A graphic novel uses the interplay of text and illustrations in a comic-strip format to tell a story.

Instead of relying on just

text to construct a narrative, it uses graphical elements such as panels, frames, speech/thought balloons, etc. in a
sequential way to create and evoke a story in a reader's mind.
Graphic Novel/Comics Terms and Concepts http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/pictures-tell-story-
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Layout
Panel: A distinct segment of the comic, containing a combination of image and text in endless variety. Panels offer a different
experience than simply reading text:
 The spatial arrangement allows an immediate juxtaposition of the present and the past.
 Unlike other visual media, transitions are instantaneous and direct but the exact timing of the reader’s experience is determined by
focus and reading speed.
Frame: The lines and borders that contain the panels.
Gutter: The space between framed panels.
Bleed: An image that extends to and/or beyond the edge of the page.
Foreground: The panel closest to the viewer.
Midground: Allows centering of image by using natural resting place for vision. The artist deliberately decides to place the image where
a viewer would be most likely to look first. Placing an image off-center or near the top or bottom can be used to create visual tension
but using the midground permits the artist to create a more readily accepted image.
Background: Provides additional, subtextual information for the reader.
Graphic weight: A term that describes the way some images draw the eye more than others, creating a definite focus using colour and
shading in various ways including:
 The use of light and dark shades; dark-toned images or high-contrast images draw the eye more than light or low-contrast images do
 A pattern or repeated series of marks
 Colours that are more brilliant or deeper than others on the page
Figures
Faces: Faces can be portrayed in different ways. Some depict an actual person, like a portrait; others are iconic, which means they are
representative of an idea or a group of people. Other points to observe about faces include:
 They can be dramatic when placed against a detailed backdrop; a bright white face stands out.
 They can be drawn without much expression or detail; this is called an “open blank” and it invites the audience to imagine what the
character is feeling without telling them.
Hands/Feet: The positioning of hands and feet can be used to express what is happening in the story. For example, hands that are
raised with palms out suggest surprise. The wringing of hands suggests obsequiousness or discomfort. Hands over the mouth depict
fear, shame, or shyness. Turned in feet may denote embarrassment, while feet with motion strokes can create the sense of panic,
urgency, or speed.
Text Captions: These are boxes containing a variety of text elements, including scene setting, description, etc.
Speech balloons: These enclose dialogue and come from a specific speaker’s mouth; they vary in size, shape, and layout and can
alternate to depict a conversation.
Types of speech balloons include those holding:
 External dialogue, which is speech between characters
 Internal dialogue, which is a thought enclosed by a balloon that has a series of dots or bubbles going up to it
Special-effects lettering: This is a method of drawing attention to text; it often highlights onomatopoeia and reinforces the impact of
words such as bang or wow.
1. Study the following comic strip from 'Calvin and Hobbes' by Bill Waterson, which has been deconstructed with
‘shout out’ boxes and definitions. Return to your discussion on Texts 1-10 and discuss how these terms are
relevant to the pages from '99 Ways to Tell a Story'. In pairs analyse one of these pages, using the vocabulary
from the table below.
Feature Example
Panel: Comics are divided into multiple frames or panels. This comic strip uses a combination
Some panels do not have a frame. Some panels are large of rectangular and square panels
and open, also known as a ‘splash’. which helps set the pace of
reading.
Gutter: The space between panels is known as the What happens between the sixth
‘gutter’. In comics, the reader actively has to ‘fill in the and seventh panel of this comic
gaps’ and make assumptions about what happens in the strip? It’s not clear who shot whom
gutter, between panels. first, suggesting that war is
confusing.
Negative space: Negative or ‘blank’ space is the absence The negative space in the first panel
of drawn objects. It helps readers focus on what’s gives room for both the title of the
important in the frame or panel. comic (‘Calvin and Hobbes’) and the
philosophical question that is asked
by Hobbes: “How come we play war
and not peace?”
Camera angle: Although comics do not literally involve a In this comic strip, Bill Watterson
camera, this is a relevant term for analysing the angle and depicts Calvin looking up. It is as if
perspective from which a cartoonist depicts a subject. the reader looks down on Calvin as
an adult might look.
Symbolism: Cartoons and comics often include symbols Calvin’s helmet stands for ‘war’. The
to convey meaning effectively and succinctly. dart guns might symbolise
boyhood and naivety.
Emanata: This curious term refers to the dots, lines, In this comic strip, little lines appear
exclamation marks, tear drops or any other drawings that near the muzzle of Calvin and
can depict emotion, motion or sound in a drawing. Hobbes’s dart guns, suggesting a
firing noise.
Speech bubble: Speech bubbles are a form of direct The dialogue of this story uses
narration, where the reader reads what characters say, speech bubbles, meaning the
word for word. Thought bubbles, often depicted with reader is a distant observer,
cloud-like bubbles, give readers insight into what eavesdropping on Calvin and his
characters are thinking. Voice-over, a term often used in imaginary friend Hobbes.
film, can also be used in comics with narrator’s words
appearing above or below the panel.
Punch line: Comic strips traditionally appear in ‘Kind of a stupid game, isn’t it?’ says
newspapers, where they offer the reader a moment of Calvin in the last panel. This