How To Read A Comic

By Alex Buckinghamand

Eric Kortschak

Where do I start?

• Reading a comic book is just like reading a novel. You start at the top left, read across and then downward.

• However, there will be instances where the panels and text won’t be arranged left to right, top to bottom, but the page will be arranged in a way the reader will easily understand.

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End here

Bubbles & Blocks

• When characters speak, bubbles are usually reserved to demonstrate this.

• If there is a narrator, that text is usually contained within a box. In most cases, the box will be tinted a certain colour to remind the reader of which character is speaking.

• eg. Spiderman narration blocks are usually red.

Arrangement

• As it was mentioned before, the teams that create these books work together to arrange the text and images in a way that is straight-forward to the reader.

• There is a certain “movement” in regards to the relation of images and text.

See how these speech bubbles are arranged?

Two Page Spreads

• Sometimes, writers will create a scene where they use two facing pages together, and the dialogue flows across both

• In this case, the speech of the characters usually moves across both pages

Reading Manga

• Japanese comic books, or “manga”, work a little differently

• You still read from the top of the page to the bottom, but the speech bubbles and page order are right-to-left instead of left-to-right

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Start here

Images and Words

• The biggest difference between a novel and a comic book is, of course, the pictures

• These are made to complement – enhance – the speech of the characters, so it is just as important to look at the images as it is to read the words

• By looking at the face of a character or the scenery of the panel, the words can take on whole new meanings

That’s all, folks!

• That is all you need to know in order to enjoy the wonders of sequential art literature.

• Sit back, relax, and enjoy!