Turn of the page: how horror comics create scares
Aho, Salla-Mari (2024)
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024120332394
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2024120332394
Tiivistelmä
The objective of this thesis was to gather and analyze information about the different ways comics, more specifically horror comics, convey scares and build tension. As there are multiple sources of information on language of comics, and language of horror media in general, the purpose of this thesis was to ana-lyze and combine information solely from the perspective of horror comics, with the aim to provide a more comprehensive study on horror comic media.
Information was gathered by close reading and semiotic analysis through hor-ror genre-theory lens, with the aim of building a taxonomy of generic horror comic markers. These ideas are then further tested by creating a short horror comic.
This thesis consists of two parts. The first part offers both a general overview of horror media and comic methodology and analyses several horror-themed comics to examine the methods used to create scares in comic format, includ-ing directly benchmarking three comics. The second part describes the creation of a short horror comic.
The findings of the thesis indicate that comics offer a unique medium for horror stories, and that there are multiple ways of building and diffusing tension with-in a comic. It points out that creating atmosphere and scares requires an un-derstanding of pacing, style, and visuals.
Information was gathered by close reading and semiotic analysis through hor-ror genre-theory lens, with the aim of building a taxonomy of generic horror comic markers. These ideas are then further tested by creating a short horror comic.
This thesis consists of two parts. The first part offers both a general overview of horror media and comic methodology and analyses several horror-themed comics to examine the methods used to create scares in comic format, includ-ing directly benchmarking three comics. The second part describes the creation of a short horror comic.
The findings of the thesis indicate that comics offer a unique medium for horror stories, and that there are multiple ways of building and diffusing tension with-in a comic. It points out that creating atmosphere and scares requires an un-derstanding of pacing, style, and visuals.