1. An Important Part of Comic Book Storytelling
Panels
An Important Part of Comic Book Storytelling

2. What Good Are Panels?
PANELS are how comics divide up the action on each page
They are a relatively new part of sequential art storytelling – remember how the Bayeux Tapestry and the Egyptian tomb paintings were just one long image?
Panels are often used just like shots in a movie, and are most often used to subtly direct how the reader experiences the story

3. Panel Transitions

4. When one panel moves to another, it is called a TRANSITION
It is this transition that gives the writer the influence over your experience mentioned above
There are FOUR BASIC TYPES of transition:

5. Transition Type 1:
MOMENT to MOMENT

6. Moment-to-Moment Transitions
When we say that a panel transition moves from “moment-to-moment”, we mean that it shows the passage of very small amounts of time
These transitions involve the same subject(s), little action, and no movement from place to place
These are rare in Western graphic novels, but are more common in Japanese ones

8. Transition Type 2:
ACTION to ACTION

9. Action-to-Action Transitions
This one is easy: when we say the transition is “action-to-action”, we mean that something or somebody is doing something different in the second panel than in the first
Usually, the action is very obvious, and follows directly from the previous panel (like in the baseball example above)
This is one of the most common types of panel transitions, especially in superhero graphic novels

11. Transition Type 3:
SUBJECT to SUBJECT

12. Subject-to-Subject Transitions
This transition is simply when one panel focuses on one character or object, and the next one focuses on a different character or object (within the same scene/location)
These aren’t hard to follow, but they require a bit more involvement by the reader – they need to understand how the new person or object fits into the context of the scene in order to make sense of the transition

14. Transition Type 4:
SCENE to SCENE

15. Scene-to-Scene Transitions
This transition moves between two entirely different locations
Usually, the writer/artist will simply start a new scene on a new page
Even more reader involvement is required to make sense of these, and the connection between the two may not be immediately obvious

17. Find good examples of 2 types of transitions in your graphic novel:
Moment to Moment: Same subject(s), same place, little to no movement
Action to Action: Same subject, different action
Subject to Subject: One panel’s focus is on a different character or object than the other
Scene to Scene: One panel is in a completely place (in the story) than the other
Now, share your choices with your group. Once you finish, choose (as a group) an example that you find particularly interesting. The person who found it will then share with the class.