In Shaun
Tan's "The Arrival" the idea of traveling to a new and interesting
place is portrayed very fluidly without a single word printed. And the ideas
and themes in this are presented so clearly in "The Arrival" that
words aren't necessary. Now the idea of presenting a graphic novel with no text
in it has been done before but the key to having one that works is a clear and
relatable story, as well as interesting storyboard compositions. The story in
this was one that most everyone can relate to, arriving to a new place and
having to figure things out on your own. When you make a situation relatable
enough the viewer can insert himself or herself in and have a good
understanding of what is happening.
In terms of composition, careful placement can
make readers look where you want them, or ignore details that would confuse the
reader. A lot of the shots were done from a close view so the reader could also
experience what the man was experiencing. Tan’s handling of the drawings in
each panel also contributes to the clarity of the novel. While the setting was
fantastical, there were enough visual similarities to the real world for me
relate to places I have traveled. Also when the main character was dealing with
new things the way they were presented made me confused but had enough
similarities with real world tasks for me to guess what he was trying to do.
Tan also really captured the man’s facial expressions, which gives us queues to
what the man is experiencing without needing to have a text box.
He also
used value to set moods and tones for the panels. Like when the giants are
sucking people up their helmets lights are lit up against a their dark figures
so your eyes naturally go the giants. Or when he first arrives in his apartment
and its relatively dark to show the loneliness of the setting. These elements
used in “The Arrival” are things that can be done to make your story cohesive
without the need of text. Also this was an amazing read with really beautifully
done illustrations I’m probably going to end up buying this before I graduate.
