The Pictorial Arts: She Stops and Points

Monday, May 14, 2012

She Stops and Points

Another piece of candy, this from 73 years ago today, with that annoying redundancy of wasting text that describes the gesture.

Alex Raymond — Flash Gordon — May 14, 1939

4 comments:

Smurfswacker said...: You're right about how annoying it is when a caption repeat the action in the panel. Flash Gordon Prince Valiant were special cases, though. In both strips the pictures were unnecessary. Take away all that beautiful art and you'd still get 100% of the story.

Back in the 60s-70s Stan Lee would repeat actions not only in captions but also in the dialogue. I think the intention was to "cover" for unclear artwork.

Action: Captain America throws the switch.
Caption: Captain America throws the switch...
Captain America: I'll throw this switch!; May 14, 2012 at 6:30 PM
Pyracantha said...: Those transparent snowsuits are slick! But Flash looks like he's put on a bit of weight.; May 16, 2012 at 12:56 AM
diana green said...: Well, the text serves another function. It's like drawing an army of 10,000 advancing warriors by drawing someone pointing who says, "Look, here comes an army of 10,000 advancing warriors!" Given Raymond's penchant for detail, I don't begrudge him the occasional shortcut.; May 16, 2012 at 3:13 PM
Thomas Haller Buchanan said...: Good point, Diana, thanks.; May 16, 2012 at 3:50 PM

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