The Visual Parts of a Comic Book Page
Panels, Gutters, Speech Balloons, and Other Graphic Terms
Jul 7, 2009
Like those who work in any other craft, writers and illustrators of comics have developed their own special vocabulary. The graphic nature of comic books, and the way in which they are most often printed, means that specialized terms have evolved to describe each of a comic book's elements.
Each page of a comic book has distinct visual parts. Nearly all kinds of visual parts will be found in any given comic, though the amount on a particular page of that comic may vary. Here is a primer on the basic categories.
The Art-Related Parts of a Comic Book Page
Most of the visual parts of a comics page have names that are distinct to the medium. They include:
- The Panel. This is the basic unit of a comic book page, consisting of a single illustration. It's most often contained within a square or rectangular frame, although circular panels are not uncommon, and irregularly-shaped panels are also possible. Panels allow comic book action to be broken up into distinct moments in time. For those theorists who define comics as sequential art, a comic cannot consist of only one panel.
- The Gutter. This is the space on a comic book page that is outside the panels. The gutter is most often narrow and uniform, and doesn't contain any other graphic elements. However, objects or speech balloons within the panels can stick out to some degree. Some artists exploit this convention more boldly. Frank Miller's Sin City, for instance, has open letters which bleed into the gutter, while Sergio Aragones's "Marginal Thinking Dept." cartoons have appeared in the gutters of Mad magazine for decades.
- Balloons. These come in two basic kinds: speech or dialogue balloons, and thought balloons. Speech balloons are (usually) round, and contain the text of what a particular character is saying. Though balloons depict what a character is thinking, and are conventionally drawn with lumpy edges, like clouds. Balloons (and by extension comics themselves) are called fumetti ("clouds") in Italian, because they were originally made to look like the characters were breathing out the words as they spoke.
- Splash Balloons. These special balloons have jagged edges, and enclose important or dramatic text, such as the title of a comic on a Splash Page, after which they are named. The splash page is the first page of the story, usually consisting of a large or full-page illustration. Sometimes, the splash page comes after the first page, so that one illustration can fill the second and third pages of a comic.
- Pointers. Also called the Tails of speech balloons, these indicate which character is speaking the words in the balloon. For that reason, they point at the mouth or head whenever possible. Thought balloons have Bubbles which lead to the character which they belong to.
Learning to Spot the Parts of a Comic Book Page
Panels, gutters, and balloons are some of the basic visual elements of a comic book page. While they come in different variations of size, shape, and purpose, it is nearly impossible for a comic to lack these parts.
Knowing the terms for each visual element of a comic book page makes it easier to discuss and analyze comics, and gain a greater appreciation for the craft of comics illustration. But it is just as important to learn the written parts of a comic book page as well.
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