good comic book layout can capture a reader’s attention and keep them focused on your content. If your composition is poor and allows the viewer to exit your page, you haven’t mastered the art of leading people on through your layout. Here’s a few ways to improve your composition and page layout, and keep your readers interested by maintaining their eye on your work and dialogue.
The Grid
The earliest comics were always set up in a grid format, contained within white gutters (borders) and followed the logical Western method of reading – across from left to right + down to the next level & repeat. In this example from Jack Kirby, you see Captain America and Batroc the Leaper battling it out over a 9 square grid page layout, which reads very easily. The red arrows were added to illustrate the reader movement.
As comics grew in popularity and the talent level increased, artists injected their creative influences and began to produce layouts that did not necessarily conform to a grid format. While absolutely stunning to look at, these pages were a logical disaster if they weren’t planned properly. In order to keep the flow of the story intact, there are a number of grids that can be used throughout your comic to moderate pace, as well as allowing for eye-catching imagery.
The most common grids are the 9 and 6 panel grids. In a 20-24 page issue, the 9 panel grid is most useful when the story contains a lot of information that needs to be conveyed. Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons did this effectively in The Watchmen series. The sample below is another 9 panel layout that splits two scenes going on at the exact same time, and creates an interesting visual effect.
Here is a standard 6 panel grid from the old newsprint/pulp style comics of the 60s-70s. The grid offers enough room for dialogue, action and visuals. This is a traditional layout for comics, and the most commonly used – even to this day.
In sharp contrast to the traditional linear aligned storytelling method, here is a sample of a manga influenced comic book page layout. Note, the grid is skewed to create a feeling of motion and adds a sense of dynamic action – the reader’s eye is forced about from one end to the other at a high rate of speed.
Yet another grid format which is gaining popularity is the widescreen panel. This type of panel layout is used to create a cinematic feel. These longer panels also create the illusion of extended time.
Finally, a traditional ‘strip’ styled layout – 3 panels. This is most common for newspaper/online serials which use a wider format.
By establishing a grid for your page layouts, you can conform your artwork and continue to guide the reader along with the position/movement of your characters and backgrounds, as well as logical placement of speech bubbles.
