Comics are expressed in a variety of ways. When most people think of comic books they usually associate pictures with action not thinking about the strategies the author uses to express the story in a certain way. However, in most comics, the author uses his/hers pictures and choice of wording to convey the story from their own point of view. Their drawings depict emotion by choice of colors, use of wording, and type of sketching. In GB Tran's Vietnamerica: A Family's Journey, Tran uses the colors, wording, and lines in his drawings to make the reader see the story from his point of view. In one page, GB is telling the story of how his dad's father was killed. He uses big and bold font to express forceful actions while using dark colors to show the emotion of the scene. .
In this scene, specific words were able to show actions. The font and size of the words determined how forceful an action was. GB decided to use this to show the reader how enforcing and empowering the French were when they invaded at times like these. In the fighting scene, he used large, dark words to show the action that was taking place. He uses enlarged hitting noises to show the fighting amongst the French and the Vietminh. The reader is able to see the violation that GB is trying to convey. At the end of the page, the large word BLAM has a duty to not only express a gun shot, but also the reactions from the gunshot and whom it affected. He incorporated the distraught face in the word to show the reaction in the face of others to the gunshot. This powerful picture makes the reader able to see what GB is trying to express. Another strategy used by GB to show action is the use of patterns in a background. Patterns drawn around people can show the reader an emotion or action. In the picture during the fighting, there are a bunch of lines around people who are shoving each other. The pattern of these straight lines are able to show the reader the struggle and fighting in a still picture.