"Where the Tide Ebb and Flow", page 2

Here "Where the Tide Ebb and Flow", the Alberto Breccia rendition in 1976 from the Lord Dunsany tale.
This comic differs substantially
in its approach to imagery from his previous works; despite the stylized nature of the images, each figure appears more like a shadow, moving through an ethereal world without a horizon or ground. The page are
composed of white, black, and an
almost flat gray, which serves as a context,
softening the contrast between white
and black. Its function is not to provide
depth, since the image is flat;
this shade creates the atmosphere of a grayish monotony.
In the first panel,
which consists of a close-up of one
of the hooded figures, we see the
almost complete synthesis we mentioned
earlier. It is not enclosed by
any outline; it is a solid
black mass, in which we can make out the man’s
head thanks to the two almost
triangular shapes representing his eyes.
The speech bubble sets off the next
action; the verbal condemnation of his
actions is carried out in the following
panel. The low-angle shot heightens the
tension of the scene; from the black shape
emerges the executioner, raising his axe before the condemned man is executed, the scene ends with a black smudge, which
represents the spilled blood.

In the fourth panel, the group of men retreats, like a uniform mass.
The setting lacks a sky, a horizon line, or ground; the condemned man is left with nothingness in a sort of limbo. In the next two panels, the text takes center stage, explaining why the camera angle lowered. This depicts what the protagonist sees: since he has no grave, his soul does not separate from his body. The two panels are almost abstract, created with torn sheets of paper representing the city and trees in the last panel.