There's also "Centipede man" from the New 52 series "Dial H" comic. He uses the "Deluca effect" as a kind of superpower. He moves in a kind of rapid speed where his after images super-impose in themselves making them look like segments like a centipede. It's a very cool and unique effect and kind of power you could only pull off in a comic. Definitely check out some of those images.

my favorite example of a polyptic has to be Multiversity: Pax Americana, where Morrison and Quitely show 3 sets of people in 3 different timelines moving across the same space, investigating what happened with the previous set of characters.

I loved that issue of Nightwing. I liked it so much I posted it on my IG. Tom Taylor's run has been great fun.

This was a particularly interesting episode. I love deep dives into subjects that can go by relatively unnoticed, and seeing all the connections and history. Also, I caught the Oliver Tree reference at 2:20, lol. I never would have if my girlfriend hadn't played the song in her car before.

Elena Casagrande on the most recent run of Black Widow with Kelly Thompson does an incredible job using motion in almost every issue of the run. Loved the action in that run.

Wow! That Gianni De Luca artwork is lovely.

The action in those Nightwing channels looks great. I always liked the really dynamic artists using this effect. When I was small, I would follow the action, physically trying to recreate the heroes movements.

You are getting really good at this, Chris. You had my complete attention. The crafting of these deep dive episodes coming across to me as an art in itself.

So this Nightwing issue is like a side-scrolling video game (I remember Contra and Double Dragon best). This is definitely something comics do best: multiple images guiding the eye through the narrative (or multiple narratives).

I think the DeLuca Effect isa perfect name. It honors a great artist and pays due respect. If I had to find a more neutral name it would probably a term like "confluent visual storytelling" but I like the DeLuca Effect more. And mad respect to Redondo. I'm still breathless. Fantastic work! I will watch outfor that guy.

That Nightwing comic is brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. I can easily see it winning an Eisner award!

Cerebus did it in the Fall and the River section using a tour guide’s word balloons across multiple panels in one long panning shot for most of that first issue. Catching readers up on in-world events, like TV news is used in other comics as justified exposition.

Winsor McCay's pioneering Nemo art - incredibly enduring. I'm always transfixed by it.

I always feel like I’m listen to a top college professor who is sharing his knowledge on many aspects of comics.. this was an amazing episode.. thx you

I love Scott McCloud! I have two of his books and he taught me a lot about comics! I love nerdy episodes that dive into the techniques of comics. Great work as usual. 😁

I also like the idea of calling it Bayeux.

Surprised you got through this without mentioning Italian Futurism, like “Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash.” De Luca was almost certainly influenced by it.

That Oliver Tree reference was truly chefs kiss. This is the greatest comic channel of all time.

You missed an obvious one: one you actually showed in the video. Joe Shuster gave Superman his cape to help convey the speed, motion, and direction of the character in a scene.

I remember the first time I saw a whole comic in one very long image: it was a jpg of a wordless Shintaro Kago comic - and was of course utterly surreal and horrifying. The technique in that case wasn't used to communicate motion, however.

Episodes like this are a reminder of why this is the best show about the artform of comics anywhere on the internet. Thank you for discovering Gianni De Luca for me!

I would say one is the "explosive manga speed" where a character is seen, then there is like a air cloud explosion emanating from the character, then there is usually a panel that doesn't show anything but the intervening space or like a ghosty image if the character, then there is a panel where they suddenly appear, usually attacking someone who blocks it just in time. This feels like a remix or varient of the techniques described

I feel like you could always name it after the cinematic version of storytelling that the Nightwing comic felt like to me, a “onetake”

This was great! I got to see Scott McCloud speak at Princeton University years ago.

My father confessed to me once that he didn’t read comics because of he couldn’t understand that sequence of the panels on most pages … this type of motion can be confusing to a small group of people but it is really a clever way to show motion

Speaking of Italian artists, you should check out the work of Sergio Toppi.

In painting, it’s called continuous narration. Fascinating, but hard to pull off well. Great episode!

Morning Chris, What a fascinating and thought provoking subject! When I began reading comics, I've always noticed how some artists use multiple variations of a character to show speed and movement, specially in Spider-Man and The Flash. In my comic The Teenage Gene-Spliced Cyber Bunnies, (hopefully you got the copies) my artwork is.. how can I say, "all-over-the-place" at times, with multiple/ duplicate characters. I call my technique "free-style", like: (rapping, snowboarding, swimming, dancing, motocross, etc.) you guy remember bmx "freestyle' bikes?! lol! I like to think this technique makes/ allows the reader to spend more time looking at the artwork/story, enjoying the extra time reading the comic. The adventure lasts longer. The tapestry reference, was great, thanks for doing such an extensive amount of research. We really appreciate your channel and hard work!

You have a rockin’ mustache. Also, I think Mike Allred did something similar to this Nightwing comic when he worked on Silver Surfer

Wow. That type of storytelling in comics is fascinating. I couldn't take my eyes off of that Nightwing comic.

As well as movement, there's also pacing of scenes, which can be down to the writer as much as the artist. I'd class Alan Moore as a master of pacing in scripts. For two examples, take the scene in Watchmen where Rorschach deduces the secret compartment in Edward Blake's closet and the scene in Miracleman between Bates and the nurse. Both examples of the action being clearly shown and paced in a way that tells the story effectively, informs the reader as to what's happening (wordlessly, in the case of the Watchmen scene) and also engages the reader in the detective work in one case and amplifies the suspense and horror in the other. A classic Golden Age DC example of movement using multiples is Mort Meskin's Johnny Quick, where he used sequential images of the super-speedster in one panel to show him often doing a range of activities or fighting multiple opponents at high velocity. Meskin's technique was very distinctive at the time and different from the way e.g. the Flash's speed was shown.

One word from a fan from Poland. I love your work. I love topics and the way you present our beloved medium - comics. Here in Poland onwdays we have no problem with reading Marvel or DC but as a 44yo man and a great fan of comics I must say there was a time ('70-'80) that almost all of us was obliviuos to superhero comics. But we got fantastic domestic comics like: "Cpt. Żbik" "Kajko i Kokosz", "Tytus, Romek i A'tomek" I invite you to reserach on this topic and even makeing a program about it.

Really interesting, especially as an amateur writer/illustrator. And I must say that, as a fellow Italian, I feel quite ashamed that I was not familiar at all with De Luca until now.

I had a reply just like the scam you described on Freakin' Reviews. I didn't react to it because it seemed odd to me. Thanks for the warning and now I know it's a scam. Also thanks for another wonderful episode. I don't often respond but I always give a thumbs up.

I've noticed that Frank Frazetta used a similar effect many times, to show multiple characters that seem to be performing one action in time-lapse. By doing this, he gives one painting a dynamic sense of comics-style action, by showing a group moving forward. A few examples of this are "Leaping Lizards", "Moon Maiden" (where the robots are moving from right to left), and "Wolfpack", where the wolves are doing it. Once you see that trick, you'll notice that he uses it even in groups of two attackers fairly often. It's a great trick.

Another way you might portray movement with, is abstraction of the surroundings. The fast moving object is clearly visible in all its details but the surroundings are abstracts or colored beyond the lines and stuff. In The Metabarons there's a panel of a spaceship flying to another dimension or something which Gimenez depicted as if the ship had torn space apart where it had gone past, behind the spaceship where drawn simple shapes with few colors, a bit in a cubist style or like something Piet Mondriaan would've drawn. It's in one of the later comics in the series, either Aghorra or No-name iirc.

I'm normally really enjoy your videos but this one is probably the most interesting one that you have done.

A newer trend really exemplified by Daniel Warren Johnson and James Harren is to bring the motion lines into the figure itself. Instead of a clean line for a character, that line is shaking and vibrating to show that it's in motion and full of energy. Great episode! I love thinking about this stuff.

This was awesome, Chris. Thank you! Ps: I've received those scam comments in three different channels, all about different topics (comics, martial arts, gaming). Its quite obvious its fake though, I hope not too many are falling for it.

I love these analyses of comics inner workings, I find them very enriching . I think the first time I noticed this "De Lucca" effect was on Spider-Man comics, even as early in Steve Ditko 's run, but also with later artists like Gil Kane or Ross Andru, even later an artist that was very good with it was Steve Skroce ( I think he worked doing storyboards on The Matrix also). It's great not only to convey speed but also to capture a wider breath of the full motion instead of just zoom lines, so you can see how much of an skillful acrobat is or how much the physics affect the characters when they are in a fight or a fall or something like that. One effect that I've seen on manga that's similar but not quite the same is for example in a fight scene to emphasize the might of a punch or a kick, the artist draws the attacker normally but the other character who is being hit in "blurred" barely, by having it's lines repeated but drawn a bit apart, so it presents the exact moment when the hit just landed and the guy is about to be squashed by a tremendous force. I thought that was an interesting variation

More nerdy deep dive-in! Thanks, Chris!

I wanted to add Geof Darrow's Shaolin Cowboy Shemp Buffet from 2013. The story is a prolonged fight with a horde of zombies.Darrow's art up's the ante in the middle as the Cowboy is killing the zombies with two chainsaws attached to ends of a staff. The panels are segmented in narrow horizontal strips and then expands on other pages into full two pages. The amount of detail and fluidity of the action is inspiring to see as anyone who is familiar with Darrow knows there are no shortcuts in his work and the amount of detail is just staggering. Great episode Chris!

I agree that "Understanding Comics" is an awesome eye opener. I remember how mind blown I was, being presented with clear examples right there on the page, along with consistent and plausible explanations. That particular book might not be the end of all debates surrounding comics, but it is a best possible start for a discussion of the topic.

As a low-rent comic creator, I greatly appreciate when you explain why I do some of the stuff I do, cuz I really don’t know why I’m doing it half the time. Simply wonderful!

Love a nerdy craft deep-dive. Great work as always, Chris!

I know you've probably got too many comments to see mine but you're honestly one of the main reasons I'm super into comics. Thank you!

Excellent episode, drawing from such a wide range. Glad to be made aware of Deluca. Joe Sacco recently did a continuous image as story called The Great War. Many traditional Japanese and Chinese scroll paintings are narrative, and play out as reader/viewer unfurls sections, operating in similar fashions (space, time) as some of your examples. It seems space, environment and architecture are key to the forumula.

I'm not sure if it has been mentioned before in the comments, but Dan Slott & Mike Allred achieved a similar effect via an infinity loop narrative flow in Silver Surfer #11. Midway, the action that has occured in an upper flow above future events pictured below switches to engage the reader by turning the comic book upside down to read events that happen chronologically, yet we have already seen before. (If that makes sense.) Great issue, by the way. Thanks for the information in this video & a good look at one of the most intriguing techniques in comic book motion/time depiction!

Scott McDaniel’s run on Nightwing deserves a mention here, his artwork was incredibly kinetic. Some issues were non-stop motion

Appreciate the continuing education. Love the depth of creativity that writers and artists can explore in this media. Good job, Chris.

Thanks! This was fascinating. I remember there was some pretty dynamic movement-focused art in an early Nightwing book when he first went to Bludhaven as well. Nowhere near as ambitious as this though!

I think there’s good examples of this done in webtoon/manwha continuous scrolling. I’ve seen a lot of it from those type of comics. Yal should check it out.

Winsor McCay deserves his own episode. There is quite a lot about him.

That Moebius strip spread in Promethea was wild! Every time I reread the series, it always takes me a few extra minutes to get the right reading flow on those pages.

I just had to explain this to my four years old who couldn't understand why there were suddenly 4 spidermen in his strip. While explaining it I realized how you can get so used to a technique that you don't even see it anymore. Thank you so much for this incredible explanation, really loved it as I loved your run on Romita Jr and other great artists. Love your humble tone too, clear views and moderation. Refreshing, enlightening even for old comics fans like me. Kudos ! By the way, I find the parallel with movies very interesting, and you can even see how, after comics took inspiration from movies, later on movies got inspired by comics (Ang Lee's Hulk, of course, but I'm thinking Old Boy, with the escape scene, of which I was reminded by the episode of the kid's saving in Daredevil S01 on Netflix). Those two art forms seem to feed each other :)

YAAAY TALKING ABOUT NIGHTWING 87!!! That comic got me into nightwing and since then it’s become my all time favorite current comic series

I remember attending a Degas exhibit and a tour guide insisting that the artist had no interest in anatomy. Meanwhile, I was looking at a sculpture of a dancing figure that was rough, even incomplete in that the clay didn't totally cover the wire frame, but clearly had anatomy. Thigh muscles, and fleshy structures that conveyed not just the body, but how those muscles were flexed/not to convey the motion of the form. An extended foot can convey walking, while one lifted more dramatically running, and the actual tension of the anatomy is part of that process. Pose and anatomy combine to convey that movement. Another way to convey motion is in background blur. A "still" figure that has motion around it still conveys that figure moving in space. With so many people wearing cameras these days, one can see this affect in reverse. When the camera is mounted on a helmet or frame and pointed at someone who is on a moving platform or inside a vehicle, the motion is relative but we can see that it is happening even if we wouldn't see it without that background motion. Think of all the shots of drivers and passengers in a car with badly focused video projected behind them. That effect can still be conveyed in 2d with blur or motion lines that aren't attached to the focus figure.

Now that's an interesting topic. Also; I love Winsor Mckays work

The puff of smoke or little cloud of dust has also indicated movewn. Often in absence of the character only indicated with a previous panel with a build up of preparation.

Absolutely my fave Art effect in comics and literally the only mention of De Luca the artist anywhere on YT. Thanks, Chris!

Redondo is definitely a huge part of what makes me love this current nightwing run

I was hoping you'd use the Mobius strip example from Promethea. It's one of my favourites.

One thing I've noticed that's kinda cool is how radial panel layouts as opposed to left to right panel layouts can be used imply rapid acceleration All Star Superman did this a few times

I saw a artist do this 20 years ago in a web comic that movie on its own like a movie. It was amazing.

Bruno Redondo deserves a Certified Greg moment.

Great breakdown Chris, as a comic creator I appreciate this very much. Nightwing has been fantastic! Also Understanding comics is one of my favorite books of all time, it really made me fall in love with comics

There's a brazillian comic called "CWB", by José de Aguar, that pushes the moebius strip thing to the limit (being a story that can be read on both orientations).

Very interesting subject, the single-take issue, as it were. I'll have to pick up this run. Watching this I was reminded of a tangential subject, that time Marvel did a whole month of comics with no spoken dialogue. Some titles were more successful than others, as I remember, but it was an interesting experiment. Perhaps comparing those issues and the way different artists handled the assignment might be a good subject for the future.

Your channel is nothing short of a college level dive into comics. Thank you. Amazing work.

Bruno Redondo is amazing. I read The entire Suicide Squad in a few hours but always wanted more.

I've been fascinated by this since seeing de Luca mentioned in a Strip Panel Naked video - I wish there were some de Luca comics in English, but as far as I can tell he's never been translated. Some of the art I found while searching, however, is amazing, and more action-oriented than the art in this video, such as a descent down a fire escape.

So I get to teach a cartooning class at my school as a special. I played this video for my kids because it's great! They loved it! Thank you for the great info! I love this channel!

For Flash running, Spider-Man flipping and Hulk transforming, I think of that as a "flipbook effect". Another good example of that technique is the covers of the Animorph books, where the characters are transforming into animals. But "flipbook" clearly doesn't apply to this Nightwing example.

Scott McDaniel did this in some of his Nightwing comics, that was the first place I saw this method used and McDaniels style gave it a lot of excitement! Thanks for the heads-up on this Nightwing issue.

Hell yes, more episodes like this please 🖤

Love this one! Thanks Chris

Fascinating! Thank you Chris.

love these more technical installments of comic tropes! great work

Great episode Chris; thank you so much.

This is one of your best videos so far.

Great episode sir. Always enjoy your stuff.

Wes Craig does this a lot in Deadly Class

A different type of representation of movement in comics that I loved was by Tradd Moore in Silver Surfer Black, where the actual figures and objects in the comics were elongated to show the speed and direction of travel, it's not something I've seen elsewhere.

Another great show thanks for making such enjoyable content!

Great video! Love your channel! Thank you for putting in the hard work you do!

Love your videos, loyal watcher for about 3 years. Thanks!

fascinating video, Chris!

Thank you, this was a really great episode.

Fantastic video. Love this channel.

You are an amazing KZfaqr! Please keep up the great work!

Awesome video! Looking foward to the Nightwing comic!!

Really informative episode Chris! I love a nice deep dive!

What a wonderful topic for a video, really allowing for a brief but broad look at comics history. And bonus points for Bayeux tapestry tie-in! Those scammers have tried with me several times, both on your channel and others, and I keep reporting them. KZfaq really should make more of and effort getting to grips with them.

I love this art style, it's gorgeous

An awesomely edited episode

Loved this episode!

Fantastic video! Great breakdown and analysis! Awesome!

I really do love your channel. Your personality is just so wonderful to watch and listen to, and you never cease to have interesting things to say about comics. Thank you for all you do.

Theres a really great korean webtoon that utilizes the natural fact that theyre mostly read on smartphones. Since the layout is scrolling down, there was a panel with a character making a high impact landing after a jump and you just scrolled through the motion lines almost animating the image by means of just scrolling down to further read. it blew my mind

Really interesting stuff, I love that I always learn something from your vids.