Representing the Unrepresentable in Hellboy

Representing supernatural worlds requires representing the unrepresentable. Mike Mignola’s “Hellboy” comics tackle this problem through the use of aspect-to-aspect & non-sequitur panel transitions, as well as inset panels that prompt imaginative, subjective closure. 1/10 #Hellboy

In “Understanding Comics,” Scott McCloud argues that the aspect-to-aspect panel transition “bypasses time for the most part and sets a wandering eye on different aspects of a place, idea, or mood.” It’s a suggestive technique, requiring considerable reader participation. 2/10

Aspect-to-aspect transitions can emphasize dynamic action. At left, this involves us in the action, making it more visceral. They can also subvert linearity in favor of contemplative moodiness. At right, supernatural elements shift our perspective along with Hellboy’s. 3/10

A non-sequitur transition is exactly what it sounds like. Via McCloud, a non-sequitur “offers no logical relationship between panels whatsoever.” Whether something is a true non-sequitur can be up to interpretation. But Mignola’s Hellboy features examples that might qualify. 4/10

Here, we can infer certain connections because the images in some panels reference past or future scenes. But the connections are deeply subjective and fragmented, evoking a moment of either/both transcendent knowledge or dreamlike confusion as Hellboy loses consciousness. 5/10

Inset panels are again somewhat self-explanatory. This is when a smaller panel is set inside a larger one. In his book “Unflattening,” Nick Sousanis presents inset and overlapping panels as fundamental to the power of comics, wherein “multiple layers are conveyed in unison.” 6/10

At left, an inset panel emphasizes the penetrating “ding” of the magical bell. At right, multiple inset panels interconnect the animal, human, and spirit worlds, while situating Kate and Hellboy’s sedate conversation within a larger context of supernatural forces. 7/10

Scott Bukatman likens Mignola’s aspect-to-aspect transitions & inset panels to the “pillow shots” of Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu. Via Leigh Singer for the BFI blog: “A term coined by critic Noël Burch, it links to film the tradition of pillow words in classical poetry…” 8/10

“…short addendums to a line that reflect on or even shift the meaning of what comes next. In between Ozu’s carefully composed scenes are seemingly random shots… of everyday life: of seas and mountains, boats and train tracks, public buildings and private rooms.” 9/10

According to Bukatman, Mignola’s “pillow panels… complicate linear sequence.” But to what end? To an extent, that’s up to the reader, and that’s the point. Mignola preserves the magic of the supernatural by making us help create it, in many different, ever-changing ways. 10/10