Coda: Metaphor, Magic and Making Meanings

Abstract

This chapter turns to types of metaphor rather than metonym and considers ways in which these contribute to the making of meaning in comics. It briefly makes the distinction between the two tropes and points out that in comics metonymy is fundamental. It explores different types of metaphor in comics, leading from the notion of ‘grammatical metaphor’, which is less well considered in the literature on visual metaphor. This leads to considering the idea of grammaticalisation in the comics image, comparable to the transformation of metaphor from ‘live’ to ‘dead’. It considers how traditional metaphor has been applied to images and used in comics. It argues that metaphor is essential to comics and tentatively draws a connection between the literary concept of ‘magic realism’ and the mode in which comics operate. It concludes by offering a close reading of some short graphic narrative, employing all the ideas the book has used to describe how the comics work.