1. Graphic Novels

2. What are they? A mixture of narrative, picture books and comic strips Both the pictures AND the text combine to tell the story "a fictional story that is presented in comic-strip format and presented as a book."

3. Graphic Novels Their purpose is to recount a story and entertain It is a new form of novel writing – only about 30 years old

4. Graphic Novel Terms Panel – the story is told through a series of panels that contain bits of information. Each panel represents a single moment in time

5. Terms cont. Transitions – The space between panels is the ‘gutter’. Panels transition from left to right and/or top to bottom.

6. Transitions There are 4 main kinds of panel transitions. 1.Moment to moment (same subject/continuous movement) (pg. 45) 2. Action to action (same subject, continuous action) (pg. 47)

7. Transitions 3. Subject to subject -(different subject/continuous scene) (pg. 23) 4. Scene to scene (different or same subject/different scenes) pg.

8. Perspective The angle in which we view the picture. It is the reader’s point of view such as looking down from above, or looking up at a subject. Changing perspective is a technique that the author uses to maintain visual interest and for specific effects

9. Narrative/Caption In order to tell the story there are speech & thought bubbles, that tell the characters thoughts and feelings, and captions that tell the events of the story. The captions are brief

10. Visual Language Just like picture books, graphic novels use a variety of visual language techniques to highlight ideas and themes

11. Size of Object The size of an object creates meaning within an image A large object suggests the idea of power, importance, significance. Page 60 – What is the large image and why is it significant? A small object suggests insignificance powerless, unimportant etc. Page 47- What is the small image and what message does it create?

12. Visual Language Layout The way in which panels are placed on a page for effect Framing This involves techniques such as shot type, angle, vectors

13. Shot Type Involves shots such as long shot, mid shot or close-up Creates a sense of distance between viewer (reader) and the subject (character) Find an example of each shot type in “The Odyssey”

14. Angles The use of perspective to position the viewer in relation to the subject Involves low, high and eye level angles Find an example of each from “The Odyssey”

15. Vectors Lines that direct our eyes to an important subject or image Page 85 of “The Odyssey”. What are the lines drawing our attention to and why do you think this vector has been used?

16. Colour Colour is used symbolically to evoke ideas, feelings, emotions, concepts etc about a subject or image Depends on the brightness and shade of the colour E.g. Blue= sadness, calm, depressing, boring, cleanliness Red= anger, passion, love, danger Yellow= happiness, excited Green= natural, envy, wealth Black= evil, emotionless, death, depressed White= innocence, purity, emotionless, pale

17. The Odyssey Because it is primarily a visual text, all of these visual techniques are used throughout the graphic novel ‘The Odyssey’ to create meaning.