
Text: These are boxes containing a variety of text elements, including scene-setting,
description, etc.
Stitches
In Stitches, a lot of the places David enters or encounters is described very well. Considering majority of the graphic novel is about his childhood, just like in Persepolis the comparisons when describing is kept very exaggerated.
Persepolis
In Persepolis the text describing graphic scenarios like dead bodies for example is kept simple and not to descriptive. Just like how each image is illustrated to be very simplistic, the text is as well keeping her childhood story light even though it is about a very dark and horrific time.
