Rhetorical Analysis Of Stoker's Dracula '

A comic book generally consists of a system of related panels with images that may or may not incorporate text in order to tell a story. Unlike a traditional novel, a comic book is able to incorporate certain visual elements of rhetoric. These elements of rhetoric range from, but are not limited to, motion lines and visual perspective, to color intensity and the style of the font chosen to print the lettering in. These elements of rhetoric all work together in order to more effectively tell the story or fulfill the comic's purpose. In the comic titled Stoker's Dracula, written by Roy Thomas and Illustrated by Dick Giordano, the illustrator conveys a realm of darkness and terror by using a black and white color scheme of varying intensity in order to rhetorically enhance his work and tell the story of Dracula. Stoker's Dracula is the first in a series of …show more content…
The illustrator strategically uses thick white lines and dark black shading to contrast between the background and the foreground. In the foreground, dark and jagged shadow casting mountains stand sharp and erect, and almost completely obstruct the view of the destination that the main character is aiming to reach, Count Dracula's castle. These sharp jagged lines of the mountain concealing the castle serve the purpose of providing insight of the dark or 'rocky road' that lies ahead on the main character's journey. The thick white lines transition from creating the winding pattern leading to the top of the mountain and go on to create division between the thick and dark rolling clouds that make up the eerie night sky. These elements of rhetoric all work in collaboration in order to contribute to the theme of darkness and terror for which the author and illustrator both aim as it is derived from Bram Stoker's original