Year: 2016

Gallant is a short comic I made for the final assignment of FTVMS327 (Comics and Visual Narrative). It is a stark depiction of the brutality of cockfighting that draws on a variety of theoretical frameworks and techniques to communicate the narrative.

The main techniques used to express the themes and narrative include colour, aesthetic style, panels and (lack of) text. The only colours present in Gallant are black, white and red. This gives it a bold, stark and bloody feel. The aesthetic style of the artworks is abstract with angular shapes and harsh edges that contrast strikingly against the background. This gives the drawings a bold, forceful, stencil-like look and reflects the protagonist’s bleak state of mind. There is (almost) no text to place emphasis on the drawings themselves and reflect the fact that animals cannot speak out about their suffering. Gallant also uses the shapes of panels to direct the reader’s focus, convey certain moods and contribute to the overall sense of dynamism and cruelty.

Click for full comic.

First page of Gallant. Click for full comic.