Bubbles, Captions, And Point Of View

I don't really have a clever way to intro this, so I'll just say I wanted to look at certain things I noticed in the comics Claremont has written since his return last month, because there were some differences and I was thinking about what they meant.

Going back to last month we've got Exiles #90, and the thing I noticed there was the number of caption/exposition boxes, a seemingly sharp increase from Tony Bedard's more voice balloon-driven writing. If anything, the number of caption boxes increased even more markedly in this week's Exiles #91, but the critical difference was in the point of view. In #90, the caption boxes are written from the third person, whereas in #91, they reflect Psylocke's thoughts. I think the difference is due to Claremont being new to the book in #90. It's his first issue, and so he's writing from the perspective of an outsider looking in at this team, trying to get to know the characters, and grow accustomed to them. If the stories of the Claremont fans are true (that they buy any title he writes, and leave when he stops), then it's possible he's making sure that they're brought up to speed as well.

By #91, we apparently aren't outsiders anymore, and so the narrative boxes switch to the first-person perspective of Betsy Braddock, as she attempts to get used to the new situation she's been thrown into. It's a considerable difference in introductions. We were introduced to the Exiles' lives as Morph/Proteus kills the entire team and conquers reality, but we were still safe and sound behind the fourth wall. In contrast, Psylocke's been abruptly dropped into the middle of everything, and confronted immediately with someone she has an unpleasant past with, and so we get to see her greater disorientation, and gradual (ongoing) acclimation to her new life. In seeing how she reacts to them, and how the Exiles react to her, we get to know a little bit more about the team than by passively watching them interact with each other in #90.

Proving my transitions are as poor as my intros and conclusions, I'd like to shift gears to New Excalibur #16 for a bit. The primary thing I wanted to talk about here was that Claremont actually used thought balloons. First off, always nice to see someone dusting off those classics. Secondly, I think's it's a nice touch to use those for the end of the story as Nocturne wakes up in the hospital. Sure, Claremont could have used the caption boxes to depict Nocturne's thoughts, as he did with Psylocke, but using the balloons is more natural in a way. The little bubbles leading from the character to the thought more firmly connect the dialogue to the character. It reinforces in your mind that this character, the one lying in a hospital bed, is the one thinking these thoughts. That she isn't certain where she is, or why she can't move her right leg. That despite her confusion, she's still putting sentences together properly in her mind, that she's able to think things through logically and coherently. Which makes it all the more jarring when her attempt to speak aloud (second to last page) comes out so garbled, barely understandable. We can tell that she knows what to say, and how to put it together, but that she just can't get it out properly. That gives the whole scene an added bit of severity, makes it more "real" for the reader.

Looking at these shifts, I'm curious to see what Claremont does with the point of view and inner dialogue expression in his future issues.