I’ve recently discovered a newfound love and appreciation for graphic novels—those beautifully illustrated books that, at one time, I just didn’t get. What used to seem like confusing comic pictures and scattered text has now become fun to read. My attitude toward these books has completely shifted because I learned how to approach these books.
I first ventured into the world of graphic novels with my daughter. If I’m being completely honest, I really didn’t understand what all the fuss was about. We’d “read” the books together, but I felt like we weren’t really reading anything at all. We’d flip through the pages, look at the gorgeous illustrations, and read a few speech bubbles here and there—but it just didn’t feel like a story. I’d leave her room frustrated, thinking we hadn’t actually read anything.
The truth was, those books were full of amazing character development, complex plots, and engaging conflicts. But, I didn’t know how to uncover all of that. My daughter also hadn’t been taught how to approach graphic novels, so she focused mainly on the speech bubbles and dialogue, missing the richness of the visuals. And when we came to pages filled with pictures but no text, we’d just skip over them, unaware that these pages were important to the story and contained significant meaning.
It wasn’t the books that were the problem; it was that I didn’t know how to read them—and neither did my child. Once I learned the proper way to read graphic novels, everything clicked. I now see these books in a whole new light! I’m hopeful that you, too, can discover how much these books have to offer once you learn how to approach them.
Graphic Novels 101:
What Direction Do you Read?
Comics and graphic novels are read in the same pattern as prose: left to right and top to bottom, following a Z-pattern.
What Are the Square Boxes?
The square boxes are called panels. Panels are the fundamental building blocks of the story, each representing a snapshot of time. A panel can convey a lot—such as the setting, time period, season, or mood of the scene. While panels are usually square, they can come in various shapes.
As you move from panel to panel, it’s important to pause and consider what happened or changed between them. Ask yourself questions like:
- How is the character feeling in panel #1?
- How does their emotion change by panel #2?
- What might have happened to shift their feelings?
- How did the character get from point A to point B?
What is the blank space?
The space between the panels is called the gutter.
Though it may seem like empty space, the gutter plays a significant role in storytelling. It gives the reader a moment to think about what happened between panels. Understanding the space between panels helps students organize the story’s sequence and structure. The gutter provides valuable information that connects different parts of the story.
This is a great opportunity to teach story structure and how stories "move." You can ask students questions like, "What happened in this blank space?" or "How did the characters move from one situation to another?" The gutter allows a pause, helping readers revisit what’s on the page and fostering discussion about what’s happening both within and between the panels.
What are the pages with large illustrations?
This is called the Splash Page. This can be either a single page or a two-page spread.
This splash page is often action-packed, with lots happening at once. It’s important to slow down and take your time to examine all the details in the images. These pages are designed to convey key moments or intense scenes in the story. It is important to not skip past these pages, but instead fill in the dialogue of what is conveyed in the illustrations.
What are the images with balloons?
These are dialogue balloons that often come in various shapes, indicating who is speaking. The tail of the balloon points to the character who is talking, whether to themselves or to another character.
Different balloon shapes convey different emotions or actions:
- A jagged-edged balloon often represents anger or fear.
- A cloud-shaped balloon typically signifies a character's inner monologue or thoughts
What about fonts and lettering?
The lettering and fonts are powerful tools used to convey meaning. Words can be underlined, bolded or italicized to emphasize their significance or tone.
What about the color and shading?
Color and shading play a crucial role in the storytelling of a graphic novel. They visually express a character’s emotions through details like facial expressions (frowns, wide eyes, raised eyebrows, puckered lips) and body language (standing straight, slumped posture, hands over the head). Paying attention to these visual cues helps reveal how a character is feeling without the need for words.
You now know the basic of reading a graphic novel!
I encourage you to go get one of these fun books at your local store or library. No matter if you’re new to graphic novels or have been skeptical about them like I once was, I encourage you to give them another chance. Once you understand the art of reading between the pictures and the text, you might just find that these books are pretty great!
Happy Reading!
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