Illustrated fantasy: Image-text relationships in J.R.R Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and Brandon Sanderson’s The Stormlight Archive

Abstract

The in-depth analysis of the artworks and text of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and Brandon Sanderson’s The Stormlight Archive reveals that the form of illustrated fantasy novels uses a different kind of text-image relationship than most existing scholarship conceives of. While graphic novel theory provides a starting point, the use of visual art in these novels functions in a different way, forming immersive worldbuilding, providing visual and spatial understanding of scenes and journeys, and contributing to essential character development. This artwork does not merely illustrate a complete written scene, but rather forms an integral part of the story and greatly affects the reader’s experience of the book. ¶

The new way of thinking about image-text relationships explored in this paper sparks many questions for future scholarship. There are other fantasy novels that use visual art in similar ways that could be explored with this understanding of image-text relationships, such as the Memoirs of Lady Trent series by Marie Brennan. Even further, this form of illustrated novels needs to be explored in other genres. Do image-text relationships function differently in science fiction? In historical fiction? The general lack of scholarship examining this form means there are many opportunities for future study. This paper can serve as a starting point for future explorations into the workings of image-text relationships in this form that is different from most existing ways of thinking about the interaction of words and visual art. (from Conclusion)