Action starring narratives and events: Structure and inference in visual narrative comprehension

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Visual Narratives
• Comics Studies

Background:

• Discourse studies emphasize implicit information inference.
• Visual narrative theories focus on inferences between adjacent panels.
• Comics utilize conventionalized visual elements like "action stars" for impact.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the inferential load of "action star" panels in visual narratives.
• To examine the role of "action stars" in maintaining narrative coherence.
• To challenge existing theories of visual narrative comprehension.

Main Methods:

• Experiment 1: Compared inference generation and coherence of action star panels versus depicted events in sequential and scrambled narratives.
• Experiment 2: Assessed the narrative function and coherence of action star panels within sequences.

Main Results:

• Action star panels demand greater reader inference than depicted events.
• Action star panels enhance narrative coherence in sequential, but not scrambled, visual narratives.
• These panels fulfill a felicitous narrative role, contributing to overall sequence coherence.

Conclusions:

• Conventionalized visual depictions in comics, such as action stars, necessitate significant reader inference.
• These elements are vital for maintaining visual narrative coherence, expanding theories beyond simple inter-panel semantic change.
• Action stars demonstrate how visual narratives employ symbolic representations to convey complex narrative information.