Black & White or White & Black?

Discussing Epileptic by David B.

 I really enjoyed our in-class writing exercise, so this I thought I'd reconfigure it to fit our blog posting format.

 In the bottom three panels of page 143 in David B.'s Epileptic, the majority of its artwork is drawn with white lines on a black background, giving it a "photo negative" quality and contrasting the way the rest of the book is drawn with black lines on a white background. Why? What meaning does this change in visual composition have?

 In the first panel, David B. depicts Jean-Christophe in the same "photo negative" style he uses to draw the various monsters and demons, specifically the epileptic disease monster. In the following panel, his brother is transformed into the epileptic monster, until in the last panel where he crawls up his metaphorical individual case of epilepsy and away. I think this signifies Jean-Christophe's being completely consumed bu the disease, essentially becoming it, after he has decided to give up trying to fit in with everyone else in the "normal" world and use his affliction as an excuse to continue living his life without responsibilities, as was his wont.

 Also pictured in each of these panels is David B.'s younger self. However, as you can see in the above image, he is drawn with black lines on white style as has been standard for all living people throughout the rest of the novel. What is the purpose of this contrast within the panels?

 The purpose of the contrast is to create the collective effect of a feeling of alienation; Jean-Christophe is no longer in a world familiar to the narrator. By drawing himself in a contrasting style to the rest of the panels, he solidifies his place outside the dark, negative-image world of disease and death. This also engages with the plot through providing a visualization of just exactly what it means for Jean-Christophe to have chosen to attend the handicapped school, and its relation to the narrator individually and the world he inhabits.