Graphic novels

Panel

A distinct segment of the comic, containing a combination of image and text in endless variety.

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

Mid ground

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 mid ground 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 color and shading in various ways.

Faces

Some depict an actual person, like a portrait; others are iconic, which means they representative of an idea or group of people.

Captions

These are boxes connected a variety of text elements, including scene, description, etc.

Speech balloons

The enclose dialogue and come from a specific speaker’s mouth.

Special effects lettering

This is a method of drawing attention to text.

Comic

Juxtaposed pictorial or other images in deliberate sequence, intended to convey inspiration and or produce an aesthetic response

Autobiography

A personal narrative within biography.

Peritext

Maternal inside the autobiographical narrative