**Nominated for the 2021 Eisner Award for Best Academic/Scholarly Work** Drawings and sequential images are so pervasive in contemporary society that we may tak

Drawings and sequential images are so pervasive in contemporary society that we may take their understanding for granted. But how transparent are they really, a

Drawings and sequential images are an integral part of human expression dating back at least as far as cave paintings, and in contemporary society appear most p

Sequential images are as natural at conveying narratives as verbal language, and have appeared throughout human history, from cave paintings and tapestries righ

Natural human communication is multimodal. We pair speech with gestures, and combine writing with pictures from online messaging to comics to advertising. This