The Arrival, by Shaun Tan / Comics Without Words

Comics are a unique medium. Though their message is expressed in words, it is equally or even mostly expressed in imagery. Wordless comics can be very effective. Even in comics that are normally filled with dialogue, sometimes scenes will occur without the use of text, and situations can hit home a little more for some of us. I guess it's the way that we relate to images. Some can take from them a little more than others, and others can interpret pictures to be something slightly different. However, we all have these eyes that developed over millions of years, and our instincts can be triggered from the things that we see. I find that less text can work really well for horror comics. Where scenes are required to be sentimental and emotional, no words or just a few sprinkled in here and there can create a very powerful scene. Wordless comics also channel aspects of storyboarding. They don't always have to, but its nice to read a story with art thats so effective that words aren't necessary. I find that this is a very useful technique.