Captions Graphic Novel Definition

[Barb Magario]

Comics has developed specialized terminology. Several attempts have been made to formalize and define the terminology of comics by authors such as Will Eisner, Scott McCloud, R. C. Harvey and Dylan Horrocks. Much of the terminology in English is under dispute, so this page will list and describe the most common terms used in comics.

"Comics" is used as a non-count noun, and thus is used with the singular form of a verb,[1] in the way the words "politics" or "economics" are, to refer to the medium, so that one refers to the "comics industry" rather than the "comic industry". "Comic" as an adjective also has the meaning of "funny", or as pertaining to comedians, which can cause confusion and is usually avoided in most cases ("comic strip" being a well-entrenched exception).[2]

"Comic" as a singular noun is sometimes used to refer to individual comics periodicals, particularly in the United Kingdom and Ireland, which in North America would be known as "comic books".[3]

"Underground comix" is a term first popularized by cartoonists in the underground comix movement of the 1960s and 1970s in an attempt to move the word away from its etymological origins. Art Spiegelman in particular has been a proponent of its usage, hoping to highlight the fact that the medium is capable of mature, non-comedic content, as well as to emphasize the hybrid nature of the medium ("co-mix").[4]

Other terms used as synonyms for "comics" are "sequential art" (a term coined and popularized by Will Eisner[4]), "graphic storytelling", and "graphic novel" (which is normally used to denote book-form comics, although this usage is not consistent[5]).

A panel (alternatively known as frame or box)[6] is one drawing on a page,[7] and contains a segment of action. A page may have one or many panels, and panels are frequently, but not always,[6] surrounded by a border or outline,[8] whose shape can be altered to indicate emotion, tension or flashback sequences.[9] The size, shape and style of a panel, as well as the placement of figures and speech balloons inside it, affect the timing or pacing of a story.[10] Panels are used to break up and encapsulate sequences of events in a narrative.[11] What occurs in a panel may be asynchronous, meaning that not everything that occurs in a single panel necessarily occurs at one time.[12]

A splash or splash page is a large, often full-page illustration which opens and introduces a story.[7] Often designed as a decorative unit, its purpose is to capture the reader's attention, and can be used to establish time, place and mood.[16]

A spread is an image that spans more than one page. The two-page spread or double-page spread[17] is the most common, but there are spreads that span more pages, often by making use of a foldout (or gatefold).[18]

In a caption, words appear in a box separated from the rest of the panel or page, usually to give voice to a narrator, but sometimes used for the characters' thoughts or dialogue.[7][23] In some comics, where speech balloons are not used, the captions provide the reader with text about what is happening in the images. This genre is called "text comics".

Sound effects or onomatopoeia are words without bubbles that mimic sounds.[24] They are non-vocal sound images, from the subtle to the forceful, such as 'ding-ding' for a bell, to "WHAM" for an impact.[25]

Encapsulation is the capturing of prime moments in a story. Not every moment of a story is presented in comics. For the artist, encapsulation involves choosing what will be presented in which panels, how many panels will be used to present the action, and the size and layout of the panels. The layouts of the panels can influence the way the panels interact with each other to the reader. This interaction can lend more meaning to the panels than what they have individually. Encapsulation is distinctive to comics, and an essential consideration in the creation of a work of comics.[27]

Sometimes all aspects of a comics production down to the drawing, writing and editing are done by a single person; in such cases the term comics creator (also comics writer/artist, comics creator or comics maker[28]) is employed (occasionally the term graphic novelist is also employed[29]). The sophisticated term graphic narrator[30] (also graphic storyteller[31]) is also found in the academic literature on art education.[32]

The penciller or penciler lays down the basic artwork for a page, deciding on panel placement and the placement of figures and settings in the panels,[23] the backgrounds and the characters' facial expressions and poses.[4]

An inker or finisher "finishes" and sometimes enhances, the pencilled artwork using ink (traditionally India ink) and a pen or brush to create a high-contrast image for photographing and printing.[4][23][36] The extent of the inker's job varies depending on how tight the penciller's work is, but nonetheless requires the skill of an artist,[4] and is more or less active depending on the completeness of the pencils provided.[35]

The colourist or colorist adds colours to copies of the finished artwork, which can have an effect on mood and meaning.[12] Colourists can work with a variety of media, such as rubylith, paints, and computers. Digital colorists may employ a flatter to assist them.

Normally separate from the writer, the letterer is the person who fills (and possibly places) speech balloons and captions with the dialogue and other words meant to be read. Letterers may also provide the lettering for sound, although this is often done by the artist even when a letterer is present.[37] In the West, comics have traditionally been hand-lettered, although computer typesetting has become increasingly common.[4][38] The manner in which the letterer letters the text influences how the message is interpreted by the reader,[35] and the letterer can suggest the paralanguage of dialogue by varying the weight, size and shape of the lettering.[39]

A comic strip is a short work of comics which has its origins in the world of newspapers, but may also appear in magazines or other periodicals, as well as in books. In comic strips, generally the only unit of encapsulation is the panel.[40]

As the name implies, a daily comic strip is a comic strip that is normally run six days a week in a newspaper, historically in black and white, although colour examples have become common. They normally run every day in a week but one (usually Sunday), in which the strip (the so-called Sunday strip) appears larger and usually in colour.

Sunday comics are comic strips that traditionally run in newspapers on Sundays (Saturdays in some papers), frequently in full colour. Before World War II, cartoonists normally were given an entire page to themselves, and often would devote the page to a single comic strip, although many would divide the page between a main strip and a "topper" (which would sometimes run on the bottom). Wartime paper shortages brought down the size of strips, and to this day Sunday pages normally are made up of a multitude of strips.[4]

An editorial cartoon or political cartoon is most often a single-panel comic that contain some level of political or social commentary. Such cartoons are used to convey and question an aspect of daily news or current affairs in a national or international context. Political cartoons generally feature a caricaturist style of drawing, to capture the likeness of a politician or subject. Political cartoonists may also employ humor or satire to ridicule an individual or group, emphasize their point of view, or comment on a particular event. The traditional and most common outlet for political cartoons is the editorial page of a newspaper, or in a pocket cartoon, in the front news section of a newspaper. Editorial cartoons are not usually found in the dedicated comic section, although certain cartoons or comic strips have achieved crossover status.

A comic book, also known as a comic or floppy, is a periodical, normally thin in size and stapled together.[41] Comic books have a greater variety of units of encapsulation than comic strips, including the panel, the page, the spread, and inset panels. They are also capable of more sophisticated layouts and compositions.[40] A floppy comic is also known as an American comic book.

Comic books are typically published as either an ongoing series (a series that runs indefinitely), as a limited series (a series intended to end after a certain number of issues), or as a one shot (a comic book which is intended as a one-off publication).[42][43][44] Some series will publish an annual issue once a year which is two to three times as large as a regular issue;[45] "while they don't have to be one-shot stories, generally annuals are used as ways to tell stories that don't fit within a single issue or can't be included in a full arc".[46]

A trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually presenting either a complete miniseries, a story arc from a single title, or a series of stories with an arc or common theme.[43][44] The term may refer to either a paperback or a hardcover collection of comics. A trade paperback typically differs from a graphic novel in that a graphic novel is usually original material.[47]

Graphic novel is a term whose definition is hard to pin down, but usually refers to a self-contained, book-length form. Some would have its use restricted only to long-form narratives, while at the other extreme are people who use it as a synonym for "comics" or "comic book".[4][48][49] Others again define it as a book with a square-bound spine, even if it is a collection of short strips.[50] Still others have used the term to distance their work from the negative connotations the terms "comic" or "comic book" have for the public, or to give their work an elevated air. Other than in presentation and intent, they hardly differ from comic books.[51]

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