CHOICES - Graphic Novels, Comics, and Cartoons

Allusion

A reference to a well-known work or event. A political cartoon might depict current world leaders in poses reminiscent of famous historical paintings, drawing parallels between current events and historical situations to provide commentary.

Ambiguity in Visuals

Intentional creation of visual ambiguity requiring active interpretation. A panel with an unclear or partially obscured image might force readers to piece together what's happening, engaging them more deeply in the story and encouraging multiple interpretations.

Background and Foreground

The placement of elements to provide insights into characters, settings, and themes. In a political cartoon, a smiling politician might be in the foreground, while impoverished citizens are visible in the background. This composition highlights the disconnect between the politician's rhetoric and reality, encouraging critical thinking.

Black-and-White Artwork

The use of stark contrasts to emphasize themes. A noir-style graphic novel might use heavy shadows and high contrast to create a mood of mystery and moral ambiguity, influencing the reader's perception of characters and events.

Body Language and Facial Expressions

Character depictions conveying emotions and reactions. A character's slumped shoulders and downcast eyes can communicate dejection without words, allowing readers to infer emotional states and enhancing character depth.

Bold and Italics

Text variations adding layers of meaning or emphasis. In a dramatic monologue, key words might be bolded to guide the reader's interpretation and emphasize the character's emotional state.

Camera Angle

The visual perspective influencing reader engagement. A scene viewed from a high angle, looking down on a character, can make them appear small and vulnerable, influencing the reader's emotional response and understanding of the character's situation.

Camera Distance

The proximity to the subject, revealing details or context. A series of panels gradually zooming in on a character's eyes during a realization can build suspense and draw the reader into the character's moment of epiphany.

Caption

A brief explanation accompanying an illustration. In a historical cartoon, the image might show a famous battle, while the caption provides a witty modern interpretation, bridging past and present to offer commentary on current events.

Colours & Shading

The use of color and shading to convey mood. A comic exploring themes of depression might use progressively darker shades as the character's mental state deteriorates, with a return to brighter colors symbolizing hope and recovery.

Contrasts and Dichotomies

Visual contrasts mirroring thematic contrasts. In a comic about social inequality, contrasting panels showing opulent wealth and abject poverty can powerfully illustrate societal divides, encouraging reader reflection on complex social issues.

Cultural Iconography

Inclusion of specific cultural symbols providing context. In a graphic novel set in Japan, the inclusion of torii gates or cherry blossoms can instantly establish the setting and cultural context, enriching the reader's understanding of the story's background.

Emanata

Lines or symbols indicating emotions or states of being. Wavy lines above a character's head might indicate dizziness or confusion, providing a visual shorthand that quickly communicates the character's state to the reader.

Font Type and Size

Variations used to emphasize or represent different voices. In a fantasy comic, each magical creature might have a unique font, helping readers instantly identify who's speaking and understand the diversity of the magical world.

Frame

A boundary surrounding a panel, separating it from others or the background. For example, in a political cartoon about climate change, a melting frame around the panel could symbolize global warming, drawing attention to the issue while also serving its basic function of containing the scene.

Framing

A technique to direct attention and control narrative tone. In a horror comic, gradually tightening frames around a character can create a sense of increasing claustrophobia and dread, mirroring the character's emotional state and building tension for the reader.

Framing: Background

The area furthest from the viewer. In a cartoon commenting on environmental destruction, a beautiful landscape in the background might be gradually replaced by factories and pollution across a series of panels, subtly showing the impact of industrialization.

Framing: Foreground

The area closest to the viewer in an image. In a political cartoon about media manipulation, oversized microphones and cameras in the foreground might partially obscure a speaking figure, suggesting how media coverage can distort public perception.

Framing: Middle Ground

The central area of an image that naturally draws the eye. In a multi-panel comic about a chase scene, keeping the pursued character consistently in the middle ground across panels could maintain tension and focus throughout the sequence.

Graphic Weight

The visual contrast and detail used to draw attention or create mood. In a noir comic, heavy shadows might be used to obscure parts of a scene, creating a sense of mystery and forcing the reader to pay closer attention to the visible details.

Gutter

The space between different panels. In a comic depicting a character's journey, narrow gutters between panels showing rapid action could convey a sense of urgency, while wider gutters between scenes of different locations might indicate significant time or distance traveled.

Images

Visual elements conveying meaning, often through symbolism. In an editorial cartoon about economic inequality, the wealthy might be depicted as bloated figures atop a pyramid made of struggling workers, visually representing the imbalance of power and resources.

Interplay of Text and Image

The balance and interaction providing nuanced understanding. In a scene where a character says "I'm fine" while their body language and surroundings suggest otherwise, the contradiction between text and image reveals the character's true emotional state, encouraging readers to look beyond surface

Intertextuality

References to other texts, images, or events adding layers of meaning. A graphic novel might recreate a famous painting with its characters, inviting readers to draw connections between the original work's themes and the current narrative.

Juxtaposition

Placement creating connections, contrasts, or emotional effects. Panels alternating between a peaceful family dinner and a violent street scene can create a stark contrast, highlighting themes of inequality or the fragility of peace.

Labels

Text used to identify or provide context. In a science fiction comic, alien technology might be labeled with pseudo-scientific terms, enhancing the world-building and helping readers immerse themselves in the futuristic setting.

Line Quality

Different types of lines conveying emotions and ideas. Rough, sketchy lines might be used to depict a character's anxiety or a chaotic situation, while smooth, flowing lines could represent calm or confidence, visually reinforcing the emotional tone of a scene.

Negative Space

The area around and between subjects within a panel. A cartoon commenting on social isolation might show a tiny figure surrounded by vast white space, emphasizing feelings of loneliness and disconnection in modern society.

Nonlinear Storytelling

A structure allowing for seamless portrayal of flashbacks or simultaneous events. In a memoir graphic novel, panels showing the protagonist's past and present might be interwoven on the same page. This technique helps readers understand how past events influence the character's current actions and emotions.

Page Layout

The arrangement of segments on a page. In a comic about time travel, circular panels might be scattered across the page in a nonlinear fashion. This technique disorients the reader, mimicking the protagonist's confusion and the nonlinear nature of time travel.

Panel

A segment containing images and text in various combinations. For example, in a graphic novel about World War II, a single panel might depict a soldier's face in close-up, with haunting eyes and a speech bubble expressing fear. This technique immerses readers in the character's emotional state, creating a visceral connection to the horrors of war.

Panel Composition

The inclusion or exclusion of elements to direct attention and convey information. In a mystery comic, a seemingly unimportant object in the corner of a panel might later prove crucial to solving the case. This technique encourages readers to pay attention to details and engage more deeply with the story.

Panel Size

The dimensions used to emphasize importance or control pacing. In a graphic novel about depression, a character's descent into isolation might be shown through progressively smaller panels, visually representing their shrinking world and increasing the sense of claustrophobia for the reader.

Panel Structure

The use of different sizes and layouts to control pacing and focus. A climactic fight scene might use a series of small, quick panels followed by a large, dramatic one. This structure builds tension and then releases it, controlling the reader's emotional journey through the action.

Point of View

The perspective from which the story is told. A graphic novel might switch between first-person and third-person perspectives, using different visual styles for each. This technique can provide insight into a character's internal thoughts while also showing events outside their knowledge, creating a rich, layered narrative.

Posture

The positioning of a character's body. In a cartoon about workplace hierarchy, contrasting the open, relaxed posture of a CEO with the hunched, tense postures of office workers could visually represent power dynamics within the company.

Repetition and Motifs

Recurring visual elements reinforcing themes. A repeated image of a clock in a graphic novel about memory could serve as a visual anchor, reminding readers of the passage of time and its effects on the characters.

Shot Type: Close Up

A perspective focusing closely on a subject. During a pivotal moment in a graphic novel, a close-up of a character's eyes widening in realization could convey a crucial epiphany, drawing readers into the character's emotional state.

Shot Type: Long Shot

A perspective capturing a wide view. In a comic book opening, a long shot of a bustling cityscape could establish the setting, showing skyscrapers, traffic, and crowds to immerse the reader in the urban environment before focusing on individual characters.

Silent Panels

Segments without text conveying meaning through visuals alone. A wordless sequence showing a character's facial expressions changing from joy to sorrow can powerfully convey an emotional journey without dialogue, encouraging readers to interpret the nuances of the character's feelings.

Sound Effects

Visual representations of sound enhancing sensory experience. In a battle scene, bold, stylized onomatopoeia like "BOOM" or "CLASH" can make the action feel more immediate and visceral, immersing the reader in the chaos of combat.

Speech Bubble

A shape containing direct speech with a tail pointing toward the character. In a satirical cartoon, a politician might be shown with an oversized speech bubble full of empty promises, while their actions in the image contradict their words, highlighting hypocrisy.

Speech Bubbles Content

Text revealing character's voice, personality, and emotion. A character's dialogue might be written in all caps when they're angry, with the text getting progressively larger, visually representing increasing volume and emotional intensity.

Speech Bubbles Shape and Style

Variations conveying different types of communication. In a graphic novel about mental health, intrusive thoughts might be represented by jagged

Speech Bubbles Tail Direction

Indicators of who is speaking. In a crowded party scene, carefully directed tails can help readers follow multiple conversations, enhancing understanding of complex social dynamics.

Symbolism

Visual elements representing complex ideas or concepts. In a political cartoon, a sinking ship might represent a failing economy, allowing the artist to convey a complex concept quickly and memorably.

Thought Bubble

A cloud-shaped outline representing a character's internal thoughts. For instance, in a comic about workplace dynamics, an employee might be smiling and nodding at their boss, while a thought bubble reveals their true frustrations, illustrating the contrast between public facade and private thoughts.

Typography

The visual aspect of text. In a graphic novel scene depicting an argument, the size and style of the font could grow larger and more jagged as the conflict escalates, visually representing the rising volume and intensity of the characters' emotions.

Visual Irony

Imagery conveying meaning opposite to the text. A character might proclaim their bravery while their shaking hands and sweating brow show fear, creating a layer of meaning that encourages readers to look beyond surface

Visual Metaphors and Similes

Images representing abstract concepts or making comparisons. A character drowning in a sea of paperwork could visually represent feeling overwhelmed at work, making the abstract concept of stress tangible and relatable for the reader.

Visual Metonymy

One element standing in for something within the same context. In a political cartoon, a White House image might represent the entire U.S. government, allowing the artist to comment on complex political situations through a single, recognizable symbol.

Visual Pathway

The guidance of readers through the page via arrangement and visual cues. In an action comic, motion lines and character positioning might lead the eye in a zigzag pattern across the page, creating a sense of frenetic energy that matches the scene's intensity.

Visual Perspective

Different angles creating varying emotional impacts. A scene viewed from a child's perspective, looking up at looming adults, can make the reader feel small and vulnerable, enhancing understanding of the child character's emotional state.