Understanding Graphic Novel Terminology By Christine Fry With

Understanding Graphic Novel Terminology By: Christine Fry With reference to Brad Philpot’s Graphic Novel Handout

Panel A panel is a framed image in a graphic novel. It offers the reader a perspective or point of view on the subjects. Sometimes panels do not have borders, creating a unique effect where the subject seems to stand outside the storyline. When talking about the graphics in this novel, use the word panel to discuss the picture. This is a panel.

Gutter A gutter refers to the space between panels. Readers tend to come to their own conclusions about what has happened in between each panel. This process is called closure. This is a gutter. Sometimes there are multiple gutters per page, and sometimes there are only a few. Look at a few pages from the novel. Why are some pictures right next to one another with no gutter? What is the purpose?

Splash A splash is a panel that spans the entire width of the page. This is a splash from page 3 of Persepolis. Why would Satrapi want this particular panel to fill the entire width of the page?

Look at page 5 and answer these questions: 1) How many panels are there? 2) Are there any places where we do not see gutters? 3) Why are there gutters? 4) How many splashes are there? 5) What is the reason for the splash(es)?

Emanata This term refers to the teardrops, sweat drops, question marks, or motion lines that artists draw besides characters’ faces to portray emotion. Speech Bubble These are frames around the characters’ language, a kind of ‘direct speech’, where the characters speak for themselves. If these appear as clouds, they represent the character’s thoughts. If they appear in jagged lines, the character is shouting.

Narration The information written to show and tell at the same time. It can be direct narration: someone talking to the reader or it can be indirect narration: information that is given but not from a direct person. What is this called? Speech bubble Where do you see narration in these three panels?

Foreground - If the subject seems closer to the reader, in the front of the scene depicted, it stands in the ‘foreground’. Midground - If the subject stands in the middle of the scene that is depicted, then he or she is in the midground. Placing a subject off-center can also be used to create visual tension. Background - The objects in the background (not usually the subject) help add contextual information for the reader. Why is the background significant in this panel? What do the people in the Midground show the reader? Why are the foreground people and motorcycle off center?

Bleed Voice Over When the image goes beyond the border or runs off the page completely, it is called a bleed. Satrapi rarely uses a bleed, but many graphic novels or comic books do. Notice the gun BEYOND the border. Narrators have the possibility to speak directly to the reader through a voice over. It often has a hard line separating the narrator’s speech at the top or bottom of a panel.

Graphic Weight Graphic weight is the amount of contrast in an image. Are black/dark colors offset with white/light colors? Are there many shades of grey? What affect does the color or lack of color have on the panel? Look at these three panels. What is the significance of the graphic weight in each of these panels? Does dark always equal evil? Is white always pure? Page 12 Page 95 Page 43

Transitions There are six different types of transitions that have a different effect on the reader. They refer to the process of closure in the gutter, between panels. Sometimes very little time has elapsed for other transitions hours or days can have elapsed. Type 1: Moment to Moment – quick transition from one second to the next. Type 2: Action to Action – a fairly quick transition that shows an action shot (like before you kick the ball and after you made contact with the ball). Type 3: Subject to Subject – going from one subject to another subject with only moments in between. Page 60 Look at the panels to the right. What kind of a transition is this? Moment to Moment

Transitions Continued… Type 4: Scene to Scene - This transition jumps in time from one particular time and place to another with little to no explanation of what happened in between. Type 5: Aspect to Aspect – In this transition no time has elapsed at all. It is like time has frozen. This transition is to show a “wandering eye” or an omniscient view point. Type 6: Non-sequitur – This transition shows two completely unique and seemingly unrelated panels next to one another. Even though they may seem unrelated, there is a relationship that the author is trying to create for us. Which transition is shown to the right? Scene to Scene Page 3

Pun: a joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or the fact that there are words that sound alike but have different meanings. Hyperbole: exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally. Pun / Hyperbole Which term? Page 98 Which term is being used here on page 63? Hyperbole

Difference Between Synecdoche and Metonymy Synecdoche examples are often misidentified as metonymy (another literary device). While they resemble one another to some extent, they are not the same. Synecdoche refers to the whole of a thing by the name of any one of its parts. For example, calling a car “wheels” is a synecdoche because a part of the car, its “wheels, ” stands for the whole car. However, in metonymy, the word used to describe a thing is closely linked to that particular thing, but is not necessarily a part of it. For example, using the word “crown” to refer to power or authority is a metonymy, used to replace the word “king” or “queen. ” “Our Torturers”…which term? Page: 50 Metonymy Page 43: Which term? Synecdoche