FOOT - Comparing and Contrasting Graphic Novels

The two graphic novels both feature a young hero, fighting for a cause they believe in. Here is a close look at the differences and similarities between the two graphic novels, Naruto Vol. 1 by Masashi Kishimoto and Pinocchio: Vampire Slayer by Van Jensen.

Text and Dialogue

Narration: Pinocchio primarily is told through dialogue. There is very little outside narration with the exception of in the beginning when the authors set the story up. Naruto is the same way. Both texts depend on scenery views to change the location of the scene. 

Balloons: The balloons in Pinocchio are basically round and consistent throughout the novel, whereas Naruto contains some round and many different ones with jagged edges that represent the character yelling/and or feeling pain.

Captions: Neither of the novels contain captions, unless captions are considered the text depicting a scene. If that is the case, Pinocchio has them only in the beginning and Naruto does not.

Emanata: Both graphic novels have emanatas. Pinocchio has 'sweat drops' when he is embarassed after talking to the girl her likes. That is was the only example I could find in Pinocchio. Naruto has many different ones, such as "!!" on page 179, which depicts shock or surprise. These exclamation points are used a lot throughout the graphic novel. Another example is the tiny cirlces that say "puff-puff" on page 143 depicting being out of breath and over-exerted. One last example in Naruto would be the use of little lines coming off the head, showing shock or anger, which is used frequently.

Labels/Signs: Pinocchio does not use any labels or signs, except for the door mat that has Geppedo's name on it. Naruto shows labels and signs written in Japanese on the buildings of the towns.

Lettering: The lettering in Pinocchio is a consistent Comic Sans font, and only grows into big, blocky letters when there is a lot of action, such as a sound effect. Naruto on the other hand uses all kinds of different styles and fonts. They vary greatly from page to page, and grow in size and boldness.

Sound Effects: Like the lettering, sound effects in Pinocchio are written largely and few and far between. Naruto has more action in it, so it uses plenty of different sounds and writes them out. For example, the sound effects in a fight scene around page 170 all show gigantic sound effects that fill up the whole box and make the people doing the action smaller.

Visual Features

Characters: There are fewer characters in Pinocchio than there are in Naruto. They are less detailed and darker in Pinocchio, meaning the mood is so dark that they look sinister at times. In Naruto, there are many different characters.
Objects: The stake/part of Pinocchio's nose is a very important object in this novel. It is the source of his power, and shown often in many different ways. In Naruto, the symbol on his headband is important. It shows us who he is and is shown everytime Naruto is shown.
Icons: I suppose the nose and symbol could be considered icons as well, because they let us know they are important by their frequent use, and they both represent their characters.
Scenery: The scenery in Pinocchio is dark and somber, looking unpleasant and scary due to the circumstances of the vampires intruding. In Naruto, the scenes range from crowded towns to forests, and appear more pleasant than those in Pinocchio.
Depicted Action: Pinocchio shows internal action through his expressions, and external through the fight scenes with sound effects. The same goes for Naruto. They both show us what is going on internally through their facial expressions, and externally through the literal action that is taking place.

General Layout and Design

Borders: Pinocchio uses plain white borders through most of the text, but sometimes black borders are used in dramatic scenes. Also, sometimes there is a large picture in the background, creating the border for the boxes on top of it. In Naruto, the borders are inconsisten. Sometimes they are all around the outside of the pictures, and sometimes the pictures bleed off the page.
Gutters: The gutters are the same as the borders in Pinocchio. They are primarily white, but sometimes are black or have a picture behind them. In Naruto, the gutters are primarily white and vary in size from very small to thick.
Panels: The panels in Pinocchio read from left to right and/or top to bottom. They are generally a large panel and small ones sprinkled in on the top and bottom. Naruto is all over the place. They change from whole pages to many small ones to medium in size. Both novels contain 'whole-page' panels as well.
Open Panel: The only thing that leaves the panels in Pinocchio in the balloons. In Naruto, characters split the panels and go over two of them a lot. On page 139, Naruto is blown up in size and breaks the gutter.
Splash: Pinocchio has a few splashes that show a new scene, or a dramatic scene. In the beginning of Pinocchio is has a splash full-spread picture after he kills the first vampire. Naruto, on page 145, has a splash that is almost a spread between the two sides of the book, but does contain smaller panels under it. The different chapters contain one large picture though.

Angles and Frames

Bleed: Pinocchio does not use bleeding too much. Like I said before, the balloons are really the only thing that leave the panels. In Naruto, letters from sound effects, characters as wel as balloons will bleed over into different panels.

Close-up: Pinocchio uses more medium-shots, whereas Naruto uses a wide range of shots, including close-ups, but more long shots or medium shots.
Head Shot: Pinocchio uses many headshots when the characters are talking. Naruto does the same, such as Naruto himself on page 59.

Head-Shoulder Shot: Pinocchio has a head-shoulder shot when the fairy is talking to him. Her hand is on his shoulder and we can see half of his face. Naruto has few of these. On page 86 he can be seen looking in the mirror over his back.

Full-Figure Shot: Both novels use these shots frequently. Sometimes the characters are in the distance and sometimes they are not.

Longshot: Longshots can be seen in both novels as well. In Pinocchio, in the first few pages, he can be seen from far away in a long shot walking the streets. In Naruto, an example is seen on the first page.

Extreme Longshot: In Pinocchio the first few pages also show extreme longshots, and in both of the graphic novels you can see these when the scene changes quite often.

Reverse: Both of the graphic novels use reverse shots. Naruto uses more of them, where the character is looking off panel at another person.

Rhetorical Techniques Applied in Text, Visuals and Design

Exaggeration: Both of the graphic novels use exaggeration. The characters are able to leap to extreme heights, fight unrealistically and deal with unrealistic elements, such as vampires.

Empathy/Identification: The readers might feel empathetic for Pinocchio due to the loss of his father. For Naruto, they may feel for him because he is an outcast and really does not have many friends in the world.

Mood/Tone: The mood in Pinocchio is dark. It is shadowy, scary and sinister. The mood in Naruto is energetic, light and sometimes humorous.

Simplicity/Complexity: The stories are both simple. They both deal with the protagonist having a goal. Pinocchio wants to avenge Geppeto's death and Naruto wants to be the head ninja in his village.

Irony/Satire: Pinocchio demonstrates irony because of his nose. When he lies it grows, and is what he uses to kill vampires. This is ironic because it is almost as if his killing is a lie because he uses the nose to do it. In Naruto, I could not find an example of irony, except for the fact that he was alienated and is successful in the middle.
Realism/Icons/Symbolism: Neither story is realistic at all, besides their feelings. The symbolism in Pinocchio is his stake, like I mentioned before, and in Naruto, the nine-tailed fox that is trapped within him is symbolic of him fighting his inner demons.

Order/Disorder: The two stories deal with disorder due to their main characters. They are both seen as outcasts, and their stories are kind of bizarre.

Juxtaposition: The stories are both set up in a way that flows easily, and they were easy to follow the way the panels led to the next. Naruto was confusing sometimes in the action scenes though. Both stories are good versus evil, in Pinocchio, literally, and in Naruto, within himself.

Relationships: In Pinocchio, he is close to his two friends, and feels like an outcast with the rest of the people because nobody believes him. In Naruto, he is the same way. He is close with his instructor, but that is it. Also, there are so many characters that it was confusing.
Point of View: In Pinocchio, you have an inside view to his feelings and his story. In Naruto, you feel a bit detached. You don't get to see what he is thinking or feel what he is thinking, but you do get to see his emotions.

**Pinocchio had no page numbers, so I did my best to describe where things happen and what I was talking about.