Formalistic Aspects: 2's and 3's

Why Page 46?

There are a lot of other pages I wanted to dissect, but Page 46 will be the most convenient of these, because it is the page in which I am most aware of Spiegelman’s craft working on the reader.

Additionally, I will refrain from discussing the art itself. I’m much more interested in how an author sets out to their use of the economy they have divided their page into, rather than what they’ve chosen to portray.

The technique Spiegelman employs here are as follows:

Firstly the formalistic aspects: for the majority of the book, Spiegelman alternates between three-tier and four-tier grids. For page 46, he uses a four-tier grid. The top half is characteristic of 4 tier grids—in which each tier is split into halves. This means the action or essence of the storytelling—tier-by-tier—functions as 1 and 2 (or, if you will, cause and effect).

Now for the action of the page:

In panel 1 of tier 1: Spiegelman goes from having a tranquil conversation with his psychiatrist to panel 2 of tier 1: being given a fright by the aforementioned psychiatrist.

While there are other aspects factors that make up a good page—such as the push and pull effect of the characters (when the psychiatrist leans in Spiegelman jumps back)—discussing those aspects falls under a different category altogether.

Tier 1 (or 2) Panel: Cause / Tier 1 (or 2) Panel Two: Effect

Tier two follows the same rules, essentially.

In panel one of tier two, Spiegelman is visually “burned out” after his fright. So what does he do in panel two? Why, he lights a cigarette of course (some nice visual comedy). Curiously, the camera angle changes from panel 1 to panel 2. In panel two of tier two, the shot is in profile. The psychiatrist leans in again—although, this time it isn’t for the purposes of scaring Spiegelman—it’s to console him instead. 

Why does this happen? Well, it’s because comedy comes in threes: the joke in the top tier actually concludes in the first panel of the second one. Threes are very important in comics—they permit sequences, transformations and well-timed jokes.

Now for the second half of the page—in which threes become incredibly important. This technique is very old, but most cartoonists I’ve encountered point to Harvey Kurtzman as the storyteller/artist that successfully perfected it.

Threes are like the “turns” that occur within line breaks in poetry—or a phase change between two states of matter—a liquid to gas (or vice-versa).

Tier 3 (or 4) Panel 1: The “Turning” begins / Tier 3 (or 4) Panel 2: The “Turning” is half-finished / Tier 3 (or 4) Panel 3: The “Turning” concludes.   

Despite still being part of a four-tier page: the second half of the page is divided into threes. Why is this? The third tier is all about transition—about travel. Spiegelman is leaving Pavel’s office—his session is concluding. How do we get him out of this scene effectively (quickly but without causing confusion)? By panel 3 of tier 3 Spiegelman has gotten himself out of the door and now the story can continue to progress forward.

In the last tier, we watch the most obvious visual gag—probably in the entirety of the book. This is classic Spiegelman. His appointment with Pavel reduces him to a childlike state—partly because his psychiatrist is older than Spiegelman and also—having encountered Spiegelman’s earlier work—for the purposes of parodying Freudian psychoanalysis. 

The subsequent transformation—or ego boost—Spiegelman receives after departing the offices of his shrink is portrayed in threes. Threes are magical—you cannot with argue them—you cannot question them—you must simply accept them happening before your eyes.