Strip Panel Naked

James showed me this YouTube channel that analyses comics! This is not only interesting, but super useful to me as I aspire to create comics/graphic novels in my professional practice.

The guy, Hassan, analyses a different element of a different comic across a variety of genres in each video. For example, in this one, he unpicks how Plutona uses comic format and mirroring to develop character.

These are things which most people (including me!) wouldn't even notice as they read the comic, but, as Hassan says, greatly influence the way we read the comic and how we feel about the characters.

Comics are an interesting format, as they combine text and image in a way that books and film cannot get across. Because a comic relies on both text and image, there are certain advantages and limitations of the medium.

For example, a pro would be that in a book, you may not necessarily read a certain line of text in the way the author intended, but with the addition of image, it shows you visually the inflection of the speech of the character.

However, comics have certain disadvantages to film - for example, film is obviously moving image, which can set the pace of a comic, and make the audience feel a certain way. A slow zoom in may feel unsettling but you can't necessarily achieve this with comics. You can, however, set the pace by using multiple panels that slowly zoom in - much like the storyboard of a film (note: I have always felt that comics are essentially very detailed storyboards - you may agree or disagree).

Another advantage films have over comics is obviously the addition of sound. Sound plays a huge part in setting the tone and being emotive. But again, there are clever ways for comics to achieve the emotive element, as mentioned above.

These videos are an amazing asset to me - as well as learning more about my favourite comics, I can also pick up tips on how to better tell my stories! I'm glad a YouTube comic critique channel finally exists!