Set, Series, Sequence - Comics as a Form of Reading

In reading Will Eisner's Theory of Comics and Sequential Art, Chapter 1, Comics as a form of Reading offers some solid ideas on the subject. In it Eisner discusses Sequential drawing as it is, a form of communication. The modern day person is trained visually to decode both text and visual codes.

 

Tim Wolf, Harvard Educational Review 

(August 1977)

Eisner highlights that in order to effectively communicate, comics establish a language with which to communicate to it's audience. This language brings together visual elements such as perspective, symmetry and brush stroke (pg10)  and uses them repetitively to establish the visual code used in visual communication. 

 

Will Eisner, Theory of Comics and Sequential Art

Sequential art can be traced back as far as the hieroglyphs of Ancient Egypt. Four thousand years before the birth of Christ, the Ancient Egyptians created a sacred alphabet they called 'the words of God' in order to record information, events and to tell stories. This was one of the earliest forms of visual communication as the alphabet was a series of symbols that were associated to a subject.

 

Will Eisner, Theory of Comics and Sequential Art

Discovering Egypt. Egyptian Hieroglyphic Alphabet. Available at: http://discoveringegypt.com/egyptian-hieroglyphic-writing/egyptian-hieroglyphic-alphabet/