While I’m cooking up a few good article drafts, I wanted to share something that I did back in college for one of my courses called a hypertext essay. These essays read similarly to articles or web pages due to the inclusion of hyperlinks throughout the paper, providing easy context for readers should they have questions. As someone who enjoys going down Wikipedia rabbit holes, writing essays in this format is a real treat, and one that I’ll consider assigning to students of my own in the future.

For this particular essay, it was written for a class that focused on non-traditional literature, namely graphic novels, comics, and web-comics centered around refugees, immigrants, and detention centers. It was a wonderful class that explored the usage of these genres to spread awareness of atrocities happening in our own day and age. It was also a unique experience in that we were engaging with art and comics that centered on much darker themes, as opposed to the typical colorful and fun stories usually seen in this genre.

Below is one of my very own hypertext essays, done back in 2023. It includes all of the links and in-text citations. If any of you are curious to learn or engage more with this topic, I highly suggest checking out the sources attached. Please enjoy!

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The Impact of Black and White Art in Graphic Novels 

Graphic novels are a seemingly niche form of literature, usually reserved for children’s books, superheroes, or adaptations from other sources. However, there is a rich and meaningful world of graphic novels, telling vibrant stories and telling narratives accompanied by art. Many of these novels use color in a variety of ways to emphasize movement and emotion. Although bright colors and artistic talents lend themselves to accentuating the themes of various narratives, there is something undeniably special about those that use black and white art. The usage of shading, the stark contrasting tones, and the sense of unity black and white art provides sets many narratives apart. Through an analysis of the color theory and style of art seen in narratives such as Still Alive by Safdar Ahmed and Undocumented by Tings Chak, it can be established how influential and impactful the graphic novel format is in literature.  

One important baseline to establish is what exactly a graphic novel is. There are a few different ways to interpret it, and some other related terms with much overlap. Typically, a graphic novel is seen as a stand-alone narrative with a complex plot and accompanying images. Sometimes these books are text with frequent art of scenes and characters, and sometimes it is fully paneled books. This style is very similar to comic books, and while they may look the same at a glance, a comic is usually a shorter, simpler experience that is a part of a series. There are hybrid books, which are mostly text that have art in them. While the definitions may be complicated and can be considered inconsequential, understanding the purpose of a graphic novel is still important: it is a full narrative that uses sequential art along with text to tell a complete story.  

Now that it is understood what constitutes a graphic novel, it is time to consider their impact. There is unfortunately a stigma against picture books, comics, and graphic novels. Typically, they are seen as less impactful or important than novels. They can be considered childish and less sophisticated. However, they are just as valid an art form as a traditional novel. There are graphic novels meant for all ages, not just children. In fact, there are graphic novels, such as those by Ahmed and Chak, which are meant for more older audiences. Still Alive tells the experiences of an artist who visited Villawood, “an immigration detention centre built on the traditional lands of the Gandangara people,” and Undocumented describes the experiences faced by prisoners in Canadian detention centers, many of whom “lose [their] spatial bearing and markings, [they] lose [their] identity and subjecthood” (Ahmed 3; Chak 166). The artist’s do not shy away from gruesome topics and imagery, striving to share experiences with the world that many would rather ignore.  

Now, finally, to the art. While there are a variety of other graphic novels and interactive novels that focus on the same themes and use similar art ideals, this essay will focus on these two examples from Ahmed and Chak, but many of the concepts explained here apply to the others as well. These two novels focus on the human rights violations happening across the world, namely Australia and Canada, in these cases, shining light on the mistreatments and damages of legal systems. They call attention to the horrors and raise awareness, using a mixture of both biographical narration and black and white panels which “brings a new dimension” and “grabs audience attention” (Nassif). These panels share everything about the detention centers and refugee camps, from relationships and food to death and trauma. Chak shared how in isolation “people find ways to communicate with other detainees through the walls, through the toilet pipes, emptied of water”. The art in these pages show prisoners fading away due to the isolation (Chak 171). Page 124 of Still Alive shows how one man, Haider, was denied food by captors, who instead “threw [them] one boiled egg and that was it.” The art of this page depicts one egg being dropped without care (Ahmed 124). Some of the most attention-grabbing art in Still Alive is of iconography referencing death, with lots of skulls, body horror, and misshapen human forms. It is graphic in the grotesque sense of the word. All of the art accompanies the text in a fitting and transformative way, but the art itself is elevated due to its lack of color.  

Both of these novels are shown in complete black and white. This stylistic choice is intentional and bold, as it allows the art to stand out and does not distract from the horrors. In fact, it enhances it. About the color black, it can be stated that “it already implie[s] all the negative moral qualities often associated with this intense color. Numerous cultures associate black with death, mourning, darkness, and the artistic iconography itself used it to represent the devil, especially in medieval paintings” (Franceschini). Black, “As a deep and serious color …can direct communication in a powerful way,” which perfectly applies its usage to this art form (Embrace Creatives). On the other end, white typically symbolizes purity and peace, but “[i]n many African and Asian cultures, as well as in medieval Europe, white is the traditional colour of death and mourning”, again, fitting to the contents of the novel (Textiel Museum). The contrast between life, death, purity, mourning, and peace is perfect for a book with deep and traumatic intents.  

Now, putting the two together, black and white art “catalyzes the attention on a precise subject, form, or concept; it is extremely accurate and realistic, despite being a grey monochrome representation of a fully colorful world” and “artistic expression and exploration of black and white or monochrome is an act of freedom”, which perfectly fits the goals of both artists in their works (Franceschini). The darkness of the black contrasted with the purity of the white, and the simple color palate allows for expression and bold, dark visuals. Additionally, “the absence of color allows humans to concentrate on the subject without any distracting elements. Without color, the eye and mind immediately see the components, subject, mood, composition of the artwork” (Embrace Creatives). Again, this is the exact effect of both novels. The color dynamic is bold and attracts the eye to specific scenes and panels. The contrast builds connections between the art and the narrative.  

In short, the utilization of the simple color palette allows for a unique experience that enhances the narrative. These narratives do not need color because the stories are not colorful. They are grotesque, dehumanizing, and simply wrong. Even though they have two very different art styles, but Ahmed and Chak illustrate exactly what they need to. The disgusting truth about the horrors of detainment camps, and the simple truth of the heinous and dehumanization that goes on behind barbed wires and tiny rooms. The color scheme allows for the narratives and art to blend together and not let one overpower the other. These are two incredible examples of how art and design, in tangent with expressive experiences, prove the significance of art and graphic novels as a form of literature. 

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I hope you enjoyed that look at this blend of traditional and non traditional essay elements. Hyperlink essays are a lot of fun to do, and for anyone that does blog writing, or enjoys doing deep dives, this can be a very fun way to arrange research. It’s also really useful when it comes to sharing information, since all the context is available and accessible to those reading. Even though the time save is minor, how many of us are more likely to look at more information if it’s already linked for us? It’s a clever way to share knowledge.

Before I sign off for the week, I wanted to share some updates for my October goals! So far, I have written 2,200/15,000 words, and that was just from two days worth of writing. I haven’t started my submissions yet and have just been collecting locations to submit, so this upcoming week will be the official start of the goal to submit to do five submissions a week. I have a start for a short story that I want to work on this week, and had an idea yesterday for a potential creative nonfiction piece. And like I said earlier, I have a few articles that are in progress right now, so expect some good things soon! Even though we’re only five days into the month so far, I hope to keep riding this wave of productivity! I’ll check in with you all next week!

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