This comic book issue focuses on Nightcrawler and explores his dark backstory. It uses flashbacks to show how he was enslaved and forced to perform as a circus freak. In the present, Nightcrawler searches for his former master Jardine to warn him that something evil is coming. The artwork effectively depicts Nightcrawler's distressing past through techniques like asymmetry, dark coloring, and breaking the fourth wall. Overall, the issue balances exploring the character's origins with building tension for an upcoming confrontation.

1. NIGHTCRAWLER
BY TROY JACKSON

2. ABSTRACT
• Title: Nightcrawler
• Issue: No.9 October 2005
• Character Description:
Nightcrawler, known as Kurt Wagner, is a shapeshifting mutant; he is a member of humanity, but posses the superhuman abilities of extreme agility, teleportation, and adhesive hands and feet. Early
comic books state that Nightcrawler is from a small village in Germany called Winzeldorf where he spent his days slaving as a carnival freak. The indigo-toned superhero had his debut for Marvel Comics
in 1975 once writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum fabricated the character. With three fingers on each hand, two toes on each foot, a long tale, and yellow eyes, Nightcrawler really is a creature of
the night. Even with a dark inner story, Nightcrawler’s character is very carefree and loves to be the practical joker of the group. Nightcrawler is most known for his allegiance with the X-Men. He is a
complex superhero with a great personality, and he is becoming more popular due to his appearances in many current motion pictures.
• http://marvel.com/characters/1602/nightcrawler
• http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Kurt_Wagner_(Earth-616)
• http://marvel.com/universe/Nightcrawler
• Summary:
In a dimension out of time, in Limbo, the sorceress Margali Szardos goes to the crying aid of her daughter Amanda. A spirit named Nightmare brutally interrogates Amanda, looking for an item called
the soulsword. The scene switches to Winzeldorf, Nightcrawler’s hometown, where the carnival town has been ravaged. In a series of events, Nightcrawler’s backstory is brought to light, and the
motives behind his actions, too. Nightcrawler recalls how his old carnival master, Jardine, deceitfully suppressed his superpowers and enslaved him in a cage to be presented as a freak show. One day, a
small child took pity on Nightcrawler and helped him escape. About to take revenge on Jardine, Nightcrawler becomes soft and forgives Jardine with little punishment. The time is present and
Nightcrawler knows someone evil is after the soulsword, and Jardine must know where it is. In a final scene, Nightcrawler finds Jardine’s dying, travelling carnival and tells him to run, or something evil
will destroy him once and for all. The story ends with a depiction of hordes of monsters rushing into the carnival.
• Impression:
From a narrative standpoint, this issue of Nightcrawler does extremely well bouncing from past to present. There are very clear distinctions and definite moments in the present that trigger to the
viewing of Nightcrawler’s past. Not only in transitional timeframes, but also in transitioning from dimensions. The side story of the sorcerer gives the reader hints as to why events are unfolding in
reality. One portion of the narrative that is particularly effective are Nightcrawler’s flashbacks. They delve into just enough backstory that hints to the reader the personality of Nightcrawler and his
motives, too. The story is put together well enough that I understood the story without reading any of the issues before it. Lastly, the ending scene is very effective at creating suspense. With
Nightcrawler at the epicenter of the incoming horde, there is bound to be an important brawl in the next issue.
The artist of this comic efficiently depicted a story with striking imagery. The cover shows a silhouette of Nightcrawler in the cages of a carnival wagon—ready for retribution. The images in this comic
book are very memorable. The artist does not limit the characters to panels. Several times the important characters’ pop out of the panel frame to show their importance and multiply their emotions.
There is an abundance of close ups and extreme close ups in this comic, and it works for the storyline. This issue is a tension builder, it is leading up to a battle, so instead of action it is appropriate to tell
the story with facial expressions. The whole book is graphically dark and highly contrasted, but it is even more so when the panels take place in the past. Colorizing the past panels in this way enhances
the dark, decrepit experiences Nightcrawler has gone through. Overall, the art in this comic book is very fitting for the darker story aligned with Nightcrawler and his current situation.

3. THEME/FOCUS
• Nightcrawler is an extremely dark comic. The colors and lines of the art are highly saturated and
contrasted. In the next slides, the focus of the panels will be on darkness of Nightcrawler’s past.
Throughout the comic, Nightcrawler has flash backs of being treated as a freak show and how he now
bottles the anger of his past to do good. In the upcoming slides, you will see the dark, past, and heroic
sides of Nightcrawler.

4. MOMENT–MOMENT
Like the text says, the panel transition of Moment—
Moment is a single action portrayed in a series of
moments. This techniques increases suspense and
slows down the action for the characters, and readers,
to think more clearly.
The first two panels depict an example of
Moment—Moment transition. Here,
Nightcrawler internalized how his past home
has become oppressive and demoralizing. The
actions slow down in this seen to give the
readers a dramatic breath.

5. ACTION—ACTION
These two panels depict an Action—Action
transition. Here, Nightcrawler’s oppressor, Jardine,
shoves a serum into his neck to suppress his
superpowers. This gives Jardine the ability to make
Nightcrawler his puppet.
Action-–Action
sequences highlight a
single subject in a
series of actions.
Unlike Moment—
Moment, this
technique is used to
further the plot and is
known for its
efficiency.

6. SUBJECT—SUBJECT
These panels use Subject—Subject
transitions to effectively show the
conversation between Nightcrawler and
Jardine. In this scene, Jardine is bankrupt
and disgusting. Nightcrawler tries to help
Jardine, the man who enslaved him for
years. Nightcrawler wants “redemption.”
When a series of changing subjects
within a single scene occurs in a
comic book, it is known as Subject—
Subject. This type of transition allows
characters to easily have
conversations and create exposition
while still showing emotion.

7. SCENE—SCENE
This comic uses its Scene—Scene transitions in
unique ways. Here, it switches from an airport,
to the woman's house, to the Blackbird in flight.
Nightcrawler stole the Blackbird in order to find
Jardine, and save him from imminent doom.
Nightcrawler is always looking to defeat
darkness, no matter his personal vendettas.
The McCloud text says Scene—Scene
transitions across significant distances of time
and/or space. These panels compress the
story and allow for the plot to take place in
many separate locations.

8. CLARITY VS INTENSITY
This is a perfect example of a balance between Clarity and
Intensity. We have a regularly depicted scene, but it
happens in the past. So the faces of the crowd and the
shadow of the beaten Nightcrawler are distorted—
depicting the fear in Nightcrawler’s Memories.
There needs to be a balance between the overall clarity
and intensity of the comic. Leaning towards clarity will
result in a straightforward story that may not be
interesting. However, having too much intensity in your
story confuses readers. You want to put a personal
flair/technique into your work, but make sure to keep a
balance between clarity and intensity.

9. ABOVE ANGLE
Nightcrawler walks into his
hometown to see all these
bodies lying on the ground.
The artist utilizes an above
angle frame to show the
devastation of the monsters
who came to kill. It also
puts Nightcrawler at a
vulnerable position because
we are looking down at
him. He knows all these
people, and is reflecting on
the memories he once had.
Comic creators implement the use of above angles to
give readers a wealth of information about the setting. It
can also convey a sense of vulnerability or subjectivity
towards the subject in the frame.

10. WORD-SPECIFIC
This panel is a perfect example of a
Word-Specific combination. Here,
the narrator explains an entire
situation, and the picture supports a
small piece of what the text said. In
this frame, Nightcrawler is searching
for his old master, Jardine.
The Word-Specific combination is
great for compressing a story that is
either short or a fixed-length comic.
Word-Specific panels use the words
to provide readers all they need to
know, and the picture supports
what is written.

11. PICTURE-SPECIFIC
Picture-Specific combinations allow the
picture to provide all you need to
know, while the words heighten the
aspects of the depicted scene.
The artwork in this single panel takes up an entire page. The main focus of this
page is on the picture; the detail is intricate and it tells more of the story than the
words on the page do. The few words on this page are used to foreshadow a duel
in the next issue of the comic, because this is the last panel.

12. DUO-SPECIFIC
The words and picture of this panel say the same thing. Artistically, it
depicts Nightcrawler in the act of stealing the Blackbird and the words on
the page reiterate exactly what is going on. In this panel, Nightcrawler
justifies stealing the Blackbird in order to save his old friends.
The Duo-Specific combo uses words and pictures that
send roughly the same message. The words and
pictures work together to enhance the quality of a
single panel.

13. INTERDEPENDENT
Without the words in this panel, the readers would not know when
this scene takes place. The picture depicts Jardine sitting at a desk,
but we would not know that this scene happens in the past without
the words. These two features, word and picture, come together in
this panel to give the reader the full effect of this panel.
Interdependent combos uses words
and pictures to convey an idea that
neither would convey alone. Without
one, the other would not entirely
make sense.

14. REALISM
The wrinkles on his face, the smudges on
his skin, and the shadows of indentation
on Jardine gives his character in this frame
an absolute sense of realism. He is
trodden down over the years, and it
shows. All of the art in this Nightcrawler
comic is realistic, but this freeze frame
captures the essence of a broken Jardine.
There are four graphic strategies—
Simplification, Exaggeration, Symbolism,
and Realism. Artists use Realism in their
work to reproduce life-like characters.
Giving characters a more earthy feel will
make the readers find them to be more
relatable.

15. FACIAL EXPRESSIONS
Nightcrawler’s Facial Expression in this panel give
insight to his emotions. The artist mixes anger,
sadness, and hopelessness in this instance to create
a face the reader will remember. At this point,
Nightcrawler remembers
Facial Expressions show emotions. In comics, the
face of a character can send readers more
information than the dialogue. Whether it be anger,
happiness, or sadness, the structure of the face can
portray these emotions and many more complex
feelings.

16. ESTABLISHING SHOT
What a perfect example of an Establishing
Shot we have here. The top panel showcases
an extreme longshot of smoke rising in the
distance and gives the name of the place this
scene takes place. Then it zooms closer into
just a long shot to establish the destruction.
The detail in these frames gives the reader
enough information to get a sense of the
setting.
An Establishing Shot introduces the setting.
With this type of shot, readers will sense the
time, place, and mood of your entire comic. In
most cases, an Establishing Shot is a big panel
or two at the beginning of a new scene. After
the scene is set, closer shot of the characters
begin to form.

17. MONTAGE
BAMF! That is the sound the artist gives to indicate when Nightcrawler
teleports, which is followed by smoke and the smell of brimstone. A
perfect example of Montage, the reader is able to “hear” the written
description of Nightcrawler’s noises. Once again, this action occurs in
Nightcrawler’s dark past.
Montage is a category of word/picture combinations and occurs when
words and pictures are used together pictorially. This category also
includes using words to add “sound effects” to an action, writing on
objects in the panel, and give readers the ability to listen with their
eyes.

18. LOUDNESS
As another example of Montage, this sound effect text can
be more specifically defined with Loudness. The word
“CLICK!” is quite small for a sound effect text, which lets
the viewer know it is a quiet noise. Yet, it is a sharp noise
because of the exclamation point. This scene occurs while
Nightcrawler is an encaged freakshow.
Loudness is a more specific
part of Montage. This type is
used to indicate the volume
and tone of noise based on
features of the text. The
bigger and bolder, the louder
the sound. Adding
exclamation points contribute
to the same effect.

19. SENSE OF DEPTH A Sense of Depth is a key ingredient in the making of an effective
Establishing Shot. A more experienced artist will know how to add
depth and create a sense of distance in the panel.
The picture of this page
does not do it justice.
The artist of this panel
knows how to create
depth with the size of
objects in the frame. The
Blackbird in the
background, smoke in
the mid-ground, and
Nightcrawler in the
foreground give the
panel great perspective.
Nightcrawler is going to
find the man who
enslaved him years
ago—Jardine.

20. BODY LANGUAGE
Even without the words in this panel, readers
would be able to understand the emotions of
Nightcrawler because of his Body Language. Broken
and defeated, Nightcrawler’s body lies horizontal on
the ground and his limbs are limp. Nightcrawler is
hopeless, and his Body Language shows it.
Body Language in comic
books has the ability to
convey the emotions of a
character without having to
use dialogue. Most often,
body language accompanies
the words in order to create
a more effective panel.

21. BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL
The Fourth Wall is the
perspective of the
reader, but in comics, it
is when a subject or an
object breaks out of a
panel. This type of art
can infer intensity or
amplify the meaning of
what is inside the panel.
In this frame, Nightcrawler’s head depicts his present self remembering
this instance. It breaks from the panel above. But, look at a more simple
Fourth Wall Break—Jardine’s foot. It just barely goes out of the panel
frame, but its meaning is significant. Looking deeper, the artist wanted to
show how Jardine has stepped out of line by enslaving people to his
freak show.

22. SYMMETRY
The cover of this comic shows how
symmetry can be used to depict
emotion. In this drawing,
Nightcrawler is not symmetrical, his
body is turned and he is stuck in the
corner of the cage. Being
asymmetrical, Nightcrawler gives
the readers a sense that his life is in
distress.
Symmetry gives the subject human characteristics, no matter if it is non-living
or not. People see symmetry and find a bit of them selves in that quality,
because humans are symmetric. Breaking symmetry can give a sense of
disorder and take whatever the subject is away from human characteristics.

23. CONCLUSION
• This issue of Nightcrawler depicts the heroes dark past and why he continues to fight for good.
McCloud’s text tells of the techniques professional comic book artists use, and this artwork contained
many of those. I only selected a few out of all the techniques Nightcrawler and McCloud’s text.
Nightcrawler, as seen in this issue, is a complex hero who is not entirely good, but he continues to work
against evil. Nightcrawler is an extremely dark comic about the hero’s past.