Photo comics are a form of
sequential storytelling that uses photographs rather than illustrations for the images, along with the usual comics conventions of narrative text and word balloons containing dialogue. They are sometimes referred to in English as fumetti, photonovels, photoromances, and similar terms. The photographs may be of real people in staged scenes, or posed dolls and other toys on sets.
Although far less common than illustrated comics, photo comics have filled certain niches in various places and times. For example, they have been used to adapt popular film and television works into print, tell original
melodramas, and provide medical education. Photo comics have been popular at times in Italy and Latin America, and to a lesser extent in English-speaking countries.
Terminology
The terminology used to describe photo comics is somewhat inconsistent and idiosyncratic. ''Fumetti'' is an
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
word (literally "little puffs of smoke", in reference to
word balloons), which refers in that language to any kind of comics. Because of the popularity of photo comics in Italy, ''fumetti'' became a
loanword
A loanword (also loan word or loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in two or more languages that are similar because t ...
in English referring specifically to that technique. By extension, comics which use a mixture of photographic and illustrated imagery have been described as ''mezzo-fumetti'' ("half" fumetti). Meanwhile, the
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
term ''fotonovela'' – referring to popular photo-comics melodramas in Latin America – was adapted in English as ''fotonovel''
or ''photonovel'', and came to be associated primarily with film and television adaptations, which were marketed using those terms. Variations such as "photo funnies" and "photostories"
have also been used.
In Italian, a photo comic is referred to as a ''fotoromanzo'' ("photonovel", plural: ''fotoromanzi''). In Spanish-speaking countries, the term ''fotonovela'' refers to several genres of photo comics, including original melodramas.
History
There were attempts at photo comics in the early days of
tabloids in the United States; as early as 1927 the ''
New York Daily News'' featured
Ziegfeld Follies
The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as ''The Ziegfeld Follies of the Ai ...
stars
Eddie Cantor and
Frances Upton
Frances Upton (April 15, 1904 – November 27, 1975) was an American Broadway theatre actress and comedian.
Early life
Upton attended a business college after she finished high school.
Her father, Francis, was a decorated New York City d ...
appearing in sequential photographs, telling jokes (presumably from the ''Follies'' scripts) with speech bubbles superimposed.
Photo comics emerged in Italy in the 1940s and expanded into the 1950s.
(Actress
Sophia Loren worked for a time as a model.
) The lurid Italian crime photo comic ''
Killing'' ran from 1966 through 1969, and was reprinted in other countries; it has been reprinted and revived numerous times since then.
The technique spread to Latin America, first adapting popular films, then for original stories. By the 1960s, there were about two dozen ''fotonovela'' movie adaptations circulating in Latin America and nearly three times as many original works.
They remained popular in Mexico into the late 1980s, when 70 million copies of ''fotonovelas'' were printed each month.
Photo comics first became successful in the United States and Canada with
Harvey Kurtzman
Harvey Kurtzman (; October 3, 1924 – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and editor. His best-known work includes writing and editing the parodic comic book '' Mad'' from 1952 until 1956, and writing the ''Little Ann ...
's ''
Help!
''Help!'' is the fifth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles and the soundtrack to their film of the same name. It was released on 6 August 1965. Seven of the fourteen songs, including the singles " Help!" and " Ticket to Ride", ...
'' magazine, which ran humorous photo stories from 1960 to 1965. Similar "Foto Funnies" – often featuring female nudity – were a regular feature of ''
National Lampoon'' magazine beginning in the early 1970s.
During the 1970s, lines of American paperback books were marketed as "Fotonovels" and "Photostories", adapting popular films and television shows. Although home video largely supplanted this market in the 1980s, a small number of photo comic adaptations continued to be produced as promotional tie-ins to the original work.
Photo comics were common in British magazines such as ''
Jackie'' in the 1980s, and a few are still published. There are a number of photo newspaper strips in the UK and the form was popular in girl's comics in the 1980s. Boy's comics of the early 1980s such as ''Load Runner'' and the relaunched ''
Eagle
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...
'' also experimented with photo comics but without much success; when the ''Eagle'' was revamped, former photo comic strips such as ''
Doomlord
''Doomlord'' was a comic strip (and the shared title name of the central characters) published in the British comic book ''Eagle'' during the 1980s, from issue 1 on 27 March 1982 until issue 395 on 14 October 1989. Reprints of previous ''Doomlo ...
'' continued as illustrated strips.
Online series such as ''
Night Zero
''Night Zero'' is a webcomic and published graphic novel created by Anthony van Winkle and Forest Gibson. Conception and production began in late 2007, with the completion of the "pilot" episode in May 2008. The first serial comic began its online ...
'', ''
A Softer World'', and ''
Alien Loves Predator
''Alien Loves Predator'' (sometimes shortened as ''ALP'') is a webcomic written by Bernie Hou. It spoofs the ''Alien vs. Predator'' franchise. Reversing the adversarial relationship depicted in the comics, games, books and movies, ''ALP'' present ...
'' are more recent examples of photo comics. In 2007, the
Web Cartoonist's Choice Awards gave the first award for "Outstanding Photographic Comic". In 2010 and 2011 the bilingual photo comic ''Union of Heroes'' was nominated for the "Web-Sonderman"-Awards for the best German webcomic. In the 2010s, cartoonist
John Byrne – inspired by 1970s photo comics adaptations of ''
Star Trek'' episodes – produced a series of "photonovel adventures" which combined stills from the series with original digitally rendered background illustrations and new dialogue, to produce new stories featuring the characters.
Software applications such as
Comic Life
a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...
, Comic Strip It, and Strip Designer, which allow users to add word balloons and sound effects to their personal photos and incorporate them into storytelling layouts, have revived some interest in the medium.
Common genres
TV and movie adaptations
In the United States, one of the common uses of photo comics has been TV and film adaptations, usually abridged for length. Still frames from the film or video are reproduced, often in simple grids but sometimes with creative layouts and cropping, overlaid with balloons with abbreviated dialogue from the screenplays. They are a cost-effective way to adapt films and TV series into comics without the expense of commissioning illustrations, and were a way for consumers to revisit motion-picture stories before the widespread availability of affordable home recording and video playback equipment such as VCRs.
Educational
The widespread familiarity of ''fotonovelas'' in Spanish-language culture makes photo comics an effective vehicle for health promotion and health education.
[Flora, C. (1985). The fotonovela in America. Studies in Latin American Popular Culture, 4, 84-94.] Since the small pamphlets can be traded among individuals, they possess an element of portability that traditional materials lack. Both health and non-health entities have utilized the fotonovela as informational pamphlets. The fotonovelas produced by these organizations present information in a variety of illustrated forms but usually contain a summation of key points at the end. Health educators have also utilized the fotonovela because the medium overcomes issues of health literacy, which is the degree to which individuals can obtain, process and understand basic health information to make appropriate health decisions, in their target audience. Most providers believe that health education materials designed specifically for patients with low health literacy would be helpful: however, written educational materials found in most health settings have been deemed to have serious deficiencies.
Notable examples
Original photo comics
![Irregular Webcomic strip 3626](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Irregular_Webcomic_strip_3626.jpg)
*''
The Brick Testament'', stories from the Bible illustrated using photos of
Lego figurines and sets, as well as speech balloons and caption boxes
*''
Killing''
*''
A Softer World'' by
Joey Comeau and Emily Horne.
*''
Alien Loves Predator
''Alien Loves Predator'' (sometimes shortened as ''ALP'') is a webcomic written by Bernie Hou. It spoofs the ''Alien vs. Predator'' franchise. Reversing the adversarial relationship depicted in the comics, games, books and movies, ''ALP'' present ...
'' by Bernie Hou.
*''
Transparent Life'' by Charlie Beck
*''
Night Zero
''Night Zero'' is a webcomic and published graphic novel created by Anthony van Winkle and Forest Gibson. Conception and production began in late 2007, with the completion of the "pilot" episode in May 2008. The first serial comic began its online ...
'' by Anthony van Winkle and Eli Black-Mizuta.
*The series ''3hoog'', ''Ype'' and ''De Uitgeverij'' by Dutch comics artist Ype Driessen.
* The one-shot album ''De Hete Urbanus'' (''The Hot Urbanus'') in the ''
Urbanus
Urbain Servranckx (born 7 June 1949), better known as Urbanus, is a Belgian comedian, actor, singer and comic book writer. Although he is most famous as comedian, some of his songs became hits, such as ''Bakske vol met stro'' (1979), ''Madammen ...
'' series by
Willy Linthout
Willy Linthout (born 1 May 1953) is a Belgian comics author, best known for the ''Urbanus'' comics and his graphic novel '' Years of the Elephant''.
Biography
Willy Linthout was born in Eksaarde near Lokeren, Belgium in 1953. He was a mechanic ...
and
Urbanus
Urbain Servranckx (born 7 June 1949), better known as Urbanus, is a Belgian comedian, actor, singer and comic book writer. Although he is most famous as comedian, some of his songs became hits, such as ''Bakske vol met stro'' (1979), ''Madammen ...
.
*
Urbanus
Urbain Servranckx (born 7 June 1949), better known as Urbanus, is a Belgian comedian, actor, singer and comic book writer. Although he is most famous as comedian, some of his songs became hits, such as ''Bakske vol met stro'' (1979), ''Madammen ...
,
Kamagurka
Luc Zeebroek (born 5 May 1956), better known as Kamagurka, is a Belgian
Belgian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to, Belgium
* Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent
* Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, suc ...
and
Herr Seele made some one-shot photo comics in the 1980s for the magazine ''
Humo
''HUMO'' is a popular Dutch-language Belgian weekly radio and television supermarket tabloid.
History and profile
''Humoradio'' (meaning a portmanteau of 'humor' and 'radio' in English) was first published in 1936 as a Dutch-language counterpa ...
''.
*
Louis Salvérius and
Raoul Cauvin
Raoul Cauvin (26 September 1938 – 19 August 2021) was a Belgian comics author and one of the most popular in the humorist field.
Biography
Raoul Cauvin was born in Antoing, Belgium in 1938.De Weyer, Geert (2005). "Raoul Cauvin". In België ges ...
once made a one-shot photo comic strip parodying their own series ''
Les Tuniques Bleues
''Les Tuniques Bleues'' (Dutch: De Blauwbloezen) is a Belgian series of ''bandes dessinées'' (comic books in the Franco-Belgian tradition), first published in '' Spirou'' magazine and later collected in albums by Dupuis."Best of Belgium's Cart ...
'' with themselves dressed up as their characters.
* ''Mannetje en Mannetje'' (''Little Man and Little Man'') by
Hanco Kolk
Hanco Kolk (born 11 March 1957, Den Helder) is a Dutch cartoonist and comics artist. He is best known for his collaborations with Peter de Wit, with who he made ''Gilles de Geus'' and '' S1NGLE'
Kolk married author Isabelle Rosselin in 2016.
Bi ...
and
Peter de Wit.
* ''Christopher's Punctured Romance'' by
Terry Gilliam
Terrence Vance Gilliam (; born 22 November 1940) is an American-born British filmmaker, comedian, animator, actor and former member of the Monty Python comedy troupe.
Gilliam has directed 13 feature films, including '' Time Bandits'' (1981), '' ...
, starring
John Cleese.
*
Jean Teulé is a French cartoonist who takes photographs or makes photocopies, which he then changes with colors and pencil.
* ''@$$hole'' by Trevor Mueller
* ''Kwakzalver en Knettergek'' by Nix.
* ''God en Klein Pierken'' by Nix and Bart Schoofs.
* The work of Dutch Internet artist Kakhiel.
* ''Crimefighters'' by Fjodor Buis and
Thé Tjong-Khing
Thé Tjong-Khing (; born August 4, 1933) is a children's book illustrator based in the Netherlands.
He was born in Purworedjo, Java to a large Chinese Indonesian family. As a child he was interested in the Tarzan comic strips of Edgar Rice Bur ...
.
* ''Happenstance'' by Stephen Saperstein Frug, which used color photographs, sometimes intentionally blurred, to tell the story of a character with
prosopagnosia
Prosopagnosia (from Greek ''prósōpon'', meaning "face", and ''agnōsía'', meaning "non-knowledge"), also called face blindness, ("illChoisser had even begun tpopularizea name for the condition: face blindness.") is a cognitive disorder of f ...
(the inability to recognize faces).
* ''Artful Design: Technology in Search of the Sublime'' a book by
Ge Wang
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energy ...
.
* ''
Punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
'' magazine by
John Holmstrom
John Holmstrom (born 1954) is an American underground cartoonist and writer. He is best known for illustrating the covers of the Ramones albums '' Rocket to Russia'' and '' Road to Ruin'', as well as his characters Bosko and Joe (published in S ...
et al. frequently used the photo comics format for interviews and other features, notably in the case of two full-length photo comics "The Legend of Nick Detroit" (#6, October 1976), and "Mutant Monster Beach Party" (#15, July/August 1978).
Film adaptations
(Many marketed as "Fotonovels")
*''
Alien'' (1979 film) (large format)
*''
Americathon'' (1979)
*''The Best of
Rocky
''Rocky'' is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise and stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burge ...
and the Complete
Rocky II'' (1979)
*''
Blair Witch Project, The'' (2000)
*''
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'' (1979)
*''
Can't Stop the Music
''Can't Stop the Music'' is a 1980 American musical comedy film directed by Nancy Walker. Written by Allan Carr and Bronté Woodard, the film is a pseudo-biography of the 1970s disco group the Village People loosely based on the actual story ...
'' (1980)
*''
The Champ'' (1979)
*''
Charlie's Angels'' (2000)
*''
Cheech and Chong's Next Movie'' (1980)
*''
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' is a 1977 American science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey, and François Truffaut. It tells the story ...
'' (1977)
*''
Grease'' (1978)
*''
Hair'' (1979)
*''
Heaven Can Wait'' (1978)
*''
Ice Castles
''Ice Castles'' is a 1978 American romantic drama film directed by Donald Wrye and starring Lynn-Holly Johnson and Robby Benson. It is the story of Lexie Winston, a young figure skater, and her rise and fall from super stardom. Tragedy strikes ...
'' (1978)
*''
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
''Invasion of the Body Snatchers'' is a 1956 American science fiction horror film produced by Walter Wanger, directed by Don Siegel, and starring Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter. The black-and-white film was shot in Superscope and in the film ...
'' (1978)
*''
The Jerk
''The Jerk'' is a 1979 American comedy film directed by Carl Reiner and written by Steve Martin, Carl Gottlieb, and Michael Elias (from a story by Steve Martin and Carl Gottlieb). This was Martin's first starring role in a feature film. The f ...
'' (1979)
*''
Little Shop of Horrors'' (1986), adapted by Robert and Louise Egan
*''
The Lord of the Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's b ...
'' (1978)
*''
Love at First Bite
''Love at First Bite'' is a 1979 American comedy horror film directed by Stan Dragoti and written by Robert Kaufman, using characters originally created by Bram Stoker. It stars George Hamilton, Susan Saint James, Richard Benjamin, and Arte J ...
'' (1979)
*''
Nashville'' (1975)
*''
Nightwing'' (1979)
*''
Outland'' (1981) (large format)
*''
Revenge of the Pink Panther'' (1979)
*''
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is a 1975 musical comedy horror film by 20th Century Fox, produced by Lou Adler and Michael White and directed by Jim Sharman. The screenplay was written by Sharman and actor Richard O'Brien, who is also ...
'' (1975)
*''
Saturday Night Fever'' (1977)
*''
Star Trek: The Motion Picture: The Photostory'', edited by Richard J. Anobile (1980)
*''
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan: Photostory'', by Richard J. Anobile (1982)
Television adaptations
(Many marketed as "Fotonovels")
*''
Battlestar Galactica'' (pilot film)
*''
Doctor Who''
*''
The Incredible Hulk
The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of '' The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book a ...
''
*''
Mork & Mindy
''Mork & Mindy'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 14, 1978, to May 27, 1982. A spin-off after a highly successful episode of ''Happy Days'', "My Favorite Orkan", it starred Robin Williams as Mork, an extraterrest ...
''
*''
Star Blazers''. English version of ''
Space Battleship Yamato
is a Japanese science fiction anime series produced and written by Yoshinobu Nishizaki, directed by manga artist Leiji Matsumoto, and produced by Academy Productions. The series aired in Yomiuri TV from October 6, 1974 to March 30, 1975 ...
'' published by West Cape Corporation in 1983
*''
Star Trek'' – Twelve episodes were adapted.
**''
The City on the Edge of Forever
"The City on the Edge of Forever" is the twenty-eighth and penultimate episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Harlan Ellison, contributors and/or editors to the script included S ...
'', published November 1977
**''
Where No Man Has Gone Before
"Where No Man Has Gone Before" is the third episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series, ''Star Trek''. Written by Samuel A. Peeples and directed by James Goldstone, it first aired on September 22, 1966.
In t ...
'', published November 1977
**''
The Trouble with Tribbles
"The Trouble with Tribbles" is the fifteenth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by David Gerrold and directed by Joseph Pevney, it was first broadcast on December 29, 1967. In ...
'', published December 1977
**''
A Taste of Armageddon'', published January 1978
**''
Metamorphosis'', published February 1978
**''
All Our Yesterdays'', published March 1978
**''
The Galileo Seven'', published May 1978
**''
A Piece of the Action'', published June 1978
**''
The Devil in the Dark'', published July 1978
**''
Day of the Dove
"Day of the Dove" is the seventh episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by Jerome Bixby and directed by Marvin Chomsky, it was first broadcast November 1, 1968.
In the episode, an al ...
'', published August 1978
**''
The Deadly Years
"The Deadly Years" is the twelfth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series ''Star Trek''. Written by David P. Harmon and directed by Joseph Pevney, it was first broadcast December 8, 1967.
In the episode, ...
'', published September 1978
**''
Amok Time
"Amok Time" is the second season premiere episode of the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek''. Written by science fiction author Theodore Sturgeon, scored by Gerald Fried, and directed by Joseph Pevney, it first aired o ...
'', published October 1978
See also
*
Photo-romance
The Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) describes theatrical forms that the Brazilian theatre practitioner Augusto Boal first elaborated in the 1970s, initially in Brazil and later in Europe. Boal was influenced by the work of the educator and theoris ...
, an alternative term for photo comics
*
Film comic
References
Further reading
* Jan Baetens: ''The film photonovel: a cultural history of forgotten adaptations'', Austin: University of Texas Press, 2019,
{{Authority control
Photocomics
Photo comics are a form of sequential storytelling that uses photographs rather than illustrations for the images, along with the usual comics conventions of narrative text and word balloons containing dialogue. They are sometimes referred to ...
Comics terminology
Lists of novels
Comics by format