ABSTRACT
Comics texts are seldom awarded the same analytical attention as images, or they are addressed only in subordinate relation to images, confirming alignment with Groensteen’s (2007) assertion of the preeminence of image. Featuring examples of Swedish comics that are distinguished by their detailed depictions of character conversations, this chapter establishes the significance of comics texts and the necessity of a theoretical apparatus that can account for their primacy. Conversation Analysis (CA) is proposed, which focuses on conversation as social action and maintains that life experiences are shared primarily through talk. The application of CA methodology to comics reveals how the resources of comic art such as ballooning, lettering, and spelling are exploited to realistically depict elements of conversation, including aural/oral aspects of talk, phenomena of face-to-face interaction such as interrupting and over-lapping, or sequencing of turn-taking. The application of CA methodology helps the comics analyst understand the organization and management of conversation as social action, both within the confines of the panels and in the larger context of comic art.
