1. Basic Graphic Novels Vocabulary
Set up a page for Cornell notes. This information will be on your exam.
Note: the title at the top of the page goes on the left hand side of your Cornell notes

2. Essential Questions for this unit
How do graphic novels create meaning differently from traditional literature?
How can graphic novels use simple images to convey complex ideas?

3. Panel A box which contains a given scene
Example : from Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson

4. Panels
Different artists use panel size, arrangement, etc. to create pacing, suspense, emotion and to draw the reader’s attention to certain things

5. Panels
From Y: the Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra and Jose Marzan

6. Gutter The white space between panels
Example :from Maus by Art Spiegelman

7. Gutter
The size, placement, and presence or absence of the gutter affects the way you read the page
Example : Incognegro by Mat Johnson and Warren Pleece

8. Border The outline of the panel
Examples from Comics and Sequential Art by Will Eisner

9. Balloons The container of the dialogue spoken by the character
There are speech balloons and thought balloons
Example: from Comics and Sequential Art

10. Tail Pointer leading from balloon to speaker
From the Bone series by Jeff Smith:
Notice the different outlines of the speech balloons

11. Style
The manner in which an artist draws
R. Crumb
Marjane Satrapi

12. Who creates comics?
Mainstream comics (like those published by Marvel and DC), tend to use an assembly line approach where many people contribute to the finished product. This evolved in the early days of comic books in order to be able to produce comics quickly.

13. Who creates comics?
Writer: the person who writes the story and dialogue
Penciller: draws the comic book in pencil
Inker: goes over the pencil drawings in black ink
Colorist: adds color to black and white line art. Most colorists today use digital media
Letterer: is responsible for all the letters in a comic book; titles, captions, credits, letters in speech balloons, etc. Using different fonts creates a different feel for the title or different characters
Editor: oversees the whole process and assigns the different jobs

14. Comics Creators
Many famous comics creators, especially from independent and underground comics, both write and draw their own work

15. Homework for tonight
Analyze one page of the graphic novel you're reading. How many panels on the page? Do the panels have borders? How does the artist use the gutters? How would you describe the art style? What do the balloons look like?