Sep 22 2009
Mix Up Your Comic Book Panels: Removed Narration
In most cases, a comic book writer will have the text describe what is visually shown in the panels. For example, if two characters are speaking, usually the panel will show the characters as they speak. But there are some great reasons you might want to consider using removed narration, where the speakers are out of the panel.
For example, Gotham Central includes a scene where an officer is describing a raid to Internal Affairs off-panel. On-panel, we see the raid happen in a totally different way. That’s effective storytelling because (short-answer) it shows us that the cop is lying about what happened. If we only saw the cop as he talked, it wouldn’t be as clear or as striking as seeing the truth.
Here are some reasons you might want to consider removed narration.
