What Are Comics?

Comics are a type of text that tell stories or present information using a series of words and pictures.

What Are the Features of Comics?

Here are the main features of comics.

Panels & Gutters

A comic of a super hero flying in the sky suddenly stops to think. Then, he decides to land and get some ice cream. There are labels for the panels (rectangular spaces where the pictures are drawn) and the gutters (the empty spaces between each panel).

Panels are boxes or frames that contain the pictures and text.
• They are usually rectangular.
• The number of panels used, the way they are organized and their sizes can vary a lot from one comic to another.

Gutters are the spaces between the panels.
• They represent time passing and transitions from one moment to the other.

Speech Bubbles & Captions

A comic of a super hero and a little girl. The super hero dropped ice cream on his cape and went to wash it at the laundromat. The little girl pointed out that drycleaning would be better. Panic ensues when the cape comes out of the washer shrunken. The speech bubbles and a caption are identified.

Speech bubbles hold the dialogue and point to who is talking. They are also known as word balloons, speech balloons and dialogue balloons.
The most common types of speech bubbles are used for:
• Speech: bubble shaped
• Whispering: bubble shaped with a dotted outline
• Thoughts: cloud shaped
→ Also known as a thought bubble or thought balloon
• Shouting: jagged outline

Captions are boxes that contain text like descriptions, narrations and, in some cases, character thoughts.

Story Told in Sequence

Comics of a superhero to show the sequential nature of comics. Panel 1 has the character tying up his cape, leading to panel 2: the character looking at the cape he just put on and it is tiny. That leads to panel 3: the character walks away, disappointed with the tiny cape flowing in the wind.

Comic panels placed in sequence represent a series of events that form a story.

When done properly, the reader can easily follow the story from the first panel to the last.

What Can We Expect to Find in Comics?

Comics are famous for using certain elements to tell their stories.
Here are some examples of the most common ones:

Sound effects
• Words that represent sounds

Character expressions
• Exaggerated expression
• Body language
• Graphic symbols

Recognizable features to tell characters apart
• Outfits or costumes
• Size & shape differences
• Exaggerated features
• Colours & patterns

Examples of elements commonly found in comics like sound effects, exaggerated expressions, body language, graphic symbols (a lightbulb to represent having an idea), recognizable outfits, clear shapes and sizes, exaggerated features and discernable colours and patterns.

Comics at a Glance

Summary of the key features and elements commonly found in comics. Key features include panels, gutters, speech bubbles, captions and a story told in a sequence of images. Elements commonly found in comics include sound effects, character expressions and easily recognizable features.

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