Group items tagged

I use Spiegelman’s succinct definitions for key comics terms: panel, balloon, border, gutter, bleed, and chapter opener. For example, the term bleed, which refers to text and illustrations that run to the edge of a page, prompts an excellent discussion on the pun in Spiegelman’s subtitle for the first volume of MAUS: My Father Bleeds History.

The most effective way of guiding students toward insights on the visuals in graphic novels is to allow them to brainstorm out loud about the details on one page.

Often, merely cataloging details encourages students to analyze more deeply.