Mystery Comics Exposed: What Publishers Don’t Want You to Know

The term “red herring” originated from the practice of using smoked fish to train hunting dogs by distracting them from the true scent. In mystery comics, red herrings serve a similar purpose—leading readers down false trails while the real solution hides elsewhere. When done well, these misdirections don’t feel like cheap tricks but rather enhance the satisfaction of the eventual reveal.

Both written mysteries and graphic storytelling employ red herrings, but they do so through different techniques. Let’s examine how the masters of mystery craft these delicious deceptions across both mediums.

The Balancing Act

The perfect red herring walks a tightrope between plausibility and deception. It must be:

• Convincing enough to divert attention
• Substantiated with enough evidence to seem viable
• Not so overwhelming that readers feel cheated when it’s debunked

Agatha Christie, the queen of misdirection, perfected this balance in novels like “Murder on the Orient Express,” where virtually every character seems suspicious for legitimate reasons. Similarly, in the graphic novel “Blacksad,” Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido use visual cues to establish multiple plausible suspects with apparent motives.

Visual Misdirection in Comics

Mystery comics have a unique advantage: they can mislead through imagery as well as narrative. Consider these techniques from acclaimed graphic mysteries:

Panel Focus and Composition

In “From Hell,” Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell direct the reader’s eye to certain characters or objects through panel composition, subtly suggesting importance while the real clues lurk in less emphasized areas. The reader’s natural tendency to focus on centered or larger elements becomes a tool for misdirection.

Color and Shadow Play

“The Fade Out” by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips uses selective coloring and shadow to obscure or highlight potential clues. The noir-inspired high-contrast visuals naturally create visual hierarchies that can be manipulated to mislead readers.

Facial Expressions and Body Language

“Lady Killer” by Joëlle Jones uses character expressions to suggest guilt or innocence—sometimes falsely. A character’s shifty eyes or defensive posture might lead readers to suspect them, only to later reveal these were manifestations of an unrelated secret.

Narrative Techniques Across Both Mediums

Whether in prose or panels, certain red herring techniques transcend medium:

The Too-Perfect Suspect

Mystery veterans know to be suspicious of the character who seems obviously guilty early on. In Gillian Flynn’s “Gone Girl,” early revelations point too neatly toward one conclusion. Similarly, in Jeff Lemire’s “Gideon Falls,” visual evidence stacks up convincingly against certain characters—almost too convincingly.

The Discredited Witness

A common technique involves introducing a character who identifies the true culprit but has their credibility undermined. Readers dismiss their accusation until later events prove them right. Graphic novels like “Watchmen” use this to great effect through visual storytelling that subtly questions a witness’s perception.

The Double Bluff

Advanced red herrings involve setting up a false lead, seemingly debunking it, then later revealing that the original suspicion was partially correct but for different reasons. Tana French’s novels excel at this, as does the comic series “Criminal” by Brubaker and Phillips.

Medium-Specific Considerations

For Novels:

1. Unreliable narration – First-person accounts can selectively omit or misrepresent information
2. Internal monologues – Characters’ thoughts can mislead readers when these thoughts reflect the character’s own misinterpretations
3. Description emphasis – Dwelling on certain details while glossing over others directs suspicion

For Comics:

1. Background details – Placing false clues in seemingly unimportant background elements
2. Visual continuity – Subtly altering scenes across issues to suggest different interpretations
3. Color symbolism – Using color associations to suggest connections between unrelated elements

Learning from Failures

Not all red herrings succeed. When they fail, it’s usually because:

• They’re too obviously false from the start
• They’re never properly resolved or explained
• They consume too much narrative attention without payoff
• They contradict established rules of the mystery’s world

The infamous “Harlequin Killer” red herring in “Batman: The Long Halloween” is criticized by some readers for lacking sufficient resolution, showing how even acclaimed mysteries can stumble with misdirection.

Ethical Misdirection

The best red herrings don’t simply trick readers—they enrich the story. They should:

• Reveal something meaningful about characters or themes
• Add layers to the narrative that enhance the central mystery
• Provide satisfaction in their resolution, even if they weren’t the answer

In Naoki Urasawa’s manga “Monster,” multiple red herrings serve to develop the psychological complexity of the story while misleading readers about the antagonist’s true nature and motives.

Conclusion

The perfect red herring isn’t just about fooling readers—it’s about enriching the mystery experience. When crafted with care, these false leads become an enjoyable part of the journey rather than frustrating detours. They challenge readers to engage more deeply with the story, questioning their assumptions and sharpening their detective skills.

Whether rendered in prose descriptions or sequential art panels, the best red herrings respect the reader’s intelligence while testing their observational skills. They remind us that in mysteries, as in life, what seems most obvious often deserves our greatest skepticism.

The next time you find yourself confidently identifying the culprit halfway through a mystery, remember: that confidence might be exactly what the creator wants you to feel. The true solution may be swimming in different waters entirely.