Reading a Graphic NovelA Basic How-To Guide

What IS a Graphic Novel?

A different way to express an idea or story

A medium (like TV, movies, or paintings)

A format defined by images used in a sequence

A graphic novel can be…

Action-Adventure

Comedy

Biography

Horror

Mystery

And many other genres!!

A graphic novel is…

Words (sometimes)

Pictures (always)

Vocabulary to Know:

gutter

layout

panel

speech balloon

thought balloon

emotive text

narratory blocks

sound effects/ onomatopoeia

bleeds

inferences

Gutter

The gutter is the white space between panels. It usually establishes time passed.

Layout

A layout is the way the pages of a graphic novel are organized.

Some authors use a combination of sizes and shapes; larger panels are usually more important than smaller ones.

PanelA full page can function as a panel,

or a box within a page can be a panel.

Sometimes, an artist goes outside of the panel.

Speech Balloon

A speech balloon shows a

character’s words aloud. It is usually

a smooth circle with a tail aimed

toward the character’s mouth.

Thought BalloonThis balloon looks

more like a cloud and typically comes from a character’s head.

It’s important to identify these different balloons as they can change the events of a story.

Emotive Text

If text is italicized or bolded, the author is emphasizing particular words. Pay close attention to these because they are emphasized for a reason.

Narratory Blocks

Text that is not located in a speech or thought balloon that explains what is happening in a panel. It is the narrator’s voice.

Sound Effects/Onomatopoeia

“Onomatopoeia” is another word for sound effects. These are words that are spelled just like the sound; they have no other meaning attached to them.

Bleeds

A bleed occurs when a text or graphic exceeds the panel and goes over the gutter.

Making Inferences…“Inference” is

another word for reading between the lines. You are taking the facts from the text and use your own thinking skills to INFER what will happen next.

Sometimes, the GUTTER in a graphic novel leaves out some valuable information, but we can make connections between the other panels and INFER what is happening. You will need to do this often in Maus.

• What does “screen saver” mean?

In this comic, what does “delusional” mean?

HOW TO READ A GRAPHIC NOVELALWAYS

read TOP to BOTTOM, LEFT to RIGHT.

NO MATTER WHAT.

QUESTIONS?