Graphic Novels and Visual Literacy Terms

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and visual devices in graphic novels and visual literacy.

Panel

The basic unit of the comic, containing a combination of images and text in endless variety.

Page Layout

The overall layout of a page, including the arrangement and flow of panels and how these contribute to the reading experience and create specific effects or emphasise specific moments.

Panel Structure and Size

The variation in panel sizes and layouts to control pacing, emphasise moments, and guide reader attention, where larger panels slow reading pace for detail and smaller panels create a quicker pace.

Panel Composition

What is included or excluded, and how elements are positioned in relation to one another in a panel to direct the reader's attention and convey specific information or emotions.

Background and Foreground

Analysing what is placed in the background or foreground of a panel to provide insights into character, setting, and theme.

Gutters

Spaces between comic or graphic novel panels that play a vital role in narrator's pacing and the reader's interpretation of space and time, creating a sense of pause or movement.

Nonlinear Storytelling

A visual structure that allows flashbacks and simultaneous events to be portrayed seamlessly, as seen in Persepolis.

Visual Pathway

How readers are guided through the page through panel arrangement and visual cues which impact the reading experience.

Colour / Black and White

The visual choice in imagery, such as the stark black-and-white imagery in Persepolis, used to communicate strong contrasts and a variety of messages.

Visual Perspective

Different angles and perspectives in imagery (such as distant shots, bird's eye view, or close-ups) used to create varying emotional impacts and convey character states.

Framing

Technique used to direct attention, emphasise specific elements, and control narrative tone, such as close-ups conveying intimacy or wide frames providing distance.

Labels

Text elements used to identify characters, locations, or provide additional information to guide reader interpretation and ensure clarity.

Speech Bubbles

Containers whose shape, style, and tail direction convey types of communication (e.g., jagged for shouting, cloud-like for thought) and indicate who is speaking.

Speech Bubble Content

The text within speech bubbles revealing a character's voice, personality, and emotion to aid character development.

Font

Types and sizes of text indicating emphasis, emotion, or differences in voices/sounds, including bold and italic styles to add extra meaning.

Captions

Text boxes used to provide narration, background information, or a character's inner thoughts.

Silent Panels

Panels without text/dialogue that convey powerful meanings through visual elements alone.

Sound Effects

Visual representations of sound, such as onomatopoeia, used in graphic novels to enhance the sensory experience.

Point of View

Examining who is 'seeing' or narrating the story within the visual narrative.

Graphic Weight

The amount of visual contrast and detail in different parts of an image or page to draw attention to a specific detail or image.

Negative Space

White or black space often used to emphasise isolation, insignificance, or other visual elements.

Line Style

The use of specific drawing lines to convey emotions and ideas, such as jagged lines signifying tension or smooth lines signifying calm.

Body Language / Facial Expressions

The way characters are drawn in terms of posture and facial features to convey information about their emotions and reactions.

Emanata

Lines or symbols that emanate from characters or objects to indicate emotions or states of being, such as a lightbulb or question mark above a head.

Cultural Incography

Specific cultural symbols and iconography that give insight into culture, history, and character.

Symbolism

Visual symbols representing complex ideas, such as birds symbolising freedom or a photograph symbolising memory or nostalgia.

Visual Metaphors / Similes

Visual devices used to convey or represent abstract concepts, such as growth or development.

Interplay of Text and Image

How text and image interact with one another in a careful balance, where images expand upon text for deeper understanding.

Juxtaposition

Placing certain images or scenes next to one another to create contrast, connections, and emotional effects impossible through text alone.

Contrasts and Dichotomies

Visual contrasts within a graphic novel (especially black and white) that mirror thematic contrasts such as good/evil or freedom/oppression.

Repetition and Motifs

Visual motifs repeated throughout the novel to reinforce themes or symbolise recurring concepts, such as the veil in Persepolis.

Visual Irony

Where the imagery conveys a meaning that is in opposition with the text to create layers of (mis)understanding.

Visual Metonymy

Where a symbol acts to represent an image or thing within the same context, such as a cross representing the Catholic Church.

Intertextuality

References to other texts, images, or historical events embedded within visuals to add layers of meaning.

Ambiguity

Intentional ambiguity in a visual requiring the reader to interpret their own meaning or to show confusion.

Agency

The control a character has over their own choices and fates.

Hyperbole

An exaggeration that is not meant to be taken literally, used to emphasise a feeling or an idea.

Foreshadowing

A technique in which hints or clues are given about events that will happen later in the story.