09.04.20 In the Shadow of No Towers Comic 5 & 6 Response
April 20, 2009
The layout of comics 5 and 6 is noticeably less chaotic than the preceding comics. Similarily, the progression of time occurs in a more linear manner. Here, Spiegelman seems to realize that in these two comics, he’s doing something a bit more specific and more difficult to follow than before, so he is kindly guiding the reader through the comics in the correct order.
In previous comics, time was a bit scrambled. The progression of panels was sometimes unclear and reading them in one order or another didn’t seem to make a great deal of difference to the overall meaning. Specifically in comic 4, each panel appears as a freestanding snapshot of a moment. No meaning is lost by reading them in whichever order seems reasonable. There is a complicated story being told, but the specific moments don’t exactly need to occur in order.
In comic 5, this changes. Spiegelman begins working on a metaphorical, parodic level. Now the progression must be very clear or meaning will be lost. I tried reading the panels on this page by columns instead of by rows, and it’s a useless attempt. The story is too difficult to understand when the order of events is shifted. By placing them in a manner that allows the timeline to be easily understood, Spiegelman is able to begin a parable of sorts about the way government reacts to crisis. When Americans are threatened, the government reacts by literally tossing fuel on the fire, essentially throwing valuable resources and money at the problem without pausing to assess what is actually needed. When things go awry, the nearest source that can be blamed is targeted without consideration for culpabiliy. Meanwhile, Americans who need help are left to handle the problem on their own.
Comic 6 works in the same way. Spiegelman is resting a great deal of meaning on the woman spouting epithets on the street. A simple snapshot of her would not have sufficed to explain her significance. He must guide his reader through this story arc in the correct order. By doing so, a woman who would once have been considered simply crazy becomes a representation of American attitudes immediately following 9/11. In grief, humans feel the need to place blame and lash out. An entire country in grief can result in catastrophic lashing out. Theories about who was responsible and insane propositions for solving the issue flew everywhere. Spiegelman inserts himself as the voice of reason, trying to suggest that perhaps accusation is not helpful. Unfortunately, the reasonable voice seems only to drive others away.
In this section, I love Spiegelman’s use of metaphor. This could not have been achieved if he had not streamlined his collage-type layout and made temporal progression through the story easier to understand.
