Comics and Narration

Chapter Three. On a Few Theories of Page Layout

43 Chapter three On a Few Theories of Page Layout It was established in System 1 that page layout is, along with breakdown, one of the two fundamental operations of the language of comics—it comes into force at the level of the panels, defining their surface area, their shape, and their placement on the page. In other words, it establishes the relative position and proportions of panels that are co-present on the same page and assigns compatible shapes to them. Layout in comics has accommodated, and still does accommodate, many kinds of configuration. There is, nonetheless, an objective criterion that makes it possible to classify all existing and possible pages into two groups: frame regularity . It is, in fact, possible to make a distinction between regular layouts (where all the frames are identical; this is the model usually known in the Franco-Belgian context as the “waffle-iron”) and all the others that, over and above their dissimilarities , have irregularity as a common feature. 3.1 degrees oF regularity We will see later1 in what ways regularity or irregularity in the arrangement of frames is pertinent to the question of rhythm—the rhythm of narration and the rhythm of reading. But it is important here to interrogate the criterion itself. There are in fact different degrees of regularity of page layout, and I should have made this clear in System 1. I propose to rectify that omission now. A first element of regularity can be assessed at the level of the album as a whole: we need to know whether all the pages are divided into a preset and equal number of strips, established from the outset. When this is the case, the narrative is propelled onward by means of a kind of scrolling ribbon, maintaining a constant height (comparable to a film strip). 44 on a few theories of Page Layout However, within this system based on three or four strips per page (these being the most frequent options in a book with a French-style format), there is no obligation for strips to be the same height as those above or below them. For example, In Christophe Blain’s work, the height of the strips is not necessarily uniform: every page of La Capitale [The Capital]2 has three or four strips, but they are of uneven height. When strips do conform to a standard height—as in the case of Hergé—that constitutes a second degree of regularity.3 There is also a third degree of regularity that affects the panel. Within a strip of uniform height, panels can adapt to the content by narrowing or widening, or they can themselves maintain a uniform width. Only in the last case do the vertical and horizontal gutters meet at right angles, producing the orthogonal grid known as the waffle-iron. We need, then, to distinguish three levels, or degrees, of regularity. The waffle-iron is itself a matrix that can be applied strictly (all the pages contain , say, nine or twelve images of an identical format) or more flexibly. Flexibility allows for the inclusion of larger images that are multiples of the standard frame size; the simple “elimination” of one vertical frame division produces an image that is twice as big; the elimination of two will produce a full-width panel,4 but these multiples fit into the grid without disrupting its geometrical regularity or altering the dimensions of the matrix. A further criterion for the critical appreciation of page layout needs to be introduced. This is density, alluded to above. By this I mean the variability in the number of panels that make up the page. It is obvious that a page composed of five panels will appear less dense (as potential reading matter) than a page that has three times as many.5 In this respect, it may be noted that the comics medium is ruled by fashion cycles. In 1970s French comics, density had considerably diminished, and six or seven panels per page was becoming the norm. We had entered an era of comics production in which the reading experience was increasingly being overwhelmed by spectacular effects—and the standard-bearer for this change was the magazine Métal hurlant [Heavy Metal]. In contrast many current young authors opt instead to confer increased density on their narratives—while remaining within the bounds of an album in the classic hard-cover 48- to 60-page format. Thus we have witnessed a strong revival of...