Graphic Narrative Gutters

A distinctively long gutter implies a long span of time or major change of scene.

Graphic narrative gutters. Graphic novels can be any genre and tell any kind of story just like their prose counterparts. Reader moves from one panel to the next and comes to a conclusion about whats happening. To be considered a graphic novel rather than a picture book or illustrated novel the story is told using a combination of words and pictures in a sequence across the page. A visual or implied boundary and the contents within it that tell a piece of the story.

First i will delve into the surface of the physical appearance of the gutter its function as a frame and a passe partout and inevitably how this affects the way we look at the gutter through the image and sequential art. The gutter is the space between panels. A tier is a singular row of panels. Monnin s 2010 graphic novel vocabulary the basics.

Graphic novels can be any genre and tell any kind of story just like their prose counterparts. I will look at this empty space between the panels and how it works and relates to the narrative. The space between the panels. Gutter the space between the panels.

In some cases it is used to express the duration of time and or changes of location by its length. As the reader moves from one panel to the next they predict and conclude what is happening. The gutter sometimes occupies more space than the panels and actively contributes to the narrative in various ways. Visual or implied boundary and the contents within it that tells a piece of the story.

Although others agree with chute s use of the term graphic narrative and include comic books and manga as well in their definition gardner herman 2011 labio 2011 states that the term. A splash or splash page is a large often full page illustration which opens and introduces a story. This thesis is about the significance of the gutter in graphic narrative. Vertical gutters can be made thinner than horizontal gutters in order to encourage the reader to group each row of panels for easier reading.