How to READ Comics!

There's a lot ot process when reading comics.  You have words AND pictures, overlapping and working together to create the narrative/story.  It may seem unique or challenging, at first, but I promise, you "READ" comics exactly the same way you do PROSE books.

From Teaching Teachers: #HowTo Bring Comics to the Classroom

 

Left to Right.  Top to Bottom.

In prose (chapter books, novels, etc.), you start at the TOP LEFT of the page, reading through the words across an entire line, before coming to the following line, beneath and reading across again (just how you're reading this post)!  This is the standard way we read and write in English, and it's the same if you're reading in a bunch of other languages (like French, Italian, and German).  And if your comics were intended for readers in those languages, they will fit the SAME reading order.

Where prose pages are made up of paragraphs, comics are made of PANELS!  They follow the same structure: 

    - Start at the top left.
    - Read all the way across (towards the right).
    - Repeat the process for each line of panels.

The same process works for the words WITHIN the panels.  Start at the top left and whichever CAPTION or DIALOGUE BALLOON you find first, you read that to completion, then move to the right or down to find the next one in sequence.

But what about MANGA?

With the popularity of manga (traditionally, Japanese comics), you may encounter books that look like they're made BACKWARDS.  These books were intended for readers of TATEGAKI, a form of Japanese kanji (writing) and is read TOP to BOTTOM; RIGHT to LEFT.  When translated into English, these books will retain some of their natural order, with panels starting at the TOP RIGHT and read to the LEFT, before dropping down to the next line.

If you're interested in reading MORE from the Teaching Teachers book, please visit www.ucre8comics.com and find a FREE DOWNLOAD available!  

Victor Dandridge is an award-winning comic creator and geek personality, born-n-raised in Columbus, OH (SOUTHFIELD!).  An intrepid entrepreneur, he continues to build a branding empire through his company Vantage:Inhouse Productions.