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Hassoun, Dan. "Sequential outliers: The role of spoilers in comic book reading." Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics 4. (2013): 346–58. Added by: joachim (8/14/13, 7:43 AM) Last edited by: joachim (8/22/15, 7:29 AM) |
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| Resource type: Journal Article Language: en: English Peer reviewed DOI: 10.1080/21504857.2013.784202 BibTeX citation key: Hassoun2013 Email resource to friend View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: Cognition, Reception, Sequentiality Creators: Hassoun Collection: Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics |
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Although many disparage ‘spoilers’ as ruining reading experiences by revealing plot details prematurely, comics readers commonly experience texts in ways that reveal story information out of order: eager readers will flip through a comic and catch glimpses of future narrative events, wandering eyes will scan panels out of order, etc. Upon closer inspection, ‘sequential’ art is often experienced in decidedly ‘non-sequential’ ways. While scholars in literary and media studies have analysed the role of spoilers in reception of books and television, the topic remains marginalized and under-explored in comics studies. This article argues that non-sequentiality and spoilers are historically and aesthetically central to comic narration, and that they facilitate, rather than impede, the pleasures we receive when engaging with such texts. Specifically, I show how non-sequential reading complicates any formal analysis of graphic storytelling, even as it increases the potential enjoyment readers may receive from comic narratives.
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