Vasili Birlidis
Category A, prompt C
Comic books are not known for their dialogue or written word, but Lumberjanes is unique in that it features several passages of longform writing as bookends for each issue (or in the trade paperback we read, "chapter"). However, the most obvious and essential literary device occurs within the illustrated adventure itself in Chapter Three: in trying to escape the ancient underground temple, the Lumberjanes encounter a wall of anagrams. Molly realizes that the foxes' warning from Chapter One - "beware the kitten holy" - is not a metaphor or pun, but an anagram for "in the tower by the lake."
Being a comic book aimed at younger audiences, Lumberjanes features a couple semi-educational sequences (especially in Chapter Three), including one about the Fibonacci sequence and this one on anagrams. It gently introduces the topic to readers while making it integral to the plot and therefore necessary. The anagram "in the tower by the lake" directly sets up all of Chapter Four, where the Lumberjanes escape from an all-boys' camp to explore the lighthouse tower.
Anagrams are an arrangement of letters that hide a true meaning. This concept of something veiling something else represents Lumberjanes' first volume as a whole. The Lumberjanes program name evokes a female lumberjack, aptly describing how Lumberjanes is a critique of both Girl Scouts USA and Boy Scouts of America's divided gender roles. Molly performs CPR on Mal after she almost drowns, saving her life but also thinly veiling what could be a lesbian kiss that might otherwise harm the book's sales nationwide early into the series' run (note the two characters' blushing). The replacing of "girls" with "hardcore lady-types" is humorous but also responds to the idea that girl is lingustically a lesser term for women, and "lady-types" may be a way of acknowledging transwomen and non-binary persons.
Lumberjanes packs a lot of visual satire and double meanings into its pages, but so far it has also exhibited careful use of the English language in a way that is often overlooked.
Hi Vasili,
ReplyDeleteI like that connection between anagrams and the concept of hiding deeper meanings beneath the surface. I agree with your analysis that the first volume includes nods to subversive ideas (acknowledgement of trans potential with "lady types" and acknowledgement of lesbian desire) while maintaining an overtly normative narrative of female friendship. I tend to look at meta devices like anagrams as a way to grant more agency to the adolescent reader, but your metaphorical interpretation allows us a deeper insight into the text. Well done.