The Graphic Code Of Comic Books

There are many characteristics of comics that need to be understood before they can be read. Such as panels - positive space, and gutters - negative space. The relationship between one panel and the next is fundamental. Negative space is 'active' and still an interactive medium. 

Thought and speech bubbles (form and design) are separated in their appearance, allowing the reader to distinguish the two. Thought bubbles are usually rounder, while speech bubbles are more pointed. They need to be attached to something that is capable of thinking. 

Sound effects and symbolic icons (onomatopoeia and cultural variants) refer to how information is presented to help the reader understand what is going on. This can vary for different cultures, as the use of z's to show sleep is used in the west, while snot bubbles are used to show sleep in Japanese manga. 

Character abstraction is a tool used to simplify characters when drawing out small panels, but still keeping them distinguishable. 

Encoding -the creating cognitive reasoning in the selection and arrangement of a comic. 
Decoding- reading, understanding and making connections (anchorage) between the image and text

Plurivectorial flow - term given to erratic way of reading comic pages. Unlike other media, past, present and future is all shown at the same time. 

Negative space closure - the reader must enter the negative space in their imagination to make sense of the whole story and the passage of time. 

Types of closure:
Moment to moment -  small passage of time.
Action to action - different action / same scene, some closure needed.
Subject to subject - different subjects, same scene/idea/ Needs more reader involvement. 
Scene to scene - different location, different movement of time and space. Deductive reasoning needed. 
Aspect to aspect - scene shifting - no apparent time shift. Shows different aspect of the same scene.
Non- sequitur - no logical relationship between panels? Closure?


Junji Ito - Slug Girl