Hellboy comic elements analysis

One moment that you think best illustrates the style of the comic overall and the mood it intends to create in the story.

This moment is particularly effective in showing the style of the comic by using elements of visual vocabulary to build upon the uneasy and eerie mood which is prevalent throughout the piece. The use of chiaroscuro lighting and heavy shading fills the space, however, the darkness of the panel invokes a sense of seriousness, and introduces a sinister undertone, as if building tension through foreshadowing. The use of changing proximity and eyelines act as a microcosm of the style of the comic in total, as the reader is constantly switched from the perspectives of the ‘witch’ and an external third-person point of view.

One moment that you think is a particularly powerful example of words and images working together to tell the story

This moment is particularly interesting because of the blunt use of proximity and the size of the frame when looking at the cow skull along with the speech. It makes an uncomfortable impact, but also, the underlying pain is shown in the ‘witch’ character’s line “a fairy tale”, where the bitter tone is revealed. This is further exemplified by a picture of a cow skull, implying the emptiness of the death of her sister.

One moment that you think is a particularly powerful example of comic language being used to create character/relationship

The witch is originally put in a position in which the audience assumes she is evil, or she is the antagonist, because of her ugly qualities and the fact that she is called a witch. Her character is then nuanced when talking to Hellboy, by stating her intentions with the flowers to make all the next mother’s children beautiful. It shows how the witch defies the impression that the audience has of her, and attracts our sympathies towards her.