Comic Book Terminology

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Comic Book

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A comic book, sometimes known as a floppy, is a periodical, thin in size and stapled together.

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Graphic Novel

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Usually refers to a self-contained book-length comic. Some use the term interchangeably with “comic.”

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Panel

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An individual frame or single drawing, often panels are in the shape of a square or rectangle but they don’t have to be.

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Splash/Bleed

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A kind of panel that spans the width of the page. If it runs off the page entirely without a border, it is known as a ‘bleed’.

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Frame

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The lines and borders on a page that contain the panels.

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Tier

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A single row of panels on the page.

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Gutter

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The spaces between framed panels.

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Foreground

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The panel closest to the viewer.

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Background

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The drawings that are behind the foreground and midground.

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Emanta

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Teardrops, sweat drops, question marks, and motion lines that artists draw beside characters’ faces to portray emotion.