Content Background
Defining and Teaching Graphic Narratives
Before using graphical narratives as a teaching tool, it is important to define certain key terms. In his expert explanation of the artform, Understanding Comics (The Invisible Art) artist and author Scott McCloud begins simply by defining comics as "sequential art”, before going on to explore the many nuances of this concept (he eventually expands to “juxtaposed pictorial and other images in a deliberate sequence”). 4 For now, it can be noted that the terms graphic novels, graphic narratives, and comics are often interchanged. McCloud then charts the evolution of comics dating back as far as to 1049, emphasizing the idea that graphic narratives go beyond our modern concept of the comic book. For example, pre-Columbian picture manuscripts are cited as an example of a graphic narrative as well as the Beyaux Tapestry, a sequential piece from 1066 depicting Norman conquest in England. To jump ahead in the time, the printing press represents an obvious advancement in the production of graphic narratives in addition to written text. McCloud goes on to describe the implementation of cartoons and panels in the mid-1800’s as a continuing march towards what we would consider the modern comics of the 20th and 21st century. The essential takeaway is that, although this unit focuses mostly on these more modern comics, the idea of a graphic narrative can and does represent many formats.
Will Eisner, an early legend of the American comic book, also provides several key terms for discussing and understanding graphic novels in his books Comics and Sequential Art and Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative. First, his basic definition of a comic book or graphic novel as the “montage of both word and image”, and that “the reader is thus required to exercise both visual and verbal interpretive skills”5 Eisner emphasizes that reading comics is “an act of both aesthetic perception and intellectual pursuit”. Essentially, students will be required to analyze both the prose and artwork of a text simultaneously.
Eisner also offers some basic definitions needed to discuss and teach graphic novels:
Panel - One framed image on a comic page. Panels usually contain a moment of action, and their size and arrangement affect the pace and tone of the narrative. Panels can contain word or thought balloons in addition to the illustrations. The number of panels per page often varies.
Gutter - The space between panels. Usually white, but can be presented in other colors to express mood or emotional emphasis
Tier - A single row of panels
Splash - A splash or splash page is a large, often full-page illustration which opens and introduces a story
Spread - A spread is an image that spans more than one page.
Word Balloon - A speech/word/dialogue balloon (or bubble) is a speech indicator, containing the characters' dialogue. The indicator from the balloon that points at the speaker is called a pointer or tail.
Thought Balloon - A thought balloon expresses a character's unvoiced thoughts and is usually shaped like a cloud, with bubbles as a pointer.
Caption - In a caption, words appear in a box separated from the rest of the panel or page, usually to give voice to a narrator, but sometimes used for the characters' thoughts or dialogue.
Sound Effect - Sound effects or onomatopoeia are words without bubbles that mimic sounds. Think of “WHAM” or BOOM”.
Early History of Masked Heroes
The first obvious association between masks and graphic narratives for many people would be the superhero genre. Batman wears a mask to conceal his identity as billionaire Bruce Wayne. Spider-Man does not want anyone to know he is a young Peter Parker trying to balance two very different lives. The X-Men often hide behind masks to avoid the oppression of a society who treats them as others. These examples are likely readers’ initial examples of masked fictional characters, but they also open up avenues to discuss questions of why we hide ourselves, what our motivations are, and how it is possible to have two separate identities.
One may argue that one of the earliest masked heroes is Zorro, who was first featured in pulp fiction stories by Johnston McCulley.6 Zorro dresses in a black costume and wears a black mask to conceal his identity. Zorro, whose real name is Don Diego Vega, uses this identity to fight against injustice against indigenous peoples in Southern California. This character can be tied to the history of native groups in California and their traditions.Similarly, one of the first documented fully masked heroes in American comics, known as The Clock, is a character created by George Brenner in 1936.7 The Clock wears a tuxedo, a black fabric mask, and fights criminals, gangsters, and Nazis. This early example of a masked hero is an obvious inspiration for later iterations in the genre. The Clock is also a major source of the secret identity concept found in many comics and graphic novels. The idea of a secret identity is crucial to many superhero comics, and leads to greater discussions of identity in general.
Perhaps the most lastingly significant masked character is the iconic Batman. Created by Bob Kane in 1939 for Detective Comics, Batman is a major foundation for graphic narratives and other popular media in the 20th century8. Famously, Batman is a masked vigilante who uses strength, intelligence, and wealth to fight corruption in the fictional Gotham City. Batman is known for all the action, villains, and heroics that are required in many popular graphic novels and comic books, but he also serves as an important instrument through which to analyze identity. Batman’s secret identity is billionaire Bruce Wayne, who lives a lavish lifestyle by day before donning his mask to fight crime. However, many scholars argue as to which side truly represents the character. As stated by Mia Harp, the Batman series “questions whether his masked persona is an instrument for justice or an escape from his identity”9. The central question being, is Bruce Wayne the true “mask”? This question can then lead to further questions about self-presentation and the concept of a “true identity”.
The following decades led to what is known as the Golden Age of Comics10. Other now ubiquitous characters were introduced and took over the genre, including Superman, Wonder Woman, and Captain America. Many of these stories reflected and engaged with World War II-era sentiments, with characters often fighting Nazis or Nazi stand-ins. Masks continue to be prevalent for many of these characters, usually either to conceal a secret identity or as a display of power and elevation. These characters are crucial building blocks for the texts to be later discussed.
Graphic narratives in the genre continued to expand in the coming decades, referred to as the Silver Age of Comics. One such title, a series that strongly connects to our central themes of masks and their power to conceal, display, or adapt our identities, is Stan Lee’s X-Men. Created in 1963 and revived in 1975, the X-Men tells a story of genetically altered characters known as mutants11. Humans generally develop mutation during puberty, which leads to a variety of powers. However, mutants are shunned by society as others and face prejudice and discrimination. This leads many of these characters to conceal their powers, either through refusing them altogether or through the use of a costume or mask. Gregory Parks in the Indiana Law Journal explains, “Mutants are a minority group born with supernatural powers—an inherent “Otherness.” Humans hate and fear the mutants. Some of that is because of their “Otherness”12. Parks and other scholars argue that the X-Men are an allegory for the struggles faced by racial minorities, the LGBTQ community, and other groups facing discrimination. In the context of this unit, the X-Men can be useful to further discuss the idea of masks and identity. Students can use excerpts from the X-Men comics to discuss what possible metaphors regarding identity are present.
Watchmen, Rorschach, and The Mask
As the superhero genre and masked heroes continued to evolve in the graphic narrative medium, an English author named Alan Moore decided to take the image of the mask into new and profound directions. Watchmen is a 1986 limited run comic series published by DC Comics, written by Moore and with art by Dave Gibbons. Moore and Gibbons intended to take “familiar old-fashioned superheroes into a completely new realm” and to create “a superhero Moby Dick; something that had that sort of weight, that sort of density".13 The series uses the familiar imagery of masked heroes to deconstruct the superhero genre and analyze the anxieties of the 20th century, justice, and morality. With complex themes and striking art, Watchmen is often heralded as the gold standard of the graphic genre. In 2005, Watchmen was named one of Time magazine’s All-TIME Top 100 Novels, making it the only graphic novel to make the list and putting it among the ranks of The Great Gatsby, Things Fall Apart, and other texts often taught in the high school context14. Speaking of the piece, Lev Grossman states: “Told with ruthless psychological realism, in fugal, overlapping plotlines and gorgeous, cinematic panels rich with repeating motifs, Watchmen is a heart-pounding, heartbreaking read and a watershed in the evolution of a young medium.” Watchmen is also the recipient of the Hugo and Eisner Awards. In this unit, Watchmen would be useful as a central text using excerpts, an abridged version, or a full deep reading. I would offer that Watchmen contains graphic scenarios and themes, including adult language and violence, and teachers can adapt the text as appropriate.
Plot and Characters
Set in an alternate version of America, the world of Watchmen is one in which masked vigilantes have drastically shifted the course of world history.15 The narrative begins in 1985, with the murder of The Comedian, formerly a ruthless member of a group known as the Watchmen. Rorsach, another former member of the Watchmen, sneaks into the crime scene to investigate. The most notable feature of this character is his mask, which mimics the famous projective psychological test. It is a white mask with black ink blots for a face. Close visual readers will notice that these ink blots are constantly shifting, a theme that will be discussed further. This murder is the catalyst for an investigation that leads to world wide ramifications.
In a series of flashbacks we learn that in 1939, a group of crime fighters known as the Minutemen assemble and gain fame for defeating many notable crime figures, making them a fixture of the American public. However, following World War II, members of the group are killed, disappear, or are forced to reveal their identities with demands from the House Un-American Activities Committee, essentially ending this era of masked fighters. However, in 1959, a physicist suffers an atomic laboratory accident that profoundly transforms him into a god-like being with the powers to alter matter and reality. This has a world-changing impact and ushers in the era of the Watchmen in the novel. Before continuing to discuss the plot, it would be helpful for teachers to become familiar with the characters involved.
Rorsach- Wearing a trench coat and ink blot mask, Rorsach is a masked vigilante with a seemingly black and white moral code. He is often violent and does not hesitate to hurt those he deems to be deserving. Complicated and uncompromising, a central character in analysis of this text.
Dr. Manhattan - Jonathan Osterman, an atomic physicist who gains power over reality and time after a laboratory accident. Dr. Manhattan changes the course of the Cold and Vietnam Wars.
The Comedian - Edward Blake is a cynical and brutal government asset before his death at the beginning of the text. A former masked hero, the Comedian represents a more nihilistic vision of humanity, famously claiming “It’s all a joke.”
Ozymandias - A billionaire philanthropist, former masked vigilante, and owner of Veidt Enterprises. Ozymandias models himself after Alexander the Great and Ramsses II. God-like in appearance.
Nite Owl II - A quiet and gentle former hero who uses a mastery of gadgets to fight crime. Wearing a horned owl mask and costume, Nite Owl is loosely based on an archetype similar to Batman.
Silk Spectre II - Daughter of the original Silk Spectre, member of the Minutemen, Silk Spectre II struggles with her identity as a hero and is in a complicated romantic relationship with Dr. Manhattan.
Returning to 1985, Rorschach begins his investigation into the death of the Comedian, suspecting that some one is “picking off costumed heroes”. At this point in the story, the Watchmen are disbanded after years of heroic deeds and eventually serving as agents for the US government, and Rorschach begins to seek out their previous members, beginning with Nite Owl and Ozymandias. Both express skepticism; Nite Owl and Silk Spectre eventually join his efforts, while Ozymandias concludes it to be a political killing. Rorschach responds claiming he came to warn him about a “mask-killer”, furthering a later motif of the mask being their true selves. As the investigation continues, tensions between the United States and USSR continue to rise, with the Doomsday Clock inching closer to midnight progressively. It is important to note that the Watchmen were instrumental in the Vietnam War, with the US annihilating the Viet Cong using their powers, resulting in Richard Nixon presiding over a fourth term in office. We learn the often violent backstories of the central characters, especially the death and rebirth of Jon Osterman as the blue skinned demigod Dr. Manhattan. His presence on Earth causes further anxieties of nuclear war and mutually assured destruction, and his impossible position, in addition to an inability to connect with mortal humans, leads him to leave for Mars, stating, “I have grown tired of this world. I am tired of being caught in the tangle of their lives” An attempted assassination of Ozymandias seemingly absolves him of blame for the killings, for which Rorschach is eventually framed and imprisoned. As he is arrested and his mask is removed, he screams, “No! My face! Give me back my face!”.
Emboldened by their return to masked heroedom, Nite Owl and Silk Spectre break Rorsach from prison and continue their investigation, eventually leading them back to Ozymandias. They discover he is behind the plot to kill heroes in masks and travel to confront him. After a fight, he confirms he is behind that plot and one much graver. Ozymandias explains that he has conjured a massive interdimensional squid and has already launched it towards New York City, his plan being to stop nuclear war by giving Earth a common enemy. The plan succeeds, and half of New York is destroyed. Dr. Manhattan arrives and assesses the situation. Shocked and horrified by the scale of his decision, the Watchmen must now choose to keep the secret of Ozymandias’s actions to prevent total nuclear warfare, or to expose him for mass murder. Rorschach is the only one unwilling to keep the secret, and demands for Dr. Manhattan to kill him. The story ends with uncertainty regarding the fate of Earth and Ozymandias.
Analyzing Theme in Watchmen in an English Classroom
Watchmen is a text rich in themes including morality, power and responsibility, nihilism, and the dangers of nuclear warfare. All of these would be suitable for discussion in an English course, however, for the purposes of this unit, we are focusing on the connecting ideas of masks and identity. Rorschach’s mask, along with the Comedian’s yellow smiley face pin, is arguably the most iconic image from the text. He often refers to the mask as his “face.” For example, he begins his October, 21st, 1985 journal entry with: “Woken at eleven by shouting outside. Disturbed to find I had fallen asleep without removing the skin from my head” (Ch. 5, 11). He later describes his uncostumed appearance as his “disguise”. He lists the elements of his true self as “My coat, my shoes, my spotless gloves. My mask” (18). Rorscach has completely detached his born-identity and his mask-identity, with the latter taking total precedence. A stylistic feature of this mask is the everchanging ink blots, which shapeshift throughout the different scenes of the narrative. Like an actual Rorschach test, this allows readers the opportunity to posit their own interpretations of the character’s morality. Is Rorsach a hero or a violent hypocrite? Are his morals black and white, or constantly shifting? Ingrid Sit explains: “Even if the black and white on a Rorschach test never mix, its meaning is projected onto it by its viewer, thus shifting in shape and interpretation per person. Similarly, the character’s morals tend to vary depending on what situation they are applied to.”16 Using these questions as a guide, students would be able to gather literary and artistic evidence from the text and form either written arguments or engage in socratic seminars. Other characters to discuss would be Nite Owl, who seems to come alive after donning his mask for the first time in years, and the Comedian, who commits heinous acts of violence behind his black eye mask. Additionally, the final decision of the remaining Watchmen to conceal Ozymandias’ atrocity is worthy of debate. Is this another instance of a mask to hide behind?
World Connections: Two Significant Examples of Masks in Culture
In addition to fictional graphic narratives, secondary readings and research on the use of masks in various cultures and contexts would aid students in thematic understanding and possibly expand anthropological studies. Globally, masks are used for religious, celebratory, and ceremonial purposes. Michael S. Merril describes in the Journal of Ritual Studies, “Cultures that value the ritual symbolism of masks as the visible embodiment of the unity of spirit and matter create a milieu in which participants in masking are able to achieve states of liminal transformation”17. Masks have a power to transform and are fundamental to many societies.
While attending the Yale National Institute, I was fortunate enough to visit the Yale University Art Gallery and the Peabody Museum. Both museums notably featured intricate displays of masks from around the world. In the Art Gallery, the Ode-Lay masks of Freetown, Sierra Leone are immediately captivating with their bold colors and features such as sharp horns, long tails, multiple faces, and spectre-like design.
Modeled after Caribbean traditions, Ode-Lay masks are central to the Carnival celebrations that take place several times each year. These celebrations feature medicinal rituals, lively musical performances, and thousands of spectators in elaborate costumes. Ode-Lay masks are often designed by neighborhood based groups of “socially marginalized young men”, which connect the older Yoruba and Egungun societies currently living in Sierra Leone. The masks these groups create represent the ethnic and cultural diversity of the region, and serve as a unifying force in addition to a celebration with a “bold, fancy, and fierce aesthetic." 18
Another functional use of masks are the Governing Masks of Southeastern Nigeria. These large wooden masks would be worn by members of Ekpo, the most important and wealthy governing body in the region. The Ekpo members would wear these masks “as representatives of Ekpo and the spirits in enforcing rules, presiding over disputes, and collecting taxes.” Similarly, Nigerians in the Cross River region created masks dedicated to the leopard spirit to serve a similar function. These areas were “characterized by a lively exchange of masks and styles, and artists worked for patrons throughout the region.”19 This again furthers the mask as a symbol for regional identities, artistic expression, and interconnectedness between peoples.
These examples, in addition to countless others globally, could serve as an entry point in discussing the meaning of cultural identity and how it can be represented visually and artistically. Students could be asked to observe the similarities and differences in the constructions of various cultural masks before analyzing what these observations might have to say about these cultures. Do certain masks emphasize size, power, or intimidation? Are other masks meant to celebrate in tandem with music and dance? And do others hold more spiritual, ritual, and medicinal significance? An exploration of these questions could further spark discussions regarding their own cultural and ethnic heritages and how these identities might be represented visually. This could lead to cross-curricular assignments with a school’s art department, such as the creation of a mask that represents the student as an individual with an explanation of their stylistic choices and design.
“Masks”, Psychology, and Self-Representation
While aspects of physical masks, fictional or real world, have been discussed throughout this unit, it is also imperative to discuss the social and psychological masks worn by individuals in everyday settings. My goal here is to explore ways to create safe environments to analyze their relationships with their various identities and how they choose to or choose not to present them. Moving forward in this section I will continue to use the word mask, but will not be referring to the concrete object.
Individuals possess many attributes and identities that develop the construction of their self-concept. These can include race, gender, ability, and social class. Other attributes may be less visible, such as depression or anxiety. In the Social and Personal Psychology Compass, researcher Diane Quinn defines Concealed Stigmatized Identities, or CSI’s, as identities that are “identities that are stigmatized and socially devalued with negative stereotypes and beliefs attached to the identity.” These can include individuals with mental illnesses, survivors of assault, members of minority sexual orientations, and people with histories of substance abuse. As the name indicates, individuals with CSI’s will most often avoid discussing or acknowledging these aspects of their lives in order to avoid the attached stigma. In order to navigate their daily lives in regard to these visible and concealed identities, many high school students engage in a series of strategies such as social camouflaging and code switching.
Social camouflaging is a concept most closely associated with individuals with Autistic Spectrum Conditions (ASC), which are “atypical developmental conditions characterised by impairments in social interaction and communication, alongside unusually restricted/repetitive behaviours and interests, need for sameness, and atypical sensory processing.”20 The general population also participates in social camouflaging in many scenarios, with Laura Hull continuing to explain: “Camouflaging is likely to exist on a spectrum (similar to autistic traits) in those who have an ASC diagnosis and those who are subclinical.” Social camouflaging involves the concerted efforts to mannerisms that might reflect certain ASC or other atypical behaviors with the attempt to appear socially acceptable. This coping strategy has been reported “as extremely effortful and challenging to one’s identity.” Camouflaging may be successful for certain individuals, however, “where camouflaging is unsuccessful, strenuous, or if the person feels forced to camouflage, it may be associated with high stress level, low mood and low self-esteem.” I believe that open and honest classroom discussions about social camouflaging would be healthy and an effective connection to previous discussions of masks and identity. From my observation as a teacher, almost every student has an aspect of their identity or personality that they attempt to conceal. As previously mentioned, this can have a direct effect on a student’s mental health, which in turn affects academic performance. Classroom activities including journaling, creative writing, or visual expression could be effective in engaging with these topics in a safe way.
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