Comics & Narration Research

 Groensteen, T. and Miller, A. (2018) Comics and narration. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.

- When looking at layout, there are some manga artists such Gō Nagai, who uses diagonal lines wherever possible (as opposed to straight) in order to make the page feel as dynamic as possible.

- Shōjo manga (usually drawn for girls, by women) perhaps features the most unusual layouts - when compared with western comics.

- Arashi O Koete by Macoto Takahashi (1958) was the first to feature a full length image of the main character "above" the panels. This stylistic device meant that the reader could take in the full details of a characters costume. Groensteen dubs this as the "catwalk effect" - and is typically used in fashion magazines aimed at teenage girls/young women.

- Some other notable styles of the genre are:

• Elongated panels
• Dynamic tension between panels / a mixture of unframed and framed drawings etc
• Small inset panels that overlap or mask the one underneath
• 3 or 4 panels in a row to make a narrative syntagm overlaid onto a full bleed image
• The use of blank/negative space - the background against which an irregular configuration of panels can stand out
• Decorative elements across the page - intended to be romantic etc

- Shōjo tends to focus on the faces/expressions of characters

- Creates more of an "emotional climate" (englarged eyes - 'windows to the soul', unkempt hair - romantic/youthful.