After studying the artwork and panel designs of WE3, I noticed that the art and panels themselves tell as much as a story as the physical actions of the character and the words they say. I found that the art and panels show an alternate version of the same story we get with just actions and dialogue. I take a look at Page 59, which I about 1 and 2 getting into a fight about staying together as a team, which is abruptly ended when a strange scent hits the air. So, ignoring the speech bubbles, analyzing that Panels, and the positions of the characters within each panel, emphasize character movement and the direction of where the story is going next.
In the first panel 1 is running towards 2, while the second panel has close up of 2’s face. I noticed that the characters in these panels are facing each other, as if in a confrontational stance, because 1 is running to the right and 2 is glaring to the left. The direction the characters are facing emphasizes that a confrontation is about to start.
Panels three and four have 1 and 2 rolling on top of each other in a fight, with the panels split in two. The panels are split by a diagonal bar, starting from the upper-left to the lower-right. I find the diagonal bar having two tasks: (1) as the silhouette of the bridge they were walking on and (2) as a visual device conveying the direction of the characters as they fight.
In the first half the third panel, I noticed how 1 is in the upper-left corner of the panel while 2 is on the lower-right against the diagonal bar. The bars direction compliments 1’s jump toward 2 with the intent of pushing her down, which he does on the second half of the panel.
In the forth panel, there I a change of character position. 2 is now on the upper-left corner and 1 is on the lower-right. The diagonal bar again compliments the direction of the fight. Panel four signifies that 2 now has the upper hand (paw, rather) in this fight.
In panel five, we have 2 on the left, 3 in the middle and 1 on the right. I noticed that, though the positions of 1 and 2 have changed since panels one and two, they are still in a confrontational stance, meaning that the fight is not yet over. 3 is standing in between 1 and 2, trying to diffuse the confrontation. I then notice a wide diagonal bar to the right of 1 in this panel, and I realize that it has a special task: neutralization.
I believe that the wide bar has a neutralizing effect, as panel six shows, the confrontation has stopped. 1 and 2 are not facing each other and 3 is not in between them. The characters seem to be positioned the same general direction, yet they are looking in different directions, as if their minds want to engage in something other than the confrontation. I also noticed that the characters are positioned in the general direction of the neutralizing bar, further emphasizing that the confrontation has toned down, or become neutralized.