Comic book glossary: 45 comic terms explained
Comics have their own vocabulary. Here's what gutters, bleed, flats, feathering and the rest actually mean, in plain English.
B
- Balloon
- The shape that holds a character's spoken words, also called a speech bubble or word balloon. Its outline shows how the words are said: oval for normal speech, dashed for whispers, jagged for shouting. Learn more about balloon.
- Beat
- A single moment or action in a story. A silent panel is often used as a "beat" to create a pause before a reaction or punchline.
- Bleed
- Artwork that extends past the trim edge of a printed page so no white edge shows after cutting. Printers usually ask for about 0.125 inches of bleed on each side. Learn more about bleed.
- Bristol board
- A smooth, heavy paper used by many comic artists for pencils and inks because it takes ink cleanly and survives erasing.
C
- Caption
- A rectangular box containing narration, a time or place, or a character's inner thoughts. Captions have no tail.
- Character sheet
- A reference page showing a character from several angles and with different expressions, used to keep them consistent across a comic. Learn more about character sheet.
- CMYK
- The four ink colors used in printing: cyan, magenta, yellow and black (K). Print files are usually prepared in CMYK; screen comics use RGB.
- Colorist
- The artist who adds color to inked comic pages.
- Crosshatching
- An inking technique that builds up shadow with layers of crossing parallel lines. Learn more about crosshatching.
D
- Double-page spread
- A single image that stretches across two facing pages.
E
- Establishing shot
- A wide panel showing where a scene takes place, usually at the start of a scene or when the location changes. Learn more about establishing shot.
F
- Feathering
- An inking technique using rows of fine, tapered strokes to blend from black into white along a form.
- Flats
- Flat base colors filled in before shading and lighting. Colorists use flats to make quick selections.
G
- Graphic novel
- A long, complete comic story published as a book, usually 64 pages or longer.
- Gutter
- The space between panels. Readers imagine what happens in the gutter, which is how comics show time passing.
I
- Inker
- The artist who goes over pencil drawings in black ink to create final, reproducible line art.
- Inset panel
- A small panel placed on top of a larger panel, often to show a close-up or reaction. Learn more about inset panel.
L
- Letterer
- The artist who places balloons, captions, lettering and sound effects on comic pages.
- Line weight
- The thickness of a line. Varying line weight adds depth: thicker lines for outlines and foreground, thinner lines for details and background.
M
- Manga
- Comics from Japan, or comics drawn in a Japanese style. Traditional manga reads right to left. Learn more about manga.
- Mini-comic
- A small, self-published comic, often photocopied, folded and stapled by hand. Also called a zine.
- Motion lines
- Lines drawn behind a moving object or character to show speed and direction. Also called speed lines.
N
- Non-photo blue
- A light blue pencil color that traditional scanners and cameras ignore, letting artists sketch without erasing.
O
- One-shot
- A comic story that is complete in a single issue.
- Onomatopoeia
- Words that imitate sounds, such as BOOM, SPLAT and WHOOSH. In comics they are usually called sound effects (SFX). Learn more about onomatopoeia.
P
- Page turn
- The moment a reader turns the page. Creators place surprises at the top of left-hand pages so they are revealed by the turn. Learn more about page turn.
- Panel
- A single frame or box on a comic page that shows one moment of the story.
- Penciler
- The artist who draws the pages in pencil, deciding layouts, characters and backgrounds.
- Plot-first method
- A way of making comics where the writer provides a plot, the artist draws the pages and dialogue is added afterward. Often called the Marvel method. Learn more about plot-first method.
S
- Safe area
- The area inside the trim edge where text and important art should stay so nothing is cut off in printing. Also called the live area.
- Saddle stitch
- A binding method that staples folded sheets through the spine. Saddle-stitched comics have page counts in multiples of 4.
- Script
- The written plan for a comic, describing what happens in each page and panel and listing all dialogue. Learn more about script.
- Sequential art
- Images arranged in sequence to tell a story; another name for the art form of comics.
- Sound effect (SFX)
- Drawn lettering that represents a sound, placed as part of the artwork. Learn more about sound effect (sfx).
- Splash page
- A page made of one large image, used for openings and big moments. Learn more about splash page.
- Spotting blacks
- Choosing where to place large areas of solid black ink to add contrast, mood and focus.
T
- Tail
- The pointer on a speech balloon that shows who is speaking.
- Thought balloon
- A cloud-shaped balloon with a trail of small circles that shows what a character is thinking.
- Thumbnail
- A small, rough sketch of a comic page used to plan layouts before drawing full size. Learn more about thumbnail.
- Tier
- A horizontal row of panels on a comic page.
- Trade paperback
- A collected edition that reprints several comic issues as one book.
- Trim size
- The final size of a printed page after it has been cut.
W
- Webcomic
- A comic published online, often updated on a regular schedule.
- Widescreen panel
- A panel that spans the full width of the page, giving a cinematic feel. Learn more about widescreen panel.
Z
- Zine
- A small, self-published booklet. Comic zines are a popular, low-cost way to share stories.