Masson, Pierre. Lire la bande dessinée 2nd ed. Lyon: Presses Universitaires de Lyon, 1990.

Table of Contents

Part 1: Morphology

A. Reading Approach

1. Input from linguistics

1.1. The distinction between syntagm and paradigm

1.2. The distinction between denotation and connotation

1.3. The distinction between the code and the exploitation of the code

2. Reading a panel

2.1. Paradigmatic reading

2.2. Syntagmatic reading

B. The building blocks of the image

1. The frame

1.1. General significance

1.2. Its significance specific to comic art

1.3. Frame variations

1.3.1. The shape (rectangle, circle, bleeds)

1.3.2. The dimension

1.3.3. The absence of frame

2. Textual Space

2.1. Text outside the image (relais et récitatifs)

2.2. Text inside the image (balloons, appendices, free sounds)

2.3. The balloon-image

2.4. Conclusion

3. Image Organization

3.1. Denied symmetry

3.2. The unstable image

3.3. Vanishing points or lines of opposition

3.4. The eye's path

4. Framing

4.1. Shots

4.2. Angles

5. Color

5.1. Generalities

5.2. Color techniques

5.3. Interpretation attempt

5.4. Black and white

PART 2: SYNTAX

1. Flat image vs. deep image

1.1. From spotting to depth

1.2. Depth raveled or unraveled?

2. Linear vs. tabular, from the panel to the page

2.1. General problems

2.2. The page, a narrative unit

2.2.1. Overview

2.2.2. Narrative groups (grouping of panels, of frames, of shots)

2.3. The page, an aesthetic unit

2.3.1. Symmetry

2.3.2. Organized trails

3. Continuous vs. discontinuous

3.1. General problems

3.2.Animate vs. inanimate

3.2.1. Ideology of movement

3.2.2. Manifestations of action (event-based action - essence-based action)

3.3. Iconic vs. verbal

3.3.1. The power of the text

3.3.2. The text, producer of duration and continuity

3.3.3. Text and representation

4. Hagiography vs. caricature

4.1. The outline

4.2. The staging

4.3. The color

4.4. The text, etc.

PART 3: ANNEXED STUDIES AND DOCUMENTS

A. Sample reading of a graphic novel: Les Bijous de la Castafiore

B. Current trends in comic art

C. Commercial state of comic art

D. Condensed chronology of American and Franco-Belgian comics

Afterword by Christian Hill: the following translation is mine and may include minor inaccuracies. I am sharing it to help scholars, whose proficiency in French is limited, so that they may more easily determine if this book warrants their attention and efforts. It is my hope that by making these table of contents available to the English-speaking public, more scholars and publishers will discover the many great books in French on comic art, and will be moved to publish official English translations.