8 Underwater Landscapes in Comic Books
129
identifiable characteristic of landscape elements or structures to immerse the reader
in the underwater world.
Archaeological landscapes are one of the essential parts, with the recurring theme
of the wreck which is present in 50 % of the books studied.
These wrecks relate to all kinds of boats, galleons, trawlers, submarines etc. But
they also relate to all the flying objects which might possibly sink to the bottom
of the sea: plane, seaplane . . . As in the case of real sea beds, wrecks are varied
habitats with a rich variety of flora and fauna. Wrecks are also linked to a more or
less mysterious history which is obviously exploited in the comic scenario, in this
way reflecting the interest and attraction that wrecks have for divers (Larn 1993;
Carre et al. 1994; Feige 1998).
Submerged cities are the second characteristic theme, to be found in 25 % of
the books. The myth of Atlantis is very often used (Pratt 1992; Jacobs 1957), as is
the story of the town of Ys in Brittany. But it can also be elements of a real city
that are transplanted, such as the Sagrada Famillia of Gaudi in Barcelona which
on the ocean floor becomes the palace of the king of the fishes in the comic book
Marine (Tranchand 1990). In comic as well as cinema scenarios, there are many
imaginary cities, old and futuristic, where life under water is possible. The underwater
world serves as an imaginary, ideal, creative and fantasized world. The theme of the
anachronistic landscape where time has shifted is often exploited for mystery or
humour, with the incongruous presence under the water of surface objects (a plane
for example); but it can also be the setting for inappropriate behaviour (for example
a little snooze underwater, or a bicycle ride along the seabed . . .).
Generally speaking, these archaeological landscapes enable the authors to structure the scenario around the limits that fluctuate between the worlds above and below
the water. In fact, the hills and valleys and some objects do not move, it is the sea level
which changes. The status of the objects and landscapes (terrestrial/underwater) is
uncertain, which creates strangeness (Savey 1987). This instability, this confusing
blur often refers back to other limits, like that between life and death, and the possibilities of passage or exchange of status. In this sense, underwater landscapes have
the same frontier runner role as night landscapes, establishing a link between the
real world and the imaginary world, between the world of the dead and the world of
the living.
The reliefs of the sea bed are represented explicitly in 75 % of the books. They are
of great diversity: hills, valleys, gorges, faults, blocks, cliffs, plains, deep trenches.
This variety of landscapes is of course exploited both in the scenario and for the
aesthetics of the illustrations. These reliefs are often approached very scientifically, as
the comic book directly exploits the topicality of scientific discoveries on polymetal
nodules, underwater volcanic activity and the tectonic plates.
In the series The adventures of Spirou and Fantasio—Le repère de la Murène, the
drawing of the shipwreck “le Discret” (Franquin 1957) is representative of the vision
of very deep underwater landscapes: dark landscapes, exclusively mineral, difficult
to reach, where the human presence is often associated with mystery and danger,
even with the morbid (wrecks, submerged cities). The influence of the model of the
sublime landscape, very much present in the representation of mountain peaks in the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, is very obvious here.
129
identifiable characteristic of landscape elements or structures to immerse the reader
in the underwater world.
Archaeological landscapes are one of the essential parts, with the recurring theme
of the wreck which is present in 50 % of the books studied.
These wrecks relate to all kinds of boats, galleons, trawlers, submarines etc. But
they also relate to all the flying objects which might possibly sink to the bottom
of the sea: plane, seaplane . . . As in the case of real sea beds, wrecks are varied
habitats with a rich variety of flora and fauna. Wrecks are also linked to a more or
less mysterious history which is obviously exploited in the comic scenario, in this
way reflecting the interest and attraction that wrecks have for divers (Larn 1993;
Carre et al. 1994; Feige 1998).
Submerged cities are the second characteristic theme, to be found in 25 % of
the books. The myth of Atlantis is very often used (Pratt 1992; Jacobs 1957), as is
the story of the town of Ys in Brittany. But it can also be elements of a real city
that are transplanted, such as the Sagrada Famillia of Gaudi in Barcelona which
on the ocean floor becomes the palace of the king of the fishes in the comic book
Marine (Tranchand 1990). In comic as well as cinema scenarios, there are many
imaginary cities, old and futuristic, where life under water is possible. The underwater
world serves as an imaginary, ideal, creative and fantasized world. The theme of the
anachronistic landscape where time has shifted is often exploited for mystery or
humour, with the incongruous presence under the water of surface objects (a plane
for example); but it can also be the setting for inappropriate behaviour (for example
a little snooze underwater, or a bicycle ride along the seabed . . .).
Generally speaking, these archaeological landscapes enable the authors to structure the scenario around the limits that fluctuate between the worlds above and below
the water. In fact, the hills and valleys and some objects do not move, it is the sea level
which changes. The status of the objects and landscapes (terrestrial/underwater) is
uncertain, which creates strangeness (Savey 1987). This instability, this confusing
blur often refers back to other limits, like that between life and death, and the possibilities of passage or exchange of status. In this sense, underwater landscapes have
the same frontier runner role as night landscapes, establishing a link between the
real world and the imaginary world, between the world of the dead and the world of
the living.
The reliefs of the sea bed are represented explicitly in 75 % of the books. They are
of great diversity: hills, valleys, gorges, faults, blocks, cliffs, plains, deep trenches.
This variety of landscapes is of course exploited both in the scenario and for the
aesthetics of the illustrations. These reliefs are often approached very scientifically, as
the comic book directly exploits the topicality of scientific discoveries on polymetal
nodules, underwater volcanic activity and the tectonic plates.
In the series The adventures of Spirou and Fantasio—Le repère de la Murène, the
drawing of the shipwreck “le Discret” (Franquin 1957) is representative of the vision
of very deep underwater landscapes: dark landscapes, exclusively mineral, difficult
to reach, where the human presence is often associated with mystery and danger,
even with the morbid (wrecks, submerged cities). The influence of the model of the
sublime landscape, very much present in the representation of mountain peaks in the
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, is very obvious here.