I've never had the opportunity to leave the United States. My family could never afford it. So I've spent a lot of my life reading books about places I've never been able to and probably never will be able to visit. I've become something of a connoisseur of books that tell tales of travels and faraway places as a result. I'm always on a search for books to introduce me to new places.
The most recent read of my literary travels has been Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea by Guy Delisle. This graphic novel documents Delisle's two-month visit to the capital of North Korea when he was working with an animation firm there in 2001. I've honestly had very limited exposure to anything and everything North Korea; one of my exes tried to get me to watch a documentary on the country one but I just couldn't get into it. Delisle's story, though, did interest me. I couldn't put it down once I started reading.
What made it interesting was that Delisle didn't just tell me what it is like to be there, he put me in his shoes. He took me on an actual journey with him. Take for instance when he enters the country and is handed a bouquet of flowers he says aren't really meant for him. His guide takes him to the statue of Kim Il-Sung to place those flowers at the statue's feet.
Delisle doesn't waste time describing what it was like to see the statute or place the flowers on its feet. He simply becomes a silhouette, one of the faceless masses forced to honor him without even knowing what he's doing. The statute's shadow stretches beyond the constraints of the panel. All we can see is the shadows of his legs and beginning of his torso. As a reader, I feel small next to that statue just like Delisle must've felt.
I've been reading a lot by Scott McCloud on how comics work. In one of the most recent chapters of his book Understanding Comics I've read, he talks about how artists can use words and pictures together in a kind of informational tango to convey stories, information, and emotion in a way that neither words nor pictures could do on their own. Delisle is doing just that throughout his work; he’s not just showing and he’s not just telling, he’s doing both.
Take the panels where he lays the flowers down for instance, his unanswered dialogue gives us a sense of feeling awkward and out of place. There’s nothing like being in a conversation where everyone knows something but you. Comparatively, the art shows us the size of the statue and helps us feel what it’s like to be in front of it. Describing the statue in words would not been the same. It would not have felt as overwhelmingly big. Just like if drawing a one sided awkward conversation is not the same as giving the reader the dialogue to one.
Graphic novels’ ability to mix art and words is unique. It makes it very successful at telling stories like Delisle’s though. It shows us step by step what’s happening while also explaining and humanizing the experience by incorporating a human voice. I think I need to read more of these travelogue graphic novels. It’s a whole need way of seeing and experiencing the world (and they’re a lot cheaper than a plane ticket).
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