The Narrated Wall in Communication

Graffiti in Transnational Comics as a Visual Archive of Cities in Transformation

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62161/revvisual.v18.6386

Keywords:

Graffiti, Urban comics, Close reading, City in transformation

Abstract

This article examines how three transnational graphic novels transform graffiti and urban surfaces into “narrated walls,” sequential visual archives of cities in transformation. Through qualitative close reading of key panels, shared formal patterns are identified, ranging from the wall as the compositional axis of the page to the spatio-temporal braiding of narratives, as well as multiple scales that collectively trace a common trajectory from subculture to aestheticization to counter-archive. Flood! presents panoramic views of New York as palimpsests of resistance; BTTM FDRS depicts inscribed walls that consume Chicago’s gentrified inhabitants; and Grafity’s Wall portrays a progressive mural as a witness to real estate speculation. The article highlights the transmedial nature of graffiti  offering a critical reading of the changing city and its processes beyond institutional narratives. In doing so, it seeks to contribute to the study of urban visual culture by proposing comics as a counter-archive of spatial transformation

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Published

2026-08-05

How to Cite

Fuentefría Rodríguez , D., Morales Domínguez, L., & Arrufat Martín, S. (2026). The Narrated Wall in Communication: Graffiti in Transnational Comics as a Visual Archive of Cities in Transformation. VISUAL REVIEW. International Visual Culture Review Revista Internacional De Cultura Visual, 18(4), 117–134. https://doi.org/10.62161/revvisual.v18.6386

Issue

Vol. 18 No. 4 (2026): Communication, Innovation and Innovation in Museums

Section

Research articles

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