FINDING CLOSURE IN WEBCOMICS

Proposal
Rosemarie Tong Explains in her book, Feminist Thought: a More
Comprehensive Introduction, that being racialized means having, the
experience of being pressured to assimilate to the dominant (white) culture
[and] the experience of being denied access to white privilege (212).
This, being paired with the gendered-aspect of being sexually objectified or
labeled exotic, limits a woman of colors identity and creates numerous
barriers that stop her from achieving equality.
Combating racialized sexism can take many different shapes including the
relatively new medium; webcomics. The name describes just what they are,
comics that are created to be distributed on the internet. No matter how
they are created (whether it be with pen or paper or some type of digital
illustration application) these comics are viewed by readers on the internet.
These comics can be serialized or standalones and can take on a variety of
topics just as print comics do. They are similar in form in terms of having
panels (images within) boxes) and gutters (the space between the panels).
In Scott McClouds book, Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art,
McCloud explains that, within these panels, we can only convey
information visually. But between panels, none of our senses are required at
all. Which why all of our senses are engaged! (89). Using this idea, I would
like to look at how webcomics can create closure for not only the reader but
the author as well. Specially, I would like to focus on webcomics because,
although they are very similar in form and content with print comics, the
way they are distributed is completely different.

FINDING CLOSURE IN WEBCOMICS

With the guidance of Dr. Betsy Birmingham, I will look at how closure is
used through framing as well as how the internet as a medium affects how
closure is used in Shin Yin Khors standalone webcomic, What Would Yellow
Ranger Do? The responses I have seen to these comics varies, some
dismissing it as a lower art form while others are eager to participate in
this new feminist medium whether it be creating or consuming. Exploring
this topic more thoroughly can contribute to not only the study of
webcomics but women of colors experiences with oppression as well My
ideal end result will be a 10-12 page paper that examines the level of
success webcomics form and content have in adding the conversation
around race and gender.

I would like to
In order to
capstone
answer the
What is
comic in
How is
form or

look at how
webcomics can
create closure
for not only the
reader but the
author as well

What
thought?

thoroughly research my
project idea, I would like to
following research questions:
Khor trying to express in her
regards to form and content
Khor using her webcomics
closure to portray these
sentiments?
does this add to feminist

Objectives
My main
objective for this project is to
explore the
ways in which panels and
gutters and the
internet are used to
successfully portray specific themes women of color wish to raise
awareness. In order to complete this objective, I need to first research
comics theory to understand how the form and content of webcomic can be
used to express different ideas. I need to also research what women of color
our saying or doing to raise awareness to the specific issues they face.
Finally, I must do a thoroughly reading of Khors comic and find other
places on the internet where she is expressing herself in order to
understand what she identifies with as well as how she sees the current
situation for women of color.
To summarize, my objectives are:
2

FINDING CLOSURE IN WEBCOMICS

To understand how form and content play a role in the webcomics in
Khors overarching themes about race and gender
To understand how Khors webcomic might contribute to the larger
conversation around race and gender
To see how closure functions in webcomics like Khors and how
webcomics as a medium change the way closure is perceived

Methods
In order to complete this project, I will be examining Shing Yin Khors comic
and drawing from resource such as Scott McClouds work on comics theory.
I will also be looking at several academic articles to get more insight on
how individuals feel about the limits webcomics have in terms of how well
they can successfully distribute and interpret an artists work. . I would
like to see if there are certain themes emerging from the webcomics in
order to understand how webcomics as medium is advancing feminist
thought. I will mainly be examining the site where the webcomic was
originally published, the-toast.net but will also do some research on
whether Khor has expressed her sentiments elsewhere.
With the feminist lens I will be looking through, I would like to find texts
that help me get a better grasp on feminist theory and visual rhetoric. I will
be working with texts such as Rosemarie Tongs Feminist Thought: A More
Comprehensive Introduction to get a better understanding of what issues
feminist theorists, specifically women of color feminist theorists face and
what solutions they are creating. I will also be looking at Reading Images:
The Grammar of Visual Design by Gunther Kress and Theo van Leeuwen to
synthesize how visual rhetoric is effective (or not effective) in webcomics in
order to understand how successful this is for expressing feminist issues
such as race and gender. In a preliminary reading of Khors comic, I noticed
that her use of space seemed to symbolize her growing and waning
autonomy throughout the comic. Researching the structure of a comic as
well as how images convey messages seems like a useful way to understand
whether or not Khors use of space significant or not.

Timeline
The following Gantt char shows my projected start and finish dates for this
project:

FINDING CLOSURE IN WEBCOMICS

Reading List
Chute, Hillary L. Graphic Women: Life Narrative and Contemporary Comics.
New York: Columbia University Press, 2010. Print.
Dittmer, Jason, and Alan Latham. "The Rut And The Gutter: Space And Time
In Graphic Narrative." Cultural Geographies 22.3 (2015): 427-444.
Academic Search Premier. Web.
Kress, Gunther and Theo van Leeuwen. Reading Images: The Grammer of
Visual Design. New York: Routledge, 2006. Print.
McCloud, Scott. Making Comics: Storytelling Secretes of Comics, Manga,
and Graphic Novels. New York: Harper Collins, 2006. Print
.
McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. New York:
Harper Collins, 1993. Print. 1993.
Rose, Gillian. Visual Methodologies: An Introduction to Researching the
Visual Materials. Los Angeles: Sage, 2012. Print.
Sealey-Morris, Gabriel. "The Rhetoric Of The Paneled Page: Comics And
Composition Pedagogy." Composition Studies 43.1 (2015): 31-50.
Academic Search Premier. Web

FINDING CLOSURE IN WEBCOMICS

Tong, Rosemarie. Feminsist Thought: A More Comprehensive Introdutction.
Philidelphia: Westview Press, 2014. Print.
Wersher, Darren. "Digital Comics, Circulation, And The Importance Of Being
Eric Sluis." Cinema Journal 50.3 (2011): 127-134. Academic Search
Premier. Web.